Fitch was led offensively by Mike Sciortino and Drew Kaschak who each had two hits on the day, with Sciortino’s second putting Fitch ahead in the 6th inning. Mason Petridis and Hayden Warmouth added a hit apiece as well.
Fitch improves to 8-1 (2-0 in AAC play) on the season.
*Contributed By Jack Chepke
AUSTINTOWN OH- It was a pitchers duel in the circle on Tuesday night, as a couple undefeated softball teams in The Austintown Fitch Falcons and The Tuslaw Mustangs squared off.
The battle in the circle was between Cleveland State commit Meredith Rankl and freshman superstar, “The Untouchable” Sydnie Watts.
A scoreless tie was broken in the bottom of the 4th inning when Maddy Taylor (3) and Sydnie Watts (5) swatted back-to-back home runs off the first two pitches to start the inning.
The 2-0 lead was cut in half in the top of the 6th, when The Mustangs raced home with a run off a wild pitch by Watts.
Ali Foley came up big for The Falcons in the bottom half of the inning. Plating a run off an RBI double to make it 3-1.
A score in which The Falcons never looked back from, defeating some of Massillons best, by a final score of 3-1. Stretching their record to a perfect 10-0 on the season.
The loss was the first for Tuslaw, as their record drops to 3-1 on the campaign.
Watts struck out 14 in her performance, pushing her season total to 125. However, Player of The Game honors went to Falcons senior Maddy Taylor.
Hitting a big fly to break a scoreless tie generated enough momentum for Fitch to help propel them to double digits in victories.
The win will keep the red hot Falcons warm as the head south for spring break! Looking to lock horns with some great competition in Myrtle Beach, the memories shared on the trip will last a lifetime.
*Contributed By YSN’s Ty Bartell
Postgame Interview With Steve Ward
Postgame Interview With Maddy Taylor:
BOARDMAN, OH- The Boardman Lady Spartans Track and Field team defeated the Fitch Lady Falcons 74-60 on Tuesday, April 12th.
BOARDMAN, OH-Boardman-The Boardman Boys Track Team improved their 2022 record to 5-0 after posting a 74-63 victory over the Austintown Fitch Falcons at Spartan Stadium this past Tuesday. This was the first dual meet victory over the Falcons since 2010.
The Spartans opened the meet with a first place finish in the 4×800 relay with the team of sophomore Brock Farris, freshman David D’Altorio, senior Ben Zilavy, and junior Andrew Yocum. Senior Trey DePietro placed third in the 110H. In the 100 meter dash, senior Ben Alvarico placed first and classmate Cameron Thompson placed second.
The 4×200 relay team of Thompson, DePietro, Alvarico, and junior Logan Thompson placed first. Farris placed first in the 1600 with D’Altorio in third. The Spartan 4×100 relay team of senior Anthony Hightower, Thompson, Alvarico, and Thompson placed first. Junior Joel Cuevas-Pixley placed first in the 400. DePietro placed first in the 300H with junior Brady DePietro in third. Farris placed second in the 800 with Zilavy in third. The 200 meter dash saw Alvarico place first overall. The next event was the 3200 meter run which was won by D’Altorio with senior Jack Graff in second.
In the field events, senior Joe Sferra placed first in the shot put and junior Tyler Cherne was third in discus. Senior Tommy Nawrocki placed second in the long jump and tied Hightower for third in high jump. Junior Paul Bonnel placed third in the pole vault.
The ‘Meet MVP’ went to Cherne for his outstanding personal best throw in the discus against a very talented Fitch Throws Unit.
*Contributed by John Phillips
AUSTINTOWN OH-It was truly a special day in Austintown as seven different Falcons signed their names on the dotted line to continue their football careers in college. YSN’s own Ty Bartell was on scene and got all the content you could want from signing day. Interviews with many of the student athletes, and highlights of the day. We are so honored to have shared in these athletes careers at YSN, and wish them the best of luck in their future. We are adding a lot of college colors to our closet. Check out all our content from signing day below.
A.J. Byrd-
Hard work pays off and dreams come true. Showcasing that is none other than Austintown senior A.J. Byrd.
The Falcons senior leader kept things locked down on the gridiron, while also representing Fitch and The Austintown community to its highest standards.
Catch the last interview as a senior from Edinboro commit A.J. Byrd!
Devin Sherwood-
“Statistically The Greatest Quarterback in Fitch History” a title given to Devin Sherwood, by none other than Head Coach T.J. Parker.
However, it was a title that was anything but. Earned through the multiple seasons, drives, comebacks and touchdowns. Sherwood has left a lasting impact in The Austintown community. As he hopes to carry that impact to The University of Virginia where he will continue his football career.
Donovan Oliver-
A vocal leader, a diehard competitor and a Falcon at heart. Donovan Oliver as most know him, has been nothing short of amazing to cover with Austintown Athletics.
Showing his determination and exemplifying the work ethic of Austintown from Friday to Friday, he leaves a mold for future Falcons to follow.
Others know him as “Tuney” which requires some explanation.
Get all that and more in this interview with Mount Union commit Donovan Oliver.
Tyler Evans-
The all-time record holder in every major receiving statistic in Fitch history, Tyler Evans, has made his commitment to continue his career at West Virginia University. As Evans will reunite with his Austintown brother Todd Simons this fall. Ty Bartell got the chance to catch up with the receiver.
Tyree Mitchell-
Tyree Mitchell had all the drama swirling around him as to who he was going to pick to attend college. With three different options on the table ahead of signing day, it was an exciting mystery to seniors where The Austintown senior would end up going. Find out his choice and reasoning behind it in this interview from signing day!
Devin Pounds-
The linebacker that headlined the defense for Austintown Fitch was a surprise appearance on signing day! He is now officially signed to play for Washington & Jefferson. We wish Devin the best of luck in his future
Colin Moore-
A staple to the front line of the Falcon defense Colin Moore was a walk to try to get through for other teams. His hard work and determination has pulled him through and now it is paying off. Moore has signed on to play for Division 1 Robert Morris. We wish Colin the best of luck in everything in his future.
Full Signing Day Video:
A senior season salvaged. That is the mentality for one of The Austintown Fitch Falcons seniors this season. Pitcher Jake Corll, who missed a majority of last season due to injury, has returned to this season and has been on a roll. Highlighted by a complete game shutout, an increase in strikeout production and a masterful control of his stuff to start the year. Some may call him “The Amish Assassin” and for his capabilities on the mound, that may hold true. Others call him the soul of Falcons Athletics with his additional work with Spirit Club.
Always a fun time with Jake Corll, and for Ty and Anthony of Running Point, this time was no different!
*Contributed By YSN’s Ty Bartell
Presented By:
AUSTINTOWN OH- Fitch Senior boys soccer player, Evan Sahli, was awarded the Youngstown District Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association Senior Scholarship. Sahli was one of six senior student-athletes in the area to be a recipient of the $350 scholarship.
Evan was named to the 1st team All-AAC this past fall and also played basketball this past winter for the Falcons and is member of the National Honor Society.
*Contributed By Russel Houser at austintownathletics.org
AUSTINTOWN, OH- The Fitch Baseball Team started slow, and uncharacteristically sloppy- but tightened things up offensively to get a 4-2 win over rival Poland on Thursday.
Poland Seminary got things started in the first inning when an error scored one run for Poland.
Mason Petridis pitched Fitch to victory. The fireballer allowed two hits and two runs over three and a third innings, striking out five. Jake Corll and Frank Pugliese entered the game out of the bullpen and helped to close out the game in relief. Corll recorded the last six outs to earn the extended save for Fitch.
Matt Paparodis took the loss for Poland. Paparodis allowed five hits and three runs over three innings, striking out five.
Fitch tallied six hits. Mike Sciortino and Brandon Popio all had multiple hits for Fitch. Sciortino went 3-for-3 at the plate to lead the Falcons in hits, while Popio drove in 3 runs from the dish.
Bryce Barringer led the Bulldogs with two hits in four at-bats. Poland didn’t commit a single error in the field. Chris Denney had nine chances in the field, the most on the team.
AUSTINTOWN OH- It was a big matchup in the softball realm on Thursday evening. With both schools featured in YSNs Top 10 Power Rankings.
Those teams, of course, being #1 Austintown-Fitch vs. #7 Poland.
The focus on this matchup happened in the circle. Poland started the junior leader in Katie McDonald, who went in with a 3-0 record and a 1.92 ERA.
On the flip side, The Falcons started “The Untouchable” Sydnie Watts. The freshman has been on a tear to open this season. She headed into the non-conference game with a 5-0 record, a 0.70 ERA and 72 strikeouts.
Both pitchers went through the order the first time with ease. As both teams struggled to scratch across a run in the first couple innings.
The scoreless tie went into the third until Ayla Ray manufactured the first run for Falcons, and then did it again in the fifth.
It was 2-0 Falcons lead in the bottom of the 5th inning, when Player of The Game, junior Caitlin Mitchell hit a 2 RBI single to double the lead 4-0.
That would be all The Fitch offense would need, as the rain ended things early in 5 innings with Austintown on top.
Sydnie Watts got the win in the circle, her sixth of the season. Fitch will also move to 6-0 ahead of their matchup on Friday, April 8th against Glen Oak.
Poland will refocus themselves with a game against The Hilltoppers of Chardon. Also due to take place on Friday.
Stats: Pitching
Fitch: Sydnie Watts- W (6-0), 0 ER, 8 K (80), 1 H, 3 BB.
Poland: Katie McDonald- L (3-1), 2 ER, 8 K (39), 5 H, 3 BB.
*Contributed By YSN’s Ty Bartell
Postgame Interview With Steve Ward:
Postgame Interview With Caitlin Mitchell:
AUSTINTOWN OH- Fitch softball is off to an incredible start to the 2022 season. Their entire roster has found ways to contribute and find themselves in headlines. Freshman Sydnie Watts has lived up to the hype she was getting in the preseason. She already has a no hitter to her credit. The Falcons are 5-0 and have matchups with Poland and Lakeside still on the season.
Steve Ward took the time to make another appearance on Running Point this week to talk about the start the team is off to. He chats with Ty Bartell, and Anthony Hartwig about some of the big contributors, his reaction to the hot start, and much more. Get an update on the Falcons in Episode 2 of Coach’s Corner.
Presented By: