Player Spotlight: Tommy Sommer Brings Southpaw Pitching to the REX

Alright #REXNation, it is time for another player spotlight! This week we are going to focus on REX pitcher, Tommy Sommer.

Pitcher Tommy Sommer Head Shot. Photo Courtesy of iuhoosiers.com

The 6’4” 207 pound left handed hurler was not only born a Hoosier, he now plays for the Indiana University Hoosiers and is currently a sophomore! His parents are Jeurgen and Susie Sommer and he has a brother Noah. The Sommer family is no stranger to Indiana University as Sommer’s father was the goalie for the Hoosiers from 1987-1990! His father was a part of the 1988 national championship team and was named the 1990 Soccer American Goalkeeper of the Year per iuhoosiers.com. Sommer grew up in Carmel, IN and attended Carmel High School.

While in high school, Sommer was selected three times as All-Conference and was selected as All-State once. Coming out of high school Sommer was ranked as the number two left-handed pitcher in the state and the number thirty-five left-handed pitcher in the nation by PBR per iuhoosiers.com. As an overall player, Sommer was ranked number seven in the state and 233 in the nation by PBR as well per iuhoosiers.com. In 2017 he was named as a Perfect Game Honorable Mention All-American per iuhoosiers.com.

REX Pitcher Tommy Sommer throwing a pitch for the Indiana University Hoosiers. Photo Courtesy of Katie Ducker of Indiana Athletics.

Sommer had an extremely productive freshman year with the Hoosiers. He appeared in thirteen games and made three starts. In those thirteen games he pitched 29.1 innings and had an ERA of 3.07. He had a record of 2-1 with one save. He also struck out 27 batters. During this season opposing players had an AVG of .264 against Sommer per iuhoosiers.com.

As Sommer’s sophomore season came around, he began to see more playing time. In 2019 Sommer appeared in sixteen games and made five starts. Through those sixteen games he pitched forty-five innings, struck out forty-seven batters, and had an ERA of 3.40. His record for his sophomore season was 4-3 with one save. Opposing batters did not hit as well against Sommer in his sophomore season as they dropped from .264 to only having an AVG of .214 against the hurler per iuhoosiers.com.

REX Left-Handed Pitcher Tommy Sommer hurling a pitch to the catcher at home plate during a game earlier this season. Photo Courtesy of Brian Williams.

In his current season with the REX, Sommer has appeared in four games and started all four of them. He has a record of 1-1 with an ERA of 3.73. He has struck out thirty-one batters while only walking seven in 21.2 innings. Sommer was recently named pitcher of the day by the Prospect League for his performance against the league leading Danville Dans. In that game, Sommer pitched for five full innings. He allowed zero runs and struck out seven while allowing only two hits!

The REX are fortunate to have this Hoosier as part of their pitching this staff season. We look forward to watching him throw more gems this summer like he did against the Dans! Come support Sommer and the red hot REX tonight, Friday, July 12, as we play the Dans in a double-header! The first game is set to begin at 5:30 p.m. EST! We look forward to seeing you there #REXNation! GO #REX!