HIGH SCHOOL PREVIEW State baseball

DIVISION II
Who: Canfield (28-4) vs. Steubenville (19-11).
When: Thursday, 10 a.m.Where: Cooper Stadium, Columbus.
Also: Bellefontaine (25-4) vs. Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit (25-5), Thursday, 1:30 p.m.
Final: Saturday, 10 a.m.
Canfield scouting report: Canfield, coached by Tony Ross in his third season, has reeled off five postseason tournament wins to get to the state meet. The Cardinals defeated Metro Athletic Conference rivals Struthers (4-1), Poland (1-0) and Niles (14-1) to get to the Hudson regional, where they beat Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin (4-3) and Kenston (14-0). Canfield's only other trip to the state was in 1998 under then-coach Dick Duffet, but the Cardinals lost in a semifinal to Cincinnati McNicholas, 5-2. Canfield has a veteran team with 16 seniors on the 18-player roster. The probable starting lineup (all seniors) has: John Virostko, shortstop; Frank Turocy, right field; Chad Baker, first base; Mike Pulakos, left field; Joe Pitzer, center field; Josh Geric, catcher; Justin Kucek, designated hitter; Rick Banna, first base; Tim Novotny, second baseman; and Dave Piersante, third baseman. The subs are seniors Nathan Porter, Dan Freed-Pastor, John Carbon, Chris Sherman, Mike Rubosky and Len Staffrey; junior Josh McKinney and sophomore Chris Morris. Banna (9-0) and Baker (7-0) have been Canfield's top two pitchers. Ross said he will start Banna on the mound against Steubenville. Baker pitched a two-hitter with eight strikeouts in Canfield's 14-0 win over Kenston for the regional title, while Turocy keyed a 18-hit attack with three singles, four RBIs and two runs scored. In the regional semifinal, Dave Piersante's fine defensive play with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh inning preserved Canfield's 4-3 win over Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin. Banna pitched a seven-hitter with seven strikeouts and three walks over six innings for the Cardinals' 4-3 lead, before being relieved by Turocy to pitch the seventh. Canfield scored its first run in the second inning on Novotny's sacrifice fly that brought in Pitzer, who had singled. The Cardinals added two more runs in the fifth on run-scoring singles by Pulakos and Pitzer. They got their last run in the sixth when Piersante scored on an error. Pitzer finished with two singles.
Steubenville scouting report: Steubenville upended previously-undefeated Lakewood, 6-3, to win the Zanesville regional championship. Lakewood came in with a 31-0 record. "We don't feel it was an upset," said veteran coach Fred Heatherington, noting that his team has jelled into winning form recently. "We started out the year as a young team, but the team chemistry came together and we began playing well, getting key hits, making plays in the field, with good pitching. You get those three, and you have a chance to win the game." Heatherington, in his 16th season, said this was a rebuilding season from last year's team that also made it to the state tournament. "We lost five three-year regulars from last season," said Heatherington, whose Big Red lost to Canton Central Catholic in a state semifinal last year. "We had a lot of holes to plug." The team is comprised of four seniors, six juniors, six sophomores and one freshman. Heatherington said Lakewood spoiled Steubenville's unbeaten record in 1994. "The game [Saturday] had a lot of meaning because in 1994 we were 26-0 going into a regional final against Lakewood in Dublin and they beat us," said Heatheringon. Under Heatherington, Steubenville made the state meet two other times. In 1991, it lost to Columbus Watterson in the championship game, while in 1992 it fell to Elyria West in a semifinal. Steubenville's pitchers are Tim Brown, Sam Busic, John Irwin and Brandon Canestraro. Busic pitched against Lakewood. The Big Red's top hitters are Chad Bauman, center field; Mike Giannamore, first base; and Lee Bainbridge, third base.
-- John Kovach