Boardman rolls to district final; Fitch suffers defeat

The Spartans defeated Brush 10-2 and the Falcons fell to North Royalton.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
STRUTHERS -- Boardman High seems to have found new life in the Division I district baseball tournament, while Austintown Fitch suffered a big disappointment and they didn't even play each other.
Boardman used a six-run fifth inning to roll past Lyndhurst Brush 10-2, while Fitch suffered a 6-2 loss to state-ranked North Royalton in semifinal games Tuesday afternoon at Cene Park.
Boardman (15-12) and North Royalton (26-1) will meet tonight in the district championship game at 6:30 at Cene Park.
The Spartans, who have not played well at times this season and had a mediocre season in the Federal League, have come to life in tournament play.
Playing at best now
"We're playing our best right now," said Boardman coach Scott Knox. "This is the time of year you just wait for.
"We feel we're peaking at the right time and in a one-game shot we feel like we can hang in there with anyone," Knox added.
The Spartans broke open a 2-2 deadlock with Brush in the fifth inning when they plated six runs on six hits and sent 11 batters to the plate.
Nate Tacsik started the inning with a walk and with one out Chris Tremblay doubled. Anthony Porter followed with an RBI single and Joe Iaccobucci loaded the bases with another single.
Justin Lemmo drove in one run with a ground out and Kevin Sikora and Cameron Cimino added singles to drive in runs and Tacsik, up for the second time, singled in the final run.
The Spartans added two more runs in the sixth inning coming up with four more hits as Tacsik and Porter drove in the runs.
Spartans had 16 hits
Boardman finished with 16 hits in the game, three of them by Sikora, including two doubles. Tacsik also had three hits, while Cimino, Iaccobucci, and Porter all had two hits.
Sikora also picked up the victory, coming in relief of starter Luke Kershner. Sikora shutout Brush over the final 22/3 innings.
North Royalton 6, Fitch 2
Fitch fell behind 3-0 in the first inning as the Bears strung together four hits along with one Falcon error.
"We kind of dug ourselves a hole in the first inning," said Fitch coach Wally Ford.
"It's disappointing for us, but we set such high goals this season no matter when we lost it was going to be a big disappointment," he said.
"We've had a great season and it's still not over," Ford added. "We're still in first place in the Federal League with two and a half games left to play.
Played without Elisio
The Falcons (16-6) played without starting third baseman Mike Elisio, who injured his hand a week ago and will miss the rest of the season.
"It's a big loss," Ford said. "He's our No. 3 hitter and a team leader, we really miss him."
North Royalton, which has been ranked No. 1 and No. 2 most of the season in the state baseball poll, jumped on Fitch starter Alex Oles right off the bat.
With one out Eric Gradert hit a bloop single to right and then winning pitcher Dan Glozer doubled off the right field wall for the first run. Kevin Krysh then reached on an error and Kevin Duffy and Rick Gatins followed with RBI singles for the 3-0 lead.
Falcons cut into lead
Fitch cut the lead in the bottom of the first when Joe Koch singled and John Mang walked. Mike Brown hit an RBI single past third, scoring Koch.
In the third inning Fitch opened with back-to-back singles by Koch and Mang, but Brown hit into a double play.
Dave Diyorio hit a grounder to short, but Rick Gatins bobbled the ball and then threw wildly to first allowing Mang to score the Falcons' second run.
The Bears added single runs in the fourth, fifth and seventh inning, but the Falcons never threatened again off Glozer.
The North Royalton pitcher limited the Falcons to just four hits and allowed only two base runners over the final four innings.
mollica@vindy.com