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Prospects man up late
Manios goes the distance in victory over Whiting
By Dan Hiner
Struthers
Prospects 18U manager T.C. Guarnieri walked out to the mound to tell Frankie Manios to get one more out. The Howland pitcher got Caleb Benton to pop out to first base, capping an 8-3 win over Whiting Roll-Offs Monday night at Cene Park.
Manios allowed three runs on five hits and four walks with three strikeouts. He threw a complete game, but ran into some trouble in the seventh inning.
Josh Ickes hit a two-run single for Whiting (1-4) with two outs in the final inning. Ben Dottle walked in the following at-bat, but Guarnieri got Manios refocused for the final out.
“[T.C. Guarnieri] told me ‘Do whatever it takes to get me one more out.’ It took a while, but I got it,” Manios said.
Prospects (4-3) ran into a rarity in 21st century baseball: a knuckleballer.
Whiting starting pitcher Zach Walker didn’t wait to throw the specialty pitch. He used it throughout the first inning, but Prospects was ready.
Niles product Nick Guarnieri hit a two-run single to center field after Howland’s Gage Tomko was hit by a pitch and Carter Chinn singled to start the first. Nick Guarnieri scored after back-to-back wild pitches, extending the lead to 3-0.
“We were just trying to sit back on him, let the ball get deeper,” Nick Guarnieri said. “Didn’t want to get too out front, cause us to roll over and pop straight up.”
Austintown Fitch’s Mike Fetzko scored on a throwing error by Whiting third baseman Tim Lewis in the second.
Tomko and Chinn were hit by pitches to lead off the fifth and Nick Guarnieri singled down the left-field line to load the bases. Boardman’s Cam Kreps hit a sacrifice fly to left field and Girard’s Nick DeGregory had a two-out, two-run double to extend the lead to 8-1.
Nick Guarnieri went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a run scored. Fetzko doubled and Chinn finished 1 for 3 with two runs scored.
Tyler Clary’s RBI groundout drove in Sean Davis in the top of the second for Whiting’s only run prior to the seventh.
Chase Tomko doubled for Whiting while Ricky Telesz, Davis and Maplewood’s Hunter Bates each singled.
Walker allowed eight runs — seven earned — on five hits and a walk with a strikeout. Ickes relieved Walker to start the bottom of the sixth and pitched a scoreless inning.
“[Knowledge on Walker] basically was what you see warming up in the bullpen over there,” T.C. Guarnieri said. “Those are the guys that’ll give you the most troublesome times because they change their speeds and trying to keep guys from lunging out and staying back.
“He had us out on our front foot for a couple innings there before we started being a little bit more patient.”
Manios only allowed three hits and three walks in six innings pitched. He finished the game with 105 pitches, and T.C. Guarnieri said the seventh-inning struggles were probably a result of fatigue.
The Howland pitcher improved to 2-0 in two starts during the Class B season. He leads to the team with 14 innings pitched. Brandon Mikos is second on the roster with five innings.
“[Manios] kept throwing strikes, the guys kept making the plays behind him,” T.C. Guarnieri said. “When you gotta guy throwing strikes and the ball’s being put in play like that, everybody stays in the game, they’re alive and usually those are the fun ones to be in.
“Frankie’s always been like that. Did a good job. Threw some good pitches in some good situations.”