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Cooper pitches around rain in Fitch victory
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Fitch’s Luke Peterson avoids the tag by Chardon infi elder Mason Bender to reach second base on a steal during their Division I district semifinal baseball game Thursday at Cene Park in Struthers. After three rain delays, the Falcons ousted the Hilltoppers, 6-2.
By Greg Gulas
STRUTHERS
Austintown Fitch pitcher Austin Cooper might have been the only Falcons player happy that his team had to endure three rain delays Thursday at Cene Park.
The final delay — two hours and 49 minutes in duration — actually refreshed him.
Cooper struck out 11 Chardon batters and scattered six hits to lead the Falcons to a 6-2 win over the Hilltoppers in a Division I district semifinal.
Fitch will now meet Aurora at 6 tonight for the district championship after the Greenmen disposed of Howland, 12-6, earlier in the evening.
“When our game was pushed back I just jogged a bit in the outfield to stay loose and played catch in the bullpen so that my arm wouldn’t tighten up,” Cooper said. “I actually felt better after the delay than I did when I started the game. I was throwing harder after the break.
“Everything just worked out for us tonight and it’s a great opportunity for us to play for the district championship. It didn’t matter who we played, just as long as we were one of the teams in the title game.”
The game’s start was delayed 40 minutes by rain and Chardon pitcher Ben Furlich set down the Falcons in order in the first inning.
The second delay, this time for 26 minutes, prohibited Cooper from taking the mound but when play resumed, he set the Hilltoppers (16-10) down without a problem in what might have been the longest first inning of the tournament at 68 minutes.
Fitch’s Zach Miller then led off the second inning with a single and advanced to third on a two-base error by Chardon right fielder Michael Komertz. He scored on Zarek Bell’s sacrifice fly to center field.
Chardon tied the game at 1 in its half of the second inning on Justin Weir’s run-scoring single, but the Falcons regained the lead in the third frame when Miller’s sacrifice fly scored Shane Vitullo, and Alex Sierra — who had the game’s only double — scored on an infield error for a 3-1 advantage.
It was a lead they would not relinquish the remainder of the game.
“You witnessed a gutsy performance by Cooper tonight. As a staff, we agonized during the delay whether or not to come back with him,” Falcons coach Wally Ford said. “He’s a senior and deserved the chance to return to the game so when he struck the side out upon his return, he definitely earned the right to go out and finish the game. We had Scotty Pierce ready to go, if needed and as I look back I am glad that we didn’t have to use him because we saved an arm.”
The Falcons (21-3) plated a single run in the fifth inning and added two more insurance runs in the seventh on Bell’s triple for a 6-1 advantage.
The Hilltoppers added a run in their half of the seventh inning but it was too little, too late as Fitch advanced to today’s title game. The Falcons are seeking their first district crown since 2007.