Mastery of pitches, competitiveness drive Providence senior Josh Hiatt

On Sundays, Providence High baseball coach Danny Hignight sends an email to Gary Randall, a scout with the Major League Scouting Bureau. It’s Randall’s job to report to pro clubs about top prospects in the Charlotte area, and Hignight’s email always includes the itinerary for 6-foot, 170-pound Providence pitcher Josh Hiatt.

Hiatt, a senior who has signed a scholarship to play for North Carolina, has a fastball whose speed reaches the low 90s. He has command of four pitches – two different fastballs, a curve and change-up.

Hiatt has led Providence (18-1, 10-1) within a game of the Southwestern 4A championship, which the Panthers can win against South Mecklenburg at home Tuesday. For the season, his record is 6-1, he has a 1.52 earned-run average and he has struck out 50 batters in 44 innings.

“His stuff is good,” Hignight said of Hiatt. “It’s filthy. He’s got great movement. He can (make it hard) on opposing lineups because he can pitch on both sides of the plate. He’s very unique on the mound.

“Typically, at the high school level you get guys who have one pitch with good velocity and they might have a secondary pitch, and if they do, they’re pretty dog gone good. Rarely do you get guys who can throw four pitches at the high school level.”

Hiatt, who has a straight fastball and one that sinks, has pitched since he was 10, or about two years after his father, Earl, returned home from work one day and asked his son if he wanted to throw and catch.

“I fell in love with it instantly,” Hiatt said.

At 10, Hiatt began working with Alan Mills, a former Charlotte 49ers pitcher and Boston Red Sox draft pick. Mills taught Hiatt how to make different deliveries, and at Providence Hignight has helped him master that skill even more, Hiatt said.

At least on the high school level, Hiatt‘s craftiness from the mound isn’t much fun for hitters.

“He’s always had good stuff,” said South Mecklenburg coach Jon Tuscan, whose team won the 2013 N.C. 4A championship. “He’s always been a good pitcher, but this year it’s the way he’s grown up and shown a lot of maturity that’s really shown through in his game.

“We had him in a tight game over here when he got up and he was throwing well, but he never got rattled, never got wild.”

Tuscan says Hiatt has developed a mastery of pitches.

“He can not just throw them, he can command them,” Tuscan said. “He can throw them at different pitch counts and do a really good job at keeping you off balance. You can’t go up there and sit on one pitch. It’s really disruptive to a high school hitter’s timing. They don’t necessarily have a feel for what’s coming.”

Hiatt is also dependable at the plate. He is batting .474 with four home runs, nine doubles and 28 RBIs. Hignight said he’s a better pitcher when he’s batting and marvels at his competitiveness.

“He’s very competitive,” Hignight said. “I think that really pushes him and he pushes others to be successful. He just wants to win.”

Providence lost in the state semifinals last season to West Forsyth. This year, besides Hiatt, the Panthers returned four others who have also signed college scholarships:

▪ Three-year starting catcher Andrew Fischel signed with Ohio State.

▪ First baseman Trevor Ryan, also a three-year starter, signed with Catawba.

▪ Pitcher Austin Leonard has signed with Davidson.

▪  Senior Andrew Moritz, who set a single-season school record with 46 hits last year, signed with UNC Greensboro.

Like all of them, Hiatt said he’s focused advacing to the state finals. And winning.

“Last year we had a good year, but it hurt a lot when we didn’t make our goal,” Hiatt said. “This year, we’re fighting hard. I like the team we have now and I think we definitely have a shot. We know if we get better every day, we’ll be there at the end.”

This story was originally published April 25, 2015 at 2:07 PM with the headline "Mastery of pitches, competitiveness drive Providence senior Josh Hiatt."