Pico's pitching, JFK hitting, carry Eagles in Div. III opener

Newton Falls (14-7) lost the tournament game, 5-3.
By JOHN BASSETTI
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
WARREN -- If Newton Falls coach Tami Sinn had to do it all over again, she would have changed pitchers sooner.
But with senior Casee Piquet (6-3) on the mound, the Tigers' defense suffers.
Partially due to an error in the early innings, Newton Falls trailed, 5-0, after the first three innings and lost its Division III tournament opener at Warren JFK, 5-3.
After JFK had done its damage, Blaine Chapman entered and shut down the Eagles.
"With my senior pitcher in, my defense isn't as strong because I have to move three other position players around," Sinn said. "That's why I brought my freshman [Chapman] in there, to change that."
Piquet is Sinn's only senior.
Another sideBut there was another side to the story: Rachel Pico.
The JFK pitcher struck out the first six Tigers she faced en route to a five-hitter.
"I stopped counting after the first two innings when she had six in a row," JFK coach Joe Sylvester said of Pico (7-2), a freshman who finished with eight strikeouts and allowed no walks.
Angie DeChristofaro, Jess Slusarczyk, Jackie Kolovich and C.C. Dewees had two hits apiece for the Eagles (11-7). DeCristofaro and Morgan Piacquadio both had two RBIs; Piacquadio's came in the third inning.
"We knew that we had to score early and score a lot and they did that," Sylvester said. "What else could we ask of the kids? They were very fired up."
After Newton Falls got on the board in the sixth inning when Jasmine Hawkins crossed the plate, the Tigers tried to get aggressive. However, Emily Montgomery was thrown out at second base to end the threat.
Sinn had an answer for the move.
Movement needed
"We're down 5-1, so I wanted to try to make things happen," she said.
That was one of the calls that Sinn felt made a difference in the outcome of the game.
The third-year coach might still be second-guessing herself for the pitching choice early, but there's one thing she didn't have control over: "We didn't come out and hit the ball."
Junior Ashley Berry had two hits for Newton Falls (14-7) in a game that was a rubber match between the teams this season.
During the first three innings, Piquet fanned two, but didn't issue a walk. Chapman had five strikeouts.
While Newton Falls' initial defense was suspect, JFK was fortunate. Sylvester said that his defense has been a sore spot the whole season.
"When we start breaking down defensively, we start causing errors and then we get ourselves in trouble and teams beat us."
Remaining games
Newton Falls has four more games remaining: LaBrae today, two games against Hubbard on Wednesday, including a weather-interrupted game, and Girard on Thursday.
Sylvester felt that, judging from the dugout decibels, his team's enthusiasm gave the Eagles an edge.
"They were very fired up. They were cheering the whole game and never let up, so they were prepared for this. They came into it saying they wanted it pretty bad."
In a sectional final next Monday, JFK plays Maplewood at 4:30.
bassetti@vindy.com