Wednesday, April 18, 2012
By Joe Scalzo
STRUTHERS
The Canfield High baseball team breaks huddles with chants of “Let’s get tropical!” and “Corndogs!” but on Tuesday, the Cardinals could have used a different quote from the movie “Semi-Pro”:
“Brought a secret weapon. It’s going to make us look extra cool on TV.”
That weapon? The bunt.
Thanks to two perfect bunts, a well-placed dribbler, three infield singles, three errors and one opposite-field double by Anthony Ross (the only ball to leave the infield in the inning), the Cardinals scored eight runs in the fourth en route to an 11-0, five-inning victory over Poland at Cene Park.
“We just kind of pieced things together,” said Ross. “Our coach wanted us to get some bunts, a couple squeezes, run the bases well and continue to be aggressive.
“Even though some of those hits were cheap ones, we still had a good approach.”
Canfield coach Matt Koenig borrowed that approach from a game in Myrtle Beach last week, when the Cardinals (9-2, 4-0 All-American Conference American Division) gave up three straight bunt hits.
Can’t beat ’em? Join ’em.
“Sometimes you go with the flow of the game,” Koenig said. “We were pretty hot bunting the ball.
“You just keep riding it.”
More encouraging for Koenig was Canfield’s defense, which was perfect a day after committing seven errors in an 11-10 win over Poland (9-6, 3-2). Shortstop Joe Tuchek was especially tough, fielding six of the game’s final 10 outs.
“Our infield was lights out today,” Ross said. “Joe Tuchek, I don’t know how many plays he made. He made a bunch of them, especially toward the end of the game.”
Sophomore Alec Buchenic was the main beneficiary, tossing a one-hitter with two strikeouts and one walk to get the win.
Austin Beil had the Bulldogs’ lone hit — hitting a leadoff triple in the second, only to be gunned down at home one batter later.
“Alec pitched a great game,” said Ross, Buchenic’s catcher. “He’s a tough kid. Whenever we struggled or got down, he came through for us. He’s a competitor out there.”
Tuesday’s weather was chilly — “It’s warm when we score 11 and they score zero,” Koenig said — but if “Let’s get tropical!” can heat up the Cardinals’ offense, their coach is all for it.
“I really don’t know what the heck it means,” Koenig said, chuckling. “But these guys adopted it and they seem to like it. It brings a smile to everybody’s face.
“If they want to stay loose by saying that, all the more power to them.”