Sulick's blast gives Canfield district title

She also gained her 10th mound win as the Cardinals beat Howland 1-0.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- Canfield High sophomore Tricia Bettura remembers standing on the mound in last year's district final after giving up the game-winning home run in the sixth inning.
And she remembers what it felt like watching Fitch celebrate when the game was over.
"I always think about that game," she said. "I've kept it in the back of my mind."
Well, now she can forget it.
On Monday, the Cardinals got a new -- and better -- memory.
Sophomore Lauren Sulick hit an opposite field home run in the fourth inning and that was all Canfield needed to win the Division I district title, 1-0, over Howland at the Fields of Dreams.
"We definitely thought about last year's loss," said Sulick, who started and pitched 41/3 innings of shutout ball against the Tigers. "We didn't want to have that feeling again.
"We wanted to take it this time."
Sulick has strong start
Sulick (10-1) was overpowering to start the game, recording eight of her first nine outs by strikeout. But after walking two straight batters with one out in the fourth, Canfield coach Ronie Haurin went to Bettura, who got the final two outs.
"We've been able to count on both our pitchers all season long," said Haurin, who's in her first year with the Cardinals.
Sulick actually got the loss in last year's final against the Falcons (a 10-9 defeat) and Bettura gave up the homer in relief. Canfield entered Monday's game as the favorite this time -- the Cardinals defeated the Tigers (22-7) in both their previous meetings this season -- and both pitchers were determined not to see a repeat of last year.
"There were no secrets -- both teams laid it all out on the line," said Howland coach Andrea Ferenac. "[Sulick] was strong early and when she got a little shaky, [Bettura] came in and did her part.
"It's a shame we had to lose on one home run ball."
Sulick clears the fence
That homer came with no outs in the fourth when Sulick swung at an outside fastball and drove it easily over the right field fence.
"I just reached out and connected and it went over," said Sulick, who has four homers this season.
"That pitch wasn't a meatball," added Ferenac. "It was a good pitch."
Howland freshman Abby Nicholas (11-4) was terrific in the loss, striking out eight and walking two. She gave up six hits and worked her way out of trouble in the first and sixth innings.
"Howland came ready to play and they did a super job," said Haurin. "It's always hard to play a team the third time and they came prepared."
Howland's biggest scoring threat came in the fifth when Tiger senior Desiree Sibera came up with runners on second and third and two out. (Sibera, incidentally, hit .550 this season, set a school record for RBIs and tied the mark for homers). Haurin chose to pitch to her, Bettura jammed her inside and Sibera hit a weak grounder to the mound.
What was Bettura thinking?
"Hit my spots," she said, smiling. "She's a good hitter."
The Cardinals (20-3) will play at 5 p.m. in Thursday's regional semifinal at the University of Akron.
"Our kids usually hit better against fast pitching," said Haurin. "I'm sure that whoever we face, we'll go in there and give them a battle."
scalzo@vindy.com