By Dan Machovina
PBR Ohio Assistant Scouting Director

CANTON, OHIO – In Division I regional semifinal action, Aurora HS faced off against North Canton Hoover HS at Thurman Munson Stadium.

Aurora sent senior right-handed pitcher Jake Czerwinski to the mound countered North Canton Hoover sent sophomore right-handed pitcher Jake Szendry.

The scoring started in the bottom half of the first inning as senior left-fielder Tyler Thomas singled to center field to pick up a RBI making it a 1-0 lead after one inning.

North Canton Hoover responded by putting a run up of their own in the top of the second inning. Junior third-baseman Alex Binnie connected with a triple over the centerfielder’s head. Later he scored on a groundout to the shortstop tying things up at one run a piece.

North Canton Hoover added two more runs in the top of the third inning. A two-out triple down the right field line from senior left-fielder Drew Vargo started the really. After a walk put another runner on base, junior catcher Will Haueter delivered a two-out triple that scored two runs, making it a 3-1 in favor North Canton Hoover.

Aurora answered back in the bottom half of the third inning. A RBI triple to left center-field from leadoff man junior center-fielder Kirk Janoch and an RBI single from Thomas tied the game 3-3 after three innings of play.

In the bottom half of the fourth, Aurora regained the lead by way of an RBI double to left center field from sophomore third-baseman Nick Ely.

Aurora added two more insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth inning as sophomore second baseman Andy Weber laced an RBI triple to right field to score a run and eventually scored after an errant throw to make it a 6-3 lead for Aurora.

North Canton Hoover cut into the lead in the top of the sixth when senior first baseman Ben Thomas would ground out to the shortstop scoring Binnie making it 6-4.

Despite their best effort to muster a comeback, Hoover could only add one more run in the seventh inning as they fell 7-5.

Aurora will now play Mentor HS Friday May 31st Thurman Munson Stadium for a regional championship. 

To view scouting notes from games across Ohio, please visit the Ohio High School Scouting Blog. The blog gets updated throughout the week. 

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