DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Williamsport Crosscutters pitcher Ben Terwilliger looks on during practice Tuesday at Bowman Field prior to the Cutters’ game against the State College Spikes.

In his first collegiate series, Ben Terwilliger took the mound at Texas Tech. A freshman at the University of Maine, Terwilliger began to hear some heckling from the Aggies’ dugout.

They had found his bio which mentioned he was a two-time sectional champion in New York in badminton, and used the information to try and get into this head.

“I thought it was pretty funny,” Terwilliger said.

Fortunately enough for Terwilliger, his pitching has been good enough that nobody really brings up his badminton prowess anymore. The right-handed pitcher is coming off a spring at Barry University in Florida where he posted a 0.69 ERA in 10 appearances out of the Buccaneers’ bullpen.

Terwilliger finds himself in the MLB Draft League with the Williamsport Crosscutters to gain some exposure after pitching his first season with the Division 2 program. After transferring from Maine to Barry, Terwilliger wants to use the opportunity this summer to showcase he can get outs in high level baseball.

“Since I am from a Division 2 conference, and even though there is a Division 2 in front of my school, I want to show that I can do it against any competition,” Terwilliger said prior to Tuesday’s home opener at Bowman Field. “It doesn’t matter if it’s Division 1, here in the draft league or pro ball, I am able to be confident that I can have that bulldog mentality and get the job done.”

Getting the job done is something Terwilliger proved he can do this year at Barry, which has produced 25 Major League Baseball draft picks. Beyond just a sterling ERA from giving up one run in 13 innings, Terwilliger also struck out 20 batters and walked just four.

It was a vast improvement from his first two years at Maine where he struggled with his control, walking 14 batters in 10 1/3 innings in 2019, and 10 more in 9 1/3 innings in 2018. Terwilliger continued his college success in Monday night’s season opener at State College when he struck out three of the four batters he faced in a one-run game in the ninth inning to nail down the save.

“It was definitely a feather in the cap to have a nice first outing like that. But I wasn’t satisfied with the outing,” Terwilliger said. “We’re trying to eliminate the leadoff walk and my goal for my next outing is to not have any walks and finish it off in less pitches.”

But Terwilliger turned his leadoff walk in the ninth inning into a positive by stranding that runner on base and closing out the Cutters’ first win in the MLB Draft League. The reason he enjoyed playing badminton in high school was because it was a one-on-one competition in which he had most of the control. It isn’t unlike his role as a closer in which he has the pressure of the world on his shoulders and has to find a way to get the job done.

So even while facing some adversity, Terwilliger was able to shake off the first batter jitters and get the job done. He painted a fastball on the outside corner to strikeout out State College’s Jack Anderson for the first out of the ninth inning. He came back with a beauty of a front-door breaking ball to freeze Jack Surin for out No. 2. And he climbed the ladder with a low-90s fastball to strike out Marques Paige on a 1-2 pitch for the final out of the ballgame.

“The first-game jitters is always a thing,” Terwilliger said. “But it was nice to get it out of the way and I’m looking forward to the next close.”

When Terwilliger heard about the MLB Draft League, it made so much sense for him to try to join the league. The Elmira, New York, native went to Corning-Painted Post High School, which is only about an hour north up Route 15 from Williamsport.

Terwilliger, who used to come to Crosscutters games as a kid, wanted to play in Williamsport when he came to the draft league because he knows what it’s like at Bowman Field when the fans get behind the team. It also provides his family the opportunity to come watch him play after not being able to come to Florida to watch his college games.

“It was definitely my first choice because the area is a baseball town with the Little League World Series here and everything,” Terwilliger said. “I remember going to Crosscutters games and it was always a really happy and loud environment and it was something I wanted to be part of.”

Now that he’s here, Terwilliger is hoping his exposure to MLB scouts will help him to get a job in professional baseball. A 6-foot-4, 230-pound right-hander, Terwilliger features a fastball which will sit in the 90-92 range and has topped out so far at 94. He pairs it with a slider with swing-and-miss potential.

He knows velocity is one of the main things scouts are going to be looking at during his outings, but he wants to make sure he showcases he still knows how to pitch. His goal is to be around the zone, keep his defense involved in the game, and get outs.

“Especially in my role as a closer, I know velocity is important,” Terwilliger said. “But more importantly, I think in front of velocity, is being around the zone and throwing strikes. The velocity is going to be what the velocity is. You just want to be able to dot the zone and hitters are going to have a tough time barreling balls.”