Canfield comeback falls short in Little League quarterfinals

July 27, 2016 at 12:09a.m.

BOARDMAN

Canfield shortstop Ben Slanker had a game for the ages Tuesday in the Little League state quarterfinals.

He hit two home runs, added a double, was intentionally walked, scoring two runs and collected seven RBIs.

Falling behind 5-0, however, proved to be too much to overcome for his all-star unit.

Noah Armstrong had two hits and scored three runs while the bottom five of their order scored 11 times as Maumee defeated defending state champion Canfield, 12-10, at Boardman’s Fields of Dreams.

It was Canfield’s first loss of the tournament and they will play Thursday at 1 p.m. against the winner of today’s Jefferson-Hamilton contest.

Maumee plays this evening at 6 p.m. against Dover, a 2-1 winner Tuesday over Olentangy.

“We left 12 runners on base tonight and walked eight batters. You just aren’t going to win very many games when you do that,” manager George Beck said. “The positive that we take away from tonight is that we were down five runs right off the bat, yet never gave up. We battled back four different times and this team never quit.

“We knew about Maumee from last year’s tournament and knew that they’re an excellent overall team,” Beck added.

A two-run single by Danny Hazard in the second inning was the key blow as he staked Maumee to the early 5-0 advantage.

A Slanker double plated two runs in the bottom of the inning as Canfield pulled to within 5-3 after the first two frames.

Slanker, who already has multiple home run games to his credit, said he just looks for the right pitch each and every time he steps into the box.

“I just look for the right pitch to hit and one that I am comfortable swinging at,” Slanker added. “This game is over and we’re already looking to prepare for our next game on Thursday.”

Maumee added single runs in both the third and fourth stanzas for a 7-3 margin, but a Slanker three-run blast, his first of the game in their half of the fourth inning pulled Canfield to within 7-6 with two innings remaining.

It was the closest they would get, however, the remainder of the way.

Maumee sent eight batters to the plate in the fifth inning, scoring four times on just one hit as they forged an 11-6 advantage.

Slanker’s second shot of the night, a two-run missile to center field, cut the Maumee lead to 11-8 with an inning remaining.

Maumee added a run in their half of the sixth inning for a 12-8 lead, but Canfield came right back when a Luca Ricchuiti double cut the margin to 12-10.

That would put an end to the scoring for the evening.

Canfield pounded out 14 hits with Ricchuiti also adding two hits, including a double as he scored twice and drove in two runs as well.

Maumee’s first four batters were a combined 3 for 15 with just one run scored while their bottom five in the order did all of the damage, going 5 for 11 with seven walks and scoring 11 of their tallies.

They had nine hits and stranded five runners.