SOFTBALL Spartans,Howland rematch set today

Boardman sailed past Garfield Heights, 9-0, to set up today's district showdown.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- Boardman High softball coach Bill Amero knows what you're thinking and you can forget about it.
Yes, his Spartans will play Howland today in a rematch of last year's Division I district final, but he's not about to give the Tigers any bulletin board material.
"We don't care who we play," Amero said. "I don't look any farther than the opposing dugout."
So the fact that Howland ended the Spartans' season last year doesn't mean anything?
"That was last year," he said. "I'm sure in the kids' eyes, that's who they wanted to play and I'm sure in Howland's eyes, we're who they wanted to play. But I don't care if it's Howland or the Cleveland Indians."
Boardman, the state's top ranked team, cruised past Garfield Heights 9-0 in Monday's district semifinal to set up today's rematch at 5:30 p.m. at Fields of Dreams.
Corroto delivers
Senior shortstop Jaclyn Corroto had two hits and five RBIs -- including a bases-clearing double in the second inning to give the Spartans a 4-0 lead.
"We just needed a little time to adjust to their pitcher," she said. "Now we've just gotta try to keep things going."
Senior pitcher Ashley DiDomenico (17-3) struck out eight in four innings and Sarah Albani held the Bulldogs (13-5) in check the rest of the way. DiDomenico added two hits and Holly Holman had a pair of doubles, scored twice and had an RBI for the Spartans (21-3).
"We had a little bit of anxiousness and nerves at first and we swung at some bad pitches," Amero said. "Their pitcher was throwing everything low at first and we were fishing at it. We just had to wait for the ball to come high and then we started banging line drives."
Stopped last year
Boardman, which earned three straight state final four appearances before losing to Howland last year, knows there's added pressure to having the state's top rank, but Corroto said the team doesn't worry about it.
"We like it," she said of the ranking, "but we definitely don't pay too much attention to it. But we know everyone looks at us as the team to beat."
With the way Boardman is playing now, that's going to be tough to do.
"We're playing consistently on defense and we're making adjustments at the plate," Amero said. "I think we're playing as well as we have all year."
scalzo@vindy.com