Final: LIU Post 4, Molloy 0
WP: James Varela (9 IP, 0 R, 6 K)The Pioneers advance to face No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas tomorrow at 12pm pic.twitter.com/WlG1LmE4rs
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 10, 2018
It’s been one of those seasons for James Varela of LIU Post. The junior RHP has been lights-out from his first start of the season. Today was no different in his complete game shutout over No. 2 Molloy in the first-round of the ECC Tournament. The Pioneers came away with the 4-0 victory, advancing to the winner’s bracket of the tournament.
The Pioneers went down 1-2-3 in the first inning but the bats went to work in the second inning. Cleanup hitter Dave Brehm got things going with a single to left field. Michael Manzione was the next batter and he launched a deep fly ball off the top of the fence in left-center field, putting runners on 2nd & 3rd with nobody out. After a ground out to third, Zach Fritz hit a ground ball to third base but the throw to the plate to get Brehm was errant and allowed the Pioneers to get on the board. Jimmy Mendyk was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. Joe Piscitelli hit a chopper to third that resulted in a force-out at the plate, but Piscitelli’s speed prevented an inning-ending double play. It wound up being crucial, as the following batter, Ramger Iglesias, laced a bases-clearing double down the left-field line. He was thrown out attempting to stretch it into a triple, but the damage was done and the lead was extended to 4-0.
With the way Varela was throwing, the 4-0 lead appeared to be insurmountable even with the Lions having one of the most potent offenses in the region. They are led by five players (Angelo Navetta, Sean Hogan, Matt Overton, Jack McCarty and Jake Saltzman) that have eclipsed 50 hits.
He kept them mostly at bay, scattering seven hits and striking out six batters. The biggest jams he got in were in the first, fifth and ninth innings. He allowed a single, walk and HBP in the first inning but was fortunate when Saltzman wandered off the bag and was tagged out by Iglesias to hand the Pioneers an out.
In the fifth, he allowed back-to-back singles to Mike Wall and James Messina but when the top of the lineup rolled over, he set them down quietly with three infield pop ups. They went down 1-2-3 in the sixth and seventh innings. He allowed a two-out single to Navetta in the eighth inning but ended the inning with a strikeout of Overton.
He saved his best work for the ninth inning when he loaded the bases with none out, but struck out Wall, pinch-hitter Nick Marino and induced a fly ball to right field to Saltzman.
It was an outstanding performance for the Division HS grad and a huge win for the Pioneers.
The reigning ECC Pitcher of the Year improved his record to 11-1 on the season, lowering his ERA to 2.40 and increasing his innings total to 101.1. While there may have major concern over who would fill in for Jake DeCarli following last year, Varela has not only stepped up to the challenge but he has put himself in the conversation for the Brett Tomko Award –given to the top Division-II pitcher in the nation.
The Pioneers will face No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas tomorrow at 12pm. The expected pitching match up is Noah Lorenzo v Chris Cepeda.
