Sunday, April 30, 2017
By Greg Gulas
HUBBARD
Hubbard High School teams have tasted tournament success in multiple varsity sports, yet its tradition-rich baseball program cannot boast a single district title.
Head coach John Schiraldi is hoping that will all change after this year’s Division II tournament.
The Eagles (14-6) have won five of their last seven games and eight of 11 with an eye on sectional play, which begins May 8 at host school sites.
In is his fifth season as the Eagles’ head coach and 16th overall with the program, Schiraldi, a 1999 Hubbard graduate, has seen his teams improve each season.
He said he believes this could be the year when his alma mater hoists a district trophy.
“When we are clicking on all cylinders, we’re a team than can contend with anyone,” Schiraldi said. “I honestly feel that we can make a deep run in the tournament.
“The key will be pitching and ours is sound.”
Schiraldi (66-60 overall) concedes that the Northeastern Ohio area is very competitive at tourney time.
“We’ll also need to play well defensively and get timely hits,” he said.
Four Eagles infielders claim membership in the school’s National Honor Society.
Knocking off the state’s Division III then-top team, Elyria Catholic (7-4) at Progressive Field (April 21) was a confidence booster.
“Everything clicked for us that day,” Schiraldi said. “Those are the types of games that you need to play because it can give you a morale boost.”
Hubbard is riding a two-game win streak and much of that positive energy has come from the leadership provided by infielders Ryan Love, Kent Kroynovich and Anthony Laird, and pitcher Mason Trinckes.
A shortstop, Love is four-year letter-winner hitting at a .364 clip from the second spot in the order. He carries a 4.0 cumulative grade point average in the classroom. At Wednesday’s senior awards banquet, he was presented the OHSAA’s Archie Griffin Sportsmanship Scholar-Athlete Award.
“We’re definitely capable of winning the big game,” Love said. “We never thought for a second that we would lose [to Elyria Catholic] and that is the mentality that you have to have at tournament time. It’s all business, all of the time.”
Laird is the team’s first baseman and batting .266 while Kroynovich plays third base, bats fifth in the line-up and is one of the team’s top hitters at .381.
“It sure would be nice to be able to say that you were a member of the team that won the program’s first ever district championship,” Kroynovich said.
Catcher Tim Herberger (.364) is the team’s top run producer (23) and responsible for directing the pitching corps. With Nick Ferrara, Jimmy Palumbo and Dom Hover at second base, and Jamie Thomson roaming centerf ield, the Eagles are as strong as any area team up the middle.
Ferrara said that the team cannot lose focus leading up to the tournament — “one inning at a time is going to be the key,” he said.
Sophomore Lukas Mosora is the right fielder, hits third and is batting a team-best .412 with 10 extra base hits in the first 19 games.
He hit his first varsity home run, an inside-the-park shot against East at Pemberton Park on Thursday.
“We have the drive and are a determined group,” Mosora said.
Cam Chaney and Colin Burdette are the other outfielders that split time with Hunter Meyer (.300) and Caleb Johnson (.316) sharing designated hitter duty.
Ferrara (4-1, 2.80 earned run average, 17 strikeouts), Laird (3-0, 2.29 ERA, 16 strikeouts) and Trinckes (3-1, 1.99 ERA, 20 strikeouts) have combined for 10 of the team’s 14 wins. Ryan Halavick (1-2, two saves, 2.66 ERA in 29 innings pitched) rounds out the Eagles’ four-man rotation.