Kapturasky hit propels Fitch past Poland
By Steve Wilaj
When Austintown Fitch’s Jarod Kapturasky stepped to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning with the bases loaded, no outs and the Falcons trailing by a run, he had a simple plan.
It was a basic approach that the junior outfielder kept even as he fell in a 0-2 hole to Poland reliever Dan Klase.
“Just to put it in play,” he said. “Whether a fly ball to the outfield or a base hit, I just wanted to make something happen.”
Simply enough, Kapturasky did put the ball in play — a line-drive single to right field that scored two Fitch runners and led the Falcons to a 9-8 victory on Friday at Coppola Field in Austintown.
It was the first loss of the season for Poland (8-1, 3-1 All-American Conference), which squandered a 6-0 first-inning lead. Fitch righty Brian Beany earned the victory as he allowed one run on four hits in five relief innings.
“Kap really came through,” Fitch coach Wally Ford said. “He’s been one of our most consistent players all year. We’ll fight — that’s one thing about this team. We’ve been inconsistent, so hopefully we can get something going now. It’s a big win because Poland’s a good ball team.”
Although the Bulldogs lost their early lead when Fitch (4-6, 2-2) also posted six first-inning runs, they still took an 8-7 advantage into the sixth. Poland’s Jake Hawkins scored on a double steal in the second inning before Andy Kosco had a fourth-inning RBI single.
But Klase, who relieved Matt Baker after five relief innings (two earned runs), walked the first two Falcons batters. Gino Rozzi then loaded the bases with a bunt single to set up Kapturasky.
“Gino was just trying to move the guys over and get them into scoring position,” Ford said. “But he has good speed and he’s a good bunter, so it worked out really well for us.”
Beany then retired the Bulldogs in order in the seventh inning. The junior struck out three and walked three. He relieved Fitch starter Derek Gunter, who allowed seven earned runs, four hits and six walks in two innings.
“I was just trying to throw strikes and not walk people,” Beany said. “I knew I had my defense behind me the whole time. I tried to mix in some curves and hit my spots and everything went well.”
Anthony Calgani finished with a triple, single and two RBIs to pace Poland. Both of his hits came in the first inning when the Bulldogs — who also received two hits from Kosco and Jared Burkert — scored six runs on four hits.
“We put the bats away after that,” Poland coach Rich Murray said. “We’ve been doing that a lot — scoring in the first and then not a lot after. I don’t know if it’s our mentality or what, but we have to learn to hit the whole game.”
Kapturasky led the Falcons with two hits — including a fourth-inning RBI double — while Nick Bianco also added two hits.
Fitch’s big first inning came against Poland starter Mark Passarello, who exited the contest without recording an out. Jake Gherardi notched a two-run single during the rally.
“Our mindset [after trailing 6-0] was to just come out and play,” Kapturasky said. “We had to relax because we can do a lot of good things as long as we play our game.”