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Olympia’s Tyler Thornton burst onto the Illinois Class A Baseball scene and made an immediate name for himself. In the 2002 State Championship game, Thornton, then a sophomore, threw an eight inning complete game, allowing only six hits and three runs to second place Freeburg. That capped Thornton’s 8-0 season. “He’s a special player.” said Olympia Head Coach Ron Smith. “Everybody found out about him after that game.” Thornton was also selected as MVP of the 2002 Class A State Baseball Tournament. From that day forward, Thornton has been a force to be reckoned with in the Class A Baseball vista. Last year, his junior season, Thornton finished 9-2. “He had an outstanding year.” said Smith. But near the end of the 2003 season, Thornton began to experience extreme pain. “He irritated his ulnar nerve late in the season.” said Smith. “But the kid is such a gamer that he wouldn’t say anything about it and just kept pitching. He lost seven to nine miles an hour on his velocity, and we just had to back him off a little bit.” Even with the late season struggles, Thornton was named an all-stater.
Thornton’s velocity has been equally impressive. His fastball has ranged from 85-88 miles per hour most of the season. But unlike the last two seasons, Thornton’s arm isn’t running ragged and his tank isn’t on empty as the season begins to close. Smith feels that a few changes in Thornton’s routine have contributed to his successes this year. “We’ve added a few differences this year from the past.” he said. “For instance, we give him one extra days rest in between starts. We also play him at second base instead of shortstop the day after he pitches for less stress on his arm.” Don’t think that Thornton’s arm is the only thing he’s got. He hits in the three hole for the Spartans, and uses the aluminum to his advantage. He’s hitting over .350 on the season. “He’s a big part of our offense.” Smith said. “He puts the ball in play a lot and is a smart batter.” Defensively, Thornton is stellar as well. Besides his few games at second base, he is a shortstop and has committed only six errors all season. His smooth glove has netted him a fielding percentage near .970. “He’s got great speed.” said Smith. “He’s got really good range as well.” What is it that makes Tyler Thornton the great pitcher that he is? “He’s got so much natural ability.” said Smith. “He knows how to pitch. He’s got a good breaking ball and an excellent changeup. However, Thornton, who has committed to play Division I Baseball at Bradley University next year, has one thing going for him that eludes many great pitchers—composure. “In the years that he’s been pitching for me, I’ve only seen him visibly upset once.” Smith said. “It’s really outstanding. He takes it one pitch at a time, and that’s what we want him to do.” Thornton has shattered nearly every pitching record at Olympia High School. In fact, he holds the school strikeout record by nearly 130 more whiffs than the nearest Spartan. It has not ever gotten to his head. In fact, Thornton is a very taciturn young man. “He’s quiet and he’s modest.” said Smith. “He leads our team by example.” In fact, Thornton worried more about talking to reporters after the 2002 State Championship game than pitching the game itself. “He’s one of our co-captains.” said Smith. “His example as a player, student, and young man is an example to our whole team.” People and players like Tyler Thornton are why they stand out as Illinoishighschoolsports.com Athletes of the Month. The Thornton File
Birthday: May 22, 1986
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As for this year, it’s been a totally different
story. Thornton has been nearly unhittable. For the season (at the time this
article was written) the senior is 9-1 with a save, and a whopping 1.35 ERA.
In 65 2/3 innings of work, Thornton has only allowed 12 earned runs, 43 hits,
and has struck out nearly 100 batters.
