BASEBALL RONNIE BOVO Springfield

Springfield High senior catcher Ron Bovo says he felt chills when his team took the field two years ago in a Division IV state semifinal game at Huntington Park in downtown Columbus.

“It was awesome,” said Bovo, who was the Tigers’ shortstop that season. “When we ran onto the field, I got a chill down my spine, just from all the fans that were cheering. The atmosphere around there was amazing.”

This season, Bovo moved behind the plate to replace catcher Matt Semach and helped lead the Tigers back to state under first-year coach Matt Weymer. For the second time in three seasons, Springfield finished state runner-up in Div. IV, losing the state title game to Minster, 6-0.

For Bovo, The Vindicator’s Baseball Player of the Year, the move behind the plate was not difficult,

“When I got to high school, they needed a shortstop so I said I would play shortstop,” Bovo said. “I played there until this year [but] in the summer, I was a catcher for the Astro Falcons.

“I was always more comfortable catching.”

Bovo will attend Youngstown State to study computer science.

“I like science the best,” said Bovo of the classroom. “It just was the easiest one for me.”

Bovo said this spring’s rainy weather affected baseball players.

“You’ve got to get into your groove for baseball,” the four-year varsity player said. “We weren’t able to. The more swings you get, the better swings you’ll get.”

Bovo credited “good senior leadership” for Springfield’s second state trip in three seasons.

“We had a lot of people who had played in the state championship a couple of years ago,” Bovo said. “I thought we would win the league and win district.”

Bovo said pitcher/outfielder Brad Ferraro and pitcher/third baseman Nick Russell were outstanding.

“[And] a bunch of people who sat on the bench [two years ago] got their chance to play,” Bovo said. “I’m very proud of them, how they came through.”