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Homer ends Canfield dream of state
By ryan buck
HUDSON
In a game where emotions hung on every pitch, it was only appropriate that the contest was decided on the very last one.
That cruel twist of fate left the Canfield High School baseball team on the losing end of a heartbreaking 4-3 decision to Mentor Lake Catholic Friday night in the Division II regional final at The Ballpark at Hudson.
Zach Hawkins’ walk-off, two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning ended the Cardinals’ dreams of a trip to the state final four in Columbus.
“It’s unbelievable how this game is,” Canfield coach Matt Koenig said. “You can be so high one minute and feel like this the next.”
The stunning end to the Cardinals’ postseason run happened mere moments after it looked certain to continue.
Canfield’s senior shortstop Joe Tuchek’s two-out RBI single to right field scored Ben Angelo to put the Cardinals ahead 3-2 in the top of the seventh inning.
“I knew I had to come up with a big hit when I stepped up to the plate,” Tuchek said. “It was a fastball outside and I just drove it.
“We thought we had the game in hand. Obviously we thought we were going to get that last out.”
All three of the Cardinals’ runs came on two-out singles.
“I actually told Tuchek when we were coming in for the seventh inning that he was going to get the single to send us to Columbus,” Koenig said. “And for the most part, he came through.”
It was a back-and-forth game that saw momentum swing from inning to inning.
Mentor Lake Catholic took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Canfield tied it an inning later on a Tyler Rhoads shot up the middle.
Derek Turocy gave the Cardinals the lead in the fourth on a single to left that scored Tuchek.
Both clubs escaped several innings with opposing runners in scoring position. None was more impressive than the Cardinals’ defensive efforts in the bottom of the fifth inning with two on and no outs.
“Tony Velasquez comes in and gets out of an unbelievable jam,” Koenig said. “Tyler made a heck of a play at first, getting the double play and then Witty [third baseman Michael Wittman] with the diving catch.”
Zach Frate’s infield single off the glove of Canfield pitcher Justin Summer drove in the tying run for the Cougars in the sixth, setting the stage for the dramatic seventh inning.
Trailing 3-2 with a runner on first, Hawkins locked in on a fastball from Rhoads, Canfield’s trusted closer, and seized the opportunity to hit the first home run of his career.
“I actually thought it was a pop-up,” Hawkins said. “I had no idea I could hit it out of here. Then I saw our fans start cheering and going crazy and I knew it was out. I thought I was dreaming.”