CONNIE MACK TOURNAMENT 'Rondinelli railroad' blows past Trojans

Rick Banna recovered from a rough first inning to defeat the Toledo team.
By BILL SULLIVAN
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
STRUTHERS -- Early in Friday's Connie Mack baseball tournament game between Rondinelli Tuxedo and the Toledo Trojans, a freight train slowly rolled past the outfield fence at Cene Park.
That locomotive became symbolic of Rondinelli lanky pitcher Rick Banna. Banna, a Canfield High School senior, gained momentum as the game progressed and Rondinelli eliminated the Trojans, 7-3.
Rondinelli lost to Fielder's Choice 6-1 in Friday's late game.
Finding a rhythm
Banna was hit hard in the first inning, allowing three hits and three runs. After the slow start, just like the train, he got stronger and retired 18 of the final 24 men he faced.
"A few fat pitches," Banna said of his first-inning mistakes.
Rondinelli outfielder Scott Bender homered to left on the second pitch of the game, but the Trojans had three hard hits to take a quick 3-1 lead.
"The very first hitter, I tried to get him with a fastball and I hung it belt-high right over the middle," said Banna.
"The No. 3 batter, I did the same thing, only on a slider. Both hard hit balls."
Then the fifth Trojan hitter tripled to left field, making it 2-1.
"That was a shot," said Banna, who finished with a six-hit, five-strikeout complete game. A fielding error made it 3-1.
"I thought it was going to be a long game," Rondinelli coach Tim Niles said of Banna falling behind in the first inning.
"I don't think he was quite loose," Niles added. "He started getting loose in the middle innings and he was able to start working his curveball. He didn't have a curveball the first inning. Once he started sweating, he was fine."
Rondinelli's rally
Rondinelli bundled a single, a balk, three wild pitches, a walk, a sacrifice fly and an error to score four times and take a 5-3 lead in the second.
Meanwhile, Banna retired the next seven hitters he faced. Once his curveball became effective, the Trojans were reduced to guesswork.
"After that, it was easy going," said Banna. "I just started to get ahead of batters and I kept them off balance with the offspeed [pitches]."
Gary Bucuren, who singled twice, drove in the sixth Rondinelli run in the third inning and Lee Keck drove in the seventh run in the sixth.
Sean McDonald added a single and a double in a 10-hit Rondinelli attack, while John Sciullo singled twice and Mike DeNiro doubled.
But the story of the game was the Rondinelli railroad, who was able to pick up steam and go the distance, looking unstoppable once he began to roll.
"Cene Park is one of the most annoying fields to play at; you got the trains over there," said Banna of the backdrop.
The Trojans must have thought the same thing.
sullivan@vindy.com