Tuesday, March 27, 2007
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
STRUTHERS -- Mooney High senior Tony Brunetti was sitting in class Monday afternoon, staring at the sunshine outside and, like a true Ohioan, thinking to himself, "All right, when is the rain coming?"
"It was nice all day," said Brunetti. "But you never know with Ohio."
A few hours later, Brunetti (and not the weather) was the one responsible for ending a baseball game a little early.
With the Cardinals leading Boardman 14-7 in the bottom of the sixth inning and two men on base, Brunetti just missed on what his manager, Al Franceschelli, thought was a home-run caliber pitch.
Homer ends game early
That didn't happen again. On the next pitch, Brunetti planted a fastball over the right-field wall, giving Mooney a 17-7 victory in its season-opening game at Cene Park.
"I swang pretty well on that one," Brunetti said.
Added Franceschelli, "Boy, he jacked that one out of here."
A minute later, as the Cardinals gathered on the field to celebrate, Franceschelli yelled to his first baseman, "I've got to tell you something: The scouts left."
"A couple scouts came to watch him play," Franceschelli explained. "They left just before that homer. I'll have to call them and tell them.
"Maybe they can read the press clippings."
Brunetti, who finished 2-for-5 with a double, a stolen base and three runs scored, was a starting wide receiver on the Cardinals' state championship football team in the fall. ("A lot of blocking," he said.) He signed with Duquesne to play football, but he's not sure his baseball career will end once college starts.
"I'm looking at it," he said. "I might still pursue baseball."
Franceschelli, who's managed four Babe Ruth champions, has coached Brunetti since he was 12 and calls him "one of the best I've ever coached."
Of course, he's not Mooney's only standout. And, if nothing else, the Cardinals proved Monday that they can hit.
Leading the Cardinals
Sophomore leadoff hitter Drew Fitzpatrick went 2-for-3 with a triple, two RBIs and three runs scored; Scott Smith had two hits and two RBIs; Matt Durkin had two hits, scored twice and had two RBIs; Anthony Franceschelli had two hits, and Dan Gallagher and Lou Salreno each scored twice.
That they did it against a perennially successful Division I program made it more impressive.
"Boardman's a good team," said Franceschelli, who took over for Steve Leslie after last season. "We had some first-game jitters and our pitching wasn't as good as it will be, but it was a good win."
Boardman's first-year manager, Jack Hay, wasn't too happy with his pitching either, but he thinks the team has plenty of good arms and it'll just take some time for them to come around.
"I like our pitching staff," said Hay. "We just struggled to throw strikes today. But I saw a lot of good things, so we'll be OK.
"This is the first time we've been on a field all season. We've either been inside or on the parking lot."
Leading the Spartans
Dom Silvestri led the Spartans with two hits, including a double, two RBIs and a run scored, while Josh Gardner and Joe Bako each added two runs.
The most surprising thing about Monday, however, was the weather. The two games at Cene drew a few hundred fans.
"Baseball up north is tough," said Franceschelli. "But we had 70-degree weather and it was great for the fans.
"Last week, I didn't think this was possible. I thought we were going to have to build an Ark."
scalzo@vindy.com