St. Anthony’s coach Paul Parsolano on the victory @SAFriarsBase pic.twitter.com/MFzohVxbV4
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 26, 2022
One of the advantages to fielding a young team is that they typically benefit from the experience and come back the following year as a more cohesive and confident group. That appears to be the case for the St. Anthony’s Friars, who are flourishing in 2022.
They defeated St. John the Baptist, 8-0, behind the second straight complete game shutout by Jason DeCaro – their ace junior who lowered his ERA to 1.42 with 31 strikeouts over 24.2 IP. He has taken that next step and become the ace they envisioned. DeCaro was lights-out, striking out 10, walking three and allowing just three hits (one was a misplayed double) over a complete game as the Friars improved to 8-1 in CHSAA play.
Jason DeCaro lowered his ERA to 1.42 through 24.2 IP with 31 Ks and .184 BAA pic.twitter.com/dAh3Mo2Lx4
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 27, 2022
His counterpart, southpaw Nick D’Avanzo fired a scoreless first inning but ran into some trouble in the second when he walked the first two batters before allowing a single to right field by Quintin Vizza to load the bases. Robbie Vitale hit into a 6-4-3 DP to allow the game’s first run to score. D’Avanzo escaped the jam with a strikeout.
While that was all the run support he would need, the Friars broke the game open in the fourth inning with a six-spot. Jack Vallario‘s infield single with the bases loaded was followed by a bases loaded walk by freshman Phil Mazzola, a HBP of Taj Farmer, a walk drawn by Tom Napier and a two-run E6. By the time it was over, the game was firmly in-hand.
DeCaro went back to work, striking out a pair in the fifth inning and also striking out the last batter of the game to put an exclamation point on the victory.
There was not much to be unhappy about from St. Anthony’s perspective, although they will face a huge challenge in Game 2 of the series when they face St. John’s-commit Kyle Chase, who already has a no-hitter to his name this season and has other-worldly stats.
Following the game, Coach Parsolano said the two schools of thought are either to attempt to be patient and drive his pitch count up or try to attack since he doesn’t walk anybody. Needless to say, this victory was a crucial one for the Friars who are one-game behind undefeated Chaminade, but they are still in the driver’s seat for a first-round bye in the playoffs.
For the Cougars, it hasn’t been the season they expected so far. They lost SS/RHP Aedan Forde for the season, who was not only off to a great start with the bat but also was a crucial reliever for them. They have been without RHP Braden Davis who was expected to be a legit No. 2 behind Chase. They also were dealt a tough loss when Randy Ramnarace transferred back to Brentwood – he would’ve been one of the top pitchers in the league. Nevertheless, they do have a chance to get hot in the playoffs and with Chase on the mound, they can beat anyone since they usually only need one win to win.
