There isn’t a whole lot more James Marvel could have done as a member of the Campolindo High baseball team.

But even with the lengthy list of accomplishments — three-time North Coast Section champion, scholarship to Duke, regarded as one of the area’s top pitchers — his legacy on the Moraga campus will include much more than what happened on the field.

For a senior season that saw him help the Cougars reach uncharted territory in NCS play, Marvel is the Bay Area News Group East Bay Baseball Player of the Year.

Things didn’t come easily at times for Marvel, a 6-foot-3 right-hander. Having spent the better part of three seasons as the team’s ace, Marvel was shelved by arm soreness with two weeks left in the regular season.

“The biggest thing was I had no control. I’d tell guys I was more nervous sitting in the dugout watching guys than I was out on the mound,” Marvel said. “I tried to step up in other ways, helping share some experiences of what I’ve been through, specifically with the playoffs.”

Marvel remained in the lineup as the designated hitter and continued to crush the ball. He finished the season with a .433 batting average and 26 RBIs. As a pitcher, he finished 5-2 with a 1.81 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 58 innings.

And eventually, Campolindo’s goal became reality. The Cougars beat Dougherty Valley 6-3 at the Oakland Coliseum to wrap up their third straight section title, becoming the first East Bay team in the

modern NCS era to accomplish that feat. Marvel went 3 for 3, scored three runs and stole two bases in the win.”It’s not the balls and strikes,” Campolindo coach Max Luckhurst said. “It’s the leadership that he’s going to leave here where people are going to say, ‘I want to be that kind of guy.’ Not that kind of pitcher. That kind of person.”