Canfield little league teams cruise to semifinals

9-10, 10-11 baseball teams win big

Staff report

ASHTABULA

It would be next to impossible to ask for a better start to the 10-11 year-old state baseball tournament than what Canfield has done.

The team continued its dominance at both the plate and on the mound Tuesday with a 15-0 win over New Albany to advance to the state semifinal. In two games in Ashtabula, Canfield has out-scored its opponents 26-0 and played the minimum of eight total innings thus far.

“Confidence is half the battle and were feeling it on both sides of the ball,” Canfield manager Kevin Burdette said. “We’re being aggressive at the plate and we’re hitting the ball hard.

“Moving more than one base at a time is a fun way to play the game.”

Ryan Petro led the offensive onslaught going 3-for-3 with two doubles and a solo home run with four RBIs. Gianni Gaetano also had a three-run home run.

Two Canfield pitchers combined for a two-hitter against New Albany. Nate Shaw struck out five in two innings, while Colin Burdette threw the final two frames with one strikeout.

Burdette also added a pair of singles at the plate.

Canfield advances to face Hamilton on Thursday at 6 p.m., in a showdown of the final two remaining undefeated teams in the tournament.

The winner advances to the championship, while the loser will fall to the losers bracket.

9-10 BASEBALL

HAMILTON

The Canfield and Hamilton West Side little league baseball programs have matched up plenty of times over the years.

The latest installment went the way of Canfield in relatively easy fashion, 11-1 in four innings on Tuesday. Ben Slanker allowed one run on one hit and struck out eight over the four innings.

He was aided by a 10-hit, 11-run offensive outburst.

“It helps when we score that many runs, but we’re a team that prides ourself on pitching and defense,” said Canfield manager George Beck, who improved to 4-2 in his coaching career vs. Hamilton West Side.

Slanker and Luca Ricchiuti each had two hits to lead the Canfield offense. AJ Havrilla, Broc Lowry, Jameson Beck, Jake Schneider, Connor Miller and Jack Davis also had hits in the game.

“If we win two out of three — hitting, pitching and defense — we feel like we have a good chance to win a baseball game,” Beck said.

Canfield advances in the winners bracket to play Olentangy Liberty on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. With a win, it advances to the state title game this Saturday.

“We have to continue to pitch well and play sound defense,” Beck said.

“Everything is important at this stage of the tournament.”