Monday, May 26, 2003
Boardman defeated Mayfield to earn a showdown with Austintown Fitch.
JEFFERSON -- Chad Baker fired a one-hitter as the Canfield High baseball team defeated Perry, 2-0, Thursday to advance to today's district final at Jefferson Baseball Complex.
"Great defense, great pitching and timely hitting will take you a long way at tournament time, and we had all three today," Canfield manager Tony Ross said.
Baker struck out eight and saw his no-hitter broken up in the fourth inning when John New singled.
Of the one-hitter, Baker (4-0) said, "I couldn't have done it without the defense making the plays that they did. I really wasn't nervous, especially after we scored the first run."
Dan Leonard and Tim Dewberry led the Cardinals (21-6) offense with three and two hits, respectively.
The Cardinals went ahead 1-0 in the second inning after Michael Pulakos walked. Josh Geric's bunt created a throwing error that put Pulakos on third base. He scored on John Virotsko's sacrifice fly.
In the sixth inning, Pulakos doubled down the left-field line and scored on Dewberry's double.
Canfield plays Canton Central Catholic for the district title and regional berth at Cene Park.
Division I
STRUTHERS -- Josh Susany (4-1) carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning as Boardman took a 6-0 lead and held off Mayfield 9-4 in a district semifinal at Cene Park.
Dan Ford had two hits, including a triple, for the Spartans (16-13), who will play Fitch in today's district final.
Mark Sikora tripled and singled for Boardman and Matt Madrid tripled and singled and drove in three.
Andy Good, Tom Zetts, Mike Evans, Brad Beck and Andrew Golubic also had two hits for the Spartans, who gave coach Scott Knox his 100th career victory.
For Mayfield (15-13), John Crows had a double.
Division II
STRUTHERS -- Lakeview pitcher Jeremy Thompson shut down the state's sixth-ranked team, as the Bulldogs beat Marlington 4-1 in a district semifinal at Cene Park.
Thompson (6-2), who struck out five and did not walk a batter, has a 3-0 record and 0.75 ERA in the tournament.
Kyle Irish had two hits for Lakeview (16-7), which plays Poland in today's district final. Phil Butch had a triple and scored a run.
For Marlington (24-4), James Korleski had two hits. Pitcher Joe Ruff (7-1) suffered his first loss of the season.