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HomeSportsAPSU Baseball pitcher Lee Ridenhour's road to Clarksville

APSU Baseball pitcher Lee Ridenhour’s road to Clarksville

Written by Colby Wilson

APSU Sports Information

Austin Peay State University Governors SportsClarksville, TN – Lee Ridenhour took a different road to Austin Peay than many that have donned the red-and-white.

The fireballing right-hander stormed out of Shawnee Mission West (Kansas) High School and into a No. 3 starter role for Kansas as a freshman in 2009. He beat then-No. 21 Arkansas in his collegiate debut, dueled No. 1 Texas to a stand-still (six and two-thirds, two runs allowed in a no-decision) and defeated No. 9 Kansas State for his sixth win, the most for a Jayhawk frosh in 15 seasons.

APSU's Lee Ridenhour. Austin Peay Baseball. (Courtesy: Lisa Kemmer)
APSU’s Lee Ridenhour. Austin Peay Baseball. (Courtesy: Lisa Kemmer)

Then things started to go wrong. Lower-body injuries in back-to-back years knocked him off his big-league pace, and Lee found himself at Johnson County (Kansas) Community College.

“It was a long road,” the soft-spoken Ridenhour said. “It was tough; I worked my way into the rotation and was pitching at a very high level. So to get hurt was a big setback.

“I had to start thinking about how I was going to throw a pitch instead of just throwing it. I lost velocity, lost a lot of drive in my legs and my arm was getting sore. So I decided to move to a junior college closer to home to try and get everything going again.”

The move home worked. Under the tutelage of Eric Horner, Ridenhour went 7-5 with a 2.31 ERA for the Cavaliers in 2012, earning second-team all-conference honors from the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference and an East Jayhawk Conference championship. When he wasn’t on the mound, he hit .352 with eight doubles and 25 RBI as a designated hitter.

Lee RidenhourAustin Peay pitching coach Joel Mangrum was alerted to Ridenhour by longtime friend David Canary, another coach at Johnson County. Mangrum was impressed by the poise and presence the young righty exhibited on the mound.

“You can take one look at him and tell how good he can be,” Mangrum said. “He looks like a big-leaguer. He has big-time stuff, he knows how to pitch and what he wants to do every time he takes the ball. He knows what he wants to do with each hitter. He’s the kind of guy you get into this business to coach.”

For Ridenhour, the choice of where to continue his career loomed large. A 31st-round pick by the Minnesota Twins out of high school, he’d put his big-league dreams on hold in favor of more seasoning at the college level. As a rising junior over the age of 21, Ridenhour would have two more draft classes to try to attract the eye of a big-league scout.

“I originally thought I wanted to be closer to home,” Ridenhour said. “I wanted to be comfortable and I thought I might like Division II better. However, one of our junior college coaches knew Coach Mangrum and Coach (Derrick) Dunbar and everything fell into place. Clarksville’s been great for me; it’s been an easy transition.

“The goal is pro ball. I wanted to come in, refine my tools and give myself a chance to get drafted. This has been a perfect fit for me as far as getting better, learning pitches and getting back into the game at a high level.”

Mangrum thinks going to a different region and getting a new set of scouts to look at Ridenhour will enhance his big-league prospects.

“He’s got a chance to be a big-leaguer and he takes that approach to anything dealing with baseball,” Mangrum said. “He’s a tremendous person, a great teammate and a great team guy. You’ll never have to worry about him embarrassing the club or himself off the field; he does the right thing 100 percent of the time.”

A low-90s fastball is beset by a calm demeanor on the mound. Ridenhour’s stoic disposition masks a fierce competitive nature.

“I’m laid-back but aggressive on the field,” Ridenhour said. “I try not to show too much emotion, just attack the zone, pitch by pitch, and show the hitter my best stuff.”

The big Kansan has the frame (6-5, 226 pounds) to be a dominant starter. Since joining the Govs rotation, he’s 4-0 with a 2.72 ERA and 40 strikeouts in six starts. He kicked off his Austin Peay career with a sterling performance in the season-opener against Iowa, tossing seven innings of one-hit ball and striking out seven for the win.

Mangrum believes the match between Ridenhour and Austin Peay will be beneficial to both parties.

“He was thrilled to have the opportunity to come here and play,” Mangrum said. “He’s struggled with injury, but he’s got a lot of great innings ahead of him.”

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