(Almost) pitcher perfect: Kibby’s no-no keys Springfield

By Paul Trgovac

He struck out 10 over five innings as the Tigers beat McDonald for their first district title since 1994.

STRUTHERS — Todd Kibby of Springfield High tossed a five-inning no-hitter as the Tigers won the Division IV district baseball championship, 10-0, over McDonald at Cene Park Wednesday night.

Kibby (8-1) struck out 10, walked two and hit a batter. The left-hander also drove home the first run of the game with a bloop double in the first inning.

“I had my curveball working after the first inning,” said Kibby. “It is just great to win the first [district] title since 1994 for Springfield.”

The Tigers (23-5), who moved down to Div. IV this season, will play May 30 at 2 p.m. in Lorain against the winner of the North Robinson district in the regional tournament.

“We have been the little guys in Division III and have come close the last few years in the district,” said Springfield coach Bob Beam. “Now to be one of the bigger guys in Division IV, people kind of expected us to win and we were able to.

“Never did I expect this to be a 10-0 game. We played McDonald earlier in the season and it was 12-11. Of course when your pitcher throws a no-hitter it does help.”

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead on Kibby’s run-scoring double, which was almost caught on a great diving effort by McDonald shortstop Alex Bates. The ball glanced off his glove down the left field line.

Springfield added four more runs in the second thanks to Travis Richey’s two-out, bases-loaded double that was lost in the lights, scoring two runs. A wild pitch and a single by Bryan Visingardi plated the other two runs in the frame.

“We have been doing a great job of scoring early and putting the pressure on the other team all season.” said Beam.

The Tigers added two more runs in the third and three more in the fourth. Matt Serich had two hits, one a double in the fourth that scored a run, while eight of the Springfield batters had a hit in the game, and the one that didn’t walked twice and scored two runs.

McDonald, the champion of the Inter Tri-County League Tier Two, finished 17-5.

The no-hitter was saved on the final out of the contest as a line drive to center by Anthony Fossaceca was caught on a diving catch by Brandon Goist.