B2 Bulls go for third straight win in AAABA tournament
Aug. 3—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — The B2 Bulls 22u baseball team is in the midst of playing in the All American Amateur Baseball Association tournament.
The team is comprised of graduated high school and current college players from Ashtabula, Lake, Geauga and Cuyahoga counties. One player is from Florida.
Ashtabula County players on the roster include: Alec Katon, Edgewood and Thiel College; Wyatt Fuduric, Geneva and Gannon University; Michael Ferl, Conneaut and Mercyhurst University and Johnny Anservitz and Ozzie Campbell, both Lakeside, and Notre Dame College and Baldwin Wallace University, respectively.
Jim Savel Sr., of Jefferson, is the head coach.
B2 has opened the tournament in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, with two wins in C pool play.
The Bulls are scheduled to play the Brooklyn Cougars (2-0), another Pool C opponent, Wednesday morning. A win would place the Bulls in the single elimination eight-team bracket which starts Thursday.
"I believe our keys to winning has been the pitchers pounding the strike zone a lot and not getting behind in the count, as well as our double-digit hit games we have had," Katon said. "We've had great success on the mound and in the batters box as a team."
On Tuesday, the Bulls blanked Zanesville 16-0 after downing Buffalo Royal Printing 8-5 on Monday.
On Tuesday, B2 recorded 15 hits, which included a double by Mike Persichetti and home runs by Dylan Gamber and Ferl.
Katon, Owen Gerba, and Ryan Funderburg combined for a three-hit shutout, striking out 10 Zanesville batters along the way.
"I told the guys that we came to Johnstown, PA to play baseball," Savel Sr. said. "One pitch at a time, relax, and have fun. Do what we came here to do. Play good sound B2 Bulls baseball. That is what we are doing ... getting the job done."
In the opener, B2 started the game by scoring three runs in the first inning and three more in the third.
Buffalo tallied three in the bottom of the third and one each in the fifth and eighth.
Leading 6-5, the Bulls added two insurance runs in the ninth.
Buffalo started the bottom of the ninth with three singles to load the bases.
But Fuduric made key pitches to get out of the inning with no damage done, preserving the victory.
The Bulls collected 12 hits on the day.
"Our guys have been hitting the ball very well this tournament," Anservitz said.
Anservitz and Fuduric both pitched very well.
"The team as a whole played well enough to earn this win, performing well when we needed to," Savel Sr. said. "I preach the energy game a lot, and I believe we had a little more that carried us through today."
