Canfield rallies at Jacobs Field to defeat Poland, 14-8

By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CLEVELAND -- It was perfectly understandable that Canfield High's baseball had a slight case of the jitters heading into a key Metro Conference matchup against Poland Thursday.
The two MAC title contenders took their rivalry on the road nearly 70 miles west for an encounter at Jacobs Field, the home of the Cleveland Indians.
The Cardinals overcame a 7-0 deficit after two innings to post a 14-8 victory in the High School Hardball Classic sponsored by Cleveland Indians Charities.
The game was one of six played over two days at Jacobs Field, featuring 12 of the best teams in Northeast Ohio.
The win enabled Canfield (16-5, 8-1) to remain atop the MAC standings ahead of Niles and Poland (17-5, 8-3).
"I'm not sure why we came out flat," said Canfield coach Matt Koenig. "We were pumped to be playing here but maybe the kids were in awe of their surroundings for the first couple of innings."
Poland jumps out early
While Canfield struggled to overcome the early jitters, Poland looked very comfortable and took control of the contest from the outset.
The teams started their top pitchers, Joe Fox (4-0) of Canfield and Lou Copolla (4-1) of Poland, but neither one lasted very long.
Poland got to Fox early for seven runs on 10 hits in the first two innings. Jim Pasquine hit a two-run double in the second inning and later scored on Mark Turnbull's single to hasten Fox's departure. Pasquine led Poland with three RBIs.
Copolla breezed through the first two innings but suddenly lost his command in the third and walked four batters.
The junior walked in two runs with the bases loaded and after Canfield's Brett Grabman drove in a run with a fielder's choice, Kyle Banna came to the plate.
Banna delivers big hit
Banna, who had many big hits on the football field and is headed to Youngstown State to play football, had the biggest hit of the game, a 360-foot triple to right-center to drive in two runs and chase Copolla from the game.
Banna's hit cut Poland's lead to 7-6.
"This was awesome," said Banna a life-long Indians fan. "I can't even describe it. We were all joking about trying to hit home runs before the game and I thought that hit had a chance."
Canfield added six more runs in the fifth inning off Poland reliever Paul Hay to break open the game.
Joe Rosko, Dan Moran and Andrew Turocy had big hits in the inning.
Canfield tacked on two more runs in the sixth by way of a triple by Paul Ruchtie and an RBI groundout by John Pitzulo, while Poland tallied its final run in the sixth inning on a bases-loaded walk.
"The wheels just came off after we got the lead," said Poland coach Rich Murray. "I'm not sure what happened to our pitchers but I know that we just stopped hitting the ball after the second inning."
Good relief effort
Canfield reliever Steve Schoenfeld was responsible for shutting down Poland's bats over the last five innings to pick up the win.
"This was a great experience for both teams," Koenig said. "Fortunately for us we were able to get some big hits when we needed them and that's how you win big games."