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Lawrence Lancers Baseball '11

Tue, Apr 19, 2011 10:00 AM @ Methuen
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Final
Lawrence 6 0 3 0 0 3 0 12
Methuen 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1

Lancers tops in arms race: Mendez dominates Methuen, moves to 3-0

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Tuesday, April, 19 By Hector Longo

METHUEN – Vic Mendez admits he took the mound here on Ranger Road with a little bit of venom running through his veins.

A career 10-2 pitcher — who hadn’t lost a start since May 13, 2009 – Mendez wondered where the respect for LHS baseball had gone. Sure, the Blancos, Calzettas, Quezadas, Sandovals and Titos had all graduated.

But Mendez, complete with the nastiest of sliders, and Yunior Vasquez weren’t going anywhere.

“I was a little mad today,” said the senior Mendez, who took his frustrations out on the Rangers with five innings of three-hit, 10-strikeout ball in a 12-1 Lancer win.


 “We expect to be better than people think. We’re going to be better, I don’t care what people are thinking. I just want to win.”

Mendez has a right to vent his frustrations. Lawrence pushed St. John’s Prep to the limit in the North title game a year ago, yet one Boston paper chose not to list the Lancers in its D1 North top 10.

The other city didn’t bother to consider these Lancers in their EMass top 20. And the local branch of folks at ESPN?

They showed plenty of love on the MVC, listing Lowell at No. 6, Chelmsford at 14, Andover at 15 and Thursday’s Lancer foe Tewksbury 18th in their statewide top 25.

 Yet not a sniff of the Lancers, who dominated the conference a year ago at a perfect 13-0.

“I think Vic pitches with a little chip on his shoulder, and that’s a good thing,” said Lancer coach Brendan Neilon. “Did I know if we were going to be good? I knew we were going to be in a lot of close games, because pitching wins. Anytime you have good pitching, you can steal wins.”

Mendez and the 6-foot-2 Vasquez put Lawrence in position to be successful every time they touch the rubber. Look at the numbers. Lawrence has only allowed four runs total (2 earned) in its 4-1 start.

“We lost a lot of good players, but I have a lot of confidence in the new guys on this team,” said Vasquez, who has been accepted at Merrimack but is hoping to draw some interest from the major league scouts this spring. “Sometimes you have to count on your players. All Victor and I want to do is our best to help this team win.”

Can the Lancers repeat the amazing history-making run of 2010? Feel the chill in the air. Something like that is still a long ways away.

But Neilon has a luxury that few if any public school coaches in Eastern Mass. Division 1 have. He can run out not one, but two blue-chip arms to the hill every week.

“Vic has been just dynamite, and both he and Yunior have been so consistent,” said Neilon. “I can’t remember the last time one of them had a poor start.”

GAME NOTES

Vic Mendez, now 3-0, wasn’t at his best with his location – as he was up in the strike zone – but when he needed one, his money pitch was there. “When it’s 3-2, I always throw my slider, because I know with my slider, I can always throw it for strikes,” said Mendez, who has now allowed just one earned run and struck out 32 in 19 innings. …

Carlos Ditren, a senior reliever, looked sharp in his two innings of relief, striking out 3. …

Lancer shortstop Anthony Rodriguez had a huge morning with a pair of hits, including a triple that short-hopped the tennis court fence in deep left. He drove in five for the day. …

Mendez, Juan Ventura (3 for 4) and Edwin Brito (3 RBIs) had multi-hit games for the Lancers. …

Ranger senior Cal Carroll, who will probably take the mound Thursday vs. Lowell, had three of Methuen’s four hits on the day, driving in the lone run.

Game Statistics:

Lawrence (12):  Juan Ventura cf 4-2-3, Hector Perez 1b 2-1-0, Edwin Brito 3b 3-1-2, Reynaldo Duran ph 1-0-0, David Quezada lf 4-1-1, Nelson Rodriguez ph 1-0-0, Vic Mendez p 4-2-2, Carlos Ditren p 1-0-0, Ricardo Matos dh 3-1-1, Anthony Rodriguez ss 4-2-2, Jose Cedano c 2-1-1, Felix Guilamo ph 1-0-0, Darwin Brito rf 1-0-0, Randy Gonzalez ph 1-0-0, Edison Urena 2b 0-0-0, Totals 33-12-12

Methuen (1):  Cody Cyr cf 3-0-0, Corey Shepherd 2b 3-1-0, Eric Lacroix lf 3-0-0, Cal Carroll 1b 3-0-3, Bobby Cole ss 2-0-0, Jared McAdam dh 3-0-0, Kevin Higgins rf 3-0-0, Cam Cyr p 1-0-1, Cam Conway p 0-0-0, Steve Arsenault ph 1-0-0, Nick Buote c 3-0-0, Evan Cyr 3b 0-0-0, Totals 25-1-4

RBI:  L — Ventura, E. Brito 3, Matos, A. Rodriguez 5; M — Carroll

WP: Mendez; LP:  Cam Cyr

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