It's not so much that Seton Hill University's D.J. Cannon didn't have faith in himself or have confidence in his own abilities.

It's just that, during much of his senior year at Mars Area High School, Cannon expected to be competing this year on the collegiate gridiron -- not on a college baseball diamond.

So in that respect, yes, there's no question that Cannon has surprised himself by having the success he has had during his freshman season on the Seton Hill baseball team.

"Initially I was all about football. I thought for sure I'd be going to play football somewhere," Cannon said. "But the way it worked out, this was the best opportunity, I think, for me, so I ended up kind of at the last minute picking baseball over football."

That appears to have been a very wise choice. Cannon has been one of the best freshman pitchers in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Heading into the weekend, he was 3-2 with a 1.46 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 37 innings for the Griffins

He was named WVIAC Pitcher of the Week two weeks in a row -- for the weeks ending March 31 and April 7. Cannon is reportedly the only athlete in any sport at the Greensburg, Pa., school to win consecutive conference weekly honors.

"I guess I can't say I expected to have the success I had," Cannon said. "But with all the work I put in during the offseason and everything, I was hoping for at least a chance to get starts and get a chance to prove myself."

Cannon, who went 9-4 with 103 strikeouts over his final two seasons at Mars (and additionally hit .477 as a freshman), also passed for more than 1,100 yards in each his junior and senior seasons as a Planets football player. He also was a standout basketball player.

For a player who never put 100 percent concentration into one particular sport, however, Cannon is showing what kind of pitcher he can be when singularly focused on that.

"He's exceeding expectations earlier than we thought," Griffins coach Marc Marizzaldi said. "He's made pretty good progressions in his improvement, and that combined with his work ethic, I thought right away after just one semester here that he'd have a bright future for us. He's been better than we expected as a freshman, but we knew this was in him [at some point]. We're more excited about the next couple years for him."

Cannon, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound right-hander, throws a curveball, changeup and slider to go along with a fastball that can top out in the mid-80s mph range, according to Marizzaldi.

"What's made all the difference for him is he's really learned how to pitch," Marizzaldi said. "And his command in the strike zone is unbelievable.

"Over the course of a seven-inning game, you won't have too many pitches above the knees. He's come to understand that as long as you're spotting your fastball and working down in the zone, you'll have success.

"He's not an overpowering guy, but D.J. is definitely more of a pitcher than a thrower. A lot of kids coming out of high school might have more powerful arms but are throwers and not pitchers. D.J. is so coachable; he wants to be as good as he can be. He's been able to make adjustments probably better than any freshman we've had before."

Cannon's work ethic is such that it would be surprising if he didn't significantly improve year-in and year-out -- his commitment level is that high, Marizzaldi said. That inner driver is born out of an intensely competitive nature.

"Playing three sports, I was always getting to compete," Cannon said. "That [competitiveness] has always been part of me."

Cannon is one of several freshmen playing prominent roles for the Griffins this season -- many of whom as part of the pitching staff, Butler graduate Brian Warheit and North Allegheny alumnus Richard Raraigh among them.

"We have some pretty good young talent -- especially in our pitching staff," Cannon said. "We're all kind of growing together."