BELLARMINE-JEFFERSON HIGH -- Walking onto the field at Brace Canyon
Park, Bellarmine-Jefferson High Coach Hector Perez usually greets his
players and talks a little baseball before practice starts.
But when the coach passes Bryan and Fabio Vargas, he often isn't
even acknowledged by either brother.
"Sometimes, they won't even say hi to me," Perez. "Most of the
time, they don't talk at all."
It's not that the Vargas' are rude, the two actually like Perez.
However, they are so painfully shy that it's rare for the players to
say much of anything to coaches and players during practices and
games.
"You have to realize, this is just the way they are," Perez said.
"It's not that they're trying to be mean to people, they just prefer
to be quiet. We don't get mad at them because they don't talk, we
just let them be themselves. We have kind of gotten used to it."
Opponents this season have gotten a taste of the Vargas' silent
but deadly treatment. Both pitchers, Bryan -- a senior -- and Fabio
-- a junior -- have successfully quieted every team they have faced
in league.
With a combined 5-0 record and 0.68 earned-run average in league,
Bryan (3-0) and Fabio (2-0) have led a Bell-Jeff resurgence that has
caught much of the Santa Fe League off guard. In their five starts,
all have been complete-game victories and three have been shutouts.
Successfully combining power and finesse on the mound, the
right-handers use good ball movement and an intimidating
three-quarters side-arm delivery to baffle batters.
The pair has been able to improve and grow under the watchful eye
of Bell-Jeff pitching Coach Rod Arancibia.
"Rod has done a great job, by himself, with the pitchers," Perez
said. "Pitching is not my thing, and I leave all that up to him."
"Fabio pitches a little slower than I do," Bryan said. "But he has
better movement and a better curveball than I do. He actually taught
me how to throw a good curveball."
In his three wins, Bryan has logged 17 innings, has a 0.67 ERA,
allowed six runs (one earned), eight hits, struck out 24 and walked
six. For Fabio, his 10 innings has yielded two runs (one earned),
five hits, a 0.70 ERA and he has struck out nine and walked three.
"The great thing about the both of them is that they have great
movement on their pitches," Perez said. "They really fool a lot of
hitters."
The Guard brother combo has helped Bell-Jeff to one of its best
league showings in more than 10 years. Although the team took its
