Hudson surprises ranked Canfield

The Cardinals lost, 4-2, in their second straight regional appearance.

By JOE SCALZO

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

AKRON — As the Hudson players celebrated just a few feet away, Canfield senior Jena Ervin crouched down, holding her head in her hands. Less than five seconds after Ervin’s game-ending strikeout, teammate Melissa West was already in front of the plate consoling her.

Her coach, Ronie Haurin, wasn’t far behind.

“I just told her that we win as a team and we lose as a team,” said West after the Cardinals fell 4-2 in a Division I regional semifinal Thursday at the University of Akron. “Everyone strikes out once in awhile.

“She was a great senior. We couldn’t have asked for more from her.”

The two teams entered the game with different perspectives. Canfield (24-2), which lost to eventual state champion North Canton Hoover 1-0 in last year’s regional final, was ranked fifth in the state. It wanted a state championship.

Inexperienced Explorers

Hudson, meanwhile, had just won its first district title with a freshman pitcher.

“Their experience scared me,” Hudson coach Amy Densevich said of Canfield. “They’re incredibly strong 1 through 9 and we knew coming into the game it was going to be a challenge.”

Fortunately for her, pitcher Mindy Meredith (12-1) was up to it. A lefty with a slightly wacky delivery, Meredith held the potent Canfield lineup in check for most of the game, striking out 12 batters while showing poise when it counted the most.

After Hudson took a 4-0 lead, Canfield scored runs in the fifth and sixth innings before threatening in the seventh.

Bianca Biondillo reached on a strikeout when the ball got past Hudson catcher Elizabeth Stokes. One out later, Rachel Melewski singled and Brittany Danilov hit into a fielder’s choice that forced Biondillo at third.

Gutsy call

That’s when Densevich made a gutsy call. She chose to intentionally walk West (the No. 3 hitter who was 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored) to face Ervin, who had walked and struck out twice.

“She [West] is a great hitter and I would have been out of my mind to throw to her,” Densevich said.

Lauren Sulick (10-1) started and took the loss, giving up four runs (all earned) in 41⁄3 innings. Tricia Bettura pitched the final 21⁄3. Melewski was 3-for-4 and Sulick added a double for the Cardinals.

“We’re very disappointed; we had a goal and we didn’t reach it,” said Haurin. “We’re proud of going undefeated in the MAC [Metro Athletic Conference] and getting another district title ... but we wanted to keep going.”

Kelley Cash, Lindsey Bartos, Mandy Krutzler and Stokes each had two hits for the Explorers (25-3), who will face Hoover in Saturday’s final.

Canfield, meanwhile, will lose just one senior [Ervin] and should be a threat to get back here next year.

Before the game, Ervin stood up in front of the team and reminded them how they felt after last year’s loss to Hoover.

“She said to play with that feeling,” West said. “Now it’s going to be feel twice as bad. We’ll use that as motivation, but it’s going to be hard without her next year.”

Added Haurin, “I’m ready to go again.”

scalzo@vindy.com