Mooney rallies, dismisses Red Dragons in 5 innings

By Chuck Housteau

Boo Vasquez’s bases-loaded double turned the tide for the Cardinals.

STRUTHERS — When Cardinal Mooney’s No. 7 hitter, freshman Boo Vasquez, belted a bases-clearing double in the bottom of the first inning, his teammate, pitcher, Drew Fitzpatrick felt a lot better.

Fitzpatrick said the Cardinals weren’t exactly at the top of their game in the top of the inning when Niles took advantage of Fitzpatrick’s control problems.

The rally fueled Mooney, who went on to defeat the Red Dragons, 15-3, in five innings Friday in a Division II sectional championship game at Cene Park.

Niles scored one off Fitzpatrick to start the game, but the Cardinals responded with five runs in the bottom of the inning, advancing to a district semifinal on Thursday at Cene Park against Howland or Struthers.

“We didn’t really come into this game like it was an Ursuline game or anything,” Fitzpatrick said. “That first inning when they got that run kind of woke us up and we were able to respond with a big five-run inning.”

Fitzpatrick helped start that first inning rally with a single and he came around to score on a hit by Anthony Franceschelli.

Two walks later and Vasquez belted a pitch over the right-fielder’s head for the three-run double and the Cards never looked back.

“Vasquez has really been coming on throughout the year,” said Mooney coach Al Franceschelli on his freshman center fielder. “He’s a great kid that works hard and he’s going to be a heck of a ball player.

Against Niles (7-18), Mooney did what the Cardinals have done all season long — hit the ball and score runs.

In 25 games, Mooney (21-4) has scored more than 300 runs and that shows the depth of hitting they have in the lineup numbers one through nine.

“Our fort is speed and hitting,” Al Franceschelli said. “It’s hard to stop these kids. We have a lot of superb athletes and speed is important in this game.”

Mooney continued to hit the ball, finishing with 12 hits and scoring in every inning.

“We ran the bases well and got a couple key hits,” Franceschelli said. “Once we got up it was going to be tough for [Niles] to come back.”

The Cardinals tacked on a run in the second on a walk, a sacrifice and an RBI groundout by Bob Herberger.

In the third inning, Mooney scored six runs on five hits. Vasquez picked up his fourth RBI of the game with a single and Fitzpatrick, Franceschelli and Dan Eich each had RBI hits in the inning.

Mooney added three more runs in the fourth on a walk to Tim Marlowe, back-to-back triples by Fitzpatrick and Scott Smith, and a passed ball.

Niles tallied single runs in the third on a home run by Evan Bollinger and an RBI groundout by Nick Harper that scored Bollinger in the fifth inning.

“A win is a win,” Francescelli said. “Our kids have worked hard all year and I think that if we play like we are capable we can be successful for the rest of the playoffs.”

Fitzpatrick, who had three hits and two RBIs along with his fine pitching performance, said the Cardinals are playing with a lot of confidence.

“Anytime you win games in the tournament it helps build that trust and confidence that someone is going to step up,” Fitzpatrick said. “These wins are all team-builders.”