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Victory is sweep: Canfield teams top Boardman
Canfield teams take
two title games
from Boardman
By STEVE WILAJ
BOARDMAN
Canfield’s 11-12 year-old team had one goal for Thursday’s Little League District 2 Softball Championship against Boardman at Fields of Dreams.
“Our goal was five runs — we got four,” Cardinals coach Mike Kelly said. “So they did great.”
It was good enough to propel Canfield to a 4-0 victory and clinch a spot to the state tournament beginning July 9 in Clyde.
Now, the Cardinals have a bigger goal.
“We plan on winning state,” Kelly said. “This was our first goal and we’re gonna keep fighting. We have a great team and we’ll take on all comers. I think we’ll do well at state.”
Canfield advanced behind Lauren Fitzgerald’s right arm and a big second inning.
Fitzgerald tossed all six innings, shutting out the Spartans while striking out six, walking two and allowing just one hit.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals scored all four of their runs in the second. Lizzy Ferraro notched an RBI single and scored on a wild pitch, Emma Castranova had an RBI groundout and Fitzgerald hit an RBI single.
“We have a great offense and we just had to put some hits together,” Kelly said. “We knew if we could do that, we could hold them with our pitching and good defense.
“But Boardman is a great team and has some real tough kids. They don’t give up and it was fantastic playing them.”
For the Spartans, Nadia Rawhneh replaced Cami Goske on the mound in the second inning and didn’t allow an earned run over the final three frames. Still, Canfield’s hot start was too much to overcome.
“I’m extremely proud,” Kelly said. “They’ve worked very hard and sacrificed a lot and it shows. We have half 11-year-olds, half 12-year-olds and they’re all great players.”
And the Cardinals will have familiar company in Clyde, as Canfield’s 9-10 year-old team also downed Boardman, 6-2, in a district championship on Thursday at Fields of Dreams to clinch a spot at state.
“We have a good team and I think we’re going to do great,” Cardinals coach Christine Kennedy said. “If we continue to play hard and tough, we’re going to do great at state.”
Canfield jumped ahead 2-0 in the first inning on Malena Toth’s two-run single.
The Cardinals then added another run in the third on Macey Kalina’s RBI groundout, before Boardman cut its deficit to 3-2 when Zoe LaRosa scored on an error and Gia Triveri hit an RBI single.
But Canfield scored three more runs in the bottom of the fifth and Bella Kennedy went the distance for the win. She struck out seven in six innings, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks.
“It was a nerve-wracking game, but they were tough,” Kennedy said. “Bella hung strong and we made a lot of good defensive plays. I was proud of them.
“These girls have grown so much and they play so well together. They’ve come so far and all work really hard at what they do.”
Natalie Davis pitched five innings for Boardman and struck out eight.
“I’m proud of the way they battled,” Spartans coach Brian Saluga said.
“We played a pretty good game today. Everything we hit, they fielded and made plays. So give credit to Canfield, they did a great job and we wish them all the best.”