Submitted photo. Ursuline’s 1988 state championship winning baseball team: First Row / Sitting (L to R): Tom Mitchell, Sean Durkin, Jay Hall, Kevin Schultz, Brian Graygo, Don DePiore and Greg Boccieri. Second Row / Kneeling (L to R): Mike Popio (Assistant Coach), Ron Gizzi, Steve Krispinsky, Jim Campana, John Boccieri, Paul Simmer, Brett Ames, Mike Ser, Dana Bartholomew (Statistician) and Shelly Cutrone (Statistician). Third Row / Standing (L to R): Bob Mingo (Assistant Coach), Bill Valinsky (Manager), Craig Patrick, Mike Flak, Ron Bunofsky, Bill Metzinger, Frank Czopur and Matt Giambattista (Head Coach).

STRUTHERS — Their hairlines have receded a bit, their tummies have added a few unwanted pounds and they do not run or throw as fluently as they did some 36 years ago, but for members of the 1988 Ursuline state championship baseball team, time stood still on Saturday at Bob Cene Park as the team was honored prior to the Fighting Irish’s game against Padua Franciscan.

While stories of the school’s first ever state baseball championship might have been embellished a bit, all in attendance agreed that it was a total team effort that helped them run the table and go 8-0 in the postseason en route to the Class AA crown.

Ursuline went 29-5 in ’88, finishing 12-2 as co-champions of the Steel Valley Conference, a run that started the spring prior when they were eliminated in district play.

“I told the team after that loss that we must quit giving games away,” then-head coach Matt Giambattista said, reminiscing about that storied season. “I told them we committed way too many errors and felt as if they took that message personally. They bonded and made a pact to do much better in that area the following year. It was a camaraderie, work ethic and professionalism unlike no other from a bunch of guys who played summer ball together and just loved baseball.”

Giambattista started the Ursuline baseball program in 1975 and lasted until the 1980 season, resigning because he said he felt like he wasn’t getting the job done.

Two years away from the game recharged his batteries and when he returned to the Irish in 1983 — he remained coach until the 1994 season — things began to click for one of the area’s top head coaches.

“First and foremost, it was all about the players who dedicated their all that season to achieve their goals,” Giambattista said. “One player, Jay Hall, told the team before the season that we can do everything, if we just stay the course. I had great assistants in Mike Popio (and) my lead assistant with Bob Mingo, (with) Troy Radinsky and Frank Righetti all a big part of the equation.

“They worked tirelessly with the kids and did a great job with them. Sometimes coaches get too much credit, lest we forget that we had players who rose to every challenge presented to them that season.”

The Fighting Irish defeated Hebron Lakewood 14-5 in the state semifinals with Bill Metzinger tossing a complete game seven-hitter, while Mike Flak tossed a complete game nine-hitter in the championship tilt, a 9-5 victory over Cincinnati Archbishop McNicholas.

Those two games may never have happned had they not rallied to beat Campbell Memorial in the district championship contest.

“We were trailing the Red Devils 6-0 heading to the fifth inning,” Giambattista said. “I brought in Ron Bunofsky to relieve and had just one message for him, just hold them to six runs because our bats are coming around. We scored 10 runs to come back to win, 10-6. Ron did the job on the hill and that win gave us a feeling that this team was, in fact, a team of destiny.”

Bunofsky hit .395 that season, but his win in relief kick-started Ursuline’s run to the title.

“We had a unique gathering of above average athletes with the same goal in mind and that was a state championship,” Bunofsky said. “The backups were just as important as the starters, everyone knew their skill set and role with a next up mentality. After defeating Campbell Memorial, we felt like we could make it to state. Coach Giambattista was a real coach, nothing fancy, just fundamentally sound. They don’t make them like that anymore.”

Frankl Czopur handled the pitching staff, batted .316 that season and hit the game-winning home run in the regional final, a 4-1 win over Byesville Meadowbrook that punched Ursuline’s ticket to state.

“We had a solid nucleus and everyone played together,” Czopur said. “There were no egos, we rooted for one another and the reason we were such a cohesive unit was because they pounded fundamentals into us every day while limiting mistakes.”

Kevin Schultz, who played centerfield that season, returned to Youngstown from Orlando, Florida for the reunion, where he has been a producer for the Golf Channel for the past 24 years.

“On that team, we had five players who went on to play Division I baseball and a Division I football player who could have played Division I baseball, while I had the opportunity to play at Division II Mercyhurst College,” Schultz said. “The glue, however, was coach [Matt] Giambattista. He was an amazing coach who had us ready to play every game — a coach who made great in-game decisions. No one loved the game more than him and it showed.”

Metzinger led the team in hitting (.494) and total hits (40), going 8-2 on the hill, which was second to Flak’s 9-0 mark and 1.89 ERA.

“The reason ’88 happened was because a lot of us had played meaningful innings since our sophomore year,” Metzinger said. “That kind of energy gets you through the tough times. We had Jay Hall and John Boccieri talking about winning state. By mid-season, I felt we could win it and the Campbell Memorial game propelled us. Matt Giambattista is the most detailed coach I ever had the opportunity to play for.”

Craig Patrick was a reserve on the team and was told by Giambattista prior to the season that he might not play much, which didn’t deter Patrick from sticking around.

“I was a little deflated at first, but I realized what kind of team we had and wanted to be a part of it,” Patrick said. “Our pitching was superior to most of the other area teams.”

Assistant coach Mike Popio would later become head coach of the Chaney Cowboys, guiding them to 13 City Series titles in his 14 seasons at the helm.

“That ’88 team had very good players who were coachable,” Popio said. “Like a basketball gym rat, they were diamond rats always ready to play. We would have two, sometimes three-hour practices, but they didn’t care because they understood the end goal.”

Another assistant, Troy Radinsky, currently serves as the athletic director at Western Reserve.

“It was an incredible run for everyone involved with the team and program,” Radinsky said. “I truly was blessed to have been mentored by both Matt and Mike [Popio] because that staff served as the foundation to my career in so many ways.”

Other members of that state championship team include Tom Mitchell, Sean Durkin, Brian Graygo, Don DePiore, Greg Boccieri, Ron Gizzi, Steve Krispinsky, Jim Campana, Paul Simmer, Brett Ames and Mike Ser.

Bill Valinsky was the manager, with Dana Bartholomew and Shelly Cutrone serving as statisticians.

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