Win by Ursuline sets up district semifinal with rival

Timely hitting helped the Irish defeat Newton Falls 5-3 in a Division III sectional final.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NEWTON FALLS -- The Ursuline High baseball team produced timely hits and Newton Falls didn't, and that was the difference in Monday's Division III sectional tournament game.
Eddie Rohan, Brett Neely and David Patrick delivered clutch hits at the right times to drive in four runs as Ursuline rallied from a 2-1 deficit to post a 5-3 win over the Tigers, advancing to next week's district tournament at Cene Park.
The Irish (13-12) will face Cardinal Mooney next Monday at 4:30 p.m. Mooney advanced with an 11-1 win over United.
Neely's bases-loaded, two-run double in the third inning gave Ursuline a 3-2 lead. After Newton Falls tied it at 3 in the fourth, Rohan's single in the fifth made it 4-3 to provide the winning margin, while Patrick's single in the sixth delivered an insurance run.
"Neely's big, two-run hit gave us the momentum," Ursuline coach Sean Durkin said. "Rohan and Patrick drove in runs with runners in position, and that's what you have to do in tournaments. We got key hits at the right times with runners in scoring position."
Timely hitting
Newton Falls (15-5) coach Andy Barker noticed a difference.
"They hit the ball with runners in scoring position, and our big hits came with no one on base," said Barker, whose Tigers stranded nine runners.
With the score tied at 3 in the fifth, Ursuline starter Armand DePaul was relieved by Pat Smith (5-2), who got the win by allowing no hits in 22/3 innings.
DePaul gave up six hits, struck out four and walked two.
Andy Grunder (6-1), who relieved starter Bill McCartney in the third inning for Newton Falls after Ursuline went ahead, 3-2, took the loss.
"[DePaul] did a good job, [but] he didn't have good stuff and he had a lot [of pitches] up," Durkin said. "Pat Smith came on and gave them a changed look."
Meanwhile, Neely, Rohan and Patrick got the exact pitches they were looking for -- fastballs -- to spark Ursuline's eight-hit attack.
"I was ahead on the count and I was looking for a fastball. He threw a nice pitch on the outside of the plate and I attacked it," said Neely, a senior right fielder who will play at John Carroll University.
Neely drove in Cliff Panezich and Brad Borghetti, who had walked and singled, respectively, and were followed by Rohan's walk to load the bases.
Tie snapped
Rohan, a freshman designated hitter, sensed that a fastball was coming before his single scored Ryan Satterlee from second base to snap the 3-3 tie.
Satterlee was hit by a pitch to reach first, and advanced to second on an error.
"I was looking for a fastball and I got it. It helps a lot to get what you are looking for," Rohan said.
Patrick also was thinking fastball before his single scored Andrew Frasco, who reached first on a fielder's choice and then stole second on an error. Patrick, a sophomore center fielder, finished with two singles.
Newton Falls scored its first run in the first inning when Mike Staunton was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in Mike Pelyak.
The Tigers scored again in the second on Grunder's double that brought in Travis McCartney, who opened the inning with a walk and was bunted to second by Ryan Romack.
Newton Falls tallied its final run in the fourth on Pelyak's single that scored Travis McCartney, who led off with a single and was bunted to second by Romack.
kovach@vindy.com