by Michael Leonard
Sports Editor
Cuyahoga Falls -- At the start of the season, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy baseball coach Jerry Cowley had hoped his team would establish a personality by year's end.
The Royals have established that personality. They want to be the 1995 Cleveland Indians.
The team philosophy: good hitting -- and plenty of it -- will overcome all other ills.
CVCA put that philosophy into practice in big way last week, pounding out 71 runs in a five-game span.
On April 26, the Royals split a doubleheader with Medina Highland, losing game one 7-6, but rebounding with a 17-1 whitewashing in game two.
CVCA then brought out more big lumber in a home-and-home series with archrival Manchester. The Royals won game one at home 13-6 and then erupted for a 21-10 win in five innings at Manchester April 30.
The Royals completed their big week with a makeup game May 1 at home against Tusky Valley. CVCA pounded out a 14-4 win in five innings.
With the wins, CVCA improves to 12-4 overall and 7-1 in the Principal's Athletic Conference, good for first place.
Cowley admits his team's offensive prowess has taken him a bit by surprise, but he is not complaining.
"We're picking good pitches to hit and we're driving them," Cowley said. "As happy as I am with the results, I'm just as happy with the approach. You should see the work they put in to work out their swings.
"[Hitting] makes up for a lot of young defensive mistakes; it makes up for a lot of young pitching errors," Cowley said. "When you're scoring double digit runs every night, it takes a lot of pressure off."
Junior pitcher Zach Butler was the beneficiary of CVCA's massive run support against the Trojans. Tusky Valley got on the board in the top of the first, thanks to an RBI single from third baseman Nick Barr.
But CVCA showed their stuff in the bottom of the second inning, as they erupted for eight runs.
Catcher Seth Tipton and shortstop Mylon Pribanick each walked to start the innings, but Tipton was cut down at third on a fielder's choice from third baseman Brian Shellhaas. After right fielder Justin Beausoliel was hit by a bit to load the bases, two runs scored when first baseman Zak Knettel hit a sharp grounder which got past Trojan shortstop Cody Morris.
Third baseman Alex Mosteller then got an RBI groundout, but the Royals were just getting started.
Five straight, two-out RBI hits allowed the Royals to blow the game open. CVCA got a single from left fielder JT Hicks, doubles from Butler and center fielder Matt Corpora, a huge triple from Tipton and another single from Pribanick.
By the time the dust cleared, CVCA had an 8-1 lead.
CVCA then added a run without a hit in the bottom of the third as Beausoliel walked, stole second, went to third on a throwing error and then came home on a groundout by Hicks.
Tusky Valley tried to get back in the game by scoring a pair in the top of the fourth inning, but CVCA responded by getting five runs in the bottom of the fourth.
Tipton and Pribanick each reached on errors to start the inning and Tipton scored on a throwing error. Shellhaas then ripped an RBI single up the middle, followed by singles from Beausoliel and Knettle, before Beausoliel was forced out on a bunt from Mosteller.
Hicks then struck out, but Butler smacked a two-run single to left to make the score 14-3 Royals.
Needing to hold the Trojans to just one run in the top of the fifth to invoke the 10-run mercy rule, Butler did just that. He allowed one unearned run but stuck out three Trojans, including a Trojan catcher Connor Campbell to end the game.
The Royals were set to play their next PAC-7 home-and-home series with Triway at home May 5 and at Triway May 7. Sandwiched between those two game is a home contest with Kidron Central Christian. First pitch for all three games is at 4:30 p.m.
E-mail: mleonard@recordpub.com
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