"Bulldog" Haupt is unexpected ace for Knights, who beat Pats baseball
Apr. 19—Middletown baseball coach Andy Baker has a stable of three reliable starters he can trot out to the mound on any given day. Yet the best this season was the least-heralded entering the spring.
That would be right-hander Tyler Haupt, who pitched sparingly last year and battled for the third rotation slot behind established arms Hunter Barnes and Wyatt Moxley. But a month into the season, Haupt is leading the trio.
And he's not been flashy, either.
Take Wednesday's 4-2 win over host Thomas Johnson. It was a rare instance in which the junior didn't have his best stuff, issuing five walks and never having a completely clean inning across the five-plus he worked.
But it was no matter for Haupt, who refrained from surrendering a big hit to the Patriots, stranded five runners on base, struck out five and induced an inning-ending double play.
"He continues to do it every start. He didn't have his best command today, but it was good enough," Baker said. "I thought he was a bulldog out there."
Haupt has been that tough, gritty arm each week.
Two weeks ago, he threw a no-hitter against Williamsport. And prior to the fourth inning Wednesday, he hadn't allowed an earned run all season, a streak of 26 1-3 consecutive innings.
Haupt didn't spiral Wednesday despite the two-out base knock that sent the tying run to the plate. He battled TJ's Mikhai Evans for nine pitches before timing his pickoff move to catch a Patriot baserunner in a rundown, ending the threat.
"Just trusting my defense to make plays and hitting my spots," Haupt said. "They made some great plays, turning two double plays when they're rallying."
But he also trusts himself, perhaps more so now than in years past. Part of that comes with age; as a junior, Haupt has an extra year of experience and knows he has to shoulder more of a burden.
Some of that is just his confidence, which comes from the defense making plays behind him and Haupt continuing to post zeros on the scoreboard.
"That's one of the most important parts of the game is staying within yourself. Just keeping a cool head," he said.
That fourth-inning escape was perhaps his most impressive, but he wiggled out of a similar jam the next frame by inducing a flyout. Haupt was pulled after issuing a leadoff walk in the sixth as his pitch count was nearing its limit.
He turned the mound over to fellow junior righty Keller Routzahn, who worked out of trouble in the last two innings to earn a save. Routzahn forced a key inning-ending double play in the sixth with the bases loaded, before getting two ground outs with the tying run at the plate in the seventh.
"I just try to stay as calm as I can, pound the zone and let my defense work because I know they've got my back," he said.
Both Routzahn and Haupt were also backed up by a three-run outburst at the plate in the third inning.
Joey Nicholson, Andrew Raymond and Brett Lucas each delivered a run-scoring hit, scrapping for offense against a strong starter in TJ's Jacob Hnath. Lucas later knocked a sacrifice fly to bring home the Knights' fourth and final run.
The Patriots (8-2) did score twice — on RBI singles by Hnath in the fourth and Danny Orr in the seventh — but ultimately could not finish most of their chances.
"Kept us off balance for the most part. We were able to get guys on base, just weren't able to get that timely hit when we needed to," TJ coach Matt Myers said. "Give credit to them; they made the plays."
Much of that was due to Haupt, who showed why he's risen from unheralded to one of Middletown's most reliable pitchers.
Even with his command being off, the junior neutralized nearly all of the Patriots' threats, throttling some of the county's best hitters. It's what the Knights (10-3) expect from him now, and it's what he expects from himself.
"Just keep pitching how I'm pitching right now. I feel like I've been doing pretty well so far," Haupt said. "I just need to keep my ego down, keep myself in check."
