Tornadoes Re-Sign Zach Zuercher
March 5, 2012 - Canadian American League (Can-Am)
Worcester Tornadoes News Release
WORCESTER, Mass-- The Worcester Tornadoes re-signed left handed pitcher Zach Zuercher for the 2012 season. The southpaw ace returns for his fourth year in a Tornadoes uniform.
Zuercher had a CanAm League-high 14 wins in 2011, notching 110 strikeouts to go with a 3.70 ERA. He made 20 appearances for the Worcester club (19 starts and one appearance in a game resumption the next day).
Zach has 28 victories with the Tornadoes in 52 appearances, including a career-high 4 complete games and two shutouts last season alone. He beat his previous strikeout career-high by 41. He also had a WHIP of 1.16, the best rate since his rookie year in the New York-Penn League. Zuercher topped his previous high in strikeouts per nine innings with a 7.8 mark, while bottoming out in the walks per nine category at 2.1.
Zach's best stretch in 2011 came in late July, as he pitched back to back complete game shutouts on July 30 and August 4. He garnered CanAm Pitcher of the Week for his efforts, as he and Ryan Bicondoa combined for one the most dominant starting pitcher runs in Tornadoes history.
During the season, Zach had eights starts of seven-plus innings and nine appearances with as many or more strikeouts as innings pitched. In true ace form, Zuerch went 6-1 with one no decision when starting after a Tornadoes loss.
The Warwick, Rhode Island native was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the ninth round of the 2005 MLB Draft, spending four years in the Redbirds' organization. He made it as high as AA Springfield in the Texas League, having his lowest ERA out of the bullpen in 2007 (2.68) after a call-up from Advanced-A Palm Beach.
The 2012 season starts in Newark, NJ on Thursday May 17. The first Tornadoes home game is Monday May 21 at 7:05pm against the Quebec Capitales. Season and Group Tickets are available now in our offices at 303 Main St. and via phone: (508) 792-2288. Individual Game Tickets will go on sale at a later date.
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Canadian American League Stories from March 5, 2012
- Tornadoes Re-Sign Zach Zuercher - Worcester Tornadoes
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