Vatch, Lake Park shut out Metea Valley

For a young baseball team playing a full game for the first time in more than a week, Lake Park looked like a bunch of wily veterans.

And a sophomore led the Lancers.

Crafty right-hander Ed Vatch pitched Lake Park to an impressive 7-0 victory over Metea Valley in Friday’s Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division game in Aurora.

The last time either team played was when they met on April 21, a game won by Metea Valley in extra innings. But with Vatch (2-0) dominating on the mound in his second straight shutout, the Lancers (8-7, 4-4) made sure this one didn’t sneak away.

“He throws strikes, he keeps us in ballgames, and that’s what it’s all about,” said Lake Park coach Dan Colucci. “The bats woke up a little bit. I’ll take wins like this any day.”

A 4-run bottom of the second inning gave the Lancers the only cushion they needed. An error opened the door to a 2-run single by Nico Chaidez, a run-scoring groundout by Jeremy Olenek and an RBI single by Brandon Boyle.

Vatch, meanwhile, was near perfect through four innings. Metea Valley (7-4, 3-3) didn’t have a baserunner until a miscommunication on an infield popup with two outs in the top of the fourth.

In an efficient 82-pitch complete game, Vatch struck out five, walked two and allowed 3 hits. Two came in the seventh inning.

“I think the rest actually helped us,” said Vatch, who also was aided by nice defensive plays by third baseman Zach Tsiodras and center fielder Nick Turner. “We were able to get our arms back fresh, and we’ve been taking a lot of swings in practice. I think that’s really helped.”

Lake Park added lone runs in the third, fourth and sixth innings. Bret Saracino’s groundout scored the first run, while Turner’s leadoff double in the fourth led to another run on a fielder’s choice. Chaidez added a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

Ryan Solomon, Kenny Obendorf and Andrew Fox accounted for the 3 hits by Metea Valley, which stranded two runners at second base.

“Our kids have been champing at the bit saying they want to play, and they just came out flat,” said Mustangs coach Craig Tomczak. “Yeah, it’s hard to play after a week and a half, but you’d hope they’d come out with a lot more energy and be ready to go.”