AUSTINTOWN, OH- There’s a special feeling in the air of Austintown. The Fitch Falcons are on a mission and are doing it for their late leader, Coach Phil Annarella. It has all Falcons on the same flight path, and that didn’t change last Friday night against Ursuline as the Falcons took the lead in the first quarter and never looked back, winning 27-7.
The dual-quarterback system gave Ursuline fits all night as Devin Sherwood and Nate Leskovac teamed up for 3 rushing touchdowns, and one through the air to Todd Simons in the second frame.
The Falcons racked up 91 yards through the air, and 270 yards on the ground. The Irish failed to get their ground game rolling as they ended up with -31 yards on the night.
The lone highlight for the Irish was the much-anticipated connection of Brady Shannon to Matt Reardon for a 22-yard touchdown strike.
The Irish (0-2) will turn their focus to Mentor Lake Catholic, while Fitch (2-0) heads on the road to Glen Oak.
BUY GAME PHOTOS HERE
With the first week in the books, the Falcons are flying high at 1-0, but lurking around the corner is the crosstown foe, Ursuline. The Irish are coming off a tough defeat and looking for revenge, can The Birds hold off the new-look Ursuline offense?
YSN General Manager, Steve Leslie, sits down with Coach Elliot and discusses the emotion of winning his first game at Fitch, as well as what needs to happen to be 2-0 when the clock strikes zero on Friday night.
Also, find out where Coach’s favorite travel destination is.
All that and more on this week’s Austintown Fitch Football Coach’s Corner!
The Austintown Fitch Lady Falcons finished 14-10 and 9-1 in the AAC which made them Champions in the All American Conference- Red Tier. What that also brought was a number of post-season awards for the Lady Falcons which included four first-team selections, and a pair of second teamers.
Congratulations to the following for their hard work in the classroom, on the field, and for being the pride of their community this season:
1st Team
MADDY TAYLOR- INFIELD (FRESHMAN)
KAYLA KELTY- RF (SENIOR)
LAINIE SIMONS- DH/UP (SENIOR)
LYDIA SPALDING- PITCHER (SOPHOMORE)
2nd Team
ABBY BROWN- LF (SENIOR)
ASHLEY MICKEY- DH (JUNIOR)
AUSTINTOWN, OH- The Falcons fight back and scored late in a heartbreaking loss to Canfield.
Fitch was led by TJ Piroch, who went 2 for 4 with an RBI. Christian Myers added 2 hits and Casey Bokesch added a hit and an RBI for the Falcons.
On the mound, Trey Giannini came in for Fitch in the 4th inning. He threw 3 and 1/3 innings, allowing 0 runs on just 1 hit while striking out 5. Fitch moves to 15-5 (5-2 in AAC play) on the season. The Falcons will play host to Canfield again on Tuesday.
*Contributed by Jack Chepke and austintownathletics.com
STRUTHERS, OH- The Ursuline Irish had fought back to take the lead in the fifth frame. The Cardiac Kids were at it again. Then an offensive explosion in the sixth by the Fitch sealed the fate for the Green Machine. Austintown Fitch defeated Ursuline 10-3 on Saturday thanks to a timely seven runs in a big sixth frame.
Bobby Cavalier took the win for Fitch. He went four innings, allowing three runs on one hit and striking out six.
Offensively, the Falcons racked up 12 hits. Kenny Misik, TJ Piroch, Derek Franken, and Casey Bokesch each had multiple hits for Fitch. Bokesch, Franken, Piroch, and Misik all had two hits to lead the team. The Falcons were active on the basepaths as well and stole five bases during the game as two players stole more than one. Piroch led the way with two.
Jeremy Kreuzwieser went 1-for-2 at the plate to lead Ursuline in hits.
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AUSTINTOWN, OH- Austintown-Fitch put up seven runs in the sixth on its way to a 13-1 victory over Howland on Tuesday.
Howland got things moving in the first inning. Anthony Massucci drove in one when he singled.
Fitch pulled away for good with six runs in the second inning. In the second Derek Franken singled on a 1-0 count, scoring one run, Bobby Cavalier singled on a 1-2 count, scoring two runs, and Lorenzo Russo singled on a 3-2 count, scoring two runs.
Devin Higginbottham got the win for Austintown-Fitch. He went five innings, allowing one run on five hits and striking out six.
Braden Gebhardt led things off on the mound for Howland. He lasted two innings, allowing six hits and six runs while striking out two. Frankie Manios threw four innings in relief.
Fitch totaled nine hits. Cavalier, Russo, and Franken each had multiple hits for the Dirty Birds. Cavalier led the team with three hits in four at-bats. Fitch also stole six bases during the game as two players stole more than one. Cavalier led the way with three.
Jared Mindek went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead Howland in hits.
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AUSTINTOWN, OH- Fitch squared off against the lady Howland Tigers at 911 field. Ashley Spalding struck out 9 in five innings as well as going 2-4 with two doubles.
Maddy Taylor went 2-2 with a home run (6), 3 runs scored, 2 RBI and a stolen base as the Lady Falcons put 11 on the board to beat the Tigers 11-1 in 5 innings.
Kayla Kelty and Ashley Fuller also recorded two hits apiece as the Falcons move to 6-1 in the conference.
*Contributed by YSN’s Britt Taylor
AUSTINTOWN, OH- Christian Myers led the way for Fitch, going 3 for 4 with a double, triple, and a walk-off home run. Alarik Sierra and TJ Piroch added 2 hits apiece for Fitch.
Patrick Coleman threw the complete game while allowing just 2 runs on 4 hits, and he was aided by great defense by Fitch’s left fielder, Lorenzo Russo.
Fitch improves to 12-4 (6-1 in AAC play) on the season.
*Contributed by Jack Chepke and austintownathletics.com
AUSTINTOWN, OH- The firm of Simons, Spalding, and Taylor shut down the Raiders 10-2 on Tuesday night. Lydia Spalding struck out 8 in only 3 innings of work and at the plate was a HR shy of the cycle.
Behind her, Senior Lainie Simons drilled a home run and Maddy Taylor contributed 2 singles and a round-tripper while contributing 3 runs batted in.
Fitch 10 (6-4, 5-1 AAC)
WGH 2 (3-10)
W 0 000 011. 2. 5. 0
F: 0 711 01x. 10. 14. 3
WP: Lydia Spalding/ Jenna Chmelik (Kaitlyn Evanko 4th inning in relief)
LP: Natalie Stanton/ Karlie Hileman
W: Karlie Hileman : double, Single
F: Lydia Spalding: triple, double, Single: 2 RBI
Lainie Simons: HR, RBI
Maddy Taylor: 2 singles, HR, 2RBI
Ashley Mickey: 2 singles, RBI
Haley Tarr: Single, RBI
Lydia Spalding 3 innings 8 K