Park Vista ace Ethan Mattison was scaring his catcher, Josh Hungler.
Mattison was getting ready to face Stoneman Douglas, the eventual state-title winner and perennial powerhouse, but the Cobras senior was stone-faced.
“He was like ‘You’ve been relatively calm all day. I’m not concerned for you. I’m just more concerned why you’re being so calm about this,’” Mattison said. “He was like ‘It’s honestly kind of terrifying how calm and relaxed you’ve been,’ because I pitch with energy and I have all year.”
Mattison had all the energy he needed against Stoneman Douglas, pitching six innings with one earned run allowed and punching out 13 Eagles in a Park Vista win.
The stellar performance against the eventual state champions was one of seven double-digit-strikeout games for the Cobras’ ace during his outstanding senior campaign. He led Palm Beach County in strikeouts, earning Sun Sentinel Palm Beach County Class 7A-6A player of the year honors for the second year in a row.
Mattison, a left-handed starter, grew into a top pitcher a junior. He was 9-2 with a 1.39 ERA, striking out 71 batters in 65 1/3 innings last year. But the southpaw became even more dominant this year.
Mattison increased the velocity on his fastball by a couple miles per hour, hitting 94 mph. He also focused on filling up the strike zone, effectively daring opposing hitters to make contact.
“From last year to this year, it was, ‘OK, how fast can I strike this guy out and then move on to then next guy?’” Mattison said. “From last year, I stopped throwing as many offspeeds as I did and just said, ‘Here’s a fastball. Go ahead and try to hit it.’”
The improved stuff and aggression worked. Mattison went 7-1 with a minuscule 0.44 ERA. He struck out 121 batters in just 63 innings.
His most dominant effort came against Wellington on April 23. He struck out 15 batters in seven innings. But what Mattison did not realize till the end of the game was that he also held the Wolverines hitless — his first career no-hitter.
“After the game was over, my bullpen started running down towards the mound,” Mattison said. “I’m like, ‘What are they running for?’ I’m looking at them like you guys are nuts. It’s just a regular-season game.”
Mattison is keeping his talents in Florida, heading to Florida Gulf Coast for college where he will play and study exercise science.
“It felt like home to begin with just because they cared so much about me right away,” Mattison said. ”They were very accepting, very welcoming.”
