ELYRIA — Louie Cardona learned a new pitch Monday afternoon. A curveball. He used it for the first time in a game Tuesday and it worked just fine. In fact, the Boardman right­hander used it more than half the time in tossing a complete­game four-hitter at Ashtabula.

His eight-strikeout effort was the foundation of a 10-1 win over Ashtabula, which kept Boardman alive in the losers bracket of the Little League Majors state tournament at Vic Janowicz Memorial Park.

Meantime, the Boardman offense stroked nine hits, including two homers and two doubles, an attack that helped provide two runs each in the first, second and third innings, and four more in the fifth.

Boardman took a 2-0 lead in the first when Gino Beato, son of the manager, launched a 3-1 pitch for a homer over the fence in left-center. It scored Devin Curd, who led off the inning with a single.

“I just wanted to help my team out and get us a little closer to state,” said Beato, the second baseman, who finished with three RBIs. “The home run felt really good. Hard work is finally paying off for me.”

Beato also hit a single and double in going 3-for-4 on the afternoon. The fact is, Ashtabula never did retire Curd, who was 3-for-3, scored in the first and fifth innings, put up a pair of RBIs and was hit by a pitch in the third.

“What got me pumped up was we all wanted to win and we all want to win state,” Curd said. “I really want to win too, so I was just really pumped to get hits today.”

Curd’s single to left drove in Mario Graziani with the first of Boardman’s two second-inning runs, and Gavin Dill got credit for the second RBI of the inning when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Third baseman Trent Humphreys started the thirdinning rally with a long solo home run over the fence in left-center. Graziani, running for Cardona, who singled, also scored in the third making it a 4-0 game.

“When I hit it, I knew it was gone just by the sound of it,” Humphreys said of the home run, his 16th of the season. “It was a great feeling. We’re a step closer to winning state. I know we can do it.”

Efrain Velez, Preston Stitt, Curd and shortstop Jack Lynch put the game out of reach when they scored in the fifth. Boardman sent nine batters to the plate in the inning. Ashtabula’s run came on catcher Seth Tackett’s solo homer in the fourth.

“Louie did a fantastic job,” Boardman manager Gino Beato said of Cardona’s work. “You couldn’t ask for anything more from a pitcher than he gave us today, a complete game. Our batters were certainly patient and we had a couple big hits, and it’s nice to see the kids get in the swing of things. It was a good effort after getting trounced (Monday) by North Canton.”

Majors state tournament at Elyria East’s Vic Janowicz Park

TUESDAY’S SCORES

LOSERS BRACKET

• ◾Boardman 10, Ashtabula 1
• ◾Mount Vernon 19, Wheelersburg 0

TODAY’S GAMES

WINNERS BRACKET FINAL

• ◾North Canton vs. Hamilton, 5 p.m., Field #3

LOSERS BRACKET

• ◾Mount Vernon vs. Boardman, 2 p.m., Field #3

Contact Bob Daniels at 329-7135 or softball@bobdaniels.info.

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