Janco wins Gibson Award

Like many young baseball players, Remy Janco had aspirations of playing in college. After his freshman season at Half Hollow Hills West, though, those hopes were dampened.

The lefthander couldn't throw strikes. He had command issues.

That might come as a surprise to those who saw him for the first time during his senior season. After improving each year, Janco dominated in 2011. He was so good that he received the Paul Gibson Award, presented to the most outstanding pitcher in Suffolk County, Saturday at Villa Lombardi's in Holbrook.

"I never thought all this would happen,'' said Janco, who will play for Duke. "I never thought I would end up at Duke. The Gibson Award is icing on the cake. It's an end to a great year.''

Janco went 8-0 with an 0.82 ERA. He pitched 51 innings and allowed six earned runs, walking 11 and striking out 87. He also played first base and centerfield and batted .360.

Janco didn't throw his changeup as a junior, but it was a big part of his repertoire this season. He also threw his curveball consistently for strikes.

"I attacked the hitters,'' Janco said. "I worked off my fastball. I threw a lot of strikes and got ahead in the count. Cutting my walks was one of my main goals. I knew I would get strikeouts.''

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Janco threw a five-hit shutout with seven strikeouts to open the playoffs against Commack, which reached the Suffolk Class AA final. He also was the MVP for Suffolk in the Grand Slam Challenge and tied a career high with 16 strikeouts against Copiague.

"He had command of three pitches,'' Hills West coach Tom Migliozzi said. "He had a Division I changeup. It was an amazing season for him.''