Canfield earns W from whoops: NDCL forced to forfeit in fourth

By WILL HANLON

VINDICATOR STAFF REPORTER

HUDSON — Regardless of what happens to the Canfield High baseball team next weekend in Columbus, the trip there will be one they and their fans will remember forever.

Officially, the Cardinals defeated Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin, 7-0, Friday in the Division II regional final at The Ballpark at Hudson.

But that doesn’t begin to describe the scene.

The teams were tied 4-4 when a rainstorm came through in the fifth inning, stopping play for an hour.

Just prior to the stoppage of play, ND-CL made a pitching change, bringing Mike Muenster to the mound. He made one pitch, which was hit for a sacrifice fly by Canfield’s Mike Hoelzel, tying the score at 4.

So far, so good.

But during the delay, Canfield coach Matt Koenig was informed of a problem.

Not on roster

“Somebody in the dugout said, ‘Coach, we don’t have a No. 7 on the card.’ I said ‘OK, can I look at the card.’ I looked on both sides and that’s what it was. I didn’t see anything.

“I walked up to the home plate umpire and said, ‘Could you do me a favor and take a look at their lineup card?’

“I said, ‘Look, I don’t have a No. 7 on mine. Do you have a No. 7 on yours?’ He said no. So I said, ‘OK, well, No. 7 is pitching here.’ ”

That’s when tournament director Paul Vagi stepped in.

“We had to check the lineup card, and he [Muenster] wasn’t on the lineup card,” Vagi said. “As the tourney director, I am allowed to say they can have 20 or 21 kids in the dugout. You’re only supposed to have 18 [players in uniform].

“He [ND-CL coach Jim Clark] kept the other three in, and the other three were dressed, that I didn’t know about.”

“[Muenster] wasn’t on the [list of] 18. So he’s not on that lineup card, he’s an ineligible ball player. So that’s where the decision was made. I didn’t make the decision, I called [the OHSAA] and had them make the decision.”

Unhappy AD

Clark left the field area without comment, but ND-CL athletic director Frank Platzar disagreed with the decision.

“I think they’re taking the interpretation a step beyond,” Platzar said. “This should have been a decision where we’re playing an illegal player in the game and once that’s called to the umpire’s attention that player should be removed from the game. That’s our interpretation and that’s how I see it.

“I don’t see any way shape or form that this kid, because he’s left off our lineup card, that he becomes an ineligible player.”

In his 37th year, Platzar said this was one of the most disillusioning and disappointing things he has ever seen, and called it contrary to what high school sports are all about.

“I’ve never encountered anything like this. This is an absolute heartbreaker,” Platzar said. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to be. It’s supposed to be decided inside those [base] lines, not over the phones.”

Game details

There actually was a game being played before all the ruckus arose. Canfield shortstop Mark Carrocce led off the bottom of the first with a double to right-center and scored two batters later on a past ball after a walk to Drew Turocy.

Senior catcher D.J. Haurin singled in a second run, but was caught on his way to second to end the inning.

Senior first basemen Josh Dankovich drove in another run for the Cardinals in the bottom of the third to make it 3-0.

The Lions rallied in the top of the fourth, as Bill Turesky doubled with the bases loaded to make it 3-2. After a sacrifice fly drove in another run, John Keppler singled in the fourth run of the inning to give the Lions the lead.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Cardinals’ first two batters reached, then Carrocce sacrificed. ND-CL brought in Muenster to face Hoelzel, whose flyball scored Tom Cheslik. But then came thunder and lightning, stopping the game and setting up the real fireworks that followed.

“I don’t feel good about this at all, by any means or stretch of the imagination,” Koenig said. “I’m a competitor and I want to win the game outright. Nobody wants to win or lose in this fashion. Something was brought to our attention and I guess we have to go with it.”