Welch's move to bullpen making life easier for SNHU
May 17—IT'S NOT OFTEN you see a starting pitcher with a 5-0 record move to the bullpen, but that's what happened to Southern New Hampshire University's George Welch last month.
Welch, a Derry resident, was 5-0 in late April when he offered to become a reliever. It wasn't a new role for Welch, who was a closer for the Futures Collegiate Baseball League's Nashua Silver Knights last summer, when he also pitched in relief for the Brewster Whitecaps in the Cape Cod League.
"George kind of volunteered to move back into the bullpen because all of our starters were doing really well — still are doing really well — and we were struggling a little bit out of the 'pen," SNHU pitching coach Casey Aubin explained. "He made a really selfless move doing so.
"When George said he was willing to go into that role, it made it easy for us because he's a really good matchup for us out of the 'pen, as well as he's our only lefty. That's something else that factored into the decision."
Welch, who played at Pinkerton Academy, said he likes being called upon in a game's late innings.
"I enjoyed coming out of the (bullpen) during the summer, and with playoffs rolling around, if all goes well in the regional, all you need is three, max four starters, and our team had five starters (including Welch)," he said. "I'm the only lefty on the team. I felt like it would just add to our bullpen, especially early in the year (when) our bullpen had a lot of ups and downs."
Southern New Hampshire (37-11) earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Division II tournament and is the No. 1 seed in the East Region. The Penmen are playing host to East Region I will face the loser of Thursday's game between fourth-seeded Franklin Pierce (34-17) and fifth-seeded Pace University (33-19) at 3 p.m. Franklin Pierce and Pace will meet at 11 a.m.
The winner of East Regional I will move on to the May 26-27 East Super Regional, where it will battle the winner of East Regional II. The Super Regional winner will advance to the Division II World Series at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina.
"Because he has been a starter and can still be a starter moving forward, he's stretched out," Aubin said. "He can give us several innings out of the bullpen if we need them, or he can come into a spot, get three or four outs and be ready a day or two down the road. He's very versatile in what he can do.
"His best pitch by far is his fastball. It's got a lot of carry to it. He misses a lot of barrels because it's got ride. He gets a lot of weak fly balls and a ton of strikeouts. You hear people say, 'That fastball has lift and movement to it.' That's what his has, so it plays above how hard he throws (high 80s)."
Welch began his collegiate career at St. Joseph's College, a Division III program in Standish, Maine. He made seven appearances as a freshman at St. Joe's and had a 3.00 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 12 innings (no decisions).
The summer following his freshman season, he developed arm trouble while pitching for the Silver Knights. He had Tommy John surgery and the recovery prevented him from pitching for St. Joe's during the 2020 season.
"We were in Brockton and the first pitch I threw I felt something pop in my elbow," Welch said. "It was the worst pain I've ever experienced, for sure. (The recovery) had a lot of ups and downs, but now that I look back at it, it was all worth it."
He was ready to pitch for St. Joe's in 2021, but the season was canceled by COVID. After that, he decided wanted to play college baseball at a higher level, and ended up transferring to SNHU.
Welch, who has one season of college eligibility remaining, made 13 appearances (three starts) for the Penmen last season, and went 3-1 with a 3.49 ERA. He struck out 44 and walked 15 in 28 1/3 innings.
He'll enter the NCAA tournament with a 5-0 record and a 3.21 ERA in 11 appearances this season. Welch has made eight starts and pitched one complete game. He has 59 strikeouts and 19 walks in 42 innings.
"When I'm on, I'm usually able to locate my changeup, slider, heater (fastball), but I always live and die by my heater," he said. "It has a lot of run, so I can use it in and out on the batters."
Welch will return to the Silver Knights for a fourth season this summer. He recorded 34 strikeouts in 16 innings without allowing an earned run for Nashua during the 2022 regular season. Welch said he's hoping another opportunity to join a team in the Cape Cod League presents itself as well.
"He's come a long way and had to work really hard to get to the point he is now," Aubin said. "He's just a great kid you root for."
It should be a hungry SNHU team that takes the field Thursday, since the Penmen were upset by Bentley in the first round of the Northeast-10 tournament.
"It hurt, but we learned from it," Welch said. "Hopefully now it's time for us to start ending other people's seasons."