METRO ATHLETIC CONFERENCE Canfield rallies to beat Poland

A wild pitch and passed ball helped the go-ahead and winning runs to score.
By BOB ROTH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CANFIELD -- The Canfield High baseball team scored twice in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 6-6 tie as the Cardinals defeated Poland 8-6 Thursday in a Metro Athletic Conference baseball game.
Bulldogs right-hander David Yost, after getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth inning, made an errant throw on a tough play that put Canfield's Dave Miller at second base to start the sixth.
Cole Budinski came on in relief for Poland. A wild pitch sent Miller to third and a passed ball sent him home for the go-ahead run.
Canfield senior shortstop Nick Guerrieri lined a single to right, scoring Frank Turocy with an insurance run.
"Budinski was coming at everybody with a big fastball, so I went for one outside and drove it into right," said Guerrieri, who was 2-for-3.
"All of these guys knew what this game meant and they all gave us seven innings of great baseball," Canfield coach Tony Ross said.
The scoring started in the first inning when Poland's Sean Clayton, who was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, drilled a single to left, scoring Jon Habuda.
Canfield (12-4, 6-1) took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning on Tom Banna's 400-foot triple to center, scoring Mike Turjanica, who had singled. Banna came home on Miller's single to left.
Poland rallied for four runs, all with two outs, in the top of the second inning. Habuda's single sent one home, preceding a three-run homer to left by Shane Davis.
Designated hitter Tim Dewberry keyed a three-run rally by the Cardinals in the third inning that tied the game. Dewberry hit a two-run single up the middle.
A RBI single by Clayton in the top of the fourth gave Poland a 6-5 lead, before Banna's single to left-center tied the score at 6 in the bottom half of the inning.
Jake Wargacki relieved Dan Leonard in the sixth for Canfield. The 6-foot-1 junior gave up a one-out triple to Habuda, then walked Davis to put runners at the corners. Wargacki then struck out Clayton and induced a groundout to end the inning.
Wargacki retired the Bulldogs in the seventh.
"I came on in a tough situation with the game on the line knowing I had to throw strikes and fortunately I got Clayton, a real good hitter, on a slider," Wargacki said.
"This was a good game and I was happy with the way we approached it," Poland (8-2, 4-2) coach Steve Rohan said.