Aquinas College pitcher Travis Keys etched his name in the school's record books when he struck out 16 against Lawrence Tech two weeks ago.
"I didn't know in the moment," Keys said. "It was a lot of fun out there knowing that I did something great like that it is pretty cool to know after."
The previous AQ record for K's in a single game was 13, but Keys matched his new record in his most recent start, 16 again Sunday against Michigan Dearborn at LMCU Ballpark.
"Again, I didn't know in the moment," Keys said. "I was just out there doing my thing and it was cool to see that I was right there again."
Keys is currently third on the Aquinas list for strikeouts in a season, just two behind second and 31 away from the top spot.
He is scheduled to get at least one more start this weekend and could get another if the Saints can qualify for the WHAC Tournament.
"I've been looking at them a bit," Keys said of the school records. "I met some of the alumni who held them previously, nice to meet them and be up there with those guys in such a good way."
The most amazing part of this feat is that Keys has not played a full season of baseball since 2017.
He missed part of 2018 and all of 2019 because of academic ineligibility issues and 2020 because of COVID-19.
"A lot of people just kind of are done or would have probably quit," second year Aquinas head coach Chris LaMange said. "He kept coming to practice, he kept coming to the park, he kept putting the time in. A great story where he is going to be an Aquinas College graduate here in two weeks which is probably the most important thing out of all that."
Keys does have another year of eligibility remaining, but pro scouts have alrady been around to see him.
"That has always been a dream ever since I was little," Keys said about the chance to play professionally. "It would be great to have that opportunity and hopefully it works out."
"Everyone is looking for left-handed pitchers so I really think he's going to have a professional opportunity in the future," LaMange added. "I would tell any coach that asks me, this is a guy you want on your team without a doubt."
Keys will try to join Paul Assenmacher, Dave Gumpert and current Red Sox minor leaguer Kaleb Ort as Aquinas pitchers to play in the pros.
