TOURNAMENT SOFTBALL Boardman pulls away from Strongsville, 8-0

The Spartans face Kent Roosevelt today for a Division I district title.
BOARDMAN -- The pitchers for the Boardman and Strongsville high school softball teams were locked in a hitless duel for three innings in the Division I district semifinal Monday.
The top-seeded Spartans (24-3) scored twice in the fourth inning, three more times in the sixth and twice in the seventh to record an 8-0 victory at Field of Dreams.
Today at 5:30 p.m. Boardman will meet Kent Roosevelt for the district title. Second-seeded Kent beat Mayfield 8-2 to advance.
Common opponent: The championship-game teams had a common opponent: Austintown Fitch. Boardman defeated Fitch twice, 9-0, 3-2, and Kent eliminated Fitch 2-0 for the sectional championship.
"You could tell our batters were frustrated at the plate," Boardman coach Bill Amero said of Monday's game.
"I felt confident that our offense would get it going," he said. "It took a little bit for the bats to come around. Eventually, we broke it open in the sixth."
The Spartans took a 1-0 lead in the first without the benefit of a base hit.
Mary McCabe was hit by a pitch and stole second and third. She scored on a passed ball.
With two outs in the fourth, Gina Rango walked and Jennifer Feret hit a home run over the center-field fence for a 3-0 lead.
Feret, a sophomore first baseman, has five homers this year.
The Spartans didn't get their second hit until the sixth inning. Laura Amero led off with a single, and two batters later Rango was hit by a pitch. Feret doubled to make it 4-0. Freshman Jaclyn Corroto laid down a bunt to score Rango from third.
Jennifer Pancake singled to bring in Feret with the sixth run.
The Spartans have won 13 games in a row, while Strongsville fell to 9-12.