By Nick Ristoff
SYRACUSE, N.Y. –Eleven pitchers made their way to the mound during Thursday night’s New York Collegiate Baseball League match-up between the Syracuse Jr. Chiefs and the Sherrill Silversmiths.
Out of those eleven, it was the one without any college experience who left a lasting impression.
Zach Vennaro (Monroe CC) hurled seven shutout innings, struck out six and scattered four hits.
“Basically, the command of the fastball was working, I also threw a splitter a decent amount for strikes and got them out a lot on pop-flies and ground balls here and there.” Vennaro said about his second win of the season for the Silversmiths.
Vennaro stands 6’5” and is planning to graduate from New York Mills High School on June 20th where he was a stand-out athlete.
“I’m from a small school, definitely one hundred times different than facing high school hitters who are from fourteen to eighteen years old versus guys who are developed, it’s totally different.” Vennaro said.
Despite the shift in age, the transition into collegiate competition seems to have little effect on Vennaro’s numbers. In NYCBL play, Vennaro faces players who are as old as 22 and could have played up to four years of collegiate ball.
In the seventh inning, Vennaro got into some trouble plunking both Luke Emling (Villanova) and the Jr. Chiefs captain Brian Burns (Ithaca) back to back. With runners on first and second, Vennaro stayed poised struck out the Jr. Chiefs power hitter Carlos Tapia (Siena) and their speedster Ryan Roman (Concordia).
After Vennaro left the game in the seventh inning the Jr. Chiefs were able to tack three runs to the board in the eighth and ninth innings to tie up the ball game. The Sherrill Silversmiths were able to squeak out a run in the 10th inning and maintain the 5-4 lead through the bottom to maintain Vennaro as the winning pitcher.
“I’ve loved baseball since I was a little kid and started playing, I want to keep playing as long as possible.” Vennaro said.
Next fall, Zach Vennaro will enter his freshman year at Monroe Community College where he hopes to continue his success as a pitcher.
“It’s the best place for me right now,” he said.
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