METRO ATHLETIC CONFERENCE Canfield's Banna fires one-hit shutout

The senior pitcher struck out 10 in the Cardinals' 3-0 victory over Poland.
By PAUL TRGOVAC
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
STRUTHERS -- You only need one word to describe the pitching performance of Canfield's Rick Banna against Poland on Tuesday night -- dominating.
The senior right-hander pitched a complete game, one-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts as the Cardinals defeated the Bulldogs 3-0 in a Metro Athletic Conference game at Cene Park.
"We had some great games last year but this has to be one of the best performances I have seen," Canfield coach Tony Ross said. "The MAC is so competitive you have to try and improve every game. That is our goal this season."
How dominating was Banna? Only two Poland batters reached base in the game -- Brett Pitzullo on a second-inning double and Bill Christian on a seventh-inning walk.
Retired 15 in row
In between, 15 straight Bulldog batters went down in order.
"Give all the credit to Banna," Poland coach Rich Murray said. "He threw strikes and made us look silly all night long. We did not hit the ball."
The performance by Banna (2-0) overshadowed a good effort by Poland's David Yost (1-1), who struck out 10 in five innings, allowing five hits and only one earned run.
Reid Lamport added two scoreless innings with two strikeouts for the Bulldogs (1-1, 1-1).
Early runs
Canfield (2-0, 2-0) scored its first run with one out in the first inning when Banna came home on a bases-loaded wild pitch.
Then John Carbon led off the Canfield second with a walk and later scored on a double-play groundout.
The last run came in the fourth inning after Freed-Pastor hit a two-out single.
On a hit-and-run play, Rosko singled sharply to center. When the center fielder overran the ball, Freed-Pastor scored.
"We took advantage of our chances," Ross said. "We have 16 seniors on this team; we wanted to see all of them get a chance."
Because of suspensions, only 12 Cardinals dressed for the game.
Banna threw 91 pitches in the game, 55 for strikes. He threw a first-pitch strike to 14 of the 23 batters he faced and reached a three-ball count on just five batters.