EVERETT — Elliot Surrey was as shocked as he was flattered to learn he had been named the Northwest League Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday.
“I wasn’t expecting anything like that, especially coming out of the pen,” said Surrey, whose clear Oakley glasses might remind fans of Ryan Rowland-Smith, another former Everett AquaSox left-hander who also pitched for the Mariners. “You’d expect a starter to get that accolade. It’s a testament to the hard work that we put in and it’s just always nice to have that.”
Surrey had a 0.00 earned-run average while allowing one hit and recording six strikeouts in six innings for one save in three relief appearances last week.
“(I’m) just attacking guys, just going after guys and pretty much letting them get themselves out, and trying not to do too much,” Surrey said. “It’s the same game I’ve been playing my whole life. Nothing changes.”
Surrey has yet to allow a run in 10 1/3 innings this season. He’s surrendered only two hits and fanned 11 in six relief appearances.
His roughest appearance, if you can call it that, was in his debut when he allowed a hit and a walk in one inning at Tri-City. Surrey got out of the jam with a pair of strikeouts.
“My first outing I tried to be fancy and do too much with my pitches,” said Surrey, who is adjusting to coming out of the bullpen after starting for UC Irvine. “But since then I’ve learned a lot. Just attacking guys and going after them and forcing contact. Pitch to contact, because there are eight other guys back there to back me up so trusting them is another huge thing.”
Surrey is the second AquaSox pitcher to win the award this year. Ljay Newsome earned the nod after the season’s first week.
“Those guys are smart,” Frogs pitching coach Moises Hernandez said. “They know how to pitch and that’s why we draft those guys. Elliot, he has good control of all his pitches and he’s really smart too.”
Miller settling in after rough first outing
Brandon Miller, Everett’s starting pitcher on Monday, struggled in his professional debut at Tri-City on June 19 as he allowed five earned runs and six hits in just two innings to take the loss.
However, Miller has allowed just eight hits and three earned runs while fanning 10 in 11 2/3 innings since.
“(I’m) just learning how to pitch to these guys and being able to make pitches in the right counts,” Miller said. “The catchers have really helped with pitch calling. So yeah, definitely the pitch calling and pitch location.”
It’s certainly a step up in competition for Miller, who pitched at NCAA Division II Millersville (Pa.) University. But Miller seems to be adjusting as he turned in his best performance to date against Eugene on Monday as he struck out two and allowed three hits in four scoreless innings.
“The (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) was a very good conference, but these guys are very good and I have to definitely adjust,” said Miller, who is one of four Millersville players to sign a professional contract after the 2016 college season. “(I’m) just working on fine-tuning my mechanics better and helping me locate pitches and find what works best for me for me.”
Division II connection
Miller is one of five pitchers on this year’s AquaSox roster who pitched at the D-II level. The others are Paul Covelle (Franklin Pierce), Matt Festa (East Stroudsberg), Michael Korval (Cal Poly Pomona) and Tim Viehoff (Southern New Hampshire).
Why did Miller choose Millersville?
“I wanted to go for engineering and they have a great engineering school,” Miller said, acknowledging that his college choice had nothing to do with the name of the institution. “Also I wanted to stay close to home and they also had a great baseball program as well, which helped.”
For the latest AquaSox news follow Jesse Geleynse on Twitter @jessegeleynse.
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