Stone Cole
Purdue recruit battles back as Van Assen boosts Brother Rice past Providence
Purdue did not sleep on Brother Rice’s Cole Van Assen.
The junior pitcher visited the campus Sunday. The Boilermakers made an offer. Van Assen announced Tuesday he had verbally committed.
He only had one reservation. Junior first baseman Amir Gray also is heading to Purdue, and Van Assen jokingly fretted about being roommates with him.
“He snores really loud,” Van Assen said of Gray. “I told him he needs one of those CPAP machines.”
Van Assen didn’t snooze Thursday, but he had an easier time picking a college than he did getting through Providence’s lineup.
The 6-foot-4 right-hander labored for five innings as the host Crusaders gutted out an 8-7 Catholic League Blue victory in Chicago.
After giving up six hits and three walks and hitting two batters, Van Assen left the game with Brother Rice (20-3, 10-1) holding an 8-4 lead.
But he also made three fielding plays for outs and picked a runner off second base to help keep Providence (8-11, 4-7) at bay.
“He played a little bit of second base for us last year, so he can play defense,” Brother Rice coach Sean McBride said of Van Assen. “He covers a lot of ground and fields his position.
“I felt like pitching wise, he wasn’t at his best, but he battled and gave us a chance to win. That’s what your No. 1 pitchers do.”
Earlier in the season, Van Assen pitched five strong innings against national power IMG Academy, allowing an earned run on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
It was a turning point, according to McBride.
“After the IMG game, he realized, ‘OK, I’m here,’ ” McBride said. “His body language changed. His mentality was different. Just the way he looked on the mound was different.”
“I love the control of being a pitcher,” Van Assen said. “I like having an impact on the game.”
Brother Rice’s offense Thursday gave him a boost as Will Flanigan picked up three hits and three RBIs, including a two-run double in the third as the Crusaders took a four-run lead.
It was a second straight win for the Crusaders, who were looking to recharge after losing twice to St. Xavier of Kentucky, 6-5 and 1-0, and then losing 6-4 Monday at home against Mount Carmel.
Brother Rice earned some revenge Tuesday with a 15-4 win over Mount Carmel in five innings. And Flanigan was happy to do his part against the Celtics.
“We’re bouncing back from that
loss at Carmel,” Flanigan said. “It really hurt us and we took it personal. We got out to a lead against Providence but dragged a little.
“I tried to keep everyone calm, including our pitcher. He’s a younger kid, and I just wanted to have his back.”
Bryce Nevils and Christian Holmes also had two hits and two RBIs apiece.
While Providence has a sub-. 500 record, the Celtics opened the week with a 2-1 loss Monday to St. Laurence before beating the Vikings 6-4 in the rematch Tuesday. It was the Vikings’ first loss of the season after 20 straight wins.
Providence followed that up with a 1-0 victory Wednesday over St. Patrick.
Enzo Infelise, Providence’s heralded freshman catcher, had three hits and scored twice against Brother Rice.
Even though the Crusaders went through a rough patch after winning 17 straight, McBride prefers seeing his team constantly challenged.
“We want some adversity,” he said. “Games like this and Mount Carmel get my blood pressure going, but it’s good for us.
“We’re not going to win seven playoff games from the first through the seventh inning. We’re going to have to learn how to play from behind. We’ll have to learn to play through mistakes. That’s just baseball.”