Keystone pitcher Blake Moore commits to Akron

Keystone will have a pair of Mid-American Conference commits in its starting rotation next season. Earlier this week senior Blake Moore took to social media to announce he had orally committed to continue his baseball career at the University of Akron. Moore has pitched and played outfield for the Wildcats, but he plans to focus exclusively on pitching at Akron. "I've always liked pitching more than hitting or fielding, especially in recent years," Moore said. "I made up my mind when I went to college I didn't want to hit at all, even if I was given the opportunity."One of the factors that attracted Moore to Akron was the fact that Zips coach Bryan Faulds was a longtime pitching coach before getting his first head coaching job in 2022. "Having a head coach who was a pitching coach shows that pitching is a priority there," Moore said. "As a pitcher you can't ask for much better than that. That helped me decide that was the place I wanted to be."Moore dominated opposing batters this spring, recording 69 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings on the mound. He has 142 strikeouts over the last two seasons. "His talent is the first thing that people see. His velocity is among the best in Northeast Ohio, for sure," Keystone coach Bert Fitzgerald said. "Blake's strikeouts are kinda off the chart. Nobody can hit him."Although Moore wants to focus on pitching, he's also been one of Keystone's top hitters, batting for a .359 average last spring with four home runs and 23 RBIs. Moore had an offer from Akron on the table for a while before deciding the time was right to pull the trigger. "I had the offer for a while, going back to winter, but obviously I let the high school season play out and a little bit of the summer season," Moore said. "I decided Akron was where I wanted to be because I enjoyed the environment they had and everything they've provided."Moore is the second Keystone pitcher from the Class of 2027 to become a Division I commit, joining Ryan Younglas, who is headed to the University of Toledo."I love being able to surround myself with people who have the same goals," Moore said. "Growing up with guys who also wanted to play baseball at the same level really helped. Being able to compete with each other and try to one up each other has been a good thing."Fitzgerald said one of things that has helped Moore the most during his career is that he pushes himself to the max every day."Nobody expects more out of Blake than Blake. He's always striving to do better that way," Fitzgerald said. "That's not just on the mound, but that's overall in life. The kid expects a lot out of himself."With his future settled, Moore is ready to try to end his high school career by helping Keystone win a district title for the first time in over a decade. "I want to finish my high school baseball career by hopefully making it further in the playoffs then we have and having fun with my friends for one last time," Moore said. Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.