By Shawn Ellwood
POLAND OH- A strong start to the night for Poland would give the Bulldogs the early advantage, never allowing Girard to catch up as they pulled away with a 8-2 victory to split the season series with the Indians.
Poland got on the board first with a strong 3-run 1st inning, with Grady Pitzulo getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring Aiden Perry across before Owen Mckenzie would smack a line drive into center to notch a 2-run double and give Poland an early 3-0 lead.
Grady Pitzulo was also off to a strong start on the mound for Poland, going 6-up, 6-down through the first two innings. But the Indians would be able to break through on an RBI single from Joey Alejars to get the Indians on the board.
But Poland would only continue to expand on their lead. Dylan Kelty would bring Zach Marantis home on a sacrifice fly in the 4th. Carmine Tukalo and Aiden Perry would lead off the 5th with back-to-back triples, both coming across to score to expand the lead. Aiden Perry and Zach Marantis would then tally back-to-back RBI singles in the 6th to stretch the lead further.
Grady Pitzulo would tally a 1-2-3 7th inning against the Indians’ bats to seal the deal on the mound, finishing a complete game against Girard while only having surrendered 4 hits and a single earned run to go along with a trio of strikeouts in the victory.
Poland (9-3) gets revenge from an earlier defeat against the Indians and looks to continue charging through the NE8 as the Bulldogs now set their sights on a Monday-Tuesday series with the Struthers Wildcats. Girard (7-11) will look to regroup over the weekend as the Indians set their sights on another Bulldogs squad, this time preparing for a Monday-Tuesday series with Lakeview in NE8 play.