Brian Trepanier shakes off being hit by line drive, leads Shaw to win
It was going to take a lot to make Shaw starting pitcher Brian Trepanier leave Thursday’s game against Columbus. Even a hard-hit line drive to his back only temporarily slowed him down.
Trepanier shook off the blow in the sixth inning of the Raiders’ 4-1 victory over the Blue Devils. After immediately falling to the ground, Trepanier dusted off and eased the concern of the Shaw athletic trainer as well as head coach Pat McGregor.
“It came right back at me, so I just tried to get out of the way so it wouldn’t hit me anywhere bad,” Trepanier said.
Trepanier told the onlookers he was fine. Besides, with runners on first and third in a three-run game, he still had a job to do.
With one out and runners on the corners, Trepanier made fast work of Columbus after the scare on the mound. He forced a flyout that was not deep enough to score the runner on third then struck out the next batter to end the Blue Devils threat.
Trepanier wasn’t even supposed to get the ball against Columbus. Starter Andrew Tillery was a late scratch for the Raiders, leaving McGregor to turn to Trepanier to pick up the slack.
“He’s a guy we trust anytime the ball is handed to him,” McGregor said. “We kind of had short notice to put Brian on the mound, but he did great. He got through a couple of tough spots where we sometimes find a way to let (the game) get away from us.”
The start had been a solid one prior to the injury scare. Trepanier surrendered one earned run on three hits. He’d also struck out six batters to help Shaw stifle several scoring opportunities.
Through five innings, the outing was a commendable one. The apparently effortless ability to keep going after the second batter of the sixth made it stand out even more.
Trepanier came back for the seventh inning, which included a play that looked a lot like the one that hampered him an inning before.
Trepanier quickly fell to the ground following another hard hit ball, though this time it missed him completely. The ball was swiftly fielded by shortstop Liam Carbone and thrown to first for an out.
Trepanier ultimately left the game with two outs in the seventh, but his resilience was something McGregor keyed on after the game.
“I was surprised how quickly he got off the deck,” McGregor said. “It never even crossed his mind (to leave). We’ve been talking a lot this year about needing to get mentally tougher. For him to get right back in there and get us through was big for us.”
Trepanier’s latest outing probably will require more ice than usual, but for him, the chance to keep Shaw in contention in what looks more and more like a tossup region was well worth the pain.
“We needed (the win),” Trepanier said. “We need to beat these teams to get higher up in our rankings. We’re better than we were last year, and people are doubting us.
“When we play good, we’re unbeatable.”
This story was originally published March 23, 2017 at 7:34 PM with the headline "Brian Trepanier shakes off being hit by line drive, leads Shaw to win."