'It's always just worked for me': Strong slurve helps Landon Homan, Field to hot start

STREETSBORO — Is it a slider or a curve?

Maybe it's a slurve.

Either way, Field junior Landon Homan's signature pitch is a beauty and one that has baffled opposing hitters all season. That included Streetsboro, one of the top teams in the Metro Athletic Conference, as Homan held the Rockets to two runs in six innings Tuesday at American Legion Field.

While the Falcons right-hander had just four strikeouts, he controlled the game with that breaking ball, leaving Rockets hitters ducking at what appeared to be an inside pitch before it swept across the plate.

And Homan coerced plenty of weak contact with that breaking pitch.

"I've never worked anything special with it," Homan said. "When I was young, like 10U, me and my dad, [he] just was like, 'Hey, I got a pitch for you to throw.' I tried it, and it's always just worked for me."

That pitch, combined with some good zip on his fastball, has Homan working wonders for the Falcons, who moved to 12-0 (10-0 Metro Athletic Conference) with a 15-6 victory over the host Rockets.

"He's a special one," Field coach Joe Peterson said. "He had a good year for us last year. He's pitched really well for us so far."

Homan is one of a number of players who have stepped up big for the Falcons and allowed them to overcome the graduation of six players from last year's district championship team. Field's Class of 2023 included its two leading starters from a year ago, magnifying Homan's importance.

Homan, who pitched just 13⅓ innings a year ago, has ably stepped up to fill the void, alongside fellow pitchers Kayden Smith and Deegan Yutzy, who combined to hold Streetsboro to three runs over seven innings in Monday's victory.

Homan picked up his first win of the year when he held Ravenna to one hit over four scoreless innings, then found similar success against Norton, Streetsboro and Woodridge to accumulate a perfect 4-0 record on the mound.

"It was a big step up, obviously," Homan said. "I worked really hard in the offseason, a lot of lifting and pitching, obviously, and I'm pretty sure I gained a little bit of speed over the offseason, so that's helped as well, but you also got to trust your defense. Obviously, you're not going to strike every kid out, so a big shoutout to them."

As Homan noted, it's been a team effort in all phases.

That includes offensively, with Field wielding a number of potent bats. Indeed, on Tuesday, seven of the team's nine starters recorded hits and the bottom four players in the order all drove in runs.

"So far we've been really, really fortunate and really blessed that one through nine we've been swinging it pretty well," Peterson said. "We've got guys that can bunt, one through nine, and we got guys that can move runners and we got guys that can cut a ball in half, too, so we've been really fortunate there."

Field's road ahead includes four conference games, the last two against Cloverleaf, which swept Woodridge this week to remain one game behind Field in the MAC standings. A year ago, the Colts edged the Falcons by a game for the league title with Field rallying to capture its first district championship.

How are the Falcons, having lost the bulk of last year's starting pitching and outfield, back in title contention yet again?

Hard work, said senior Carter Little.

"Going into the season, we knew obviously we lost a lot of guys, but we also knew that we were bringing back a lot of guys that are really good," Little said. "And we brought guys that work hard in the offseason and got better, and I think all of us came into the season with the expectation of where we are right now."

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Landon Homan, Field High School baseball off to perfect start