Out from behind a maniacally sterile and deceptive delivery he leaped, pausing briefly in his windup to become a future piece of forensic art. Owning complete command and ultimate control of four pitches he became his own composite sketch of pitchability.  And with every strike a brilliant line appeared on the etch-a-sketch of a box score and eye witness descriptions of a suspect wanted in connection to comes into view. A serial sketch artist with a sinister collection of strike outs to walks controlling the tempo of every high profile case and giving very few a free trot to 1^st base.  Cognitive interview tells of Late innings dominance with plus plus surge and a likeness begins to emerge but what will you do when the sketch becomes you

The thrill of the sketch was born in him somewhere between cranking balls onto the white of a chalk out-line he sketched on a suburban Carlsbad brick wall and the police academy of Carlsbad High where he studied forensic art under the tutelage of veteran officer and Head Coach Green. While a Lancer he amassed a 1.75 ERA, 11-7 W/L record, pitched 147.2 innings giving up a stingy 124 hits while establishing his signature line pattern with a 174 strike outs to 31 walks. He did work the field and walk a beat behind the dish but being a Sketch Artist was in his blood and with his unique talent of sketching up bat toting thugs with an etch-a-sketch he quickly made a name for himself ranking 168^th in the nation and 26^th in the state of California. His biggest case thus far was the Hard 9 National classic. His good command of both sides of the dish, the 0 runs allowed on 3 hits and 15 K’s lead to the capture and subsequent shut out of #15 Alemany.

And it was on to CSUF where he joined the bunko division. As a rookie he stepped into the lime light of Friday night and faced off against some of the most brilliant criminal minds and opposing aces becoming the first freshman to get the ball in a season opener since 1987. Demonstrative evidence showed he did not allow a single suspect to walk in the first 63.1 innings to begin his time in the bunko squad and the Friday night spot would be locked up for the next 3 seasons in the Fullerton precinct. When the 2013 campaign was over it would read like a police blotter on a full moon Saturday night.  Records were broken both locally and across the NCAA D-1, both freshman and single season and with every composite sketch a trade mark signature that sent many a soul to stir, the strike out to walk ratio. Commendatory Medals and All-American slots were handed out from law enforcement agencies across the nation and a promotion to robbery was handed down by the upper brass.

Key elements of the forensic artist’s traits were coming to the surface like body filled rugs along the Hudson bringing with them the over-powering stench of domination in the late innings.  On April 25, 2014 the file of U of H came across the easel. This would be one tough case crack taking 10 innings of complete game shutout to throw down the sketch that lead to the apprehension and conviction of the Hawaii 9. During the time in robbery division a pattern of style was turning up like hot ice at a pawn shop and the loot was an array of off speed stuff that kept batters off balance like jailhouse hooch; fly ball to grounder without any solid smack to build an alibi on. Quality starts became the frame work which engulfed the body of work pitching into the 7^th 100% of the time and accumulating a career high at the time of 123.2 Innings pitched. International notoriety swirled about the recall to arrest record behind the sketch artistry as well the 99 K’s to 8 BB’s, 0.87 WHIP and an ERA that had yet to see 2.00.

In the summer of 2014 the Feds came a calling for his ability to inch over corners and paint black with total command and control of his etch-a-sketch. Twisting and turning knobs in cases of international impact he struck out and uncovered the identity of 20 batters while allowing only 2 to walk, boasting a win/loss of 2-0 and an ERA of 2.14 in the stint with USA Collegiate National Team. A change began take over the psyche of the red-headed forensic artist and soon the thrill of the sketch would consume him driving him into a frenzy of control and command. Controlling the tempo of a game had turned into a ravenous appetite to take the team wire to wire and the voracity to finish what you start turned into the nefarious design of starting what you finish and thus the delusion of deceptiveness in becoming the next case he would sketch. As fate would have it he was promoted to homicide division and terror enshrouded the Big West like a state wide dragnet.

The spring of 2015 saw the emergence of a serial slayer that confounded authorities and D-1 batters alike. The trail had gone completely cold with very few eye witnesses and even less walks rendered. The 2015 Louisville Slugger All-American First Team and the 2015 Big West Pitcher of the Year had the most challenging and intimate cases of his young career assigned to him. Not because he was overpowering but because of the undeniable fact that he lead the nation in strike outs to walks and walks per 9 while topping the Big West in WHIP, K’s, ERA and CG’s. Very little was provided through post mortem imagery but through eye witness recall small descriptions began to come through and recognition of an M.O. begun to be revealed.

The Serial killer left key pieces of the identification puzzle in the aftermath of three brutal homicides. On March 6, 2015 the visitors’ dugout at Goodwin field turned blood red with Raiders. Evidence recovered from the scene showed that a hilltop assailant had pitched a complete game shut out brutally striking out 14 without allowing a single base runner past the grasp of second base. Through the lone batter that walked away a partial description was made of the transgressor. Coming to life on paper was the trunk of a mound commander that toed the first base side of the slab, the straight line from cap to rubber accented by the tight kick, back to the batter before the slamming of the gate and smooth flow into fielding position.

A future first round draft pick was no defensive against the perpetrator of outs as the number 11 team in the nation fell victim on May 8, 2015. Gauchos laid badgered and bloodied by the right arm assassin with 8 innings of havoc released upon them striking out 9 giving up only 3 hits to a potent offense and allowing just one walk in order to illuminate another piece of the composite image. In addition to the trunk and the gate of the suspect’s torso the sketch artist could now illustrate the lethal right arm of the attacker and the gloved left hand he kept tuck under his left arm pit until it was time to come set and the person of interest started to take form.

Similar acts began to take place outside the Fullerton area and soon the Rainbow Warriors found themselves caught in the web of terror that engulfed the entire Big West Conference. In front of a crowd of almost 4,000 a heinous display of debauchery was executed for all to see and when the cutting and striking was done 12 batters in tow were sent to the luau in the sky. Not a single batter was able to walk from the grisly scene that night of May 15, 2015 as another complete game shutout was imposed upon hapless victims. The only description available to authorities of the perp was the fact that he wore the number 15 and more is added to the sketch.

A major break in the case occurred on June 8, 2015 when a surprising turn of events lead to an unexpected appearance of the suspect wanted in connection to these crimes of drive.  The location, The Super Regionals in Louisville, KY, the time, the 11^th inning and stepping out of his modus operandi was the number 15 coming in to close out one of the most important games of the 2015 Titans Baseball club season and for only the second time in his D-1 career. Law enforcement surrounded the place knowing they did not have much time to cordon off the facility and capture the fugitive. Keeping control and command and on very little rest, the fugitive induced a fly out then a strike out and just as the grip of the long arm of the law began to Titan up around the area an accessory to the act emerged in the form of Vanilla Hudge and a base runner trying to flee was gunned down on the paths providing a distraction and a chance for the redheaded death dealer to escape once more. But not before providing more clues to the where-abouts and the identity of the bandit in orange. They now knew his height to be 6’3, his weight to be 210 and that his hair was as orange has the number 15 jersey he wore but still no facial recognition. They also had him cornered for there was but one place left for him to go, Omaha Nebraska and the sight of the 2015 College World Series.

Police hounds and law enforcement from all over the NCAA had tracked his trail to Mike Fahey Street in Omaha, NE. and on June 14, 2015 the noose began to close around him. The fugitive sketch artist was in the middle of another onslaught mowing down the reigning National Champions of 2014, holding down the potent and draft laden line up of Vandy while the police had the place surrounded. A long haired anarchist tried to warn the sketch artist of the manhunt closing in on him but Omaha police mired in their prejudice and inferiority complexes quickly arrested the head banger, booked him into the county jail and drug him chained and shackled into lock-down so that his voice would be silenced in a Titan effort within the confines of the ball park.

Meanwhile back at the ball park, Eshel-sketch had just finished decapitating the number 1 overall pick of the 2015 MLB draft and had set his sights on the 12^th rounder Zander Weil bringing him to a 3-2 count and a death blow away from stranding a Vandy runner on second when the NCAA authorities busted in from all sides shutting down the game at that inappropriate moment and scattering both sides for cover. A fierce battle ensued. Thunder clouds began to roll in and lighting flashed across the sky. In a brief arc flash from a bolt 8 miles away the face of the culprit was revealed enough for all to see and the sketch artist filled in the missing piece to the puzzle that had become his own wanted poster. The bolt of lightning that illuminate the man behind the sketch as one in the same with the culprit also facilitated his escape, this time to the Huston Astros in the second round, 46^th overall of the MLB draft and is still on the loose. Wanted for crimes of serial sketchery and command with a battler’s enhancement, considered armed and dangerous, be on the look for the Sketch Artist himself…….Thomas Eshelman