Central Florida’s Kozera Hurls Best Outing For Anglers

CHATHAM – It’s hard enough to navigate through a Cape Cod Baseball League lineup when you are a seasoned veteran pitcher coming off a strong college season. Toeing the rubber in the nation’s premier collegiate summer league is even more difficult after throwing limited innings during the spring.

After making just one start and pitching 12 innings as a freshman at the University of Central Florida, Tyler Kozera arrived on the Cape focused on developing as a starting pitcher.

The 6-foot-3 righty from Pittsburgh took a major step in his growth on July 11, when he earned his first victory of the summer after pitching six and two-thirds innings and allowing four runs (all earned) during Chatham’s 7-6 victory over Harwich at Veterans Field.

“He did a great job,” Chatham’s first-year manager Jeremy Sheetinger said. “That’s a young kid who came up here to find his way as a starter. That’s his second start and we’re trying to get him acclimated to that. That was, far and away, his best performance.”

Despite allowing a solo home run to Macon Winslow in the first inning, Kozera settled in to throw five scoreless frames before taking a 7-1 lead into the seventh.

Although the Mariners ran the UCF righty from the game with two outs in the seventh after they cut their deficit to 7-4 following a solo home run by Jake Ogden and a two-run blast by Luke Heyman, both Sheetinger and Kozera were pleased with the way the 19-year-old battled throughout the night.

“Did we go a couple pitches too long? Maybe, but I think he earned that right,” Sheetinger said. “That’s one thing we talk about in my program back home — if you pitch your tail off and get into the sixth or seventh, you earn the right to finish on your terms. After he gave up the solo shot, he gave us a thumbs up that he was good.”

“It’s a little bit frustrating,” Kozera said of the home runs, “but that was my third-ever collegiate start. So to do what I did in those six innings, I’m stoked. It’s only going to be good for the future.”

Kozera only allowed two runs during his seven appearances for UCF, which competes in the Big 12 Conference. Making the transition to the Cape League was a new challenge for the righty, but he felt confident that he had what it takes to compete against the best.

“It’s definitely a learning curve because it’s Cape Cod,” Kozera said. “It’s the best league you could be in and every lineup is stacked one through nine. So, you just have to go out there with your stuff and beat them the way you can. I just came in here saying if my stuff is good enough, I deserve to be here and will keep competing.”

So far, Kozera holds a 3.18 ERA in five appearances for the Anglers. He’s allowed seven runs (all earned), struck out 14 and walked three in 16 and two-thirds innings.

Allowing three home runs in his last start wasn’t a part of Kozera’s game plan, but he views the adversity he faced as a learning tool that will help him during his remaining time in Chatham.

“In future outings I definitely don’t want to give up three bombs — I don’t think anyone wants to do that,” he said. “The one in the first, that stuff happens. It was a good swing on a good ball. But towards the end, I’m going to work on attacking the strike zone with good pitches and keep getting better and better stamina.”

As much as he’s enjoying his time with the Anglers, having the opportunity to experience Chatham away from the ballpark has also been a thrill for Kozera.

The Pittsburgh native has enjoyed exploring Main Street and the local beaches, and he lights up when he talks about one of his favorite eateries, Pizza Shark at The Chatham Orpheum Theater.

“That’s the spot,” Kozera said.

While the righthander continues to develop into the starting pitcher he aspires to be, he can’t help but feel like he landed in the right situation pitching for the Anglers.

“It’s Chatham,” he said. “It’s magical.”