Very Alike and Very different
Zack and Ben Bowen were sophomores on the Penn State Behrend baseball team in 2020. Going into March, everything seemed to be normal with baseball season starting up again. Later that month, the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference was forced to postpone their baseball season and other spring sports because of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
"It was something my brother and I went through that we will never forget," Zack said with a smirk. "It was a roller coaster of emotions those next few days not knowing what was going to happen. We kept seeing it in the news and once it got to the NBA, the NHL and March Madness, we knew it was just a matter of time before we got shut down. We finally got the call on our drive back to Erie at the end of that week that we were being sent home for the time being."
Over the next few months, both brothers were waiting to see what would happen with their college team and if they would play summer ball. The AMCC ended up cancelling the rest of the season because of Covid concerns. Over the next few months, they found opportunities to stay in shape in case of a summer league season.
"While stuck at home during quarantine, we had a lot of time to play catch." Ben said while reflecting. "Lots of lifting and throwing for me. As a pitcher I wanted to develop more control over my fastball and an increased feel for my changeup."
During the summer, they played for the Homestead Grays in the Daily News League. But as the year 2020 continued, Zack ended up testing positive for Covid-19 while playing for the Grays.
"Yeah it was some of the most difficult two weeks I have ever experienced." He said while shaking his head. "We had just two guys test positive the whole year and it was me and my buddy Andrew. At first I felt a little fatigued up in my head and sinuses and unfortunately had to wait 14 days to begin playing baseball again.
However, this is not the first time that Zack had a big transition in his baseball career. While playing at Serra Catholic High School, he was a pitcher and an infielder for all four years. When he went from high school to the collegiate level, he had to make a decision whether he would go from a starting pitcher to a reliever or to become a full-time 2nd baseman.
"It was a tough decision and transition to make," he said. "In high school I would be a second baseman on the days I was not pitching and I felt that I was better at it than pitching. My senior year of high school I batted .550 with 3 home runs. As a two way guy though I have seen how difficult it is to be 100% a pitcher and 100% a hitter, and it takes a lot of time to do both."
As a pitcher in his four years of high school, Zack accomplished a feat that has happened only a handful of times. In his sophomore year of high school, he tossed back-to-back no-hitters. Something that had been only accomplished once in Major League Baseball.
"To be honest I don’t think I was even a great pitcher before getting to college," he said. Being a two way guy for my whole life I had to pick one that I would do primarily on most teams, and most of the time I was a better hitter. During that stretch in high school I just had everything working and kept throwing strikes."
During this time, his name was mentioned multiple times on the morning announcements and got interviewed by CBS Pittsburgh and WTAE.
"Yeah it was definitely a time that I will never forget," he said with a laugh. "It just felt like I had media people interview me just like if I was a 10-year MLB veteran. Even before the second no-hitter, I remember one player joking around with me on the bus about throwing another, and a kid during the game joking about it, which looking back is kind of funny."
Ben has also gone through a tough transition throughout his baseball career. As a pitcher for four years in high school, he had to make a move to transition from being a starter into a reliever.
"Being a reliever is not easy by any means," he said while thinking. "I would say the toughest thing is coming into the game with a short leash. As a reliever, you have a shorter leash than starters do. Absolutely every pitch matters as a reliever, because you are normally put in the game when your team needs you. It’s a great position to be in, which is why being a pitcher is really fun and rewarding."
At the start of their junior baseball season, the Behrend Lions got off to a 6-0 start after finishing the shortened 2020 year 4-7. So far this season, Zack is 20-for-72 (.278) with a home run and 15 RBIs and Ben has averaged 6.75 K/9. With a 13-7 record through 20 games into the season, they are not satisfied.
"The goals and the expectation always is to win an AMCC Championship," Ben said with a serious look. "The goal for this year after a year of losing no seniors was to win the AMCC Championship and make some noise in the NCAA Tournament. We have a very balanced group that is always there for each other when one is in a slump and we pull for each other.
After their junior season is over, both brothers plan on playing more baseball this summer in the McKeesport Daily News League.
"Yeah, normally over the course from spring season into fall ball," Zack said. "I would do lots of lifting and keeping my body into good shape so that I come prepared for NCAA competition no matter if it's exhibition or a big conference game. I think the DNL will get me prepared even more because I'll keep on playing and I will not lose any of my hand-eye coordination.
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