He tossed a three-hitter…
By Dylan Butler
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — Anthony Varvaro made sure St. John’s first appearance in the Big East tournament since 1999 was a memorable one. In the opening game of the tournament, the sophomore hurler from Staten Island was spectacular.
He tossed a three-hitter over eight innings to lift the second-seeded Red Storm to a 4-2 win over Pittsburgh at Commerce Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater last Thursday.
Varvaro struck out a career-high 10 on 137 pitches (also a career-high). He threw 87 strikes and hit 94-mph on the radar gun in the eighth inning to improve to 8-2.
The key for Varvaro was getting off to a quick start, something he hadn’t done in a regular-season-ending 17-4 win over the same Panthers May 23. After allowing three runs on 39 pitches in the first inning at Pittsburgh that afternoon, Varvaro needed just 19 pitches to retire the side in order.
“Usually if I get out of the first inning I know if I’m going to be able to dominate throughout the game,” Varvaro said. “That’s why the first inning was good for me. I knew what pitches were working for me.”
He threw 15 pitches and struck out Peter Parise looking to end the second inning in order.
Varvaro was cruising in the third, striking out Alex Rybczak and David Cline following a leadoff walk to Mike Scanzano. But Pitt then loaded the bases on a rare catcher’s interference call to Joe Burke and a four-pitch walk to Ben Copeland.
He then got behind Big East Player of the Year P.J. Hiser before walking in a run on a full count. Varvaro, though, got out of the jam when he got cleanup hitter Jim Negrych to ground out to second to end the inning.
“We kind of fell back in some holes, 0-1, 1-2, and when you get back on any good pitcher he’s going to eat you up,” Hiser said. “He was on today. He hit the corners, and his curveballs were sharp. He did his job and we didn’t do ours today.”
He also outdueled Pittsburgh ace Nick Evangelista, who shared Big East Pitcher of the Year honors with Boston College’s Chris Lambert.
Evangelista dropped to 7-3, allowing four runs — two earned — on eight hits, while striking out four and walking two on 86 pitches in 4.1 innings.
“I thought he did great. He got stronger as the game went on,” St. John’s catcher Joe Burke said. “His curveball was working for him today, so we kept mixing pitches in and out and he was throwing all his pitches with confidence.”
After jumping ahead 3-0 in the first two innings, Blake Hershelman crushed Evangelista’s 2-1 hanging curveball over the 24-foot, triple-tiered wall in left to lead off the fifth and put St. John’s ahead, 4-1. It was the first home run of the tournament and team-leading 10th of the year for Hershelman.
“I took advantage of it and it gave us a little breathing room,” Hershelman said. “I knew Anthony could hold it down after I got a three-run lead for him.”
Reach Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
