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Canfield falls to Tallmadge in Little League state championship
Tallmadge grabs lead early in state championship
By Joe Gilroy
CLYDE
The 11-12-year old Canfield girls softball team was back in Clyde Thursday night to meet Tallmadge for the Little League state championship.
Canfield faced the tall task of having to beat Tallmadge twice if they wanted to walk away champions. Unfortunately, it struggled all evening, falling 9-4 on the way to a state runner-up trophy.
The game started off at a brisk pace as both teams struggled with making contact at the plate. Then in the third inning, Canfield pitcher Lauren Fitzgerald walked three batters and loaded the bases before allowing a three-run triple off the bat of Tallmadge’s Lynae Foster. Tallmadge scored four runs in the inning.
“That’s a really good team over there in the other dugout,” Canfield coach Mike Kelly said. “We played them two years ago and won. Well, this year they got us. We had some really good 12-year-olds on this team and we will miss them next year, but hopefully we will get the opportunity to be back here playing Tallmadge for the title again.”
The Canfield girls showed their resolve as they immediately answered Tallmadge. Emma Castronova and Mia Opalick crossed home on a pair of fielding errors.
But Tallmadge extended the lead to 9-2 and seemed to be in complete control in the fifth inning before Canfield rallied with runs by both Fitzgerald and Parker Wilkins.
Canfield relief pitcher Bayann Jadallah mowed down the side in order in the top of the sixth to set the stage for a comeback by Canfield.
While there was an air of confidence exuded by Kelly and his team leading up to the last three outs of the game, it just wasn’t meant to be.
Tallmadge’s Samira Dadich stepped up to the mound and pitched a stellar final inning just as she did all weekend and finished Canfield off and won a Little League state championship for Tallmadge.
“Of all the teams I have ever coached this has to be my favorite,” Kelly said. “We never once thought we were going to lose. Just last night we were down three going into the last inning and we came out on top.
“The girls and I had full confidence we would win until the final out,” he added. “We knew it would be tough to beat them, but our pitching is so deep we felt very confident if we managed to get this first one, we would win the second based off attrition. That’s a real good team though, and all credit goes to them.”