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Postseason tradition: Howland and Fitch battle
By john bassetti
howland
After bolting out to a 5-0 lead after three innings, Howland watched Fitch peck away before the Tigers settled for a 7-6 victory in a Division I sectional championship at Howland Township Park on Thursday.
“We played these guys the last three years now [for the sectional championship],” Howland coach Jason Stanford said. “Last year was my first year and we beat them and this year was a really good game. Fitch is fundamentally sound and they showed that today.”
Fitch, whose season ended 15-12, did out-hit Howland, 11-9, but it’s the Tigers (20-5) who advance to a district semifinal at Cene Park.
Junior Jacobs Froats (6-0) got Howland off to a good start, strking out four of the first eight batters he faced.
Fitch worked its way back into the game, getting two runs in the fourth and three in the fifth, but the Tigers managed to stay a step ahead — barely.
Howland was nursing a 7-5 lead in the sixth when Corey Hickman replaced Froats.
Kevin Sierra and Logan Kane both had two singles for Fitch, while Shane Vitullo, Anthony Paris, Zach Miller and Scott Pierce had a double apiece. Pierce also had a single.
A single by Luke Peterson and Vitullo’s double started the trouble for Howland in the sixth, when one of Sierra’s hits scored Peterson to pull Fitch within 7-6. Hickman faced a bases-loaded situation before a strikeout to end the threat.
“It was huge,” said Stanford. “Corey’s done a remarkable job all season long as a starter and [Froats] has been one of the best in the area. For Corey to come in with the trying run on third with two outs and get the strikeout — and the save — was remarkable.”
Kyle Hickman had a fly out and two strikeouts to close the seventh.
“I gave up a few hits, so I had to get out of the situation,” Corey Hickman said of those he faced in the sixth. “When I figured I couldn’t strike them out, I had to just settle down and throw my pitches and make them miss. They were hitting fastballs all day, so I had to throw my offspeed.”
Froats said he was throwing hard in the beginning.
“I was getting the first pitch on them, then I let up a little bit when I started getting tired.”
Of Fitch’s opportunity in the sixth, coach Wally Ford said: “That was the thing — second and third and nobody out and we had the lineup’s 2-3-4 hitters. That hurt us.
“But we never give up, never quit. We felt we could score some runs on them if we started hitting the ball. We just came up one short.”