The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Lake pitcher fans 19 in big week
In his starts against Lakewood and Chagrin Falls, Matthew Tierno stepped up to the challenge to have his team in position to try and win both games. While Lake Catholic was unable to finish the job against the Rangers, Tierno’s 10 strikeouts against the Tigers helped the Cougars claim a 3-1 victory.
In his victory against the Tigers, Tierno was able to work multiple pitches for strikes and get batters to guess what pitch was coming next.
“I was able to locate my fastball really early in both games,” said Tierno. “I also really had my slider working against Chagrin, too. To be able to switch up pitches like that is huge and I was happy to be able to get both working early.”
While Tierno has been dealing from the mound, his teammates have made sure that he has had the opportunity to record victories in the outings. Lake Catholic led Lakewood by two going to the bottom of the seventh but the Rangers brought in two runners in the seventh to tie and hit a walk-off winner in the eighth.
The win over Chagrin Falls was a flip of the script for his teammates. They recorded two runs in the eighth to pull ahead. Tierno has seen that trust build for Lake Catholic, as he is one of 11 underclassmen who have been major contributors for the Cougars.
“It brings a lot of fun to the sport,” said Tierno. “I have a teammate on Chagrin that I play with during summer ball and it was fun to be able to strike him out, and I feel like we’ve been able to make a lot of progress as players and as friends. Lake Catholic has been a fantastic community and we’re all able to trust each other and know that we’re going to make the plays that we need to and not try to do to much.”
Tierno’s performance on the mound combined with what his teammates have done from the batter’s box has seen Lake Catholic compile a 10-8 record and earned the 12 seed in the postseason.
In his first season on the varsity roster, Tierno leads the team in strikeouts with 43 and has allowed 15 hits over 29 2/3 innings pitched. While he’s shot up the rotation for Lake Catholic, Tierno has not only seen his game improve.
“I think my overall attitude has seen the biggest jump,” said Tierno. “There used to be times where I would get upset and really didn’t want to play baseball. But this team and all the guys on it have really helped me mature and be excited every time we take the field for a game or a practice.”