DIV. II BASEBALL Baker's pitching hard to beat as Canfield prevails

Canfield overcame a sluggish start to beat Struthers in a sectional title game.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CANFIELD -- Canfield High coach Tony Ross was a little concerned about the mindset of his baseball team entering tournament play against Struthers.
The Cardinals had previously defeated the Wildcats in two contests, but with prom weekend on the horizon, there were plenty of distractions for the 16 seniors on the Canfield team.
It took a strong pitching performance by Chad Baker and a three-run rally in the sixth inning for the Cardinals to overcome a sluggish start and turn back Struthers 4-1 in the Division II sectional tournament Thursday at Canfield High.
Frame of mind
"We weren't in the proper frame of mind to play tonight," Ross said. "We got some clutch hitting and kept our composure and won a game we are supposed to win."
The score was tied 1-1 until Canfield's Mike Pulakos hit a ground-rule double to open the sixth inning.
Pulakos then scored the go-ahead run without the benefit of a hit when Struthers pitcher Jim Kriebel unloaded two wild pitches. The second allowed Pulakos to score for a 2-1 lead.
Canfield (23-4) scored two more runs on a fielder's choice RBI by Rick Banna and a triple by Tim Novotny. Banna drove in the Cards' first run on another fielder's choice in the second inning.
"Our hitters know that eventually someone is going to step it up and get it done with the bat," Ross said. "Tonight we got some timely hits at key times."
While Canfield struggled early offensively, Baker was on his game.
The University of Pittsburgh recruit struck out 15 Wildcats, including four in the first inning. Baker had to get four outs in the inning because a wild pitch on one of the strikeouts enabled Struthers' Dave Mathews to reach first base.
"We know what to expect from Chad when he's on the mound," Ross said. "We know that the other team isn't going to get many runs when he pitches."
'Cats hang tough
Although Struthers (7-16) dropped earlier 14-0 and 15-0 decisions to the Cardinals, it hung tough against Baker and the Cards.
Struthers scored in the second inning to tie the score at 1 after Mike Galletta was hit by a pitch and later scored on a double-play ground out.
"We've been playing our best baseball of the season lately," said Struthers coach Mike Donatelli. "Our kids played hard, but we just couldn't get some hits off Baker when we really needed them."
Canfield's Justin Kucek also had two hits, while Mathews had one of the two hits for the Wildcats and played a spectacular game defensively at shortstop.