Back in the summer of 2019, Drew Lafferty was feeling on top of the world after leading Seton LaSalle to a WPIAL Class 2A championship, delivering a star-making performance in the title game with both his bat and his arm.
Two years later, after transferring to South Park and missing out on his entire sophomore season during the COVID-19 pandemic, he endured one of the lowest points of his career. After pulling a lat muscle while throwing a pitch vs. Avonworth on April 7, Lafferty was unable to pitch for the remainder of the season. He remained a valuable asset at the plate, batting .510 during the regular season, but the Eagles sorely missed his pitching prowess in a heartbreaking 6-5 loss against Hopewell in last year’s WPIAL Class 3A championship game.
Now back to full strength as the unquestioned ace for Class 3A No. 1 South Park (5-1, 2-0), Lafferty is already showing Eagles fans what they were missing out on last year — and perhaps sending a reminder to the rest of the WPIAL.
“I finished my throw and I felt something pop in the back of my shoulder, and the first thing that was coming to my mind was a labrum or rotator cuff or something like that. I’m just very thankful it was only a pulled lat muscle,” Lafferty said. “I was trying to come back too fast last year, and I just kept hurting it, but it feels amazing to be finally back and back up to 100%.”
Through his first two starts of the season, Lafferty has yet to allow an earned run while striking out 16 batters to only two walks in 10 innings pitched. He started South Park’s season opener and pitched five scoreless innings in a 14-0 win vs. Perry, Ohio, at the Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on April 30. He then went five innings in an 11-3 win against Avonworth on April 5 to improve to 2-0 on the year.
A 6-1, 205-pound right-hander who is committed to Kentucky, Lafferty has regained all of his velocity and then some from his pre-injury days. His fastball sits comfortably at 92 mph and sometimes touches 93 or even 94. He has also developed an arsenal of off-speed pitches to complement his heater, including a changeup that has always been one of his best weapons.
“I base my off speed, what pitch I want to throw, based on how the hitter looks on the pitch before,” Lafferty said. “I like to start everyone off with a fastball. If he pulls my fastball foul, then I’ll throw him a changeup because he’s ahead of the fastball. Just how he swings the bat, if he’s bailing, then I’ll throw him an outside pitch or something outside.”
Make no mistake about it, though — Lafferty is much more than just a pitcher. He might not be the next Brendan McKay, but he could be the closest thing the WPIAL has seen since McKay in terms of raw two-way talent. After ranking among the top 20 in batting average in the WPIAL last season, Lafferty is off to another hot start in 2022 with a .412 batting average, 2 doubles, a home run and 6 RBIs in five games.
Lafferty is expected to play as both a pitcher and a hitter at Kentucky, and he will likely play first or third base when he’s not on the mound. For South Park, he plays shortstop on days he doesn’t pitch.
“He prides himself on being a good hitter,” said Eagles coach Brad Shamitko. “He definitely wants to go to Kentucky and give it a shot going two ways. That’s difficult to do at that D-I level, but I believe Drew has the ability to do so. Even this year, he’s changed his approach at the plate to be more of a hitter and not just a power swinger.
“When he hits the ball, it’s a little bit different than a lot of other kids.”
After going 4 for 5 and pitching a complete game in the WPIAL Class 2A title game as a freshman, Lafferty decided to transfer from Seton LaSalle back home to South Park to play with his childhood friends. His cousin, Austin Lafferty, also plays for the Eagles and also hit above .500 last season. Both cousins are batting .412 so far this year, and together they provide a solid nucleus for the rest of the team to build around.
Although South Park came as close as any team possibly could to winning a WPIAL title last year, the Eagles are a different and much more dangerous team with Lafferty on the mound. And from the looks of it, the star senior is already in championship form as he prepares to make one final run at a WPIAL crown.
“It’s two totally different feelings,” Lafferty said. “Freshman year, winning it is one of the greatest feelings in the world. Then watching someone have that feeling when you’re on the other side of it, it’s awful. Especially losing the way that we lost, it was not a good feeling.
“I think we only have two guys who graduated from that team, and everyone else is back. I think we’re all hungry and we all want that ring that we all saw them have.”
Steve Rotstein: srotstein@post-gazette.com and Twitter @SteveRotstein.
First Published: April 13, 2022, 9:15 p.m.
