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Moreno throws a pitch during warmups.
When Dominic Moreno stepped onto the mound to face the Texas Longhorns in what he called the biggest game of his life, it was the motto from his old coach at Piedra Vista High School that helped ease him into a seven inning shutout performance in front of 6,550 fans.
"As (Mike) McGaha would say, 'Never too high, never too low,'" Moreno said. "I wouldn't be here without McGaha  I don't think. He has meant a lot to me, and some of the little things he would say in the dugout and in pre- and post-game speeches, I keep that with me today. Never too high, never too low."
Moreno, a 2011 Piedra Vista graduate and sophomore pitcher for Texas Tech, has been impressive in his first season with the Red Raiders after transferring from Howard College.
He earned the Friday night starter role and set a Texas Tech opening day record by striking out 11 hitters in a game against Northern Illinois on Feb. 15.
Last Friday in Austin, Texas, Moreno went seven shutout innings while allowing just four hits and no walks in 73 pitches to the Longhorns in a game Moreno and the Red Raiders eventually won 1-0.
Moreno became the first Red Raider with at least seven shutout innings in a Big XII opener since 1999.
"One of my greatest achievements to date, Moreno said on Twitter following the win.
Through five starts, Moreno is now 2-1 with a 3.58 ERA. He has pitched 27.2 innings and has allowed 28 hits while striking out 26 batters.
His success isn't unexpected
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for McGaha, his high school coach at Piedra Vista.
"I am surprised he is the Friday night starter, but I am not surprised he jumped in feet first and established himself," McGaha said.
Pitching in front of the biggest crowd of his life in Austin, Moreno said his experience on the mound at Ricketts Park during the Connie Mack World Series made it easy for him to focus on the task at hand.
"I got there and I was a little anxious but I was not nearly as nervous as I thought I would be in front of 6,500 fans or something," Moreno said. "I went up there and I wasn't too nervous. First pitch and game on from there. I went out there and obviously you can see the crowd all around in a sea of burnt orange but, after that first pitch, I had zero nerves.
"I have been telling people since I got to college pitching at the Connie Mack World Series really prepared me for any game I am going to pitch. With four or five thousand fans there and an electric atmosphere, I was so nervous the first time I pitched there."
Moreno is still working with an effective 88-90 mile-per-hour fastball with late movement, a solid slider and knee-buckling changeup. He said he trusts all three pitches at any count, just as he did in high school.
The key for Moreno has been establishing a mindset about pitching while focusing on what he can control, he said.
"Baseball is such a weird sport. You can go pitch against someone, get in a jam and have an error or maybe something happens and the ball goes to the wall or something like that and there is three runs," he said. "Confidence in baseball is all about knowing what you can do and control. I know I can control batters, but I can't ever control the outcome of what happens."
Regardless of the success he has had early this year, Moreno knows he can't get too ahead of himself or be satisfied.
"Never too high, never too low. I had a great start against Texas, but it doesn't mean anything," Moreno said.
That is a motto many of McGaha's former players from the past three seasons at PV have carried on.
"I obviously stay in touch with all those kids quite a bit. It is funny because Kholeton (Sanchez) texted me the other day and I asked him asking how it was going and he responded with a quote 'Never too high, never too low.' I talked to (Shane) Woodson in a text. He was fired up after his first pitching start in Campbellsville and he had a no-no going through five innings in his first outing. Gave up a hit and a walk over five or six shutout innings. He told me, 'Never too high, never too low.' It is pleasing because you never know the impact you are having and if they take for granted the words that come out of your mouth, but I preach that from the time they are in 8th grade from the time they leave me and get drafted by the Giants and call me in the night struggling with the situation. Having the conversation with Shilo (McCall) about how do I maintain this ‘Never too high, never too low' thing,"
Moreno said he follows his former teammates as much as he can with Cody Scaggari starting at Utah and Damion Lovato seeing success at the plate for Kansas State while Sanchez and Woodson are both having success at their schools.
Morgan McCasland continues to punish opposing pitchers at New Mexico Junior College while Jake McCasland has returned to the mound at the University of New Mexico in a bullpen role after having elbow surgery during the off-season.
"I have so many friends playing around the country it is hard to keep up," Moreno said. "It is awesome. Just coming to Texas, nobody knows what New Mexico baseball is. But I have multiple teammates starting and showing there is a lot of talent in New Mexico. A lot of people are going to junior college from PV who will go D1 at some point or get drafted."
Moreno will get to see Jake McCasland April 2 in Albuquerque when the Red Raiders visit the Lobos.
Three days later, Moreno may even get a chance to pitch against Lovato when Texas Tech visits Kansas State.
John Livingston may be reached at jlivingston@daily-times.com or 505-564-4648. Follow him on Twitter @jlivi2.