By John Goralski Sports Writer Jim Koeller’s shadow seemed to strike fear in the hearts of batters when the hard-throwing big man took the mound in 1976. Just to foul off a fastball was reason to celebrate. Koeller was as good as anybody that’s ever set foot on a Southington mound, and every credible short list of Blue Knight pitchers has his name battling for the top spot. He struck out just under two batters (1.78) each inning as a senior and allowed just 10 earned runs over 88 innings. Few pitchers in state history have struck out more batters in the postseason (43), and if it wasn’t for a blister on his throwing hand in the ninth inning of the championship game, Southington might have won the title in 1976. There was no question about it. Koeller was one of the most dominant pitchers to take the mound for the Blue Knights. “He looked like he just stepped out of the Georgia Swamps,” said former Blue Knight coach John Fontana. “He was a big guy. He had big hands, big feet, and when he grabbed the ball, you couldn’t even see it. At that time, nobody had guns, but […]
By John Goralski Sports Writer Jim Koeller’s shadow seemed to strike fear in the hearts of batters when the hard-throwing big man took the mound in 1976. Just to foul off a fastball was reason to celebrate. Koeller was as good as anybody that’s ever set foot on a Southington mound, and every credible short list of Blue Knight pitchers has his name battling for the top spot. He struck out just under two batters (1.78) each inning as a senior and allowed just 10 earned runs over 88 innings. Few pitchers in state history have struck out more batters in the postseason (43), and if it wasn’t for a blister on his throwing hand in the ninth inning of the championship game, Southington might have won the title in 1976. There was no question about it. Koeller was one of the most dominant pitchers to take the mound for the Blue Knights. “He looked like he just stepped out of the Georgia Swamps,” said former Blue Knight coach John Fontana. “He was a big guy. He had big hands, big feet, and when he grabbed the ball, you couldn’t even see it. At that time, nobody had guns, but […]