By:Nick Buglione
Today, a kid named Viola is doing the exact same thing for the Jets -- only she pitches from a circle.
Freshman Heather Viola, the 14-year-old niece of former Minnesota Twins ace Frank Viola, joined the East Meadow High School softball team this year and didn't disappoint.
Heading into East Meadow's postseason matchup against Mepham last Thursday, Viola boasted a 5-2 record and a stingy earned-run average hovering just over 1.00, striking out some 40 batters while walking only 12. It's a performance that helped catapult East Meadow to a 10-7 regular-season record and a playoff berth.
Even Viola couldn't predict her first season would go this well. "I was kind of nervous," she said of joining the team. "I didn't know I was going to be starting so much."
Considering how well Viola has pitched in the clutch this year, Jets coach Debbie Nelson had no choice but to keep putting her out there. "I threw her right in the big games because I knew she could handle it," Nelson said. "When Heather's [pitching], I'm not worried."
Viola's crowning achievement came against Oceanside, a softball powerhouse, in April, Nelson said. Viola made it look easy, allowing only five hits and striking out seven as East Meadow coasted to a 9-3 win. All three of Oceanside's runs were unearned, Nelson said.
Much like her uncle, Viola seems to thrive in pressure situations. She loves nothing more than to silence the cheers when an opposing team has its rally caps on, like she did against Syosset this season.
Leading 3-2 in the fourth inning with runners on first and second and nobody out, Syosset was threatening to break the game wide open. But Viola bared down, striking out two batters and forcing a groundout to end the inning without allowing a run. The Jets later rallied, and won the game 13-4.
"I'm really stronger under pressure," said the diminutive Viola, whom her coach described as probably 70 to 80 pounds soaking wet. "It gets me going."
Keeping her cool on the mound is probably the biggest thing her uncle, who these days makes his home in Florida, has taught her. "He has helped her with her approach to pitching," said John Viola, Heather's father and Frank's brother.
Frank knows a thing or two about keeping his composure in pressure situations. In the 1987 World Series, he won two of the three games he pitched for the Twins, including the pivotal game 7. He won the series MVP and went on to win the Cy Young Award the following season, beating out the likes of Dave Stewart and future hall-of-famer Roger Clemens.
"She's just like my brother," Heather's father said, noting that it was clear she'd be a great athlete while she was growing up. "Anything she kind of touches, she's good at."
Viola's arsenal features a fastball that tops out at 53 miles an hour as well as a changeup, curve and rise ball. She throws them with amazing accuracy, Nelson said.
"She places her pitches exactly where my catcher calls for them," the coach said. And while they all look pretty, Nelson likes Viola's changeup the most. It's just another eerie similarity between Viola and her uncle, who threw the change masterfully with the help of Twins pitching coach Johnny Podres.
When pairing Viola with freshman pitcher Meghan McKillop, who has shone in her own right this season, one thing is for sure -- Nelson won't have to worry about East Meadow High School's pitching for a while. "That's one thing I'm looking forward to the next three years, is having those two on the mound," Nelson said. "I know for the next couple of years I have pitching."
