Hake pitches Ursuline into district final vs. S. Range

May 22, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

Irish took control with

five-run first inning

STRUTHERS

Ursuline has won the last four district titles and 10 overall under head coach Sean Durkin, who is currently in his 18th season.

After a 9-2 win over Girard in a Division III semifinal Thursday at Cene Park, the top-seeded Fighting Irish will meet South Range with the hope of making an 11th regional appearance.

Joel Hake threw a two-hitter, struck out 11 and set down 12 of the first 13 batters to improve to 4-0 on the season.

A recent Youngstown State commit, Hake said his slider was working well.

“Cold weather doesn’t really bother me and after building a 5-0 lead in the first inning, my mindset was to just throw strikes and get out of the inning,” Hake said. “My fastball was working but my slider was nasty a good portion of the game so I went to that as well. I struggled with a back injury last season so it’s nice to be healthy this year.”

It didn’t take the Fighting Irish (15-5) long to get on the board, sending 11 batters to the plate in the first inning in taking a 5-0 lead.

Alex Schlosser, Hake, Vito Petrillo, Drew Potesta and Logan Pullin each reached base safely to start the game with Potesta, Pullin, Bobby Dulay and Brice Bokesch recording RBIs, and a passed ball accounting for the other run.

The Irish extended their lead to 6-0 in the fourth inning when Pullin reached on an error to start the frame, then raced home on an error with two away.

Pullin had two of his team’s six hits, scored three times and drove in a run.

“The game plan was to get out to a quick lead and with Joel on the mound, we felt that we had a good chance to win,” Pullin said. “Playing small ball with timely hitting has its benefits.”

Warren Grist broke up Hake’s no-hit bid in the fifth inning when he opened with a single for Girard (16-12). He scored on a single by Tyler O’Dell for the Indians’ first run.

O’Dell scored to cut the Ursuline lead to 6-2 after Zach Brunelli followed with a run-scoring single.

“With a defense and pitcher that good, your back is against the wall when you get down early like we did today,” Indians coach Aaron Alejars said. “To our credit, we never gave up and continued to keep playing the next pitch.”

Ursuline added to their lead in the sixth inning by scoring the game’s final three runs; those coming on a single, two hit batters and a triple by Vito Penza.

“In my previous at bat I sat on the fast ball and let a couple others go by,” Penza said. “My last at bat, I sat on it and was able to drive it.”

Hake’s performance was no surprise to Ursuline coach Sean Durkin.

“Jake’s a four-year starter, a dream to coach and this year has been a real bulldog on the mound,” Durkin said.