DIVISION II Koval jump-starts Poland to 2-0 victory
The Bulldogs struggled at the plate in a win over Alliance.
By ROBERT J. FUSCO
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
POLAND -- Coach Steve Rohan was looking for something to jump-start the Poland High baseball team's offense.
Through five innings, Poland ace John Hay and Alliance standout Jimmy Enright were locked in a pitchers' duel.
Enter David Koval.
The Bulldog junior ignited a two-run sixth inning to carry the top-seeded Bulldogs (21-3) into next week's Division II district semifinals with a 2-0 sectional championship win over the Aviators (3-20) Thursday.
"It's been a frustrating season for me and things are finally starting to come together," said Koval, who singled home the game's first run and later scored on an infield single.
Koval, an all-Metro Athletic Conference outfielder as a sophomore, broke his wrist in January and has been rehabbing the injury for the past month. He missed the first three weeks of the season.
"I've only had about 15 at-bats this year," he said, calling them "tune-up" swings. "I'm just starting to get my timing down."
Game-winning RBI
Koval's two-out single to left off Enright scored Rick DeMuzio, who singled with one out and stole second.
"Being in the nine spot [in the batting order], I was looking for a fastball," Koval said. "[Enright] left one up and over the plate and I jumped on it."
After Dan Bertolini singled Koval to second, Brandin Hardin hit a slow roller on the left side of the infield that he beat out for a single. Koval never stopped running on the play, scoring an insurance run.
"I knew when it left the bat, if Brandin beat it out, I was scoring," Koval said. "I didn't even have to look at coach [Rohan]. I knew he would have me scoring."
Rohan never hesitated in his decision to send Koval on the play.
"As soon as the ball left Brandin's bat, he was scoring," Rohan said. "He's the fastest guy in the school and he's a smart baserunner. He's a huge asset to this team and I happy for him. This was his day."
Four-hit shutout
Hay then finished off the four-hit shutout, his sixth straight decision this spring.
"The two runs really pumped me up," said Hay, who signed a national letter earlier in the day to attend the University of Pittsburgh. "That gave me added vigor to go out there in the last two innings."
Hay struck out pinch-hitter Rick Fraser -- his sixth of the game -- for the final out. He did not walk a batter.
"When he's locked in, he's tough to hit," Rohan said of his senior ace. "He was able to spot his fastball, curve and changeup for strikes, and his velocity was up. He works so hard for games like this."
Hay worked his way out of a jam in the first inning, getting a strikeout and pop fly with runners on second and third. Alliance advanced one other runner past second base the rest of the game.
"In the tournament, it's so hard to have a bad day because one bad day means you're not moving on," Rohan said. "From this point on, every game is a one-game season. You have to come ready to play."
Jonathan Habuda and DeMuzio both had two of Poland's nine hits.
Josh O'Neill had two hits for the Aviators.