A DOMINATING PRESENCE ZARLEY IN COMMAND ON THE MOUND.Byline: Nevin Barich Nevin Barich (born August 6, 1979) is a former American sports journalist now working as the Senior Editor of The National Notary, a trade magazine based in Los Angeles with a circulation of more than 300,000 nationwide. Staff Writer Justin Zarley got a lot of support from his teammates this season off the field. On the field was a different story. Zarley, who will play in the 26th annual Bernie Milligan Daily News All-Star Baseball All-Star Baseball is a baseball video game series developed and published by Acclaim Entertainment. The series began in 1998 with the release of All-Star Baseball '99. Game this Saturday at Birmingham High of Lake Balboa Balboa, town (1990 pop. 2,751), Colón prov., in the former Panama Canal Zone, on the Gulf of Panama. The port for Panama City, Balboa was the administrative headquarters of the Panama Canal Zone. It was also the site of a U.S. navy base (closed 1999). , was Lancaster High's top pitcher this year. However, a lack of run support only allowed him to compile a win-loss record of 4-4. Zarley was targeted to be one of Lancaster's top pitchers and he exceeded expectations. Zarley, a senior who was a closer his junior year, was the Eagles' lone dominating presence on the mound with an earned run average earned run average n. Baseball Abbr. ERA A measure of a pitcher's performance obtained by dividing the total of earned runs allowed by the total of innings pitched and multiplying by nine. Noun 1. of 2.06. The lack of run support shouldn't have come as a surprise to Zarley and Lancaster. The team was expected to become more of a defense-oriented, small-ball type club in 2002. The previous season, the Eagles had hitting to spare as they won their first-ever Golden League title and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Southern Section Division II playoffs. However, most of those power hitters graduated and Lancaster was expected to rely on a strong pitching staff in 2002. It didn't work out that way - while Zarley excelled, all the other pitchers struggled. ``We really didn't do as well as I thought we would,'' said Lancaster coach Doug Martin Doug Martin (born May 22, 1957 in Fairfield, California), is a former American professional football player who was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the 1st round (9th overall) of the 1980 NFL Draft. A 6'3", 258 lbs. , whose team rallied at the end of the season to finish tied for second in league and earn a wild-card berth in the playoffs. It was really disheartening dis·heart·en tr.v. dis·heart·ened, dis·heart·en·ing, dis·heart·ens To shake or destroy the courage or resolution of; dispirit. See Synonyms at discourage. to watch Justin get a lot of guys out and not allow a lot of earned runs earned run n. Baseball A run scored without the aid of an error, used in computing earned run averages. Noun 1. earned run - a run that was not scored as the result of an error by the other team . He just didn't get the run support. ``We knew he would be our main guy and most of the time he pitched well enough to win. We just lost some tough games.'' Two of the toughest losses of the year for Zarley might have come at the beginning and end of the season. Zarley pitched in Lancaster's season opener against El Camino Real El Camino Real (Spanish for The Royal Road or The King's Highway) was the name of a series of pre-automobile highways linking the various New World colonies of Spain:
Also, in the Division I wild-card playoff game Noun 1. playoff game - one game in the series of games constituting a playoff game - a single play of a sport or other contest; "the game lasted two hours" playoff - any final competition to determine a championship against El Rancho El Rancho may refer to:
``I lost a lot of one-run games and a lot of games on errors,'' Zarley said. ``Every game I would try to shut the other team down, and often I was able to do so. But I didn't always get the runs to get the win.'' Zarley was dominant for most of the year, but much of his success came after making some changes in his mechanics at the start of league play. In nonleague action this season, Zarley got into the habit of trying to strike batters out with his 90-mile-an-hour fastball rather than set up the hitter with other pitches. It worked all right for a time until league play started. In the league opener against Quartz Hill, Zarley was pitching well until the Rebels began to time his fastball. Before he knew it, Zarley had given up back-to-back home runs and Zarley was shelled for the only time this season. ``That particular game was terrible, but it definitely helped in the long run,'' Zarley said. ``It taught me that I had to find my locations better and work on my mechanics a bit more.'' In the fall, Zarley is slated to attend Cal State Northridge, where he was given a full athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. They are common in the United States, but in many countries they are rare or non-existent. . However, there is the major-league baseball draft later this month to consider. Zarley's dream is to play professional baseball, and though he's not expected to be a high draft pick, if the right situation comes along, he'd consider postponing college to go after his dream. One scenario that Zarley said he wouldn't pursue is going to junior college. If Zarley goes to a two-year school in the fall, he can be eligible for the draft next year. If he goes to a four-year university, however, he won't be draft-eligible for three years. For Zarley, it's CSUN CSUN California State University Northridge or the draft. ``If I don't go into the draft, I'm going to CSUN,'' Zarley said. ``College is the most exciting years of your life and I want to have that experience.'' ZARLEY FILE Who: Justin Zarley Year: Senior What: Pitcher, Lancaster baseball team Quote: ``Justin was definitely our number one guy. He pitched pretty darn good every game and was a big key in keeping us in games.`` - Teammate Jason Anderson
CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Lancaster High pitcher Justin Zarley is a dominating presence on the mound, but he didn't always get offensive support from his teammates. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer Box: ZARLEY FILE (see text) |
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