Noah Song, a 6-foot-4 righthander, is used to ducking his head into dugouts. Pretty soon, though, the blades of a chopper will be over his head, and that's where his story diverges from that of other elite pitchers.
Song, a senior at the Naval Academy and the owner of a mid-90s fastball, has had a brilliant college career and has been especially filthy so far this season -1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings. Batters are hitting just .146 against him, and he is averaging 20.1 strikeouts per nine innings.
The key for Song - besides a golden right arm that has never been operated on or injured - is mental focus.
"Being a Midshipman can be a high-stress environment," Navy coach Paul Kostacopoulos said. "But Noah is cerebral and unflappable."
Following this season, Song is expected to be selected in the MLB draft, and his talent suggests his name will be called within the first five rounds.
But he owes a service commitment of at least two years to the Navy, and he expects to report to flight school on Nov. 1 in Pensacola, Fla., where he will prepare to become a helicopter pilot.
Pro baseball - if it happens for Song - will have to wait until at least 2021, when he would be eligible to petition the Navy to be placed on reserve duty so he can pursue his sport.
Song doesn't see this as a problem and is looking forward to commandeering an MH60 chopper for the Navy.
"I was lucky enough to be selected for pilot school," said Song, 21, who is set to graduate from the Naval Academy on May 24 with a degree in general engineering. "I don't have a moment of regret for choosing (Navy)."
Song, the third of Bill and Stacy's four children, comes from a family of selfless people.
Bill is a commander for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's department, and Stacy is a special-education instructional assistant. Of their two older children, Faith is a nurse, and Daniel just got hired as a deputy sheriff in Los Angeles County.
In addition, Noah said he's proud to have inspired his younger brother, 19-year-old Elijah, who is on his way toward becoming a pilot for the Marines.
When it came to baseball, however, it was Bill who worked countless hours with Noah, who has been pitching since he was about 6 years old.
"Noah was a natural," Bill said. "I tried to teach him the best pitching mechanics, and he was always very accurate.
"We limited his pitches, and he's never had anything worse than (sporadic) arm soreness."
Even so, Song had just one college scholarship offer out of Claremont High, located about 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.
Fortunately for all concerned, Bobby Applegate had just been hired as Navy's pitching coach, and he remembered Song from his days as recruiting coordinator at UC Riverside.
Song took a recruiting trip to Navy - his host was Patriot League Pitcher of the Year Luke Gillingham - and he was immediately impressed with Annapolis.
"I thought, 'This is something that could be really exciting,'" Song said. "Ever since then, I have enjoyed it more and more."
Coming from California, pitching in "sub-30" degree temperatures in Maryland and elsewhere in the Patriot League has been an adjustment for Song. Otherwise, though, college has suited him.
He was a freshman All-American in 2016, winning the Patriot League's Rookie of the Year award (9-3, 2.75, .182 batting average against).
"All along, we thought he was pretty good," Kostacopoulos said. "But late in the fall (during his freshman year), you could see Noah and (Applegate) connecting. Noah was coming downhill with a plane that you could see was going to be tough to hit."
As a sophomore, Song went 6-4, 3.67 and finished second in the league in strikeouts. That summer, he became the first Navy player since Mitch Harris in 2007 to compete in the Cape Cod League.
His confidence boosted, Song went 6-5, 1.92 as a junior, earning first-team All-Patriot League honors for the first time.
Song usually throws his fastball 91-94 mph but last week touched 95-97. His hard, late 82-86 slider is often his out pitch, and his 12-to-6 curve buckles knees but serves more as a change-of-pace strike pitch than a putaway offering late in counts.
"I will flash it to keep batters off my fastball and give them something else to think about," Song said.
A changeup is Song's fourth pitch, and there is growth potential there.
College batters find it hard to cope with Song as it is, and that was the case last week when his first 10 outs against Air Force were Ks. He finished that game with 14 strikeouts - two shy of his career high.
About the only thing missing from Song's collegiate career is a big performance at an NCAA regional. Navy has made the field just once during Song's three seasons, which was during his freshman year. In his one regional performance, Song's start lasted just 2 1/3 innings, allowing three hits, two walks and three runs in a win over Saint Mary's.
Kostacopoulos said Song "ran out of gas" toward the end of his freshman year but has become much more physical since then.
"I was super lucky to get to an NCAA regional as a freshman," said Song, listed at 200 pounds. "But sometimes I wish I could have traded that regional and had it during my junior year. As a freshman, that was still my first time facing college hitters, and the regional was an even higher level."
If Navy makes the NCAA field this year, it will be a safe bet that opponents won't want to face Song.
"I don't know how that scenario would work out," Kostacopoulos said. "But I know Noah is a tough matchup for people.
"Noah is really special, and not just because he's at the Naval Academy. He's special because he's a really good pitcher."