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Poland gets by Howland

HOWLAND – At first glance, one team looked like the returning state finalist it was from a year ago, while the other resembled the team that finished in the middle of the pack in the conference.

The score showed that. The box score too. But Poland’s 4-1 victory over Howland was anything but a dominant performance from a Bulldog team that was the Division II state runner-up in 2015.

“(The team) is a lot different,” admitted Poland coach Rich Murray, who said six new players are starting in the field this year. “We played a pretty weak schedule last year, and we came out and were beating some teams bad. This year, we’re battling. This is a good Howland team, so that’s two good wins for us. But we’re not crushing the ball like we did last year. We had four guys batting over .500 for a while there (in 2015).

“The kids are finding themselves. We’re starting to hit it better, and we’re getting better every game.”

The Bulldogs are undergoing some changes with a lot of new faces.

One thing that stayed the same is Poland’s pitching. Dan Klase allowed one run on three hits for the Bulldogs (6-2). He escaped two big jams thanks to inning-ending double plays. The first came in the third inning, when Howland (3-3) had runners on first and second with one out,

but a ground ball to the shortstop ended that threat.

The Tigers loaded the bases with no one out in the fourth inning, but Klase notched one of his two strikeouts and then induced another grounder to the shortstop. Poland first baseman Padraig O’Shaughnessy made a nice scoop to finish the double play and keep Poland ahead, 4-0.

“It seemed like every time they got something going – in both games of this series – we’d get a taylor-made ground ball for a double play,” said Murray, whose Bulldogs also beat Howland on Wednesday. “They made the plays when they had to. They didn’t make all the plays, obviously, but the defense was there.”

A mental error in the first inning and a few missed opportunities cost Howland, which was a few clutch hits away from winning both games of the series. A pop fly landed between three players in the first inning on Thursday, allowing two Poland runs to score, and the aforementioned double plays held back an offense that seemed to hit the ball hard all game.

“We’re hitting the ball, it’s just right at guys,” Tigers coach Sean Price said. “We’re making loud outs all over the place. If we get a hit here, a hit there, this is a whole different ballgame.”

The losses aren’t deterring Price. He’s confident the Tigers, coming off a 13-13 season, are going to thrive with an impressive group of sophomores and juniors blending with some talented seniors – led by center fielder and Seton Hill recruit Craig Lewis.

A deep pitching staff got a solid start from Michael Massucci, who allowed four runs on nine hits while walking one and striking out three. Price said Howland’s pitching should keep it in just about every game, and its lineup has the potential to be equally effective.

“We’re going to have a good season,” Price said. “That’s not going to be a problem. We haven’t faced anybody that’s blown our doors off at all. We’re young, but they’ll get better the more they play.

“The hits are going to come,” he added. “The defense? These kids take so many ground balls, those plays will come. So I’m not too worried about it.”

Howland hosts Liberty at 5 p.m. today, while Poland hosts Marlington.

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