Pine Bush shortstop Albert Zarraga flips to third baseman Eugene Cummings to get Complete Performance’s Gio Sayegh in a rundown.
By Rich Bevensee
Brian Amiel may be the baseball equivalent of a mad scientist, given the amount of time and research he logs on his laptop, studying opponents and strategically matching up his pitchers down to the individual at bats.
But the lengths to which he helped his team get the upper hand on Saturday evening is just not seen very often, if at all.
Amiel, coach of the 16U Pine Bush Rebels Select of New York, flip-flopped two pitchers twice in the same game, and his players did what he expected them to do – execute and get the win.
Lefty Joel Vazquez and righty Albert Zarraga each spent two stints on the mound and the result was pure efficiency. They combined to surrender just one run on six hits and lead the Rebels to a thrilling 2-1, six-inning victory over Complete Performance Baseball Academy in 16U Grand Slam pool play at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
“I’ve been doing this for quite some time – I may have 500 or 600 games under my belt – so I know my pitchers,” Amiel said. “After studying Complete Performance, I knew their hitters so I put my specific pitchers in for their specific hitters, and that’s the key. Know their hitters, know my pitchers.”
The Rebels (2-0) will face their toughest test on Sunday when they take on Baseball U PA 16U National (2-0). Complete Performance (0-2) finishes pool play against Sportika Baseball 16U Red on Sunday.
Seeing the same two pitchers re-enter the game is quite unusual but it was all according to Amiel’s plan. One thing Amiel didn’t see coming was No. 11 hitter Connor Crowe’s straight steal of home to provide the winning run.
In the bottom of the third inning with the Rebels trailing, 1-0, Matthew Peacock reached on a fielder’s choice and eventually scored on a wild pitch to tie the game. That’s when Crowe advanced to third.
With leadoff man Dominic Sciascia at the plate, Crowe took off on a lobbed throw back to the mound, back to Complete Performance pitcher Chase Hinton. Crowe broke for the plate on the lob and beat Hinton’s throw to give his team the lead.
“Brian would have killed me if I didn’t make it,” Crowe said. “I was able to get a big lead and he didn’t look me back at all. I saw the catcher kind of lob it back and I just went. I feel like I’m a pretty good baserunner. I’m kind of slow so I have to be smart with my baserunning. I think if it was a perfect throw I would have been out but it was a hard throw to make. I had confidence I’d make it. I was pretty sure I’d make it, about 90 percent sure.”
“I told him take a big secondary and if it’s a passed ball, you get there,” Amiel said. “He did that completely on his own. Great read. If he didn’t make it, he’s right, I would have killed him.”
The story of the game was Vazquez and Zarraga flip-flopping to keep Complete Performance hitters off balance.
“They complement each other because Albert throws in the mid- to high 70s and J.J. (Vazquez) throws in the mid 60s, so it changes the batter’s timing,” Amiel said.
Vazquez allowed one run over the first three innings on three hits and one walk with two strikeouts.
That run came in the top of the first when Mason Hinton lofted an opposite-field double just inside the right field line, stole third and scored on a passed ball for a 1-0 Complete Performance lead.
Zarraga took over in the fourth and pitched 1⅔ scoreless innings with a hit and a walk allowed and three strikeouts. His biggest strikeout to that point came in the top of the fourth with runners on first and third and one out. He induced a fly ball for the second out, then let out a primal scream when he got a strikeout to escape the inning.
Mason Hinton doubled and scored in the first inning for Complete Performance.
In the top of the fifth, Zarraga struck out two batters before handing off to Vazquez, who got a strikeout to end the inning.
“I don’t necessarily like re-entering a game,” Vazquez said. “I usually come in when there’s not a lot of pressure. I am normally a starter, but I like challenges. I just throw strikes.”
Vazquez continued into the sixth where he ran into trouble, as he yielded two singles and a walk to load the bases with one out. It was time for Zarraga to re-enter the game with the top of the Complete Performance lineup coming up.
Zarraga got the final two outs with strikeouts looking to end it.
“I knew with the top of the lineup, we needed him on the bump to get out of it,” Amiel said.
Vazquez and Zarraga agreed that they seem to have a chemistry when it comes to handing off to the other in the middle of a game – multiple times – and they relish the uniqueness of the challenge.
“It was not hard,” Zarraga said. “I count on my coach so I know he will make a good decision to take me out and go in again. And I have 100 percent confidence in myself and I know I can get the outs.
“It was fun because J.J. is a good pitcher and we can do good things together.”
“Albert is a really good pitcher,” Vazquez said. “I like flip-flopping with him because I know when I’m in a tough position he’ll get me out of it, and when I eventually re-enter I can pitch without any worries.”
Vazquez’ final line was one earned run allowed in 3⅔ innings pitched, with five hits and two walks yielded against four strikeouts. Zarraga’s final line read 2⅓ innings pitched, no runs allowed on one hit and one walk with five strikeouts.
Amiel’s commitment to doing the homework is unmatched. He said he spent roughly four hours studying Pine Bush’s opponents for the weekend, and about 90 minutes on just the Complete Performance lineup.
“If you want to win at this level, you have to out-coach the opposition and you have to take every single opportunity to get a free 90,” Amiel said. “I worked all week to get this figured out. I checked all the GameChangers and all the team websites. I did research on all the teams we were going to play and I figured out what pitchers I wanted to face and what teams.
“I know it sounds extreme but these guys deserve it. If they give me 120 percent, I’m going to give them 120 percent, and they did. I wouldn’t trade any one of these players. Every single one adds so much value to this team.”
An underlying but important facet of the game was how patient Pine Bush batters were in facing Hinton, the Complete Performance starter who was steady for 3⅔ innings. He allowed two runs on two hits and two walks with five strikeouts.
But the big righty reached his 65-pitch limit sooner than anticipated.
“We took about 25 pitches today because we wanted to get the big guy off the bump,” Amiel said.
Like Zarraga, Complete Performance pitcher Jake Mayer did some tightrope walking of his own. After Zarraga wiggled out of a two-on, one-out jam in the top of the fourth, Mayer returned the favor in the bottom of the frame.
With two Pine Bush runners in scoring position and two out, Mayer got a strikeout looking to end the inning and keep the New Yorkers from scoring an insurance run.