Saturday, May 31, 2003
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CANTON -- In his final high school baseball appearance, Fitch High pitcher Brian Sterling delivered a performance more than worthy of his name.
Sterling limited the potent Massillon Jackson batting lineup to just two hits in Friday's Division I regional semifinal game at Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium.
However, the Falcons' infield made two errors right before the big hit of the game -- Kade Klick's two-out, two-run triple in the second inning -- that helped the Polar Bears (28-2) win 3-1 and advance to today's regional final.
Fitch, which shared the Steel Valley Conference title with Boardman and Mooney, ends its season at 17-11.
Held to four hits
Falcons coach Wally Ford credited Jackson pitcher Sean Mathes (8-0) for holding his team to four hits.
"We tried to be aggressive because he was around the plate all the time," said Ford of the Falcons' batting strategy. "He kept us off balance -- he pitched a great game.
"They're solid defensively -- they made the plays they had to make," Ford said. "We knew we would have to play our best to beat them. We got the best pitching we could expect."
In the second inning, Ryan Planck led off with a walk off Sterling (6-3). After Jason Pettigrew flew out, Mathes hit a line drive that glanced off shortstop Bob Melnek's glove and into left-center field.
Dan Parnell hit a fielder's choice to third baseman John Mang, who threw to second baseman Dom Modarelli to retire Mathes. Modarelli's relay to first was wide, allowing Planck to score for a 1-0 lead.
Klick makes it 3-0
After Sterling hit Mark Mantyla, Klick tripled to deep right-center field for the 3-0 advantage.
"It was a good pitch right where I like it, a little in and belt high," said Klick of Sterling's 1-0 offering.
Of the errors, Ford said, "We gave it to them. The line drive [would have been] a double play -- the guy was way off of first base. I think the shortstop just took his eye off it, maybe tried to throw before he had it.
"And the ground ball was a potential double play, too," Ford said. "So we gave them a couple there and then [Klick] hits the gap shot.
"That's how it goes in baseball it seems -- you boot a couple and you give them a chance, you give them more than three outs, and they get the big hit," Ford said.
Mathes was dominant
For much of the game, Mathes was dominant, and Jackson coach Kevin Miller said early strikes were the reason.
"We told him that if he could get out ahead the way he's been doing, [the Falcons] are going to swing early and it's going to cause them to swing at bad pitches.
"And that is exactly what they were doing through the middle innings," Miller said. "Sean pitched a masterpiece and our defense was very, very solid throughout. It was the kind of game you expect to see at this level."
After Mike Eliseo hit a two-out double in the first inning, Mathes retired the next 14 Falcons batters.
"I was just trying to move the ball in and out, and hit the corners," Mathes said. "It felt great."
Modarelli snaps streak
With one out in the sixth inning, Modarelli snapped Mathes' streak with an infield hit. Scott Sexton's throwing error put Modarelli on second. After T.J. Parker's groundout, Modarelli scored on Mang's single.
The rally ended when Eliseo was called for a check-swing third strike.
With one out in the seventh inning, Jeff Kotel singled then was retired on Mickey Howley's ground ball. Howley prolonged the Falcons' season for another at-bat when his head-first slide foiled the Polar Bears' doubleplay try. But an outfield foul ball catch ended the game.
williams@vindy.com