The Springfield Baseball has advanced the Division IV State Finals with a 5-3 win over Newark Catholic Friday.
Trailing 3-0, with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, Travis Richey smacked a two-run single to left field scoring Matt Semach and Eric Lipp to cut the Tiger deficit to just one. Ronnie Bovo stepped to the plate next, and hit a seeing-eye single to center field to easily score Richey from second base to tie the game at three.
After holding the Green Wave scoreless in the top of the sixth inning, the rally continued for the Tigers. Bryan Visingardi belted a double of the right-field wall to get get things started. Dylon Dejane followed with a double over the left-fielder's head to score Visingardi to put Springfield ahead for the first time in the game. The Tigers would then load the bases with two outs, when Travis Richey was hit by a pitch to drive in Dejane for some insurance.
Visingardi and Brad Ferraro each finished the game with a pair of hits, while Travis Richey drove in a total of three runs on the day.
Starting pitcher Todd Kibby struckout eight batters in the game, including the final out of the contest. Overall, Kibby worked seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits, with a pair of walks.
Springfield improves to 29-4 overall, and advances to play the winner of Patrick Henry/Reading in the Division IV State Finals Saturday at 4pm at Huntington Park in Columbus.
