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Dragons’ DeFalco just misses no-hitter
By Brian Dzenis
STRUTHERS
Marco DeFalco missed out on history, but still got a satisfactory result.
The Niles junior was half-an-inning away from becoming just the third player in the state to throw three consecutive no-hitters. [DeFalco has three on the season.l
West Branch’s T.J. DeShields was the spoiler, leading off the top of the seventh with a double down the left-field line. The ball dropped less than a foot away from the foul line.
“There’s always next year,” DeFalco said.
He and his Red Dragons teammates can take solace in Monday’s 3-0 victory against the Indians, which gives them the chance to play Canfield for their first district title since 1962.
DeFalco and Niles are well-accustomed to no-hitter protocol. It wasn’t brought up until Niles coach T.C. Guarnieri visited the mound after DeShield’s double. He arrived on the hill to find his ace undisturbed.
“He’s not one of those kinds of guys. We’re sitting in the dugout the other day and he was pitching a no-no — I think it was the second one — he’s talking to me about going to see the new ‘Transformers’ movie,” Guarnieri said. “He’s not one of those guys even if he is thinking about it. I don’t even know if he knew he was throwing another no-no.”
DeFalco struck out 12 and walked two against the Indians. At the plate, he had a single and a triple with two runs scored.
“You don’t face many hard throwers in high school,” West Branch coach Shawn Alazaus said. “I know a lot of kids say they throw hard, but he was probably throwing 84-85 [mph] and you don’t see that in high school.”
West Branch (19-9) was able to get two of its three baserunners in scoring position, but the Red Dragons escaped. DeFalco walked Seth Schroeder to start the game and he made it to third on a wild pitch and a bunt, but DeFalco struck out the next two batters.
Niles (18-5) center fielder Tre Martin made an excellent play in the seventh. Martin caught a shallow fly ball hit by the Warriors’ Connor Hedrick and after making the catch, Martin picked off DeShields at second base. DeFalco coaxed out a groundout to end the game.
“In the second and third time through the lineup, I would start them off with a curveball because those guys are pretty good hitters,” DeFalco said. “I just tried to keep them off balance and it really helped me get them out.”
West Branch starter Brant Alazous held Niles to just one hit through the first three innings before the Red Dragons got on the board.
Left fielder Joe Proper hit a double to center field in the fourth to score DeFalco.
“[Alazous] gave me that curveball and I knew he was going to come back with another one,” Proper said. “I got locked on and just knocked it.”
Nick Guarnieri’s sacrifice fly scored Damion Coleman. DeFalco led off the sixth with a triple and came home on an error for the Red Dragons’ final run.
In addition to ending a long wait for a district title for the school, Niles has a chance to become Trumbull County’s first district champion since 2009.
The team has the ritual down for preparing for each game.”
“We usually have [Coleman] coming out of the dugout screaming ‘yeah!’ Marco does a spin and jumps right on the [baseline],” Proper said. “That gets us spun.”