Year Inducted – 2015

Give Ryan Petrusky the pitcher the ball and he probably was going to shut down the opponent and pick up a victory. Put Ryan Petrusky the hitter in the lineup and he probably was going to contribute two key hits and help lead the team to a win. I loved pitching because it was a thrill being involved in every play defensively, the former Cuyahoga Falls High School standout said. But being able to hit allowed me to play in the games I didn’t pitch. Since I loved to pitch and loved to play, it was perfect to be a pitcher and position player. I got a thrill out of hitting a home run and an even bigger thrill out of getting a win. Petrusky first gained recognition at the youth baseball level in 1991 when he helped lead the Cuyahoga Falls Thunderbolt Towing to the CABA World Series in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He promptly became a mainstay on the Black Tigers varsity unit as a third baseman and pitcher. He started four years and compiled a 19-7 record on the mound. He was an All-Metro League honoree as a freshman third baseman and then earned All-Western Reserve Conference honors the following three years. He helped lead the Black Tigers to a regional final his freshman year and was the starting pitcher in the Division I state championship game as a senior in 1999. Petrusky played four years of college baseball, the first two with Baldwin-Wallace and the third and fourth with Ohio Northern University. He earned the Guy Fisher Award for combined athletic-academic excellence in 2002 and compiled a 12-9 record with a 2.86 ERA during his collegiate career. Petrusky then continued his double excellence in the Greater Akron AA Baseball League. He helped guide the Akron Lasiks to AA titles in 2008 and 2009. In 2008 he was 4-0 on the mound and hit .471 and was named the winner of the Dave Layton Award as the MVP of the Greater Akron AA Tournament. He earned a fifth consecutive AA League all-star award in 2009. Petrusky, who works as a regional manager in sales for Freud Tools and lives in Fairlawn Heights, had a couple opportunities in pro baseball, but had already embarked on a successful business career. I was lucky to have employment set up before my senior year in college, he said. Playing 16 years in Roy Hobbs after college has allowed to have the best of both worlds ; a good professional career and play the game I’ve always loved.