ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Former Haverford College pitcher Tommy Bergjans '15 made his AAA debut last night for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the AAA affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, tossing five innings and surrendering just three hits while striking out three at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown. Bergjans faced three batters in the sixth inning before giving way to the IronPigs bullpen.
In the top of the first, Bergjans was immediately was faced with a daunting task: retiring major league stars Trea Turner and Jayson Werth of the Washington Nationals. The pair were on rehab assignments with the Syracuse Chiefs, the Nationals AAA squad. Bergjans got both to strike out swinging, setting the tone for a solid outing and giving the Manhattan Beach, Calif. product an unforgettable moment to start his International League tenure. At one point, Bergjans retired seven straight Syracuse batters.
Bergjans returned to Allentown for the next step of his professional baseball journey, pitching again in a city in which he threw a five-hit shutout with 15 strikeouts on April 5, 2012, blanking Muhlenberg College in a Centennial Conference matchup. The Centennial Conference was well represented on Wednesday night, as the home plate umpire and crew chief was Dan Merzel, a former Johns Hopkins baseball player and 2009 graduate.
Bergjans was making his first appearance since August 7 with the Reading Fightin Phils, the Phillies AA affiliate. He was 1-6 with a 6.85 ERA in Reading, firing 31 strikeouts and walking just 13. Bergjans, an eighth round selection of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015, joined the Phillies organization in August of 2016 after a trade that also sent Carlos Ruiz to Los Angeles.
Bergjans joins Stephen Ridings, an eighth round selection by the Chicago Cubs in 2016, as former Haverford players currently pitching in affiliated baseball. Ridings is pitching for the Cubs Arizona Rookie League squad in Mesa, Ariz. where has has compiled a 4.42 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 20 innings pitched. Chaon Garland '91 was a third round draft pick of the Oakland Athletics in the 1990 MLB Draft while Dean Laganosky '09 was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 45th round of the 2008 draft. Jake Chaplin '12 also played in the Dodgers organization after signing as an undrafted free agent. Haverford has had one player reach the majors with Bill Lindsay '09 playing in 19 games for the Cleveland Naps (precursor to the Cleveland Indians) in 1911.
Bergjans was fantastic in his senior season at Haverford College, finishing with a 5-3 record, 1.07 ERA and 111 strikeouts in 67 1/3 innings. The Manhattan Beach, Calif. native was the NCAA Division III leader in strikeouts and strikeouts per nine innings (14.48), second in ERA, 10th in strikeout to walk ratio (7.93) and 14th in WHIP (.92). He became the first Ford in program history to strike out over 100 batters in a season and is the Centennial Conference all-time leader in strikeouts. The Fords' pitcher posted eight 10+ strikeout outings in 2015 and finished his career with 18 total.
In 2014, Bergjans sported a 9-2 record, a 1.08 ERA, 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings and a .88 WHIP. The right-hander ranked among the Division III national leaders in hits allowed per nine innings (second, 4.58), strikeouts (third, 96), strikeouts per nine innings (seventh), ERA (ninth), victories (10th) and WHIP (14th). He was named an All-American first team member by D3baseball.com and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and became the eighth player in conference history to earn back-to-back Pitcher of the Year awards. During the summer after his junior year, Bergjans pitched in the Cape Cod League, the most prestigious amateur baseball league in the country, for the Orleans Firebirds.
As a sophomore, Bergjans was a D3baseball.com All-American second team member while also making the website's All-Mid-Atlantic Region first team and ABCA All-Region second team. He was named to the all-conference first team and the Centennial Conference Pitcher of the Year, a first for a Haverford pitcher. During his freshman season, he was awarded an All-Centennial Conference second team accolade after going 6-4 with a 2.72 ERA and 78 strikeouts. His strikeouts (third) and ERA (fourth) placed in him in the top five among conference foes.
The pitcher graduated as the program's all-time leader in ERA (1.69), lowest opponent's batting average (.195), most strikeouts per nine (11.91), wins (27), innings pitched (282 2/3), strikeouts (374). He also led Haverford to the Centennial Conference Championship in 2012 and 2014 including victories in the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional. Bergjans was also named to the CoSIDA Academic All-American third team and 2013 Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area team. He capped off his career at Haverford College with receiving the Varsity Cup which is awarded to the most outstanding athlete of the senior class.