University building on upset of CVCA

Royals ranked No. 2 in D-II coaches poll; Preppers have won five in a row

University made the trip to CVCA on May 5 for a matchup of two teams in the top 15 of the OHSBCA D-II state poll. The Royals came into the game looking to add to their 13-game win streak.

The Preppers had other ideas, as Evan Shapiro gave up four hits and struck out five while the bats got him some early run support. Fourteenth-ranked University went on to upset the secondranked CVCA, 10-0, in five innings.

The win is University’s fifth in a row and moved them to 15-4, while CVCA fell to 19-3.

The victory is a big step for coach Rob McNerney’s bunch as they continue to build on a strong season. While big games are nothing new for the Preppers, being able to convert those to wins has been a challenge.

“Tonight’s win was great for our confidence,” said McNerney. “Over the last two seasons, we have challenged ourselves with games against Walsh Jesuit, St. Ignatius, St.Ed’s, Hoban, etc. We’ve been close in a few of those games but hadn’t quite knocked that door down. So tonight, to beat one of the best teams in the state, was really good for our confidence as we get closer to the playoffs. Showed our guys that if we continue to get better every single day — take it one game at a time — we belong in those conversations.”

It started from the mound with Shapiro’s complete-game shutout. The junior only needed 59 pitches to get through the game, with 40 of them being strikes.

McNerney knows that he has a strong pitcher who can make the right pitch for the situation.

“No moment is too big for him,” said McNerney. “He has a lot of confidence in himself and in his teammates. He knows he’s prepared for these kinds of games. Getting to pitch against and beat some of the top teams around like Mentor, St. Vincent-St. Mary and now CVCA is great preparation for the playoffs.

“Those teams have deep lineups and will be very similar to playoff teams. It makes work harder mentally and physically.”

While Shapiro was strong from the bump, the bats did their damage early, as they put up four runs in

the first and six runs in the second. David Faremouth led the way with three runs brought home and the duo of Ryan Pattison and Aaron Moss followed that up with two runs apiece.

Three other University batters brought runs home. Despite the bats going silent for the final three innings, McNearey knows all his batters understand their roles in the lineup and understand

what the situations call for with every at-bat.

“The biggest thing going for us right now offensively is guys have truly embraced their roles,” said McNerney. “No matter where they are in the order, 1 through 9, they understand they have a job to do. No one is trying to be the hero. They just want to help the team win and get the next guy up. All of our hitters are starting to do a much better job with two strikes. Working counts well — finding a way on base. We knew we’d have to manufacture runs and score differently than last year. All offseason we hammered that into them and it’s really great to see them understand that.”

University looks to make it six wins in a row when they host Western Reserve Academy on May 6.