Brecksville turns back Fitch, 5-4

After a good start, the tide turned and Austintown succumbed in a Division I regional semifinal.

By PAUL TRGOVAC

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

CANTON — Missed opportunities on offense and mistakes on defense came back to cost the Austintown Fitch baseball team.

The Falcons, who led their Division I baseball regional semifinal game 4-0 after three innings Thursday afternoon, saw Brecksville come back for a 5-4 victory at Thurman Munson Stadium.

A one-out single by Dan Burant over the head of a drawn-in outfield scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning for the Bees (25-3) to complete the comeback.

Early runs

The Falcons (14-14) scored two runs on just one hit in the first inning. Bees starter Matt Suschak (9-0) walked the bases loaded with two outs, then Xavier Godoy singled to right to score the first two runs of the game.

Fitch added two more runs in the third. Nick Wiery led off with a single, then with one Jason Bagoly drove a pitch into the right-center field alley for a run-scoring double. Then with two outs Godoy delivered a solid single for his third RBI.

Meanwhile, Fitch starter Steve Gruver allowed just one hit with eight strikeouts in the first three innings.

The Bees finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. A leadoff walk was followed by an error putting runners on first and second. After a wild pitch, Gruver struck out the next two batters before a single by Mo Hussein scored two runs.

Another error

Another Fitch error in the bottom of the fourth inning helped Brecksville score another run.

The Falcons had a golden opportunity in their half of the sixth. One-out singles by Jim Kinnick and pinch hitter J.D. Kubacki, and a walk to Ricky Segesto, loaded the bases. Joe Koch then hit a line drive that was turned into a forceout at home, and Wiery’s hard grounder was fielded for the third out.

“We had our chances with the bases loaded and the 1-2 hitters coming up,” said Fitch coach Wally Ford. “In a good ball game with two good teams you have to take advantage of your chances.”

Kinnick came on in relief to start the sixth. He gave up a leadoff single which was followed by a sacrifice bunt and a hit batter. Then the fourth Fitch error of the game on a potential double play allowed the tying run to score.

Worn out

“He [Gruver] was worn out,” said Ford. “He was at his limit [104 pitches]. He had pitched a great game. It is a shame we just could not hold on, which was part of the problem. We were just trying to hang on instead of adding on.”

Gruver had 11 strikeouts and only one of the three runs he allowed was earned.

In the Bees’ seventh, Jesse Brillinger singled with one out and advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches. Burant then singled off Mike Olenych to score the winning run.

“You can’t give things the way we did and expect to win the games. We made too many errors,” said Ford.

Suschak struck out five in a complete-game win. Both teams had six hits, but the Falcons had the only four errors of the contest.