Spartans' Repec stops Ursuline

By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
STRUTHERS -- Matt Repec proved at least two things on the mound for the Boardman High baseball team Wednesday against Ursuline: He can pitch in cold weather and has an effective mix of pitches.
Repec, a junior, fired right through the 40-degree day with eight strikeouts and only two walks before yielding to relief in the seventh inning, as the Spartans posted a 10-5 win over the Irish to retain first place in the Steel Valley Conference.
"He's got command of all three pitches -- fastball, curveball and change-up -- and kept them [Ursuline batters] off balance," said Boardman coach Scott Knox, whose Spartans improved to 9-3 overall and 3-0 in the SVC.
Effective: Coach Sean Durkin of Ursuline (5-3, 2-2) agreed.
"He got ahead in the count and took advantage," said Durkin, whose Irish were held to five hits by Repec until the seventh.
Repec was backed by timely two-run singles from Tom Zetts and Kris King in the fifth and seventh innings, respectively, that highlighted three-run rallies. Those uprisings helped pull the Spartans away from a 3-3 tie entering the fifth. Zetts also drove in a run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly.
Knox said Repec was able to get first strikes on batters to give him some cushion.
"He stayed ahead in the count except at the end when he got a little tired," said Knox.
Took 3-0 lead: The Spartans took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a fielder's choice, and then went up 3-0 in the third on King's and Mike Krieger's run-scoring singles. But Ursuline bounced back in the third by loading the bases, and scored one run on Erin Satterlee's single and two runs on an error.
However, the Irish were unable to muster any more offense until the seventh inning, when they already were in a 10-3 hole. They finally got to Repec as Satterlee doubled and scored on John Angelo's triple.
Knox then made the move to bring in Krieger from shortstop to replace Repec on the mound, and the reliever yielded a run on a fielder's choice before putting out the fire. Repec and Krieger combined for an eight-hitter, beating Ursuline starter Jim Moorhead (1-1) and reliever Josh Conkey who gave up 13 hits. King, a fast runner, had three infield hits for Boardman.