That rubber arm hasn’t been called on much during his high school career at Edward Little and not all this past season. Varney said he entered his junior year with the Red Eddies with five innings pitched at the varsity level. 

Rainouts — forcing Rogers Post to play anywhere from four to six games in a week — coupled with player availability due to work and vacation, gave Varney the opportunity to showcase his rubber arm during the American Legion season. 

“The thing is with Brandon we knew he was a good pitcher,” Rogers Post coach Dave Jordan said. “All year long, although he didn’t pitch in high school, we do daily throwing drills and technique stuff and he always did that. We were prepared if we ever had a week where we had a lot of rain or something like that that he would be throwing for us. We felt the pitchers that we did throw during the high school season did a great job for us and that we could hold off on him until needed. He was someone we always felt could be a key factor for us at some point.”

Varney certainly seized the moment(s), stepping away from his usual squatted position behind the plate to stand tall atop the pitching mound. 

In four starts this season, Varney has tossed 27 2/3 innings, pitching against some of the top teams in Zone 2 in Franklin County (twice), Bessey Motors and Augusta. His second outing against Franklin County was the most memorable.

After Franklin County walked off in the bottom of the seventh against Varney on June 30, the catcher-turned-pitcher got his revenge two weeks later in a 2-1 victory over the Flyers in nine innings. Varney tossed all nine innings, striking out 12 and outdueling Amos Herrin, who went 8 1/3, striking out nine. 

“That was a tough game,” Varney said. “We weren’t hitting well. They weren’t hitting well. Amos is a good pitcher. We were both just hitting our spots that night.” 

Varney threw 118 pitches that night, 83 of which were strikes. All three of his pitches — fastball, curveball and split-finger fastball — were on that night. 

“He’s a strike machine and really pounds the zone and goes right after hitters,” Jordan said.  

Varney was back behind the plate the following night for yet another marathon baseball game. His knees were put to the test, catching all 11 innings against Pastime in a game that finished a few minutes shy of 11 p.m. 

Varney said his knees were more sore after the game against Pastime than his arm was after pitching nine innings against Franklin County. 

The win against Franklin County was Varney’s first of the American Legion season after two tough-luck losses — both coming in walk-off fashion. He went 7 2/3 innings against Augusta only to have Tyler Bailey hit the game-winning single with two outs in the eighth of a 2-1 loss on July 10. 

Varney allowed six  runs — three earned — on 16 hits, striking out 29 and walking five in his first three starts before picking up his second win of the season in a five-inning display against Bessey Motors. Varney said being a pitcher with a catcher’s mentality has helped him find success on the mound. 

“I think it does help because as a catcher I know what I want but the pitcher might not think the same thing so when I’m on the mound it’s ‘What would I call or what would I throw in this situation?’ It helps,” Varney said.  

While able to give Rogers Post quality innings on the mound, Varney’s primary position is behind the plate. It’s been that way ever since his days in Babe Ruth when his arm was first discovered. 

“I had a decent arm for Babe Ruth, so my dad stuck me behind the plate just to try it out and it stuck from there,” Varney said.

Drew Lashua serves as Varney’s catcher when he’s on the mound. Jordan said both Varney and Lashua were two of the top catchers in Babe Ruth before Varney ultimately got the starting nod with Edward Little. 

Varney’s play behind the plate hasn’t gone unnoticed by opposing coaches and fans. 

“I’ve had a number of coaches come up to me and praise what a great job Brandon did and people from the stands do the same thing,” Jordan said. “It’s nice having a catcher you can rely on where there’s a guy on third base and you can throw an off-speed pitch and know that there’s a very high probability he’s going to be able to block that ball. He’s been a great backstop for us in high school and in Legion.” 

He still has another year of high school, but Varney is interested in playing baseball in college. While he possesses all the fundamentals a catcher needs to be successful, he’s still working on being more vocal. 

“That’s one of the biggest parts,” Varney said. “With me I’ve been struggling with the vocal part because I’m not a very vocal person in public. I’ve been working on that part.” 

That will be one of the main focal points Varney will work on with the coaching staff next season. 

“He’s working at being even more vocal,” Jordan said. “I know he’d like to play at the next level and that’s one of the pieces we’ve talked to him about is being even more of a leader out there and understanding that eight guys are looking right at you and you’re looking at the eight guys. He’s definitely making improvements and we’re looking at continuing to up that part of his game.” 

Varney will be behind the plate to begin the Zone 2 tournament as Rogers Post makes the short trip over the bridge to play Pastime in the first round Tuesday at 4 p.m. The teams split during the regular season. 

If Rogers Post makes a deep run in the tournament, Varney could see his first postseason action on the mound.

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