Heartbreak has been a common feeling for the Hofstra baseball team so far this season. Through 13 games, the Pride has struggled heavily on the mound and has let several late-game leads slip away while also carrying a team earned run average (ERA) of 6.93.

However, through all the heartbreaking endings that have doomed the Pride over the past two seasons, one bright spot stands out for Hofstra’s pitching staff. That player is Ryan Rue.

Once overlooked as a freshman at the beginning of last year, the second-year starting pitcher has emerged as an ace and Hofstra’s most reliable arm every week.

After a strong rookie season that surprised many, Rue has once again gotten off to a solid start in year two, owning a 3.91 ERA through four starts. Still only a sophomore, Rue has impressed his coaches and has plenty of room to grow to become one of the best pitchers in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). 

“He pounds the zone with strikes and goes at guys with three pitches,” said Hofstra pitching coach Blake Nation. “He mainly pitches off his fastball and change-up and mixes in his curveball when he wants to, but the main thing is that he just throws strikes and goes after guys. … He’s not scared.”

Prior to coming to Hofstra, Rue did not receive many Division I offers, but that did not stop his determination to keep working toward his goal. By his first step onto Hofstra’s campus during his visit, Rue knew he had found his home.

“I didn’t have a lot of DI offers, but I had a few DIII schools and a few DII schools that were looking at me, but DI-wise, it was pretty much Hofstra, Rider [University] and Sacred Heart [University],” Rue said. “I got an offer from all three within a week, and I also had all three visits scheduled that week as well, but I went to Hofstra first. The moment I stepped on campus, I kind of knew that it was going to be this school. I didn’t even see the other schools yet, but I knew this [was] what I wanted.” 

In his first season with the Pride, Rue earned a starting spot in the rotation and took full advantage of that opportunity; he was confident in his ability and through his first four starts, Rue allowed only six runs in 24 2/3 innings to boast a 2.28 ERA.

“The biggest factor in my early success was definitely my confidence,” Rue said. “I’ve just been confident since very early in my life and I think that comes from high school and being a former wrestler. Honestly, wrestling played a big part in that because I had a spotlight on me so when I went to college, I was used to pressure.”

“That pressure didn’t really bother me because part of my game is throwing strikes,” Rue said. “I don’t ever back down in my competitive aspect and throwing strikes makes people need to hit the ball and hitting is not an easy thing. I force people to earn that base.”

Early on last season, Rue learned something about himself that made him an even better pitcher. Using the team’s new technology, Rapsodo, Rue, along with coach Nation, discovered that his fastball comes with a very high spin rate, which means a higher trajectory on the pitch.

“Last year we used our new technology, Rapsodo, and it kind of helped us figure out that [Rue] had a high spin rate so that he could pitch up in the zone,” Nation said. “It’s a lot easier to pitch up in the zone, especially when you have a high spin rate, so that’s something we figured out about him last year and that has really led to the success for him not only last year, but this year as well. 

For Rue, his higher spin rate creates a rising effect on his fastball that many hitters are not used to seeing.

“I never really knew about this until we got the technology for it and once I did, I realized why I throw a lot of fastballs and also why I can get away with it,” Rue said. “Especially coming into last year, a lot of people were not used to that and didn’t really have a scouting report on me. It’s tough for them because the hitters have to adjust to my fastball being different from others within the three at-bats they may see me in a game.”

Rue has thrived on the mound since this discovery and during the offseason he began looking to improve his game even more.

“I’ve been focusing on getting more overpowering because with the spin rate, there’s not much study on it yet, but if you have it and the harder you throw, the higher it is,” Rue said. “As I’m learning to throw harder, my spin rate is still climbing a little bit.” 

Rue’s confidence and success also stems from the guys around him on the field.

“I’ve learned a lot from [Nation]. He’s much more modern,” Rue said. “He’s very much into the technology and the new aspects of pitching, the new ways to pitch, the new mechanical stuff. I really respect him for that and enjoy learning and listening about what he learns from these things.”

Rue also credits Vito Friscia for allowing him to become the pitcher he is today. The former star catcher and current Philadelphia Phillies prospect caught the majority of Rue’s games last season and gave him the confidence he needed in his first season with the Pride. 

“Playing with [Friscia], him being my catcher all year round was such an honor. I was able to strike him out in practice in the fall and then him being my catcher all season and playing with other kids at that level was a huge honor for me,” Rue said. 

“Specifically, something I looked at after last season was my stats against guys who got drafted or guys who were prospects to get drafted,” Rue said. “The fact that I was getting them out a lot and that they all had minimal success against me really showed me that I was as good as anybody out there and that even though I may be overlooked, my team and I can play with anybody out there.”

Rue dominated over his final five starts of last season with an ERA of 3.42 and finished the year with a 4.48. Now in year two, Rue has looked even stronger and has shown much improvement from last season.

“Improvement for him was his change-up. His change-up has gotten a lot better,” Nation said. “He’s done a really good job with it. He can throw it for a strike, it’s gotten a lot more movement and depth and he knows how to use it. That was a really big change for him from last year to this year and he’s just done great for us.”

The southpaw’s first three starts of this season have been lights out and he now ranks among the top starting pitchers in the CAA in innings pitched and WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched).

Rue has already shown the potential to become the ace for Hofstra’s pitching staff for years to come and is still looking to develop even more as a pitcher. 

“He can definitely be our number one,” Nation said. “I think the next step for him is figuring out his breaking ball a little bit better, making it sharper with a little more depth and being able to use it whenever he wants to, just like he does with his change-up and fastball.”

The Pride currently sits at 3-10, but their record does not necessarily define who they are as a team. They have shown a lot of fight and dedication in each of their games this season but have struggled to close them out. Their offense leads the CAA in batting average with an even .300, but the biggest key in turning their struggles around is the bullpen. Seven of their 10 losses have come in games in which they have led in the seventh inning or later, with four of those losses coming in the ninth inning. 

Despite the rough start, Rue is confident in himself and his team and believes they have what it takes to achieve their ultimate goal. 

“We all want to win a CAA championship,” Rue said. “We think we have the people to do it, we have the experience and the important thing to do is to sell out every game. When we lose, we don’t want to be blown out. We want to be competitive and show that we are a team to beat in the conference.” 

Rue goes out on the mound every week with passion, and as he continues to develop as a pitcher and leader, his future – along with the Pride’s – remains very bright.

Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics