Ian Herrington (28) throws a pitch late in West Lauderdale’s game against Wayne Academy at Enterprise on March 16.

Pitching in high school baseball games is a tough task. Only the best arms on the team get time on the mound, and even the best pitchers have limited opportunities to show what they can do because they usually have to rest between starts.

That makes those games where they give up multiple runs or are pulled early in the game hurt even worse, because they have to wait until it is their turn through the rotation to bounce back from a bad start. The pitcher position is mentally difficult, but it is also physically difficult, so much so that pitchers can suffer damage to their pitching arms simply by throwing a baseball.

Ian Herrington, a rising senior at West Lauderdale currently committed to play baseball at the College of Charleston, has been pitching since he was about five years old. As a high school pitcher who crafted himself into a sought-after prospect, Herrington knows what it takes to find battle adversity and find success on the mound at the high school level.

“I think it comes down to what you do in the off-season, and working to get stronger and (more) able to control your pitches,” Herrington said. “Developing your pitches as you get older is important because you can’t just go up there with a fastball.”

West Lauderdale coach Jason Smith, who develops the school’s pitchers with the help of pitching coach Jamie Brown, said high school pitching talent comes down to the ability to throw strikes, the ability to move a fastball around the strike zone, and the ability to throw off-speed pitches.

“When we get kids in the seventh grade, we mostly try them all as pitchers to see what they have talent-wise and what they can offer,” Smith said. “It is by far the most important position on the baseball field, and so that is our top priority in practice, above fielding and above hitting, is pitching and catching.”

The West Lauderdale staff’s focus on pitching has paid off for Herrington, who was able to put up a 12-2 record as a starter last season to go along with a 1.08 ERA and 135 strikeouts. He gave up just 15 earned runs and 15 walks all season while pitching 97 innings, which helped his team reach the state championship series against Purvis.

College scouts liked Herrington because he could throw strikes consistently, and he said the coaches at the College of Charleston did not mind that his fastball velocity is one of the weaker parts of his skill set on the mound.

Still, he can throw it up to 90 mph, and he said he averages around 88 mph. With his 6-foot-5, 195-pound frame, he could certainly get his fastball velocity higher as he continues to develop his pitching motion and becomes stronger.

“It seems that whenever I put on weight, my fastball increases in velocity,” Herrington said, adding that his length also allows him to travel further down the mound to get closer to the plate. The closer a pitcher’s release point is to the plate, the less time batters have to adjust to each pitch.

“We’re fortunate to have really good players, and to improve their velocity we throw long every single day,” Smith said. “It’s a hard task to get players to buy into that, especially at other schools, but our players have seen the players above them, the graduates, do it, and they know how important it is to develop arm strength.”

Command is every bit as important as arm strength, because batters will not swing at fastballs if they consistently land outside of the strike zone. Herrington does workouts and a Plyo Ball routine to increase his velocity in the offseason, but he said his ability to control the ball comes more naturally to him, though it doesn’t hurt that he pitches all year.

Smith said the West Lauderdale pitchers do target practice to develop their placement of the ball, and he said Brown does an excellent job teaching the pitchers proper mechanics and delivery.

Herrington throws a two-seam fastball, which he still considers to be his best pitch, and he began developing an off-speed curveball in the seventh grade. Brown helps the West Lauderdale pitchers figure out which pitches are best for them, and he taught Herrington how to throw a slider and a changeup.

“At the high school level, I think a lot of (adding new pitches) is experimenting with grips, different arm slots, different pressure points on the ball,” Smith said. “It’s just a continual practice.”

Pitching is also mentally challenging because pitchers have to face off against nine batters who were good enough to make the lineup, and high school umpires can be prone to bad calls on good pitches. Smith said Brown also works with the West Lauderdale pitchers on the mental side of pitching because they may need to be able to overcome adversity at any time on the mound.

“We want our pitchers to go out there and to be a bulldog, to attack the strike zone, and a lot of that is just a mental edge and being mentally tough,” Smith said.

Herrington is clearly smart, as he has a 4.13 GPA and a 31 ACT score, but he was also mentally tough enough to strand baserunners while giving up just two earned runs in seven innings against a tough Purvis team in the state championship game. Herrington was also trusted to work with his catchers during the season to call their own pitches.

“Besides some of the physical talent that Ian has, he throws multiple pitches, he understands hitters,” Smith said. “For Ian to finish with 135 strikeouts and to have the record that he did while calling his own pitches, and I want him to throw what he has confidence in throwing, which is sometimes four to five different pitches in a game, just speaks to his intelligence and how he goes about the game and his approach.”

Herrington has come a long way since he joined the West Lauderdale team, and Smith said he has increased his velocity, improved his understanding of how to strike pitchers out, and had become better at calling his own pitches.

Herrington limits walks, he gives up few runs, he works to develop his four-pitch arsenal, he can pound the strike zone with velocity, he can fool batters with off-speed pitches, and he analyzes his opponent before deciding on his next pitch. To put it simply, he does what it takes to be a successful high school pitcher.