Eastern's unlikely ace

He is the unlikely ace of the improbable South Jersey Group 4 champions.

Austin Friedant says there's a correlation there.

"It's kind of like the team," Friedant said of his surprising emergence as one of the key players during Eastern's surprising run to its second consecutive sectional title. "It was that much more motivation."

Eastern was no upstart in 2013. The Vikings featured 13 seniors as they captured the program's first state title, finishing with a 29-4 record and earning the No. 1 spot in The Inquirer's final Top 10 rankings.

Friedant, a senior right-hander who stands 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs 140 pounds, was a junior-varsity player last season. He didn't throw a pitch at the varsity level.

"I accepted that," Friedant said. "We had 13 seniors and I looked up to those guys and learned from those guys.

"I wasn't frustrated. I understood."

Friedant wasn't projected as Eastern's No. 1 pitcher this season. Or its No. 2. Or its No. 3.

"We were looking at him as maybe a No. 4 or No. 5," Eastern coach Rob Christ said. "But we had a few guys get hurt and he got the opportunity to maybe pitch a little more than we thought he would.

"All he does is win. He goes out there and he competes. He knows how to pitch."

Christ said he was "so nervous" before Friday's South Jersey Group 4 title game at Rancocas Valley.

The 11th-seeded Vikings were on the brink of a remarkable achievement, but needed to get past the eighth-seeded Red Devils, who had won eight in a row.

"I wanted to see these kids win so bad and I was so nervous," Christ said. "Then I starting thinking, 'Wait, I've got Austin pitching.' "

Friedant justified his coach's confidence. He retired the first 13 batters and finished with a four-hitter with five strikeouts in a 5-1 victory.

"He's like a video game," Christ said of Friedant's command on the mound. "You tell him where you want the pitch and that's where he throws it."

Friedant is 7-1 with a 1.57 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He has 51 strikeouts and just 11 walks in 58 innings. He's been especially strong in the tournament, getting the win in a 4-3 triumph over Vineland in the first round, closing out a 5-1 upset of second-seeded Washington Township in the semifinals, and shutting down Rancocas Valley in the sectional championship game.

"I struggled a little in the preseason," said Friedant, who plans to attend the University of Michigan and study engineering. "I rely on my control and I was walking guys, getting hit around.

"I've just gotten more and more comfortable at the varsity level and I've developed really good chemistry with my catcher, Tyler Travis."

Eastern returned just one full-time starter from last season in star senior shortstop Tom Flacco. But the Vikings became the first team from the area to win back-to-back Group 4 sectional crowns since Cherry Hill West in 1992-93 because of the steady improvement of a bunch of unheralded players.

Tops on that list would be their diminutive, determined ace.

"We're really just a bunch of J.V. guys," Friedant said. "But we stuck together and we support each other. We just try to take it one game at a time, one pitch at a time.

"To do what we've done as an 11 seed, that's pretty special."