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Widrig shuts out Harding; Boardman’s bats stay hot
Widrig shuts
out Harding;
Boardman’s bats stay hot
By DAN HINER
BOARDMAN
Boardman was in complete control from the first pitch in the Spartans’ 11-0 win over Warren Harding in a Division I sectional final on Wednesday.
Boardman (17-11) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning after a one-out double by Lou Cardona drove in Brian Fryda from second base.
The Spartans broke the game open with a seven-run second inning. Boardman sent 16 batters to the plate — recording six hits and three walks. Miscommunication between Warren Harding right fielder Nick Fitzgerald and second baseman Shawnel Ferebee allowed two popups to drop in shallow right field in the inning.
“Their approach has been a lot better,” Boardman head coach Joe Gabriel said of the Spartans’ hitters. “They’ve been going up the middle or the other way a lot more often, instead of trying to yank everything. That’s been their approach the last 10 or 12 games, and it’s paid off for them.”
Boardman added the final three runs in the bottom of the third inning. Fryda’s leadoff single in the third was followed by a walk by Gaven Strines. Cardona hit an RBI double to the left-field warning track to drive in Fryda. Later in the inning, Strines and Cardona reached home after sacrifice flies by Gino Beato and Mike Despotorich.
Warren Harding head coach Ed Shaker said his team had some struggles defensively. He said the miscues in the second inning were costly, but understandable because of Fitzgerald’s lack of experience in right field.
Shaker said the team played well throughout the season.
“I’m proud of the way we competed,” he said.
It was the final game for Shaker, the Raiders’ long-time head coach.
Boardman pitcher Hudson Widrig made one mistake during his start against Harding. Widrig allowed his first baserunner with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
“It was pretty deflating knowing that I had a perfect game or a no-hitter — whatever you want to call it going into the fourth inning, but it’s baseball and you never know what you’re gonna get out of it,” said Widrig, who struck out five.
Widrig’s pitching performance came as no surprise to Gabriel.
“Hudson’s been or ace all year,” Gabriel said. “I think he just went to 7-0 today. He throws a ton of strikes, gets his off-speed over — he really makes you beat him.
“He’s been our man all year, and we rode him all year. He’s had a great year for us.”
Gabriel said the Spartans will maintain their approach at the plate heading into the next round of the playoffs. He said the coaching staff made some changes to the lineup earlier in the season, and Boardman’s seniors stepped up recently.
“The pitching and defense has really been there for us for a good part of the year,” Gabriel said. “The hitting, I don’t expect it to go away. It’s something we’ve been doing a good job of the last 12 games or so. I expect our approach to stay the same — going the other way and doing what we’ve been doing the last 12 games.
“We’ve been playing with a lot of confidence over that handful of games, and I don’t expect us to do anything different.”
Cardona finished with three hits, including the two doubles, and three RBIs. Fryda and Scott Lendak each had two hits. Beato drove in three runs.