Tag Archive for: Bears

LEETONIA FOOTBALL COACH’S CORNER (EP 1) WITH DREW MCLAUGHLIN

LEETONIA, OH- There’s a new era being ushered into Leetonia from the football side of things.  John Protopapa was named Head Football Coach in February, and he brings a great crew of coaches with him.  One of them is great offensive mind, and former Lowellville standout, Drew McLaughlin.

McLaughlin serves as the Assistant Head Coach and the Offensive Coordinator for the Bears, and is also the point of contact on social media.  A man who wears many hats in his life, but is proud of the one he’ll wear on Friday nights this fall, Drew McLaughlin is fired up for the 2022 season in Leetonia.

We sat down with the guru of the Leetonia X’s and O’s to discuss and preview this year’s crew heading into Week 1 on Leetonia Football Coach’s Corner.

PRESENTED BY

 

 

IRISH CAN’T MOUNT A COMEBACK

MASSILLON OH-  Ursuline fell behind early and couldn’t come back in an 8-4 loss to Waynedale on Thursday. Waynedale scored on a single by Dylan Raber in the second inning.

Trey Barkman pitched Waynedale to victory. The pitcher went seven innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and striking out five.

Andrew Kirila took the loss for Ursuline. Kirila allowed seven hits and four runs over three and two-thirds innings, striking out three.

The Irish totaled eight hits. Jack Ericson and Tom Groner each collected multiple hits. Groner and Ericson each collected two hits to lead. Ursuline didn’t commit a single error in the field. Brady Shannon had seven chances in the field, the most on the team.

Waynedale tallied 13 hits on the day. Ian Lehman, Raber, Barkman, and Connor Gatti each racked up multiple hits.

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TIGERS CLAW INTO NEXT ROUND

WARREN OH-  Evan McBane threw a gem on Tuesday for Howland, allowing zero runs and besting Youngstown East in the sectional semifinals by a score of 12-0.

Howland got things moving in the first inning, when Marco Massucci doubled on a 1-1 count, scoring one run.

The Tigers notched five runs in the third inning. Dominic Santee, Robert Gumino, and Massucci all moved runners across the plate with RBIs in the inning.

McBane led the Howland to victory on the mound. The righthander lasted five innings, allowing two hits and zero runs while striking out eight.

The Tigers collected nine hits on the day. Massucci, Luca Massucci, Mason Bayus, and Anthony Massucci all managed multiple hits. Massucci went 3-for-3 at the plate to lead Howland Tigers in hits.

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CLIPPERS FINISH OUT EOAC PLAY UNDEFEATED

COLUMBIANA OH-  Columbiana defeated Leetonia 15-0 on Tuesday as two pitchers combined to throw a shutout. Ava Davanzo struck out Harris to finish off the game.

Julia Rapp led the Clippers to victory by driving in four runs. Rapp went 2-for-3 at the plate. Rapp drove in runs on a home run in the first and a triple in the second.

The Clippers got on the board in the first inning. Tori Long drove in one when she doubled.

One bright spot for Leetonia was a single in the third inning.

Caitlynn Pleska took the win for the Clippers. The righthander allowed one hit and zero runs over three innings, striking out six and walking one. Davanzo threw two innings in relief out of the bullpen.

Skyler Davis took the loss for Leetonia. Davis allowed nine hits and 11 runs over one inning, walking one.

The Clippers tallied 18 hits on the day. Cameron Perkins, Maryn Hepler, Rapp, Davanzo, and Pleska all managed multiple hits. Hepler and Perkins each collected three hits to lead. Columbiana was sure-handed and didn’t commit a single error. Perkins made the most plays with seven.

McKendra Cole led Leetonia with one hit in one at bat.

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ROCKETS TURN ON THE AFTERBURNERS

LEETONIA OH-  Ten runs in the third inning led Lowellville past Leetonia 18-1 on Thursday. Sidney Price, Sophia Alfano, Isabella Willrich, Sammie Kelly, Morgan Lewis, and Maddie Esposito all moved runners across the plate with RBIs in the inning.

In the first inning, Leetonia got their offense started. Leetonia scored one run on a RBI single.

Lowellville scored ten runs in the third inning. Price, Alfano, Willrich, Kelly, Lewis, and Esposito each had RBIs in the big inning.

Kelly earned the win for the Rockets. The pitcher surrendered one run on two hits over four innings, striking out seven and walking zero. Alfano threw one inning in relief out of the bullpen.

Lowellville totaled 14 hits. Brooke Ginnis, Kelly, Alfano, Esposito, and Price each had multiple hits. Price, Esposito, Alfano, Kelly, and Ginnis each managed two hits to lead.

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COLUMBIANA TAKES THE BITE OUT OF THE BEARS

COLUMBIANA OH- Columbiana defeated Leetonia 17-0 on Tuesday as two pitchers combined to throw a shutout. Ava Davanzo got a strike out finish off the game.

Davanzo collected four hits in four at bats to help lead the Clippers to victory. Davanzo doubled in the first, singled in the second, singled in the third, and singled in the fourth.

The Clippers got things moving in the first inning. Tori Long doubled on a 1-2 count, scoring two runs.

Columbiana notched seven runs in the second inning. Davanzo, Alaina Johnston, Madeline Hitchcock, and Ella Dota each drove in runs during the inning.

One bright spot for Leetonia was a single by Gracie Duko in the third inning.

Long earned the victory in the pitcher’s circle for the Clippers. The righthander allowed one hit and zero runs over three innings, striking out ten and walking one. Davanzo threw two innings in relief out of the bullpen.

Skyler Davis took the loss for Leetonia. Davis went four innings, allowing 17 runs on 16 hits and striking out one.

Columbiana had 16 hits in the game. Davanzo, Johnston, Long, Cameron Perkins, and Maryn Hepler each had multiple hits. Davanzo led the Clippers with four hits in four at bats.

Duko went 1-for-3 at the plate to lead Leetonia in hits.

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EUSEBIO TOSSES NO NO IN CLIPPERS VICTORY

Alex Eusebio (1-0) tossed a no-hitter Tuesday night in Columbiana’s league opening win over Leetonia.  The Clippers (4-0, 1-0 EOAC) defeated the Bears 13-0 in 5 innings at Firestone Park.

Eusebio was dominant, allowing only two baserunners (1 BB and 1 HBP) on the afternoon while striking out 10 Bear hitters.

Offensively, the Clippers had 10 hits and also walked six times.  Seth Spooner led the way with a 2 run homerun and a triple.  Zachary Pleska added two hits.  Devin Daugherty tripled and Alex Eusebio helped his own cause with a double.  Bayden Pipoly reached base 3 times including a hit and stole five bases for Columbiana.  Ashton Kakavros and Ian Less each got their first varsity hits to help the winners.

The Clippers and Bears will finish their two game set tomorrow at Leetonia.  First pitch is scheduled for 5 PM.

*Contributed By Ryan Wolf

ALL PEAKS FOR VALLEY IN ROUND ONE


LEETONIA OH- Wednesday, February 16th saw the opening night of sectional semi final matchups for Divisions 2 through 4.

Division 4, in particular, had round 3 between The Valley Christian Lady Eagles and The Leetonia Lady Bears.

With The Lady Bears taking the first two regular season matchups, including a 43-32 win at Valley Christian this past Saturday, February 12th. 

How you start is often super important for road teams, especially once the tournament starts. Head Coach Aaron Agresta and The Lady Eagles found that out on Wednesday night. 

Going on an incredible 16-3 run to both start and end the first quarter, Valley Christian found themselves leading by a baker’s dozen after a quarter.

The offense got their points; however, it was the superb defense and rebounding of Valley that left Leetonia with just one converted field goal in the first eight minutes. 

Leetonia drew even the next quarter 14-14, allowing Valley Christian to hold onto the 16 point lead at halftime. 

The second half was dominated by two scorers on The Lady Eagles who put up a combined 34 points of offense! As juniors DiAndra Tensley (19) and Savannah Kitchen (15) lead the way on the night. 

It was Tensley’s scoring, paired with fantastic defense and ball handling, the point guard was the sectional semi-final Player of The Game!

Scoring Superstar, Ella Gregorino still managed to get loose for 13 points. However, for Valley, it was Gregorino’s lowest mark versus The Lady Eagles this season. 

#16 Valley Christian was able to do enough on the rest of #10 Leetonia’s offense to close out the road victory 54-39 over The Lady Bears. 

The first quarter proves to be ever so important. Following the 16-3 first quarter by Valley, The Lady Eagles only outscored Leetonia by 2 points the following three quarters (38-36).

With the win, The Lady Bears season unfortunately meets its end. Including the tournament, Leetonia played 22 games this season, sporting an 11-11 record overall. With only one senior on the squad this season in Allison Francosky, The Lady Bears look to be back with a bite! 

For Division 4 Region 13 (Mineral Ridge District) things have gotten a lot more clear. With #16 Valley Christian looking to answer another road test against #9 Lisbon, scheduled for Saturday, February 19th at 1 p.m.

*Contributed By YSN’s Ty Bartell.

Postgame Interview With Aaron Agresta:

 

Postgame Interview With DiAndra Tensley

BEARS WALK IT OFF AGAINST LISBON

LEETONIA OH- Some wins can define a season, even if the year has been a struggle. For Leetonia, this season has definitely had its share of adversity. The Bears took that adversity on Friday night and smacked it right in the mouth. Leetonia picked up the big win over a streaking Lisbon team by the finals score of 33-32. The Bears outscored Lisbon 11-3 in the final frame.

Jacob McCol led the Bears on the night scoring 9 points. They also got a strong contribution from Joe Guido with 6. Guido hit 2 of the 3 threes on the night for Leetonia. Andrew Hendricks finished with 5 points.

Lisbon was led by Trevor Seifke with a game-high 16 points. Hunter Dailey added a solid 8 to the cause as well.

This is the Bears 4th win of the year. They’ll look to put together a win streak on Tuesday as they travel to Valley Christian. . Lisbon will be back in action Tuesday as well hosting Southern

TIGERS EARN WIN IN BATTLE WITH EAST

YOUNGSTOWN OH- With the season winding down, the road to the tournament becomes important.  Especially, when one team can gain momentum in a heartbeat.  For coach Chivas Whipple and the Youngstown East Golden Bears, their only win was a 47-45 thriller against Akron North.  Meanwhile, the Howland Tigers and coach Dan Bubon were coming off of a one point loss to Cardinal Mooney and were in desperate need of keeping their over .500 streak alive.  These two have met, but the last time Howland beat the Bears was back in 2018-19.  

 

First quarter saw East’s Luther Bell drain a three with it being a back and forth game with Anthony Massucci leading the back for Howland.  The first quarter would be tied at 14 all and the second quarter was just as close with Jarred Colon hitting a three and Massucci scoring in the paint along with a shot downtown making it 33-32.  

 

Gabe Badea got into motion down low and started to draw key fouls hitting two free throws at the line along with the sophomore Alex Henry.  East battles back in the fourth with Tyron Hudson, Bell and Sa’ad El-Amin.  However, key important free throws and foul trouble paved the way for the Tigers of Howland who would win by the final of 68-61.  

 

Stats 

East: 

 

2: Mario Wright: 3pts 

 

5: Tyron Hudson: 18pts 

 

10: Jarred Colon: 9pts 

 

11: Luther Bell: 21pts 

 

14: Sa’ad El-Amin: 8pts 

 

24: Sean Hall 3pts

 

Howland: 

 

4: Alex Henry: 9pts 

 

11: Ben Bronson: 2pts 

 

25: Grant Brown 4pts 

 

30: Anthony Massucci 35pts 

 

15: Connor Durig: 2pts 

 

35: Gabe Badea: 10pts 

 

40: Bobby Sullivan: 6pts 

 

Up Next 

Howland will head to Boardman to play the Spartans, East will host Warren Harding on Friday. 

 

Postgame Interview With Dan Bubon: