The season is not even a week old, and college baseball has a new star: Mississippi State pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje.
The freshman with a one-of-a-kind name also has a wholly unique trait on the mound: he can pitch with both hands. The ambidextrous phenom made his first career start Wednesday, firing four shutout innings against ULM with just one hit allowed and seven strikeouts.
He generated whiffs with each arm, and sat above 90 mph with his fastball as both a righty and a lefty.
Though simply watching Cijntje throw with both hands is a marvel, he’s not the first to do so. Recently, Pat Venditte made it all the way to the big leagues as an ambidextrous pitcher, debuting with the A’s in 2015 before also making appearances with the Blue Jays, Mariners, Dodgers, Giants and Marlins.
Of the 75 pitches Cijntje threw, 58 were with his right arm. He topped out at 98 mph with his right arm and 92 with his left, according to the Clarion Ledger.
With his college baseball career just beginning, it’s a safe bet this won’t be Cijntje’s last time making national headlines.
