Boardman holds off Harding to win sectional crown
The Spartans jumped out to a 4-0 lead before winning 5-4.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- A strong start and some clutch relief pitching from Andy Good saved the Boardman High baseball team against comeback-minded Warren Harding Wednesday in a Division I sectional final at the Spartans' field.
Boardman scored three runs in the first inning, made it 4-0 in the fourth, then withstood Harding's two-run rallies in the fifth and sixth innings for a 5-4 victory.
The Spartans (14-12) advanced to a district semifinal at Cene Park next Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. against Mayfield, which beat Painesville Riverside, 3-2, in the Euclid sectional final Wednesday.
Boardman also was helped by Harding's inability to drive in base runners.
The Raiders (15-12) stranded 11 runners and left the bases loaded in each of the first two innings.
Good strong at end
Good, who relieved starter Josh Susany (3-1) in the fifth inning after Harding scored its first two runs on errors, gave up two runs in the sixth on a wild pitch and single.
But he retired the Raiders 1-2-3 in the final inning -- two with strikeouts -- to get the save.
Susany gave up three hits and struck out seven, while Good allowed two hits.
Southpaw Tyson Rowland, who relieved starter Nate Daugherty in the first inning after the first two Boardman batters (Good and Mark Sikora) hit successive doubles, pitched the rest of the way, giving up six hits.
Good finished with two doubles while Sikora had an RBI on his double.
Domitrios Makridis had two singles and one RBI for Harding.
Lucas' play
Warren Harding center-fielder Sean Lucas made the defensive play of the game on a diving catch of Matt Madrid's line shot with the bases loaded in the third inning.
"Susany did an outstanding job but he got up in his pitch count," said Boardman coach Scott Knox. "[Good] did a great job closing the game."
Harding coach Joe Smarrella said his team left 13 runners on base the last time the two teams played.
"Tonight, we left guys on base again and didn't get that clutch hit when we needed it."
Dan Ford and Madrid had Boardman's other two RBIs in the first inning on sacrifice flies, while John Poma scored the Spartans' fourth run on an error.
Then Andy Golubic drove in Madrid on a groundout in the sixth.
Harding's first two runs came on two errors on the same play on Stephon Komora's grounder, which scored Makridis and Ethan Taylor, who both had singled.
Rowland tallied the Raiders' first run in the sixth on a wild pitch after reaching on a single, while Makridis singled home Cecil Haynes, who reached base on a fielder's choice.
kovach@vindy.com