College Athletics: A Look into SRU's Own John Kovalik

John William Kovalik is a 20-year-old sophomore pitcher for the Slippery Rock University baseball team.  He is from Aurora, Ohio, which is a suburb about 20 minutes southeast from the city of Cleveland.  As Kovalik played baseball at Aurora High School, his dreams of being a college athlete progressed.  When SRU contacted John about playing for the University, he was thrilled to have to opportunity to play college ball.  He had always known the Slippery Rock baseball team to have a good reputation, and so he took a visit to the campus to look at the facilities and meet the team. 

         Kovalik came to Slippery Rock on a recruiting visit, and was blown away by the campus and baseball facilities especially.  He knew that he wanted to play for the University and he would later enter his college career here at SRU. Slippery Rock’s own, Jack Critchfield Park, is Kovalik’s favorite part of campus.

“I love being out on the mound in front of our home crowds and look forward to another solid two years as a pitcher on the baseball squad,” Kovalik said.

Kovalik had a very successful high school career at Aurora High School.  He lettered three times in baseball, was named the Chagrin Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year as a senior, and also led his alma mater to a conference championship in 2009 and a sectional title in 2010. 

At Slippery Rock University, Kovalik is one of the best closing pitchers on the team, and has contributed a great deal to the successful Rock team.  Last year in 2011, Kovalik accounted for 14 relief appearances as a freshman and struck out 23 batters in 26.1 innings. 

John’s most memorable game at Slippery Rock University was just this past Saturday, when The Rock swept Mercyhurst College on the road.  He relieved Nic McCowin in Game 2 as the score was tied at 3-3.  Kovalik held Mercyhurst to only 2 hits in the final six innings of the game, counting as the winning pitcher.  The Rock went on to win the game 5-3 against a very good Laker team. 

Kovalik loves the game of baseball, and he couldn’t imagine playing anywhere else, or with any other teammates.  He believes that Slippery Rock offers some of the best baseball facilities that can be found in Division 2 baseball, with Jack Critchfield Park stealing the show. 

Representing number 27 for The Rock, Kovalik plans to remain at this University for the remainder of his college career; something most athletes are not able to do because of injuries, transfers, etc. 

Kovalik was a marketing major until the spring of this year, in which he switched to public relations.  Baseball will remain his main focus in college, and requires a lot of time and effort, especially as a student athlete for a program like Slippery Rock baseball.  The Rock baseball team moved to above the .500 mark (20-19-1) with the sweep at Mercyhurst last Saturday.  The team is 8-8 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-West division.

The Rock’s has only four remaining series, but Kovalik is hopeful for the rest of the 2012 season.