43
Locals won twice Sunday to qualify for title game
By Greg Gulas
STRUTHERS
Aaron Masek threw a complete-game six-hitter, allowing just one run while striking out four as Cleveland Hurricane Select defeated Youngstown 5-1 to capture the COLT-15 Zone championship Sunday at Bob Cene Park.
Youngstown, playing its third game of the day after defeating Mars (Pa.) 6-2 and Select 9-3, came out of the loser’s bracket but fell short after forcing a deciding title game.
Nick Bianco, who pitched Youngstown into the championship game, said it was hard to be disappointed by his team’s effort.
“It was fun playing with a group of guys, different than those you played with during the regular season,” Bianco said. “They made it fun and while it was neat to play three games in one day, in the end it took a bit of a toll on everyone.”
Cleveland broke into the scoring column in their opening at bat for an early 2-0 advantage.
Masek scored the game’s first run on a three-base throwing error. Tyler Faught’s single brought in the second run.
The Hurricanes scored again on Brian Hama’s squeeze bunt in the third inning.
Two innings later, Faught raced home on a throwing error by Youngstown reliever Justin Stewart. Nick Jenkins’ sacrifice fly then scored Jack Wonkovich for a 5-0 lead.
Youngstown’s Coleman Stauffer who had a hit and RBI, said his team kept fighting back.
“We never gave up, just ran out of pitching in the end,” Stauffer said. “Unlike our first two games today, we weren’t able to capitalize on our chances.”
Youngstown avoided the shutout by scoring a run in the sixth inning.
Garrison Wieland reached on a fielder’s choice and later scored on Stauffer’s single up the middle.
Brandon Myers said a runner-up finish is something next year’s team can improve upon.
“Our goal was to get to the championship game and we did,” Myers said, adding that the game that hurt the most was Saturday’s 10-8 loss to the Hurricanes.
“They took a 10-0 lead and we closed to within two runs, but just couldn’t finish,” Myers said.
Manager Angelo Bianco said despite small numbers, the team showed a lot of resilience.
“We did great, picking a small team on purpose and a group that battled right to the end,” Bianco said.
Youngstown 9, Cleveland Hurricane Select 3
Bianco threw a one-hitter over five innings to force a deciding game.
Youngstown sent nine batters to the plate in the opening inning and scored three times on just one hit to take the early 3-0 lead.
Youngstown sent eight batters to the plate in the second inning to add three more runs. Jack Rafoth’s two-run single was the big blow.
Rafoth and Stauffer each had two hits and two RBIs while Myers scored three times.
YOUNGSTOWN 6, MARS 2
Youngstown scored three runs in the first inning. Bianco had two hits and Kyle Rickets pitched 62/3 innings, scattering four hits to pick up the win.