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Inside the Recruitment: '15 LHP Chris Lazar discusses commitment to Sioux Falls

October 24, 2014



By Chris Kemlo
PBR Ontario Director of Scouting

Chris LazarChris Lazar, LHP, 2015

PBR: Why did you choose Sioux Falls?

Chris: There were a lot of factors that went into me choosing Sioux Falls. Academically and socially it was a great fit. It’s a small campus which is what I was looking for. On the baseball side of things, I believe the team is on the rise. They have struggled in the last couple of years transitioning to D2 from NAIA while playing in a very competitive conference, but I believe that this team will be very good in a couple of years. The coaches are young and hungry, and I believe this team will be able to compete at a very high level in the coming years.

PBR: Where did Sioux Falls first see you compete?

Chris: Actually they heard about me from Rick Johnston, my coach this past summer. He knows the pitching coach Andrew Kachel, and so Andrew and I had exchanged emails culminating with me visiting Sioux Falls and throwing for him, and he liked what he saw. So that was the first time he watched me throw.

PBR: What role do the coaches expect you to play during your first year on campus?

Chris: They believe I can compete for a starting role right off the bat. They have a few seniors in the rotation this year, so they believe that I can fill one of those spots and play a key part in the success of the team.

PBR: What is your biggest strength as a player and how do you feel that will help Sioux Falls?

Chris: Throwing strikes. This is huge for me because I don’t have plus velo, so I need to be able to pound the strike zone and get deep into games. This is huge because it will be able to save the bullpen and keep them rested for when they are more needed, and the chances are that if I go six, seven, eight innings deep into a game, good chances we’re winning that game.

PBR:  What advice would you give about the recruiting process?

Chris: Trust the process. Don’t get frustrated if you aren’t getting any calls or offers, because if you are doing the right things and you are good, those calls will come. I am a big believer in the saying “if you are good, baseball will find you”, so just be patient because it is a process, and trust yourself and your coaches to put you in the best position to succeed.

PBR:  What is your most memorable baseball moment to date?

Chris: I had a one week stretch this past June where in consecutive appearances I threw a perfect game and a complete game one-hitter, so that was pretty cool. It’s not often that you give up a total of one base runner in back to back complete games.

PBR: Who has had the biggest impact on you as a baseball player?

Chris: Two people come to mind. On the pitching side it has to be Ryan Armstrong. He’s been helping me with the pitching side of the game since I was 11 years old, through various clinics and things like that. No one has had as big an impact on me as a pitcher as he has. On the baseball side it’s Rick Johnston. He’s been there with me every step of the way since I joined the Ontario Terriers and even before that. His baseball IQ is off the charts, and just having him as my head coach last year was incredible, he’s taught me more about the game then I ever thought I would learn, so definitely these two had an incredible impact on who I am as a ballplayer.

PBR: Who do you play for in the summer and what was your most exciting experience?

Chris: My summer team is the Ontario Terriers as I said in the previous answer. I have to say that playing Archbishop McCarthy while in Florida was an incredible experience. Those who don’t know, Archbishop was the #2 ranked high school team in America at the time, and won the state title the past 4 years. We got our butts handed to us but just being on the same field as them was great. Those guys have some ridiculous talent, and it really put in perspective the kind of talent that we are competing against as Canadians.

PBR: Who is the toughest hitter you have faced in Ontario?

Chris: Josh Naylor. I have faced him countless times and I just could never get him out. I would throw him curveballs a foot outside and at the shoe-tops and he would hit it into right field for a base hit. I’ll never forget in peewee when I threw him a change-up that bounced in front of the plate and he hit it opposite field for a homerun, that’s just how tough he is to pitch to. Thankfully I’ll probably never have to face him again.

PBR: What are your goals both individually and for the team going into your final season?

Chris: Individually I haven’t put too much thought into it seeing as how my season just ended a couple of days ago, but as a team our goal is to be playing on Championship Sunday every tournament we compete in. We realize that we can’t win every single game, but we believe in ourselves and in each other. The talent on our team is incredible, and we believe there is no reason that we can’t play on Championship Sunday every tournament.

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