Confident in clobbering

Canfield (28-4) will play Steubenville (19-11) Thursday at Cooper Stadium.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
HUDSON -- When Chad Baker is pitching for the Canfield High baseball team, the Cardinals have high expectations of winning, and their bats seem to boom.
And conversely, when their bats are making noise, Baker seems to grow more confident, effective and dominating throwing the ball.
That mutually-beneficial relationship was at full strength Saturday afternoon against Kenston in a Division II regional tournament final at the Ballpark at Hudson, and as a result Canfield will be playing in next week's state tournament.
Baker, a senior headed for the University of Pittsburgh, pitched a two-hitter with eight strikeouts and just one walk, while his team solidly backed him with an 18-hit attack, as the Cardinals rolled to a 14-0 win over the Bombers and into a state semifinal berth next Thursday in Columbus.
Steubenville next
Canfield (28-4), in the state meet for only the second time in school history, will face Steubenville (19-11) Thursday at 10 a.m. at Cooper Stadium.
Steubenville upended previously-undefeated Lakewood, 6-3, Saturday to win the Zanesville regional championship. Lakewood came in with a 31-0 record.
Canfield's previous trip to the state was in 1998 under then-coach Dick Duffet, but the Cardinals lost in a semifinal to Cincinnati McNicholas.
Against Kenston (18-11), Canfield built a 7-0 lead through four innings and then finished off the Bombers with a seven-run sixth inning. The game was called after six innings because of the 10-run rule.
Coach Tony Ross said Baker (7-0) and the team bring out the best in each other.
"When [Baker] is on the mound, we expect to win. His velocity was hitting 92-93 mph. His slider was good. Baker and the team feed off each other,' said Ross, noting that his offense drew confidence from Baker.
Ross said the 18 hits were the "second-most hits [this season]. We hit 18 two other times. When we had batting practice this morning, we knew we would hit well."
Perfect bid spoiled
Baker had a perfect game going into the fifth inning, but John Leffler spoiled the bid with a single. Kenston's only other hit was Ryan Tevepaugh's infield single in the sixth.
"I'd like to tip my hat to my teammates. They gave us 14 runs. Our bats won the game. A big lead gives you confidence and we made great plays defensively," said Baker, who was pleased with his pitching stuff.
"My slider was working pretty well. It was a good complement to my fastball. My fastball was pretty good. I was hitting the corners today," Baker explained.
Frank Turocy, a senior headed to the U.S. Naval Academy Prep School for one year before entering Annapolis, had a feeling Canfield would be hitting well.
"I watched [Kenston starter Dan Berry (0-1)] warm up. We had three solid [hit balls but all outs] in the first inning. So we pretty much knew from the first inning that we would hit," said Turocy, who led the Cardinals' onslaught against Berry and three relievers with three singles, four RBIs and two runs scored.
Tim Novotny added a triple, single, one RBI and two runs scored, while Justin Kucek had a double, single and one RBI, Mike Pulakos three singles, one RBI and one run scored, and John Virostko with a single and two RBIs.
Eleven different Canfield players got at least one hit.
Coach Randy Tevepaugh of Kenston said Baker's slider doomed his team.
"His slider really took our hitters off their hitting plans. He kept us off-balance. Not so much his speed, but his slider," said Tevepaugh.
kovach@vindy.com