HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL Zetts' homer leads Boardman to 18th win

Tom Zetts' three-run homer helped the unbeaten Spartans beat Canfield 9-7.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CANFIELD -- No early lead, no problem -- not for one of the best baseball teams in Ohio.
Undefeated Boardman High's winning streak was in jeopardy Monday when the Spartans trailed Canfield 5-3 after two innings.
But, three batters later Tom Zetts wiped out the deficit with one swing of the bat, his fifth homer of the season leading Boardman (18-0) to a 9-7 victory.
"If it was 5-3 in the top of the seventh, we might have been a little worried," said Zetts, who also doubled and hit a sacrifice fly to drive in five runs.
Both teams hit well
"But 5-3 in the second is kind of nothing because we have a bunch of kids who can swing the bat from top to bottom," Zetts said.
So does Canfield (17-6), which produced 11 hits but stranded 11 runners.
"Both teams were swinging the bats well and both starting pitchers were making pretty good pitches in the counts," Boardman manager Scott Knox said.
"Believe it or not, we've been down about four or five times this year by two, three [to] nothing. It helps when you have a bunch of seniors because they keep their composure.
"And going pretty far into the tournament [last year]s has seasoned us somewhat so we've been able to handle up, down," Knox said.
Canfield manager Tony Ross wasn't fazed by the defeat.
"You saw two teams that can hit the ball real well," Ross said. "I think they are the best team in Division I and I think we're one of the better ones in Div. II. It's was a very, very well-played game with a lot of people hitting the ball."
After Canfield starter Dan Leonard walked Matt Repec and Sean Curry to open the third inning, Zetts hit the first pitch over the fence.
"Before he threw the ball to the pitcher, the catcher yelled out to him, 'Let's mix it up.' So I knew something offspeed had to be coming," Zetts said. "He threw it, I sat back and away it went."
Did he know it was gone instantly?
"I took two steps and then I started looking -- I wanted to see how far it would go," Zetts said.
Canfield scores early
Trailing 2-0, the Cardinals jumped on Boardman starter Mike Krieger (3-0) for four first-inning runs. The key hits were RBI doubles by Leonard and Frank Turocy.
Josh Dripps' lead-off double in the second inning led to Canfield's fifth run. The Cards tied the game at 6 in the third when Chad Baker's double scored Nick Guerrieri.
The Spartans drew two lead-off walks off Canfield reliever Jake Wargacki in the fourth inning to launch a three-run inning with Curry, Zetts and Mark Sikora producing RBIs.
Brent Parks' solo homer in the fourth inning completed the scoring, but the Cards had several chances against Zetts, who pitched the final three innings.
Zetts struck out Baker with the bases loaded to end the sixth.
"It was a bit of pressure," said Zetts of Canfield's threat. "My arm was a little tight and I threw too many walks. I didn't feel that I threw that well today because I went to a [football] camp at YSU yesterday."
In the seventh, Zetts walked Parks with one out, but struck out Leonard and retired Mike Turjanica on a groundout to end the game.
Wins, losses not as important
Ross said a team's won-loss record doesn't mean as much when playing a top-notch schedule.
"Winning games and preparing your team for the tournament are two different things," Ross said. "We got better today by playing Boardman, we got better [Saturday] by playing St. Ignatius and Tallmadge. We're not going to dodge anyone. We played very well but got beat by a very good team."
Ryan Vaughn had two of the Spartans' 10 hits. Leonard and Tom Banna each had two hits for Canfield.
williams@vindy.com