Canfield passes first district test with ease
By John Bassetti
BOARDMAN
Canfield made it look easy.
Now comes the hard part.
The Cardinals’ 6-0 win over Bedford on Wednesday at Fields of Dreams may not have been the best tune-up for today’s Boardman game, but the Cardinals (17-11) won’t have time to draw from the benefits or wish they had a stronger test.
“We’re looking to play strong against Boardman,” said Canfield’s Carlee Hart, the winning pitcher in Wednesday’s district semifinal. “We feel like we have a good shot at beating them, if we play to our potential. We’re hoping for a victory to go on to regionals.”
Hart (12-8) struck out 13 and was within three outs of a no-hitter when Taylor Ward singled to start off the seventh inning.
Hart also had a solo home run to push Canfield’s lead to 5-0 in the third inning.
The Cardinals’ first run was scored after Cara Cupler doubled to start off the bottom of the first inning. Cupler then scored on Sarah Vrabel’s sacrifice fly. While trying to stretch a single into a double, Kayley Keller knocked in Melanie West and Alexa Schmidt for a 3-0 lead.
The leadoff batter in the second inning, Gina Mancini, got a hit and reached second on a passed ball before scoring on an error on Bedford’s third baseman. Cupler’s hard batted ball smacked into the glove of Brittani Peters before landing in left field as Mancini came home for a 4-0 lead.
After hitting a double in the fourth inning, Abby Baker scored Canfield’s sixth run when West singled to right-center.
“I knew they were a weaker team, but we didn’t want to take them lightly, so I pitched like I would pitch any other game,” Hart, a junior, said. “I have a strong defense, so, when the other team is at bat, I never worry because they [my defense] can handle it.”
What was Hart’s approach with pitches?
“I threw a lot of risers and screwballs that curved in on their batters’ hands,” she said of a move that would intimidate someone in the box. “It was jamming their batters and they weren’t able to hit it.”