Etta Express opens College World Series with win
No. 1 Marietta cruises past Catholic in shutout victory
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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Catholic's Ben Nardi admitted he hasn't faced many pitchers like Marietta College left-hander Trent Valentine.
Valentine was at the top of his game in Friday's Division III World Series opener, leading the Pioneers to a 7-0 victory over Catholic at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
"Throughout the year we haven't really seen many lefties with that much sink," said Nardi, who had one of the Cardinals' only four hits off Valentine.
The senior southpaw delivered a dominant performance on D3's biggest stage, throwing eight shutout innings to set the tone for the rest of the tournament.
"Trent obviously was exceptional on the mound," said Marietta head coach Brian Brewer, who is trying to guide the program to its seventh national title. "You're only as good as the guy on the bump and Trent's the story of the day, for sure."
Valentine, a second team All-American, improved his mound record to 14-1. He's been Marietta's No. 1 starter all year and proved why Friday.
"Pitching to contact" was the key, Valentine said. "They were getting bad swings early. I just try to control what I can control. I try to stay locked in on the next pitch and getting the outs I need to."
Valentine had the Cardinals off balance all game, striking out eight batters to just two walks. He worked quick and controlled the tempo of the game.
"It's exciting to play defense behind him," said Marietta center fielder Trent Castle, who tripled and drove in two runs. "As long he keeps dealing and he's in the zone, we're having a good day."
Drew Holderbach, Logan Vietmeier and Drew Wilkinson all had RBI doubles. Holderbach, Castle and Zach Boyd had two hits apiece for the Pioneers, who got three runs in the third, one in the fourth and three more in the fifth. It was more than enough cushion for Valentine.
"Ball was popping out of his hand great today," Holderbach said. "He was working fast, throwing a lot of strikes, and that's what keeps the defense in it. It was huge to have him throwing strikes and commanding the zone."
Having your starting pitcher go eight innings in a the opening game of an eight-team tournament is pretty much a coach's dream.
"If Trent can give us seven, eight innings, and keep his count under 100 pitches -- ideally 85 to 92 pitches -- whether they're strikeouts or groundouts or flyouts, they're outs," Brewer said. "That's really what we're looking for."
Brewer, however, needed to be convinced by pitching coach Mike Mulvey to send Valentine back out for the eighth inning. Valentine rewarded his coaches by working around a pair of hits to throw another scoreless frame.
"I was ready to take him out in the seventh," Brewer said. "Mike talked me into leaving him in there. His count didn't really get that high. In the fifth or sixth, he was up a little higher than we would've liked, but then in the seventh and eighth, especially the seventh, he was really good."
Brewer was eager to bring in first All-American reliever Sam Mathews, which he did for the ninth. Mathews delivered a clean, 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout.
"It's been a race to Mathews all year for us," Brewer said. "The sooner we can get the ball in his hands the happier we are. Coach Mulvey talked me out of (taking Valentine out) and we let him run out there (for the eighth). He did exactly what he needed to do, pitching to contact early in counts."
From the Cardinals' perspective, "(Valentine) had a lot of sink to his ball," Nardi said. "He was heavy fastball but I think his sinker had a lot of draw and it came back a lot. He wasn't missing spots very often. He was throwing right to (Vietmeier's) glove. He was pretty consistent all game. Getting ahead, staying ahead, keeping us all balance."
Added Catholic shortstop Tighe Watson, "I saw mostly fastballs. He did a very good job staying consistent all day. Never really lost his composure."
Jack Zaffiro (3-3) took the loss after throwing three innings. He allowed three runs on three hits with two walks and three punchouts. Cormac Terry allowed four runs in two innings of relief while Nick Marini pitched a scoreless final three frames.
Marietta (44-5) advanced to the winner's bracket and will play Salisbury, who beat Wisconsin-Stevens Point 8-2, at 1:15 p.m. CDT/2:15 p.m. CDT Saturday. Catholic (34-15) will take on Wisconsin-Stevens Point at 10 a.m. CDT/11 a.m. EDT Saturday in an elimination game.
"The most deserving team came out on top," said Catholic head coach Ross Natoli. "They played a little bit better than we did. Marietta took advantage of a couple miscues on our part. They got the big hit when they needed it. Trent Valentine pitched an admirable game. I've got to tip my hat to him."
Jordan Holland can be reached at jholland@mariettatimes.com.