Howland, Canfield make quick work of semifinal wins

The Tigers and Cardinals will meet for the district title today.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BOARDMAN -- Waiting out the inclement weather to play their respective Division I district softball games might have been the toughest thing that Howland and Canfield had to endure this week.
Once the two Metro Athletic Conference rivals finally took the field at Boardman's Field of Dreams Complex Thursday, the Tigers and Cardinals made quick work of their opponents in semifinal matchups.
Howland took care of Cleveland Heights in just five innings, 10-0, while Canfield needed just 4 1/2 innings to send North Royalton home, 12-0.
Both games were shortened because of the 10-run mercy rule.
Howland and Canfield will play today at 4:30 p.m. for the district championship.
Third meeting
The Cardinals (19-3) already own two wins, 4-1 and 8-1, over the Tigers in regular-season play.
Canfield coach Ronie Haurin was especially pleased with her team's effort in the second semifinal game.
"Our bats finally came alive," said the first-year coach of the Cardinals. "We haven't hit the ball very well lately so this was especially nice to see.
"We did this against a pretty good team."
The Cardinals pounded out 14 hits against two North Royalton (15-12) pitchers and put the game away with a nine-run fourth inning.
"We had a couple really good days of practice," Haurin said. "I think we came into this game with a lot of confidence."
Sulick, Bettura lead way
Lauren Sulick had three hits, including a double and drove in three runs while Tricia Bettura added two doubles and a single and had two RBIs to lead the attack.
Jena Ervin also blasted a triple to drive in a run while Bryanne Halfhill, Brittany Danilov, Rachel Melewski and Lauren McGivern also plated RBIs for the Cardinals.
"We hit the ball really well tonight," Sulick said. "I think we were focused and had a lot of confidence tonight. Hopefully this will continue to tomorrow against Howland."
Not only was the Canfield offense clicking, but its defense behind Bettura on the mound was equally good.
Bettura (8-2) pitched a one-hitter, giving up a single to Toni Slevinski in the first inning, and then retiring the next 13 batters to end the contest.
"Our defense was outstanding," said Bettura, who shares pitching duties with Sulick. "It's easy to pitch with a big lead and a defense that will catch just about anything."
Sulick will likely get the nod to face the Tigers on the mound today.
Big fifth inning
In the first semifinal, Howland (22-6) scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to earn the victory.
Freshman pitcher Abby Nicholas (11-3) hurled a two-hit shutout and struck out six Cleveland Heights (4-21) batters.
"That wasn't really Abby's best effort," Howland coach Andrea Ferenac said. "She's capable of pitching much better than this. Sometimes I forget she is a freshman."
Offensively, The Tigers pounded out 10 hits including four for extra bases. Jackie Hill had three hits and two RBIs while Desiree Sibera added two hits and two RBI's.
Erin Gilmour, Casey Haering and Nicholas each also contributed an RBI to the Howland scoring parade.
Howland scored three runs in the first inning and then seemed to get complacent in the middle innings before rallying in the bottom of the fifth inning.
"It was nice to see the bats finally come alive at the end," Ferenac said. "It was good that we were able to finish strong and hopefully we'll carry that momentum into [today's] game."