In the biggest of situations, when the most consequential innings are to be played, Kyle Thomas knows he's getting the ball this baseball season for Steel Valley.

At 6 feet 2, 200 pounds, this hard-throwing, left-handed senior pitcher for the Ironmen relishes his importance.

"I am definitely ready for this season," said Thomas, Steel Valley's unquestioned No. 1 starter. "But, I know that I have to be ready."

Thomas, who has signed with the University of Delaware, a Division I program, is coming off a junior season in which he went 4-0.

That was the good part.

The bad part you ask? Well, Steel Valley went 10-7 last year but just 8-6 in WPIAL Class AAA Section 4, narrowly missing the playoffs.

If the start of this season is an accurate gauge, Steel Valley -- and particularly Thomas -- could be in for a baseball resurgence.

On a trip to Cocoa Beach, Fla., last week, the Ironmen ripped off three consecutive wins.

Steel Valley beat St. Vincent from Maryland, 10-0, bested Stillwater, Minn. by a 10-6 count and then beat St. Mary's Ryken from Maryland by a 9-5 score.

It was that first game, the win against St. Vincent, where Thomas shined.

In the 10-run rule shortened, five inning contest, Thomas tossed a one-hitter, struck out nine batters and issued one walk for a complete-game victory.

Not a bad performance for a guy who had, just two days prior to last Thursday's win, been relegated to tossing off of indoor mounds in Western Pennsylvania.

"My arm felt really good," Thomas said. "It was nice to finally get out of the snowy weather up here and get somewhere where we could get outside, on a field. When I got down there, my arm felt a lot better than I expected and I thought I threw the ball well."

That said, the trip to Florida was advantageous not only to Thomas, but to the Steel Valley squad as a whole.

"It was amazing," Ironmen coach Tim Vickers said. "It was a little shaky at first, seeing balls go through our legs and making errors. But, that was expected because we were just getting adjusted. I mean, that was the first time we were on dirt all year. Spending the week in Florida should change our entire season."

And the truth is, what could change Steel Valley's season more than any other factor is if Thomas goes out and dominates in his starts.

While he'll be playing first base when not on the mound, there is no question he will have the most impact as a pitcher, where he is rated as one of the top arms in the WPIAL heading into the year.

Thomas, who was an All-WPIAL performer in soccer and a starter on Steel Valley's basketball team, is a marvelous all-around athlete, but one who also realizes his future lies in baseball.

And it is that baseball future that has forced him to take notice of developing tools -- namely a straight changeup to his pitching repertoire.

It is the development of that off-speed pitch -- joined by his curveball and a heavy fastball -- that he feels will allow him to be a force this season.

"It is always nice to keep hitters off-balance and I have been working on my offspeed stuff so that I can do that," Thomas said.

"As a pitcher, you have to understand that you can't just stand up there and throw it past everyone, so you need to have good offspeed stuff if you are going to be effective.

"I have worked hard at becoming better and I hope the changeup will be a good weapon for me this year."