Struthers evens conference mark
Three pitchers combined on a four-hitter for the Wildcats.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
STRUTHERS -- The Struthers High baseball team had it all going Tuesday against East Liverpool in a Metro Athletic Conference game at Cene Park.
The Wildcats' bats came to life at the exact same time that the Potters began playing vulnerable defense and committing errors.
The Wildcats bunched runs together in a pair of innings for a 6-0 lead in the third inning and a 9-2 advantage in the bottom of the sixth.
Struthers also got a strong relief pitching performance from Ben Habuda, who relieved starter Mike Vitucci in the second inning.
The result was a 9-3 victory for the Wildcats -- their second win in as many days -- while East Liverpool continues to struggle with bad starts and not-strong-enough finishes in their games so far to remain winless.
Vitucci, Habuda and last-inning reliever Jake Leko combined to pitch a four-hitter with 10 strikeouts, eight of them by Habuda.
Ryan Stanko led the Wildcats' offense with a two-run single in the sixth and a one-run single to the third. Vitucci also had two singles and one RBI.
Cats had momentum
"We were hitting the ball when we needed to," said sixth-year coach Mike Donatelli of Struthers (9-6, 3-3 MAC), noting that his team had strong momentum from Monday's 17-13 win over Howland, but also that a lot of Tuesday's batted balls were going right to the defense.
"We had a big win over Howland. We had 20 hits against Howland and we had six hits today," Donatelli said. "We were hitting [the ball] right at people. We were making nice solid contact but the ball was going right at kids. But we are getting better."
Donatelli said that Vitucci especially has been connecting often.
"Vitucci has been mashing the ball. He is batting over .500. He has been hitting the ball and finding the gaps."
Stanko also hit the ball hard with a power swing. Both of his hits were line drives.
Donatelli said that he replaced Vitucci on the mound with Habuda in the second inning because, "[Vitucci] hurt his shoulder. He said he heard something pop."
Donatelli said Habuda delivered the goods.
"Habuda is a middle reliever. He is a junior. He came in when we needed some one. He had a good command of his curve ball. He was keeping the hitters off balance."
Potters' two downfalls
Coach Greg Atkins of East Liverpool (0-8, 0-4) said that the game would have been a lot closer had the Potters' bats awakened earlier in the game and their defense had braced when necessary.
"A lot of times we start slow, and when we pick it up it's too late," said Atkins, whose Potters haven't played much this spring due to the weather. "A big part of it is that we had a lot of rainouts, a lot of rescheduled games."
The Potters began hitting the ball harder later in the game, and scored two runs in the sixth on Kevin Riggle's two-run single, and one run in the seventh on pinch-hitter Eric Diagosta's single. But it was too little too late, further diluted by errors.
Riggle also singled to finish with two hits.
"We were hitting the ball well but we made five errors and gave up six unearned runs," Atkins said. "If we would just tighten up our gloves a little bit better, it would have been a 3-3 game. We start three freshmen and one sophomore, so we are a young team."
Bret Clark went the mound distance for the Potters to take the loss on a six-hitter.
kovach@vindy.com