43
Parks tosses 0s on 18th
Photo
The Astro Falcons’ Jake Froats scrambles safely back to second as Toyota of Warren’s Tony Mehle bobbles the ball during a pick-off attempt during Monday’s Class B baseball playoff game at Cene Park in Struthers. Astro defeated Toyota, 2-0, to advance to the championship today against Creekside Fitness.
Astro Falcons will look to repeat as Class B champions
By matthew peaslee
STRUTHERS
Troy Parks celebrated his 18th birthday on Monday. He spent it just like he would any other summer day.
“I just sat on the couch and watched Tosh.0,” he said, referring to Daniel Tosh’s show on Comedy Central.
Parks was going to have a cake with his family in the evening, but first, he was called to the mound for the Astro Falcons playoff game with Toyota of Warren.
Lose, and it would likely be a quiet night. A win, well that would just be the icing on the cake.
Parks pitched a complete game shutout allowing just five hits with five strikeouts in the 2-0 victory. Astro now faces Creekside Fitness for the best-of-three, Class B series championship.
“You come in with 100 percent focus knowing it’s a big game,” he said.
It helps when a familiar face is waiting for you behind the plate.
Dan Popio has been catching Parks for the past three years at Boardman High. Before that, they were little league and travel ball teammates.
“We know each other like the back of our hands,” Popio said.
So it was fitting that the battery mates embraced in a long hug after the final out was made.
“We’re on the same page,” Popio said. “We know each other to this point and in a game like this we wanted to go off what we know so well.”
Going to the top of the seventh inning with a 2-0 lead, Parks (2-1) struck out the first batter. But things got a little hairy when he walked Ryan Brumbaugh and surrendered a double to Ryan O’Hara.
“We’ve been in a lot more stressful situations, so it was something new but I knew how to handle it,” Parks said. “It’s all about having tunnel vision and nailing it down.”
The next batter, Drew Beck, fell victim to a vicious curveball on a called third strike before Cody Pitzo grounded out to end it.
“He had the breaking stuff going and it was working real well,” said Astro coach Andy Timko. “He’s been good all year. He was focused and threw a real good game.”
After a 1-2-3 first inning, Popio notched the first hit for the Astro Falcons. He stole second base before being pulled for courtesy runner Jake Froats. Froats scored on a Matt Unkefer single for the game’s first run.
They got another in the third when Bubba Well singled home Brendan Cox.
“Every baserunner is important,” Popio said. “I’ve been in this league for four years and you can’t let anything slip by.”
Timko agreed, saying, “Anytime we play Toyota it’s a low-scoring game. They did their job over there. They have some tough kids.”
Tony Mehle led Toyota with a pair of hits. Edmund Pilolli and Beck also had singles.
Colin McKee started for Toyota and surrendered the two runs on three hits. He turned the ball over to Justin Summer who gave up just three hits and a walk.
Adam Becker doubled for Astro, Dave Garcina had a single and Popio added another hit in the sixth.
The Astro Falcons are appearing in their second straight final series. Last year, they beat Dave Sugar Excavating in five games.
Astro and Creekside sat 1-2 in the Cene Division standings for much of the year.
“You don’t get too many chances like this,” Popio said. “We want to make it happen again.”
And that’s why Parks likely went easy on that cake in the first place.
“We got a game,” he said. “Got to focus all over again.”