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Canfield claims round one
By TOM WILLIAMS
STRUTHERS
A wild pitch followed by a throwing error opened the floodgates for a Canfield six-run outburst that has the Cardinals in control of the All-American Conference Red Tier race.
In Monday’s fourth inning at Cene Park, the Cardinals combined four hits with two Poland miscues for a 7-1 lead en route to a 10-5 victory.
The win gives Canfield (15-6, 5-1 AAC Red) a one-game lead over Poland (14-4 4-2) with a rematch looming on Wednesday evening at Eastwood Field.
“It’s great,” said Canfield second baseman Brock McGivern whose three hits included two doubles and drove in two runs. “It’s that much sweeter when we beat them because of the rivalry between the two teams.
“It’s almost like a series,” said McGivern of two straight games under the lights. “That makes the game feel so much more important.”
Starting pitchers Kyle Kesner and Dom DeFelice were locked in a tight duel through three innings. Then the Cardinals ran at full throttle after two breaks.
In Canfield’s fourth at-bat, a one-out walk to Tim Calhoun and double by Joe Hoelzel triggered the Cardinals’ surge.
A wild pitch brought Calhoun home with Canfield’s second run. Ben Angelo’s ground ball prompted a wild throw, sending Hoelzel in for a 3-1 lead,
The next five Cards reached base, with McGivern and Justen Vrabel contributing doubles as the Cards raced to a 7-1 lead.
Clay Cooper relieved DeFelice, recording two strikeouts to end the inning.
“We were able to take advantage,” Canfield coach Matt Koenig said. “But the funny thing is they were able to do the same to us.
“Our pitchers did a heckuva job — they gave up four hits,” Koenig said. “The difference is that we were getting hits in crucial situations.”
In the fifth inning, the Bulldogs touched Kesner for three runs, with DeFelice contributing a RBI single. Matt Harmon relieved Kesner to stop the threat at 7-4.
Jim Dobran’s sixth-inning RBI double sliced Canfield’s lead to 7-5. The Cards responded with three runs in the seventh, with McGivern driving in one run and shortstop Brett Cooper singling home two.
“You live for these games at 7 o’clock,” Cooper said. “To go out and beat your rival in front of a lot of people [watching] on TV makes it that much more special. It’s a never-ending rivalry, it’s the highlight of high school for me.”
The game was MyYTV’s first baseball telecast from Cene Field.
“We look forward to these games because it brings out the best in these kids,” Koenig said of the rivalry.
McGivern hopes this busy week is the first of several more for the Cardinals.
“The title would mean so much,” McGivern said. “It’s the first step of our main goal, which is a state championship.”