Canfield takes out Howland
CANFIELD 12
HOWLAND 1
Next: Canfield vs. Niles, Wilder Field, 5 p.m.
Next: Howland at JFK, Thursday, 5 p.m.
By Greg Gulas
STRUTHERS
The Canfield Cardinals won just twice in five outings during their recent trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Coach Matt Koenig said the trip was exactly what his team needed to prepare for the remainder of their northern season.
Brad Smith scattered four hits and fanned seven while Canfield used a seven-run third inning to put away Howland, 12-1, in five innings of Tuesday’s All-American Conference Red Tier game at Cene Park.
Ben Angelo, who missed the entire football season due to a broken fibula, paced the Cardinals’ 11-hit attack with three extra base hits; including two doubles.
He also scored three times and added two r.b.i.’s as seven Canfield (8-3, 2-0) starters registered at least one hit in the shortened contest.
“Our spring trip this year did more for us than in any previous year. Even with three losses, the game experience that we gained has just been so invaluable.
“We played five games in five days, seeing live pitching every day so we were able to get both our timing and rhythm down,” Matt Koenig, Canfield coach stated.
“It was a little hectic after school when we learned that the game would be moved up from 7 p.m. to 5 p.m. Some of our players had to scramble just to make sure that they had all of their equipment
“While the final score surprised me, our effort did not so that’s a good hectic in my book,” Koenig added
An r.b.i. single by Smith and safeties by both Angelo and Josh Midgley highlighted a three-run first for the Cardinals.
They stretched their lead to 5-0 in the second inning on a run scoring triple by Angelo and a ground out by Brock McGivern that scored Joe Tuchek.
Smith, who also had two hits in the contest, said he only had to rely on his fastball most of the evening as he improved to 3-0, throwing his first complete game of the season in the process.
“When we get together with Howland, it’s usually a low-scoring game so to put 12 runs on the board kind of surprised me.
“I mixed in my splitter and slider for the middle part of their order, but for the most part just depended on my fastball,” Smith said.
Koenig noted that when Smith is on his game, he’s tough to stop.
“When Brad [Smith] gets into a groove, he’s really very hard to hit. In the first inning he got into some trouble, beared down and then relied on his defense to help him work his way out of the jam.
“As for Ben [Angelo], an injury denied him a chance to play football this past fall and he seems to be taking his football frustration out at the plate.
“That’s a good sign for us offensively,” Koenig added.
The Cardinals sent 12 players to the plate in their seven-run third inning. The frame was highlighted by Tuchek’s two-run double, which began a string of six consecutive hits after one out was already recorded.
“Everything just clicked for us tonight. We played well defensively and were definitely comfortable at the plate. I saw the ball really well and was able to drive it,” Angelo said.
The Tigers (8-2) avoided the shutout in their half of the fourth when Jacob Froats led off the inning with a double, later scoring from second on a Smith wild pitch; his only errant throw of the game.