Berkeley Carroll’s players knew that if they were going to defeat baseball power Poly Prep they were going to need a dominant effort from ace Ian Miller. They got that and more.
The junior threw a complete game shutout, striking out seven batters and allowing only two hits to help the Lions defeat host Poly 1–0 in non-league baseball on Monday.
“Ian showed today that you really have to beat him,” Berkeley Carroll coach Walter Paller said. “It’s not easy.”
Poly had a chance to steal the game in the bottom of the seventh, when Miller found himself in a rare jam. An error by usually sure-handed right fielder Anthony Spina put runners on second and third for Poly with just one out. Paller went to the mound and told Miller to attack the next hitter. He responded by striking out Nick Storz and then got Andrew Zapata to ground a ball right back to him to end the inning.
“You just have to tell yourself that they’re not going to score, and keep on going, and keep on attacking them as best as you can,” Miller said.
Paller was so enamored by Miller’s performance that he compared his ace to Poly’s Zapata, considered by many to be the best pitcher in the city. As with Zapata, Miller’s ability to handle pressure is what makes Paller think he can be so special.
“There’s probably one or two times during a game where you have to pitch effectively with men on base, where you have to continue to make quality pitches to get good hitters out,” Paller said. “And if you can do that, once or twice a game, then you can shut a good team out, and that’s exactly what Ian was able to do.”
On the other end of this pitchers duel was Poly’s Phil Maldari. He allowed just the one run and three hits over seven innings and struck out seven in defeat.
The lone run of the afternoon came in the fifth inning, when Berkeley Carroll was able to use timely hitting to take advantage of one of Maldari’s few mistakes. Maldari hit Miller with a pitch to open the fifth inning. A fielder’s choice moved him to second. Maldari responded with a strikeout, but sophomore Chris Harper made an adjustment and lined a single to left field, scoring Miller from second.
“I just went up there with a really aggressive approach,” he said.
The win over Poly was a big one for Berkeley Carroll, with players pointing to the Blue Devils’ high ranking in the city as motivation. Miller on the other hand, thought back to an 8–1 loss to the Blue Devils in the 2011 private school state title game. He took the loss in that contest after having a 1–0 lead going into the sixth inning.
This time, one run was all he needed.
“Getting that 1–0 complete game win, that really means a lot,” Miller said.
