La Salle’s Manieri makes most of opportunity
Harleysville resident ignites key victory over Archbishop Wood
WYNCOTE >> In baseball, there aren’t many tasks more difficult than pinch-hitting.
Add in any of the dozens of variables that permeate a baseball game and the job just seems to get harder and harder. That’s just for the elites, guys that make a living coming in off the bench cold to try and make something happen.
For La Salle junior Shane Manieri, those chances hadn’t been coming very often recently.
Yet, the Harleysville resident found himself called up to step up to the plate and use his bat to help his team in the sixth inning of Saturday’s game with Archbishop Wood. Manieri certainly did just that, ripping a first-pitch RBI double that lit the fire in La Salle’s seven-run rally that led to an 8-5 win at Ward Field.
“Luckily the pitch was where I wanted it and in this case, it was all about location,” Manieri said. “I just put a good barrel on it. I had no idea where it was going to land, I just put the bat down and started running and when I got to second base, I saw they had already cut it off. To me, it was just about getting the run in and executing.”
Manieri, who is listed on La Salle’s roster as a lefthanded pitcher and first baseman, was in the mix at the start of the season, but could never seem to find his swing and saw his time diminish. That didn’t stop him from putting in work to try and get himself going.
“We do a lot in practice, we have two machines we work with,” Manieri said. “We work on hitting curveballs and fastballs off a pretty fast machine and that way when you see it out of (the pitcher’s) hand, you can pick up what type of pitch it is.”
Manieri’s double, which hit the fence in right-center field, scored Anthony Cossetti to tie the game 3-3 with two outs in the sixth. The junior scored the goahead run one batter later when another pinch-hitter, Austin Lemke, hit a ball that glanced off a Wood infielder and into the outfield.
Calling it an instinct play more than anything, Manieri said he saw the ball going to his right and once it caromed away, he took off running. Wood was able to get a throw to home and while the junior said it was a little too close for his comfort, he beat it in to really get the La Salle dugout going.
“I attribute a lot of it to the energy of the team, they cheer you on and you feed off that energy,” Manieri said.
La Salle coach Kyle Werman said Manieri had really been picking up his hitting in batting practice and that the junior earned the chance to get an at-bat on Saturday. Manieri said what’s changed for him was changing his approach on hitting from one focused on mechanics to one more focused on feel.
The junior said it’s different for each hitter and since changing his mindset, he’s started to get a much better feel for his swing.
“I wanted to get a hit so bad in that situation,” Manieri said. “I had so much energy in the beginning of the game. To me, it doesn’t really matter as long as everyone gets the opportunity to do their part. Luckily, I got the opportunity to get to the plate and I’m really happy with the result.”
While Manieri batted with two outs, he admitted he didn’t recognize that when he went up and with good reason. La Salle had an early double play in the sixth, but by the time he set his feet in the box, the Explorers had drawn a walk, stolen a base, gotten an RBI single and forced Wood to change pitchers.
“All the energy we have in the dugout, it clears your mind and gets you ready for the next pitch,” Manieri said. “The energy is the key part of this game.”
Manieri said every La Salle player demands a lot of out of themselves and to uphold the tradition and reputation of the program. It’s why he kept plugging away and found a way to put himself in a position to do something for his team in a big game.
His chance came Saturday. He was ready for it.
“We were all focused on helping each other,” Manieri said. “When you’re put in those key situations, you do everything for the guys standing next to you. That’s the mindset we’re going to have for the rest of the season.”