Newark grad Joseph Martin’s confidence continues to grow with Pistol Shrimp

Every member of the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp has a different story as to how he ended up spending the summer playing in the Prospect League.

For former Newark baseball standout and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville pitcher Joseph Martin, it was a great review from a friend’s friend.

“At the beginning of the season at SIUE, our coaches asked all the players if they had an idea where they’d like to play during the summer,” Martin said. “I had a buddy that is friends with a guy that played here last year, and he’d had a great experience. Eventually [pitcher] Andrew [Ressler], [infielder] Ryan [Niedzwiedz] and I all decided we wanted to play here. It wasn’t so much a collective plan between us, but it’s pretty close for all of us.

“Playing here, I’ve been able to stay at home and also play baseball, which has been great.”

With Newark, Martin was a three-time Times All-Area first-team selection and was named to the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association’s Class 1A All-State team as a senior after posting a 1.60 ERA with 107 strikeouts in 48 innings.

This spring in 17 appearances at SIUE, he went 2-0 with a 3.75 ERA and 28 strikeouta in 24 innings and was named to the Ohio Valley Conference All-Freshman team.

“I’ve gained a ton of confidence this summer. Going into last year at SIUE I was really nervous, but I started to settle in as the season went along, and then this summer has just added to that.”

—  Joseph Martin, pitcher for the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp

Through Monday’s games, the right-handed Martin had appeared in nine games, including seven starts for the Pistol Shrimp, going 3-0 with 32 strikeouts in 28⅔ innings and an ERA of 4.40.

“There have been two things that I really wanted to do with my chance here. One was really to just get some more innings under my belt, and two, to continue to work on my slider,” Martin said. “I feel like I need a secondary pitch that I can elevate to go along with my four-seam fastball and changeup. I want to be able to have just that one more way to keep hitters guessing.

“I feel like at SIUE during the season, that talent level, while it was good, was pretty leveled. In this league, bottom level is like guys I faced this spring, but you also have so many guys that are two or three steps above that. There are some guys that are very, very good hitters, but that’s the challenge, and I’m enjoying going through that.”

Martin said the summer has just added to the trust he has in his abilities.

“I’ve gained a ton of confidence this summer. Going into last year at SIUE, I was really nervous, but I started to settle in as the season went along, and then this summer has just added to that.”

Martin had his best outing July 17 at Clinton when he allowed one hit in five innings with eight strikeouts in an 8-4 Pistol Shrimp victory. He said his favorite memories have been playing Mafia on the bus rides.

“It’s deduction, a game where every player has a role, and the end goal is to figure out the killer,” Martin said. “What’s great about it is that every baseball team plays it on road trips, so other than some guys having played a little different, everyone was able to jump in right away. Some of the trips are long, but I feel they’d seem even longer without having a game like Mafia to be involved in.

“It’s just one of a few great memories I’ve had this summer. I’ve had a great time”