Close calls don’t faze rolling Bulldogs

May 24, 2016 at 12:00a.m.

Bulldogs back in regional for third straight year

By Steve WILAJ

POLAND

Would Poland prefer a lopsided win rather than a one-run game?

It’s only natural.

Still, there’s something to know about this season’s Bulldogs team, which is heading to the Division II Hudson regional tournament on Thursday for the third straight year thanks to a walk-off 7-6 win against Marlington on Friday in a district final.

“We like the close games — we feel like they kind of motivate us in later innings,” shortstop Anthony Calcagni said. “The walk-off win was a lot of fun — it was stressful the whole game — but it’s fun to win a game like that.

“So I think momentum is definitely in our favor.”

Poland (20-6) is taking that momentum into a matchup against Notre Dame Cathedral Latin on Thursday at 5 p.m. at The Ball Park in Hudson.

The flair-for-the-dramatic Bulldogs fought back from a 4-0 fifth-inning hole against the Dukes at Cene Park and took a two-run lead into the seventh inning. However, Marlington tied the game at six in the top of the seventh before Dan Klase drove in the game-winning run with an RBI single to center field in the bottom half.

“Coming off a win like that, we have the momentum obviously in our favor,” said Klase, who was mobbed by his teammates on the field after his clutch hit. “We just need to start jumping on pitchers earlier in the game — not wait until the fifth or sixth inning to start hitting the ball.”

Even so, head coach Rich Murray has certainly noticed his teams’ knack for performing in the clutch.

“We’ve had a couple of those this year where we’ve came back, but nothing to that extent,” he said. “I think we’ve learned how to win those kind of games. So now when we’re in a close game, we expect to win.”

Poland is coming off two close playoff losses in the past two years. The Bulldogs fell, 3-2, in a regional semifinal against Woodridge in 2014. They advanced all the way to the state title game a year ago before losing to Defiance, 5-3.

Even though six seniors graduated from the 2015 team, Murray knows Poland has experience on its side.

“We do have some new guys that are stepping in, but they got to see it last year, so that’s a big help,” Murray said.

Added Klase: “We returned a lot of experience in big games and big situations and I think that’s gonna be a big part of helping us when we’re down there in Hudson.”

While Murray isn’t exactly sure who his starting pitcher will be on Thursday, he said he’s leaning towards Klase. He added that the Bulldogs don’t know much about Notre Dame Cathedral Latin — other than it always has a solid program.

But just maybe, if Poland is fortunate enough, it will find itself in a game it’s confident it can win: a close one.

“I like the way we’re playing,” Calcagni said. “We’re coming together.”