Ursuline knocks off No. 2 seed Alliance 8-2 in district semi
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STRUTHERS -- Coming into the 2024 season, Ursuline head coach Paul Kempe knew he had a roster with talent.
But the Irish had to replace nine seniors from last year, so the team had to work through some youth and lack of varsity experience.
Facing a brutal schedule, Ursuline had to grow up in a hurry. But despite what's been an "up-and-down season" for the Irish, Ursuline finds itself on the cusp of a district championship after taking down Alliance 8-2 on Monday at Bob Cene Park in the Division II, Northeast 1 district semifinal.
"You get into the rhythm of playing -- with the inexperience and seeing varsity baseball every day -- our schedule that we played and who we played, I think it truly helped out," Kempe said. "There were times where we were extremely frustrated. We went through highs and lows, but I think going through that obviously prepared us to see great talent in this tournament.
"Our guys are just battle-tested right now. … Today was just another step for us, but it's a credit to the work they've done and a credit to our coaching staff. We've still got a goal to win a district title, but I'm just so proud of everyone in our program right now."
With the victory over the second-seeded Aviators, Ursuline has now knocked off the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds in the district in back-to-back games after the sectional final win over top-seeded Poland last week.
"It's kind of weird how it shaked out where you see the No. 1 and No. 2 in the second and third round, but I think anyone we would have seen in either district is extremely good," Kempe said. "Our approach has been about ourselves. The last week of the season, we really had some ups and downs, and we challenged our guys and they challenged each other, and they stepped up to it."
Against Alliance, Ursuline was fully in control from the first pitch and never looked out of sorts. The Irish rattled off three hits in their first four at bats against Aviators starter Bo Davis and turned those into two early runs in the top of the first inning.
Then in the second inning, Ursuline picked up some big hits. A double from Anthony Triveri was followed by a triple from CJ Frasco and another double from Luke Kollar, which scored three more runs for the Irish.
The top of the order carried the Irish, as Frasco went 3-for-4 in the two hole. Triveri and Kollar were both 2-for-5, with Kollar finishing with three RBIs. As a team, Ursuline finished with 10 hits.
"We've been preaching that we have to jump on that first pitch. We did both times," Frasco said. "We knew that if we did, we would get hits and turn those into runs."
Meanwhile, on the mound, Triveri was making quick work of the Aviators as Ursuline's hitters were building its early lead.
Alliance went down 1-2-3 in each of the first two innings against Triveri, and he didn't give up his first base runner until a pair of singles in the bottom of the third inning.
"On the mound, I was able to locate my fastball and the outside corner (of the zone) really well," Triveri said. "I was able to keep them off balance with my slider."
Triveri almost went the distance unscathed. But in the bottom of the seventh inning, Alliance turned four hits into a pair of runs, and Kempe opted to bring in reliever Joe Balog for the final out.
Triveri went 6.2 innings, throwing five strikeouts and no walks, while giving up nine hits and just two earned runs.
"Anthony was unbelievable. That team is a heck of an offensive team, and he kept them off balance," Kempe said. "He started the game with a big hit for us, then a double to start off the next (inning). I think us getting up early really settled us down. It took some pressure off him on the mound. He's pitched big games for us all year, so it's not a shock. We knew going with him on the mound, we were going to have a chance to win this game."
Alliance finishes the season 19-7, but Ursuline's win sets up a rematch in the district title game. The ninth-seeded Irish will take on No. 4 Canfield on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Bob Cene Park. The Cardinals survived an exhilarating 8-7 victory over Hubbard in eight innings in their district semifinal on Monday.
Ursuline defeated Canfield 7-4 during their regular season meeting back on April 18.
"Whoever we see in the district title game, it's going to be another challenge and we've gotta rise up to that occasion," Kempe said. "I've got all the faith in the world in our guys, and we'll be excited and ready to go for it."
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