COLLEGE BASEBALL Area players help Titans erase early woes, stage streak

Kurt Latta and Kevin Culp have helped Westminster bounce back from a poor start.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NEW WILMINGTON -- Several Youngstown-area players have been key factors in the early-season turnaround of the Westminster College baseball team.
Kurt Latta, a senior designated hitter and catcher from Wilmington Area High, and Kevin Culp, a sophomore pitcher and first baseman from Canfield High, have helped the Titans bounce back after four losses and a tie to win eight of their last 10 games as of last Wednesday.
Of the eight wins, four have been blowouts of 12-0, 17-4, 14-0 and 17-0 as Westminster improved to an 8-6-1 record, including 5-0 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference.
Latta and Culp are among nine area players on the Titans' team.
Second-best: Latta was batting .372 (16-for-43), second-best on the team behind Brian Goettler (.394).
Culp had a 2-1 pitching record as did Matt Pournaras and Matt Robison. Culp also had a 3.13 earned run average with 15 strikeouts, and was hitting .250 (5-for-20).
Also sparking the Titans were Rob Thompson, a sophomore outfielder from Mathews; and Scott Nastase, a senior catcher from Poland. Thompson was batting .289 on 13-for-45, Nastase .275 on 11-for-40.
Niels Jorgensen, a freshman first baseman, outfielder and pitcher from Wilmington, is a top substitute with .417 (5-for-12).
Others: Completing the area delegation are Eric Pellegrini, sophomore infielder-outfielder from Girard; John Schiraldi, sophomore catcher from Hubbard and a transfer from Hiram; Mike McKee, freshman outfielder from Warren JFK, and James Fee, freshman outfielder from New Castle.
Sean Kelly is Westminster's coach; he's assisted by Carmen Nocera, John Klein and Vic Kaplack. Klein is from Cardinal Mooney, Nocera from New Castle.