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Strongsville versus Saint Ignatius regional-semifinal recap

By Eddie Dwyer, 05/29/09, 12:00AM EDT

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It’s late May, that time of the year when Saint Ignatius’ Neil Butara wants the ball in his capable right hand.

Late Friday afternoon, Butara took the mound in Nobby’s Ballpark on the campus of Case Western Reserve and answered every challenge the state’s No. 1-ranked Division I baseball team could offer.

The Wildcats, with Butara winning his third postseason game this spring and his sixth over the past two seasons, defeated the highly touted Strongsville Mustangs, 4-2, in a tense, but well-played regional semifinal.

Saint Ignatius (24-7), which also got clutch hits from senior second baseman Brad Clement, junior right fielder Jesse Franklin and junior third baseman Dave Gallagher, and some strong defensive play up the middle by Clement and senior shortstop Frank DeSico, will face Anthony Wayne (20-8) in Saturday’s 2 p.m. (note time change) regional championship game at Shelby.

Strongsville, the top-ranked team in the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association state poll, closed its season at 23-4.

“That’s what Coach Donovan tells me to do every day, to be the bulldog,’’ said Butara, referring to Wildcats pitching coach T.J. Donovan. “You know, be that guy to get the ball and get a big win against a big team. I’ve been pumped up every since we lost to them in April.’’

Saint Ignatius, which will be seeking its 10th trip to the state final four on Saturday, had to call on all of its grit and composure in avoiding another setback to the Mustangs, who are coached by former Wildcat Josh Sorge ’91.

Strongsville, the big-school state champion in 2006, took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on double by first baseman Brent Casto and a triple by third baseman Kellen Pagel. Both of those hits came with one out.

It was at that point Butara displayed his bulldog mentality, as the gutsy senior left Pagel stranded at third base by recording a strikeout and a 4-3 groundout.

The Wildcats, who were facing the same pitcher – senior left-hander Jason Pascuzzi – who handcuffed them back in April, tied the score in the bottom of the second. Their first run was the result of an error, a fielder’s choice, a base hit by Gallagher and a 6-4 force off the bat of junior first baseman Mike Burke.

After Butara set the Mustangs down in order in the top of the third, an inning that included a 3-4-3 groundout, Saint Ignatius began to display patience against the crafty Pascuzzi.

With one out in the bottom of the third, junior left fielder Kevin Hopkins singled past the third baseman and went on to steal second base off a pick-off attempt by Pascuzzi. Pascuzzi struck out the next batter before Clement, a Kansas State recruit, delivered a two-out RBI single that put the ‘Cats in front, 2-1.

Butara, who scattered seven hits and struck out six in going the distance, yielded a one-out double to Kyle Schultz in the top of the fourth and then came back to end that threat with another strikeout and a routine 4-3 groundout. He also ended the top of the fifth with a strikeout that came with a runner on third.

Saint Ignatius’ clutch hitting continued as with two outs and nobody on base in the bottom of the fourth, Burke doubled down the right-field line on a 0-2 pitch. Senior catcher Chet Lauer then beat out a slow roller to the left side off a 1-2 count and Franklin slapped a 0-1 pitch through the right side for a 3-1 lead.

It was more of the same in the bottom of the fifth.

Again, with two outs and nobody on, Butara blasted a double to deep center field and came around to score when Gallagher lined a single into right-center. In what was an exceptional at-bat, Gallagher came through on a 3-2 pitch from Pascuzzi, his last before being relieved by Mustangs senior right-hander and Ohio State recruit Justin Jamison.

The challenges just kept coming for Butara, who gave up a leadoff single in the top of the sixth and also was touched for a home run by Schultz over the center-field fence in the same inning. However, after the leadoff single, Clement, DeSico and Burke combined on a text-book 4-6-3 double play and, after Schultz’s touch-‘m-all-time, Butara came up with his sixth strikeout. DeSico, Clement and Burke also pulled off a key double play in the top of the second, a 6-4-3 variety.

“Today, we really wanted it,’’ said Franklin, who also drove a pitch from Jamison to the gap in deep left-center for a one-out double in the bottom of the sixth. “We were able to string a few hits together (against Pascuzzi) and put up some runs, important runs late in the game.

“We obviously progressed very well as the season went on, hitting-wise,’’ Franklin continued. “That, and just knowing what kind of stuff (Pascuzzi) has. He has a nice two-seam that tails on right-handed batters and comes in on lefties. I think we were just able to get the bat head on the ball today.’’

The Wildcats, who finished with nine hits, including eight off Pascuzzi, watched the Mustangs put runners on first and second after two outs in the top of the seventh. Butara ended it by coaxing the next batter to fly out to short center field.

“I think the only pitches they hit were my mistakes,’’ said Butara, who also is a gifted catcher and hitter. “I had guys 0-2 and I hung a change-up or a curveball, something that didn’t break. I don’t think I got beat very much.’’

Saint Ignatius’ fifth-year head coach Brad Ganor, who will lead his team into its third consecutive regional final, couldn’t say enough about what a “competitor’’ Butara is.

“He battles so hard, you can see the intensity in his face,’’ Ganor said. “It was Neil Butara’s game. I can’t say enough about that kid and how hard he works. He’s just a fantastic player. It’s a shame colleges haven’t taken a great shot on him, because he could make some program very happy.’’