Friday, May 18, 2012
By Jim flick
STRUTHERS
From the outset, the baseball teams from Canfield and Poland seemed headed in opposite directions.
When it was over, Canfield defeated Poland 10-5 to qualify for the Division II district championship game. The Cardinals (18-4) will play Cardinal Mooney today at Cene Park.
The first batter for Canfield set the stage for the game. Junior Ben Angelo singled and came around to score when senior Michael Wittman smacked a triple to left field.
“As of late I’ve been hitting the ball not so hot,” said Wittman, who also singled in the second inning to drive in two more runs.
“So I took extra batting practice last night and it seemed to pay off. I was seeing the ball much better tonight. I was able to drive in some key runs.”
With Wittman and designated hitter Tyler Rhoads, a senior, driving in runs, the Cardinals built the lead to 8-0 before Poland scored three runs in the top of the fourth.
Seniors Joe Tuchek and Tony Mehle, and Derek Turocy, a junior, were also credited with RBIs for Canfield.
Canfield added a run in the fourth inning and another in the fifth, while Poland scored single runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
Senior Carmen Nocera, Poland’s designated hitter, drive in two runs to lead the Bulldogs.
Canfield’s starting pitcher Alan Buchenic said he wasn’t nervous about pitching in the district tournament.
“I approached it like any other game,” he said. “The same routine as always.
“All my nerves went out the first playoff game. After that, it was ‘All right, same game, let’s go.’
“I just got my fielders ground balls and pop flies to get us outs,” Buchenic said.
Buchenic pitched the first six innings before Justin Summer, a senior, relieved in the seventh inning and retired all three hitters he faced.
“I think we had a couple of really nice base hits to start the first couple of innings,” said Canfield coach Matt Koenig. “And our pitcher was very solid. I don’t really think they hit him hard. I know we gave up five runs, but I think we gave them more runs than they should have had.”
A Canfield error in the third inning resulted in two runs for Poland, and a passed ball later led to another run for the Bulldogs.
“We’re going to try to shore those things up” for the district championship game today against Mooney, Koenig added.
Poland coach Richard Murray said Canfield’s fast start made it a difficult game for his squad.
“When you give up eight runs in the first three innings against a good team like that, you’re putting yourself in a situation it’s hard to climb out of,” Murray said.