JOHN KOVACH | Colleges Ken Tirpack error-free at Stanford

STANFORD, Calif. -- A year spent in the bullpen with the Stanford University baseball team has made Ken Tirpack from Boardman High a better catcher.
In fact, Tirpack, now a part-time starter in his sophomore season, has played error-free ball in his career with the Cardinal -- covering 134 chances this season and 19 last year.
That 1.000 fielding percentage makes him one of the top defensive catchers in collegiate baseball.
Helps pitchers: His defensive skills, which include the ability to handle pitchers, has helped Stanford's top four pitchers -- Jeremy Guthrie, Jeff Bruksch, Tim Cunningham and Mike Gosling -- to a combined 20-1 record and 2.45 earned run average.
In the process, the Cardinal had a 28-7 record entering a three-game series with Oregon State last Thursday.
"I had to catch a lot of bullpens last year. It definitely made me a better catcher. You can work on framing, blocking balls and a lot of other things," said Tirpack, who used the bullpen as a valuable learning process.
During his freshman year, Tirpack played in only eight games behind starter Damien Alvarado. But this season, he has appeared in 26 of 35 games, starting 12 of them, while sharing starting duties with sophomore Ryan Garko.
Learned a lot: Tirpack's learning process in the bullpen also included finding out about pitchers and their characteristics, which has improved his understanding of them.
"Pitchers take forever when they throw bullpens. They are definitely a different breed. They make a couple of pitches and then they talk about it," said Tirpack.
"I remember one time last year, when Jason Young was struggling mechanically, I think he threw about 120 pitches in a bullpen. It seemed like it lasted about an hour and a half. He kept getting more and more mad. It was not pretty."
Offensively, Tirpack has been struggling somewhat this year, although he recently recovered from an early-season slump at the plate.
After going hitless in his first nine games, he bounced back with a pair of two-hit games, and had started a four-game hitting streak. As of last week, he was batting .222 (10-for-45).
Boardman ace: The son of Marian and Ken Tirpack, young Tirpack was a standout on the Boardman High baseball and a four-year starter. He was the Ohio Division I Player of the Year as a senior, as well as all-state, and a four-time All-Steel Valley Conference choice.
He also sparkled in the classroom at Boardman High with a 3.86 grade-point average, while being a member of the National Honor Society.
Tirpack also played in the Youngstown Class B League for the Astro Falcons, and helped the team to win the Ohio Connie Mack state championship in 1998.
Last summer, he played in the Alaska Baseball League for the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks.
A cousin, also named Ken Tirpack, played baseball at Ohio State from 1989-92 and was a third-team All-American. He was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 21st round of the amateur draft in 1992.
Whitacre starter: Marcie Whitacre from Girard High was a starter and key player for the Lake Erie College women's basketball team this past season as a sophomore.
Whitacre started all 26 games and averaged 5.8 points, 3.0 assists, 2.4 steals and 2.1 rebounds, as the Storm posted an 8-17 record. She also made 22 3-point goals and shot 70 percent at the foul line.
One of her highlights was at the Medaille College tournament that opened the season. In two games there, Whitacre had 23 points, seven assists, seven rebounds and six steals. For that performance, she was named to the All-Tournament team, and also was picked as Lake Erie's student-athlete of the week.
Whitacre is majoring in education and is planning to become a teacher and basketball coach.