Tony Zych

Height:
6-3
Weight:
175
Class:
Sophomore
Hometown:
Monee, Ill.
High School:
St. Rita

Honors
2010 Cape Cod League Outstanding Pro Prospect
2010 Cape Cod League Outstanding Relief Pitcher
2010 Cape Cod League All-Star
2009 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team
2009 Freshman All-America (Louisville Slugger)
2009 Freshman All-America (Ping! Baseball)
2009 All-BIG EAST Tournament

Summer 2010: Was presented the Russ Ford Award as the Cape Cod League's Outstanding Relief Pitcher and also earned the Robert A. McNeece Award as the Outstanding Pro Prospect, two of the most prestigious honors the league has to offer. A 2010 Cape Cod League All-Star, he was also named to the Cape Cod Baseball All-League Team after collecting a league-leading 12 saves with a 0.89 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 20.1 innings of relief for the Bourne Braves.

2010: Finished 5-2 overall with an ERA of 5.13 as a sophomore for the Cardinals. Had 50 strikeouts in 59.2 innings of work. Made 22 total appearances on the mound, including five starts. Allowed one run on one hit in 1.2 innings of relief against St. John's on May 27 at BIG EAST Championship. Pitched 1.1 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win at Notre Dame on May 20 and improve to 3-2 on the season. Was outstanding out of the bullpen, allowing just three hits in 5.0 shutout innings of relief against St. John's on May 15 to earn his second win of the season. Allowed two runs on two hits in 5.0 innings of relief at Vanderbilt on May 11. Gave up three runs on five hits with three strikeouts in 1.2 innings of relief at Ohio State on May 5. Allowed two runs on a hit in 1.0 inning of relief against Rutgers on May 1. Came out of the bullpen with 2.1 innings of scoreless relief and six strikeouts on April 25 against Seton Hall. Finished with five strikeouts and allowed only one hit in 2.2 scoreless innings of relief in Cardinals' win over WKU on April 21. Came out of the bullpen for the third straight appearance, allowing no runs on just two hits in 2.1 innings at WVU in game two of doubleheader on April 17. Gave the Cardinals 3.2 innings of steady relief at Pittsburgh on April 10, when he allowed only one run on four hits with one strikeout. Came out of the bullpen with 1.0 scoreless inning of relief at Kentucky on April 6. Struck out a career-best 10 but lost his second straight start after allowing five runs on seven hits in 5.0 innings on March 27 against UConn. Dropped to 1-1 on the season after allowing four runs on career-high nine hits in 5.0 innings against Ball State on March 20. Earned his first win of the season in Cards' series-clinching win at Ole Miss on March 14. Allowed six runs on eight hits with four strikeouts in 6.0 innings in the win against the Rebels. Came out of the bullpen to allow only one hit in 3.0 scoreless innings of work against Le Moyne on March 7. Bounced back from a tough season-opening start by allowing only two runs on six hits with four strikeouts in 6.0 innings against Minnesota at the Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge. Struggled in his first start of the season, allowing seven runs on six hits against Bowling Green on Feb. 20.

Summer 2009: Spent the summer pitching out of the bullpen for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. Finished the summer with an ERA of 2.93 with 17 strikeouts in 15.1 innings and no decisions with his six total appearances out of the Team USA bullpen.

2009: Earned Freshman All-America honors from Louisville Slugger and Ping!Baseball with a 6-2 record, two saves and a 3.25 ERA. Made 21 total appearances, including three winning starts. Finished with 31 strikeouts in 44.1 innings and opposing batters hit just .235 against him. Improved to 3-0 in a starting role with 6.0 strong innings of work in the Cards' 5-3 win over Vanderbilt in the NCAA Regional final. Earned All-BIG EAST Tournament honors with a career-best 6.0 innings of work to earn the win in the Cards' BIG EAST title-game victory over UConn. Allowed only one run on six hits in the win over the Huskies. Pitched a scoreless ninth inning in the Cards' 12-1 BIG EAST title-clinching win over USF on May 15. Improved to 4-2 on the season with 4.0 innings of two-hit baseball in his first career start on May 6 against No. 25 Ohio State. Took his second career loss after allowing three runs on two hits on April 26 against Notre Dame. Allowed one run on one hit in the ninth inning against Vandy on April 22. Tossed 1.1 innings of perfect relief against IU on April 21. Picked up his second save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning of relief at Rutgers on April 19. Had his scoreless innings streak ended at 14.2 after giving up two runs on three hits to earn the first loss of his career on April 14 against Kentucky. Picked up win No. 2 on the season with his inning of scoreless relief against Pitt on April 11. Also had 1.0 inning of scoreless relief against Panthers on April 9. Was 1-for-1 at the plate in a pinch-hitting role against Indiana on April 7. Extended his scoreless streak to 12.1 innings with 1.2 innings of relief with two strikeouts on April 5 at Cincinnati. Continued his scoreless streak on the mound with 1.2 shutout innings of relief on April 1 against Ball State, which included getting through a bases-loaded, one-out jam. Also had a hit and one RBI in the win over BSU. Was very impressive on March 28, allowing no runs on only two hits in a career-long 4.2 innings of relief in the Cards' 17-inning win over Seton Hall. On March 25 against WKU, he gave the Cards' a perfect ninth inning, working from 94 to 97 mph on the radar gun to earn his first career save. Pitched a perfect ninth inning with one strikeout on March 22 against Georgetown. Had one inning of scoreless relief against Iowa on March 15. Pitched 0.2 innings of relief at UT, recording two strikeouts. Picked up a pair of hits in 2-for-2 day with two RBI on March 6 against Milwaukee. Got his first career hit on a pinch-hit single on March 1 against Bowling Green. Allowed one run on two hits in 2.2 innings to earn his first career win against EKU on Feb. 25. Made his pitching debut on Feb. 22 at Florida with 2.2 innings of shutout relief, allowing only one hit and striking out three. Was 0-for-4 in first start as the Cards' DH on Feb. 21 at UF. Was 0-for-1 from the plate in college debut as a pinch-hitter at Florida on Feb. 20.

High School: Earned four letters in baseball at St. Rita High School where he was coached by Mike Zunica. Numerous prep honors include American Baseball Coaches Association Rawlings High School Gold Glove, ABCA Rawlings All-Region Team, Rawlings Preseason All-American, Under Armour Preseason All-American, National Baseball Coaches Association All-District Team, Illinois HS Baseball Coaches Association All-Area, Illinois Coaches Association Senior East All-Star Team and Chicago Tribune All-State Special Mention. Hit .426 with eight home runs, 33 runs scored and 30 RBI as a senior second baseman. Was 7-2 with a 2.63 ERA and 56 strikeouts on the mound. Led St. Rita to the Final 8. Selected in the 46th round of the 2008 MLB Draft by the Chicago Cubs. Also earned one letter in football as a defensive back and two letters in golf.

Personal: Born Anthony Aaron Zych on Aug. 7, 1990, in Hazelcrest, Ill. Son of Don Zych and Deb Zych. Has one younger brother, Nico, and one younger sister, Kailey. Undecided on a major at U of L. After college, he plans to play professional baseball. Person with the most influence on his athletic career was his dad, who has always pushed him to do his best and taught him a great work ethic. Hobbies and interests include hunting and playing pool. Favorite movies are 61*, Sandlot and Remember the Titans. Favorite TV show is Entourage. Favorite athletes are Derek Jeter, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. Favorite foods include Trix, Snickers and pasta. Favorite restaurants are Chipotle and Buffalo Wild Wings. Favorite team is the New York Yankees. Country music is his favorite, but he likes to mix in some of everything. If he could eat dinner and play golf with three people, he would pick Derek Jeter, Manny Ramirez and Taylor Swift. Something not many people know about him is that he loves to hunt deer with a bow and arrow. Best athlete he's ever faced was Darius Fleming in a one-on-one basketball game. Tony's dad Don played Division III football.

CAREER STATISTICSYear    ERA W-L App-GS  CG  SHO SV  IP  H   R   ER  BB-SO2009    3.25    6-2 21-3    0   0/0 2   44.1    38  17  16  10-312010    5.13    5-2 22-5    0   0/0 0   59.2    63  34  34  19-50TOTAL   4.33    11-4    43-8    0   0/0 2   104.0   101 51  50  29-81