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Boardman eliminates Howland in chase for district
By TOM WILLIAMS
BOARDMAN
Howland High softball coach Bill Amero admitted he had to make an adjustment for Friday’s Division I sectional final against Boardman at the Fields of Dreams.
After the pregame meeting at home plate, Amero, who was Boardman’s softball coach from 1998-2008, had to stop himself from turning toward the Spartans’ first-base dugout.
“Old habits are hard to break,” said Amero who was coaching against the Spartans for the first time since he was not rehired in July 2008.
After Boardman’s 5-0 win that advanced the Spartans to next week’s district semifinal game against Mayfield, Amero admitted he had “mixed emotions because basically every one of those girls played for me when I was there two years ago.
“I’m proud of them ... but they were in the other dugout.”
Boardman ace Alex DiDomenico limited the Tigers to two hits, striking out eight and walking three.
“It was fun having that little rivalry, it was nice playing against him,” said DiDomenico (5-1) who admitted she didn’t chat with Amero before the game. “I like to stay focused.”
Brooke Meenachan, who hit a two-run homer in the second inning, called the game “more special because he was my coach as a freshman and we have that connection still. He wished us all good luck” before the game.
After coaching Lowellville last season, Amero took over at Howland, which finished 11-14.
“Over the last few weeks, we’ve played our best ball of the year,” Amero said.
Meenachan, a junior shortstop and leadoff batter, had three hits and scored three times. Her speed was a factor in the first inning as she reached base on an infield single, stole second base and came home on Julie Olbrych’s bunt single.
Her home run to left came on a 2-1 count from Howland starter Hayley Marchio (10-9).
“With a 2-0, 2-1 count, I just look for a pitch to drive because it’s usually right there,” Meenachan said. “So I waited on it.”
Singles by Meenachan, DiDomenico and Danielle Petrus produced Boardman’s other runs in the fourth inning.
“I was pretty happy with the way we hit the ball,” Boardman coach Mike Trell said. “Even when we made outs, we hit it hard.”
DiDomenico said she feels she’s getting her pitching groove back after missing the first four weeks of the season with a broken pinkie finger on her pitching hand.
“I feel like I need to catch up a lot more ... but I’m gradually stepping up my game and I’m really trying to push myself harder,” said the junior who injured her right hand diving for a ball in the outfield during a practice.
DiDomenico said she was unable to throw for about four weeks. She graded her Friday performance as “all right. I always feel I can do better.”
Trell said DiDomenico “pitched pretty well. She wasn’t her usual dominant self but the wind and [five] days off had something to do with that. I’d say she’s about 85 percent back” in recovering.
The Spartans (14-5), a regional finalist last year in Trell’s first season as coach, will be busy over the next few weeks with seven regular-season Federal League games still to be played.
“The Federal League is such a good league that I don’t think we could ask for a better practice than playing games against the Federal League,” said Trell whose team has a 4-3 league record.