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Van Stavoren’s arm is helping Sock win

If Larry Van Stavoren’s back drove him away from pitching earlier this season, his heart brought him back.

Van Stavoren experienced a back injury last year, so he told first-year coach Zac Martin during the preseason that he would rather not pitch. Halfway through his senior year though, something changed. An athlete who does not plan on playing college baseball knew his days were winding down. No way could he leave anything on the table.

Loyalsock certainly is glad he changed his mind. There Van Stavoren was on the mound Thursday, entering with one out and two on in the sixth inning of a close game against Lancaster Catholic. All the fairly novice pitcher did then was throw 1 2/3 scoreless innings, strike out the team’s best hitter with the bases loaded and closed out a thrilling 6-4 Class AAA state quarterfinal win.

“He’s as much a leader and in control as anybody,” Loyalsock coach Zac Martin said. “You can’t go out there scared. He’s just always calm. It’s his demeanor. You never see him get worked up. He just understands the gravity of the moment. He wants it.”

That is exactly what Van Stavoren told Martin at midseason. His back feeling better, his mind clear and his desire at an all-time high, Van Stavoren wanted a shot at pitching and helping Loyalsock make a deep postseason run. His addition to the staff helped an already strong unit continue flourishing. He went 2-1 during the second half of the regular season and showed how good he could be in a last-season win over South Williamsport, throwing a two-hit shutout with eight strikeouts.

Ironically, Martin wanted to use Van Stavoren primarily as a reliever. That is his role now, but Van Stavoren proved he can flourish in whatever role Loyalsock uses him.

“This year I came in and didn’t really want to start the back problems again, so I told coach I was going to shut it down pitching,” Van Stavoren said. “Halfway through the season I just said give me the ball and I’ll see how it goes and it felt great. I did it once and loved it.”

Van Stavoren has played exceptional defense in left field this season and made a spectacular catch in the sixth inning Thursday, robbing Dan Gonzalez of a lead-off single. Three batters later, though, Van Stavoren received the call and moved from the outfield to the mound as starter Andrew Malone closed in on 100 pitches.

The man Loyalsock thought would never pitch at all this season now was being handed the ball in a pressure-packed state quarterfinal and being asked to help save the season. The Lancers led 6-3 but Catholic had two runners on and the heart of the order up. Van Stavoren quickly induced a sacrifice fly for the second out before allowing a single and a walk.

The bases were now loaded and the go-ahead runs were on base with power hitter Brayden Clair up. Clair homered and doubled in his two previous at-bats and went ahead 3-0 against Van Stavoren. Instead of cracking, Van Stavoren came fighting back, threw the next two pitches for strikes and then froze Clair with a curveball on the outside corner, ending the threat.

An inning later, Van Stavoren allowed a lead-off single but retired the next three batters and Loyalsock kept its state championship dreams alive. So many others might have been nervous, but Van Stavoren felt right at home, embracing the moment.

“I called a 3-2 curveball with the bases loaded because I trusted his curveball and it’s big that he’s able to come in and do that,” catcher Eric Holz said. “You can trust him with his confidence because he comes on the mound and doesn’t look scared. He’s a small guy but when you come in with that kind of confidence you can pretty much do anything.”

Van Stavoren did not pitch much last year and did not throw until midseason this year, but Martin has shown total faith in his senior leadoff hitter. He immediately did so in the state tournament’s first round. Logan Edmonds pitched five strong innings against Lakeland and left with a 5-0 lead. It was the first time Van Stavoren pitched in the playoffs but he looked like someone who had done it many times before. The right-hander struck out the side in the sixth and then buckled down after allowing one-out singles in the seventh and clinched the win by inducing two straight flyouts.

“At the beginning of states coach came to me and told me I might be pitching some,” Van Stavoren said. “I didn’t think much of it at the time but figured I’d get to pitch in my last year and that would be fun.”

Loyalsock is enjoying having Van Stavoren on its team. The feeling is reciprocal. The goal now is to try and extend the fun and Van Stavoren’s scholastic career as far as it can go.

And Van Stavoren.has shown he will do whatever it takes to make that happen.

“Larry has good stuff,” Martin said. “He’s not overpowering, but he knows what’s he’s doing.”

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