Saints baseball squad off to 7-0 start

Some big wins early have helped the Tuscarawas Central Catholic Saints get off to a good start.The Saints defeated Garaway and Hiland in their first meetings en route to a 4-0 start in the Inter-Valley Conference, 7-0 overall.“We’ve got some kids who can hit,” said Central coach Jeff Fondriest. “We started to hit the ball well against (Garaway pitcher Spencer) Festi, who can bring it. That carried over into our win at Hiland. Our kids are confident at the plate. They can swing the bat well.”On Monday, April 12, the Saints got home runs from Jimmy Fickes, Matt Litty and Sam Fondriest in an 11-1 romp over Malvern.Tommy Sampsel was the winning pitcher against Malvern, his third win of the season.“Tommy has won 19 games for me in three-plus years,” Fondriest said. “He’s not fancy. He’s got good command. He throws three pitches for strikes. Our kids know when Tommy’s pitching they’ve got to ‘D’ it up because he puts the ball in play. We’ve done a good job so far.“He mixes his pitches well and is able to throw his curveball for strikes any time in the count,” the coach continued. “When you play a teams like Hiland that can swing the bats, you can’t let them set on fastballs. You’ve got to be able to throw the curveball for strikes when you’re behind in the count, and he does that.”The ace of the Saints pitching staff is Litty, who pitched Central past the Pirates and has won three games so far.The Saints used a big first inning in the win over Malvern, just as they have done all season, getting ahead of opponents and keeping them down.“You’ve got to capitalize on your chances, and we’ve done that so far,” Fondriest said.The success of the Saints hasn’t gone unnoticed by their IVC foes.“They are a very well-coached team with a lot of good hitters,” said Hiland coach Tom Gibson. “They are an opportunistic group that takes advantage of every opportunity they are given. Plus they do a great job in the field.”