By Kelleigh Britton
NSU Sports Information
Luke Foss, born to Gene and Becky Foss on Sept. 29, 1983, started playing baseball when he was six years old. He attended Granby High School, in Norfolk, Va., where he was a two-year letterwinner on the baseball team. He also played basketball for the Comets.
But baseball was his sport. Foss was an All-Eastern District First Team pick his junior and senior years. He played whichever position his coach needed him to play.
The former head baseball coach and current athletics director at Norfolk State, Marty Miller, recruited Foss from Granby. Foss said he received many offers, but, "Coach Miller remembered me from playing baseball with his nephew and he offered me a scholarship. And I thought it was a good opportunity to play Division I ball," Foss said.
In 2003, the right-hander had the fewest walks (14) among the Spartans' regular starting pitchers and went 3-3 with a 5.62 ERA.
In 2004, Foss had to redshirt because of an elbow injury. His injury worsened to the point that it made his arm hard to lift. After conferring with Mitch Callis, Assistant Athletics Director of Sports Medicine at NSU, and his doctors, made the decision to undergo surgery.
He underwent "Tommy John" surgery, a very common surgery among pitchers at all levels named after the former New York Yankees star who first had the operation. The operation replaces a torn elbow ligament with tendon from the forearm. When this particular elbow ligament is torn, it is impossible to pitch with any kind of velocity.
Foss feels it was the best thing for his baseball career. "My arm definitely feels stronger. I think the surgery definitely helped," Foss said.
With the help of the coaches and the continued support from his parents, Foss took off the 2004 season to rehabilitate his arm and was ready for the start of the 2005 season.
"Luke is key for us, and we are doing everything we can to get him back in pitching rotation," interim head coach Claudell Clark said. "He has the ability locate within the strike zone and he is willing to make adjustments quickly."
As far as Luke's recovery, Clark said Luke is "on track."
Foss has begun to prove his coach right. Despite a slow start, Foss had one of his finer performances as a Spartan on Wednesday, March 30, pitching a complete-game three-hitter against Longwood. He was charged with the loss, but allowed just one earned run and walked one while striking out five in seven innings.
Foss said he learned a lot from Clark, an NSU grad who played professional baseball in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.
"Coach Clark has good experience, and he knows a lot about pitching. He is also closer to our age so it is easier for him to relate to us," Foss said. "He is teaching us the same thing he learned, so it is like we are learning from a professional.
"He taught me the mental aspect of pitching, like what I need to do before I take the mound and before I throw the ball."
Foss also said that he couldn't have gotten this far without the steady support from his parents.
" My parents have always been supportive. They have had to pay for a lot of things, like when I played for AAU and we traveled; they are definitely my biggest fans," Foss said.
Foss is majoring in mathematics and hopes to become a math teacher or play professional baseball, hopefully for his favorite team, the San Francisco Giants. However, now his main focus is working on getting his pitching arm better. His goal is to have a successful year like his freshman year, and he is willing to work for it.
