FWB transfer Tarchalski could be "the missing piece" for Niceville baseball

NICEVILLE — In the offseason, baseball's best two-way star transferred teams.

You're thinking Shohei Ohtani, right? Wrong. No, keeping strictly to our neck of the woods, I'm talking about Hunter Tarchalski.

On April 12, 2024, the Fort Walton Beach junior singlehandedly beat Niceville with a seven-RBI effort after going 3-for-5 with two doubles and a stolen base in a 12-6 win on his way to sweeping Daily News Pitcher and Hitter of the Year for 5A.

A year later in his swan song, the 6-foot-5 star is an Eagle and hoping to lift Niceville to something it hasn't done in more than a decade: a postseason run.

"When we played him last year, we knew he could hit, he could throw, he could do it all. We knew that he was a competitor," Niceville catcher Nick Gates said. "At the time I remember thinking this is the missing piece we need. So when he came over, we were thrilled."

Twelve games into the campaign, he remains the area's Ohtani.

At the dish, following a year where he hit .471 with an insane 15:7 BB:K ratio, 22 RBI, 10 extra base hits and a 563/.642/1.206 slash line, Tarchalski is in the 3-hole hitting .410 with seven doubles, 10 runs, seven RBI and more walks than strikeouts (nine to six) en route to a .531 on-base percentage.

On the mound, he's 3-0 with two saves and a 1.02 ERA and .80 WHIP, striking out 21 over 13 2/3 frames while holding batters to a .111 batting average.

More importantly Niceville is 11-1. It'd be shortsighted to pinpoint Tarchalski as the driving force behind the hot start, but he's clearly a key cog in a machine outscoring foes 8.9-3.8 nightly.

Credit an ego-free environment that "took him in from Day 1," skipper Justin Bruce said.

"They loved on him and he's come in and felt welcomed," Bruce continued. "That's been a big thing about this environment, welcoming others, and he's settled in. He's been huge. He's closed games with two saves, he's had wins starting and finishing games, and he's been able to add production at the plate hitting in the 3-hole every game. He always comes through with a hit when we need it.

"He's just another senior delivering, and that's what we're hoping this team is: a senior-driven team. These guys are battle-tested."

Tarchalski was nervous at first, but noted "everybody picked me up way better than I thought. I heard a lot of good things about Niceville and it made me so happy, so excited to come here. Great baseball team, and even greater baseball players with similar values as me."

Gates called him "the missing piece." Tarchalski, who transferred to Niceville with David Colwell, believes he can be just that.

"Every team can be one, two arms away and me and my buddy came from Fort Walton to help this team," Tarchalski said. "Defense and offense and on the mound, we're just all-around solid now. We're better. I think this is definitely the best Niceville team I've ever seen in my four years of high school."

And the Eagles, boasting double-digit seniors on the roster, are happily utilizing Tarchalski in that dual role. On the mound, Tarchalski flashes a fastball that hits 92 miles per hour, an above-average slider and a devastating splitter to lefties that Tarchalski admits has a life of its own but can be unhittable.

"Pitching is a hobby for me," he said. "I'm going to school for hitting, so it just takes away that element of stress so I can be loose and confident out there."

Even with Tarchalski headed to Northwest Florida State to specialize in hitting, he's still on the fence of what he does better.

"If I'm pitching well, I'm lights out. If I'm hitting, I'm a hard out," he said. "It just depends on the day."

What is clear is Niceville is better with him than without him.