By Cameron Boon
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — To be a closer one needs to be three things: clutch under pressure, trusted by coaches, and dominant on the mound. Safe to say Niagara Power closer Zach Verner was all three of those. Along with having a stellar season already, it was capped off when Verner was voted the New York Collegiate Baseball League’s Reliever of the Year by the voting committee.
“Being a closer, you have to have a special mindset, and we saw that throughout the first week,” Niagara manager Josh Rebandt said.
Verner finished the season tied for the league lead in saves with 11, along with one in the postseason against the eventual champion Hornell Dodgers and another in the NYCBL All-Star Game. He also had the lowest ERA among the closers at 1.66.
Coming into the summer, he only made three appearances in his sophomore season with John Carroll University. So it took a little bit for him to get back into that regular closer role.
In a preseason bullpen session, Verner showcased exemplary skill. It was in an exhibition game that Rebandt slotted him in that position for the first time. Once he was in that role, there was no way he was being taken out.
“Every time we had an opportunity for a save, it wasn’t even a question who was going out there,” Rebandt said.
The Venetia, Pennsylvania native was silky smooth and dominant on the hill. He made 22 appearances throughout the summer, and in only two did he surrender any runs.
“I’m always going to go out and compete to the best of my abilities, and I let God take care of the rest,” Verner said.
Early confidence got him off to a hot start. After a shaky first game, he was able to get the save in the home opener against the Syracuse Salt Cats. He did allow a hit and walked two, but was able to strike out the side.
It was in that game when he started a scoreless streak which lasted nearly a month. Beginning with the June 5 home opener, the right-hander did not allow a runner to cross home plate for 29 days. It wasn’t until the other team from the home of the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, the Syracuse Jr. Chiefs, tagged him on July 4th that Verner allowed a run. Still, he earned the save in a 4-2 victory.
It wasn’t only himself he was putting this show on for, however.
“My teammates became my brothers,” Verner recalled of the experience.
“It was a special group of guys and it was one of those summers you’d never forget,” Rebandt added.
The only time Verner blew a save opportunity this season was when he allowed four runs in the top of the seventh of a seven-inning game against the Olean Oilers to give them a 9-5 lead. He walked two and allowed two hits in the inning in what would become his worst outing of the season by far.
His brothers were there to pick him up though, giving him five runs in the bottom of the seventh and winning the game 10-9. The day’s events would give Verner his fourth victory of the season, as he finished tied atop the league with three other relievers in the wins category.
“I can’t be thinking about stats that happen in the past, because it would hurt you in the future,” Verner said.
Even if he wasn’t, the rest of the league was. He was in pursuit of John Colella (Elmira ’10) and the NYCBL single-season high (since 2006) of 13 saves.
The blown one on the 19th would have put him in second alone with 12, and if the Power offense hadn’t erupted for six runs in the eighth inning on the second to last day of the regular season against the Rochester Ridgemen, he would have been looking at the record.
“We didn’t pay a whole lot of attention, but once it got later in July, we noticed he was going towards records and it was cool to watch him get closer and closer,” Rebandt said.
Even though he came into the summer with subtle goals, it is definitely easy to see that he definitely got that mojo and confidence back that he had his freshman year, when Verner sported a 2.14 ERA in 15 appearances, along with a team-leading three saves for the Blue Streaks.
He’ll now be able to take that confidence and mojo to Division II University of North Georgia, where he will be assuming the same role come next spring.
“I wanted to increase my ability to throw all of my pitches for strikes,” Verner said.
Also, people do say that nobody ever remembers who came in second. Not this time. Everybody around the league is going to remember this season by Verner for a long time.
“This summer was cool because we got to see things that you probably will not see again,” Rebandt said.
Tommy Eng (Syracuse Jr. Chiefs/Adrian) finished second with two first-place and votes and 57 points overall. Brandon Agar (Oneonta/ No. Georgia Coll & St. U) received three first-place votes and 53 points. Jackson Sigman (Rochester/ Glendale CC), Jason Euler (Genesee/ Eastern Illinois), Tom Taplin (Cortland/ University of Buffalo) and Cory Fox (Syracuse Salt Cats/Adrian).
Verner made 12 appearances for the 2013 Geneva Twins. He went 2-0 with four saves.
Oneonta’s Corey Kafka earned the inaugural NYCBL Reliever of the Year award in 2013.
2014 Reliever of the Year
Zach Verner (11) 93
Tommy Eng (2) 57
Brandon Agar (3) 53
Jackson Sigman (1) 37
Jason Euler (1) 26
Tom Taplin (1) 23
Cory Fox (1) 15
Others receiving votes: Kevin Berge (Geneva Twins/St. John Fisher), Jeff Beall (Hornell/Urbana), Lane Hanzel (Genesee/Anderson), Andrew Mercer (Geneva Red Wings/So. Indiana), Colton Roberts (Rochester/Toccoa Falls), Jaren Drummond (Oneonta/Grand Canyon), Dave Anderson (Geneva Twins/Muhlenberg) and Aveeno Nasiloski (Syracuse Salt Cats/Chicago St.).
Leave a Reply