KARNS CITY — Matt Yough is No. 1 for a reason.

The Karns City senior has it all together, on and off the baseball field.

Yough has been a four-year starter for the Gremlins as a shortstop and pitcher. He is hitting .468 this season and has a career prep batting average around .450.

As a pitcher, he’s been a consistent winner with a fastball clocked at 81 miles per hour last year. He throws a curve, slider and changeup to go with his fastball and has been working on a splitter.

Yough is 4-1 on the mound this season.

“I’ve put on 15 pounds since last year and I know I’m throwing the ball harder,” Yough said.

Yough is also ranked No. 1 in his class academically — sporting a 4.22 grade point average — and plans to major in bio-medical engineering at Gannon.

Recruited for baseball by the Golden Knights, Yough will be the first Karns City baseball player to play as high as Division II college ball since Josh Smith went to Mercyhurst in 2004.

“I know what I want to do career-wise and Gannon was the best fit for me that way,” Yough said. “They have what I was looking for.”

Yough has a career goal of working in the prosthetic industry.

“I know some people who use prosthetics (artificial limbs) and they’re pretty costly,” he said. “I’m hoping to someday be able to help find a way to lower those costs and help more people that way.”

For now, he’s helping his teammates win baseball games.

Karns City was 12-4 in the regular season this spring. Yough hit .562 for the Gremlins last year, .492 as a sophomore and .388 as a freshman.

“I’ve always loved to hit, from youth ball all the way on up,” Yough said. “My dad’s arm is probably dead now from all the times I had him pitch to me in the yard.

“Hitting a baseball is something I just love to do.”

Karns City coach Randy Collins said the only problem he has with Yough — if you can call it a problem — is his quiet personality.

“Matt is a leader on this team, no doubt, but at times I wish he was a little more vocal,” Collins said. “But he’s a soft-spoken kid by nature who lets his bat talk for him.

“In a clutch situation, he’s a guy I love having at the plate because he doesn’t get rattled and he’s going to hit the ball hard somewhere.”

Gannon is coming off a 17-27 season under eight-year coach Nate Cocolin. The Golden knights were 15-29 in 2014.

Two years ago, Gannon finished 24-19 and won the PSAC regular season championship. Cocolin inherited a program that finished 5-43 in 2007.

“Matt is heading to a school where he will definitely contribute,” Collins said. “I don’t know if they’ll want him to pitch or be an every-day player.”

Yough is hoping it’s both.

“My only goal is to help that team win as many games as I can,” Yough said. “I know the PSAC is a strong league and it will be a challenge for me to step my game up to that level of talent.

“I’d love to be able to pitch and play a regular position, but I’ll do whatever the coaches need me to do. If it’s good for the team, it’s good for me.”