Brooks Vial has made a splash at every level of baseball he’s played. His latest impact comes at the Division I level. The Virginia Commonwealth left-hander and Hahnville alumnus recently captured Pitcher of the Week honors in the Atlantic 10 Conference, an honor that came just 14 games into his first season with the team since making the jump from Delgado Community College.
Vial’s winning week saw him toss a complete game, five hit shutout in which he struck out five batters and walked just one, earning the win against Marist. Then Vial went 6.1 innings in a battle with Wagner, allowing three runs on seven hits while earning the win.
Overall, he finished the week with an ERA of 1.76, and this season he’s helped his team get off to a faster start than it did in 2015, when it reached the NCAA Super Regional.
“It’s a pretty cool thing to be recognized like that,” said Vial, a junior. “A lot of credit goes to my defense. We turned three or four double plays (in the Marist win) that made a huge difference.”
Vial is making the transition to Division I after spending two very successful seasons on the hill at Delgado, helping the Dolphins reach the National Junior College Athletic Association World Series in each of his seasons with the team. He went 15-5 with a 2.66 ERA over those two years.
The biggest difference he’s noted so far at VCU is the game is played at a much faster pace.
“It’s a higher level of competition and everything happens faster,” Vial said. “Guys are faster, stronger … so that’s taken some getting used to.”
Off the field, he’s starting to feel at home — though that took a few weeks, as VCU represents his first big move outside of his hometown and surrounding areas.
“In a way, I almost felt like I had too much downtime at first,” Vial said. “In New Orleans, I always knew what to do or where to go. After going home and coming back up here (for the season and current semester), I feel a lot more at ease and at home.”
Vial said he’s made an effort to become more of a student of the game, which he says is necessary at this level of play.
One weapon he’s been able to count on with the Rams, just as he could at Delgado and with Hahnville, is his ability to throw multiple pitches for strikes consistently.
“When you can throw a breaking pitch for a strike in a fastball count, it really helps you keep batters off balance,” he said.
So far this season, he has started eight games, going 3-2 with a 3.83 ERA and 36 strikeouts over 47 innings. He’s also gaining steam: after allowing 12 earned runs over his first three starts, he’s allowed three earned runs or less in his five starts since. VCU entered the week with an 18-10 record.
Vial hopes he’ll have the opportunity to help his team earn some more postseason victories after its impressive run a year ago.
Regardless, he’s living a lifelong dream.
“To play division I baseball is everything I’ve wanted and hoped for since I was younger,” Vial said. “It’s definitely been my goal. To have watched schools on TV like Georgia Tech, then to come here and play there … it’s a real eye-opener.
“It’s like, last year you watch VCU at the Super Regional. Now, you are VCU. It’s a pretty great feeling.”
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