Tuscarawas tops Canfield 10U

By BOB ETTINGER

sports@vindy.com

Jefferson

The Canfield 10U All-Star baseball team learned a hard lesson Thursday night at the Little League State Tournament in Jefferson. The team has played with big early leads and won its way through the tournament. That wave crashed with a 7-2 loss to Tuscarawas County at Lehotsky Field.

“This was a great lesson for them,” Canfield manager Pete Patellis said. “As I told them in the wrap-up, nothing you get in life is worth it unless it’s earned. It means more if you earn it. Now, we’ve got to earn it by winning tomorrow and twice on Saturday.

“We were in it until the fifth. I’m proud of their effort. They never hung their heads. The defense stayed strong. (Tuscarawas County) just hit a little better than we did. The pitchers were great and kept us in the game. The defense helped keep us in the game. They just hit a little better than we did.”

Canfield will be back in action in the consolation bracket final against Lebanon at 6 p.m. today at Lehotsky Field. A win puts them in the championship round in a rematch with Tuscarawas County at 10 a.m. Saturday.

“We’re trying to stay positive,” Patellis said. “We want them to go home and keep their heads up. We’re still in the tournament. We told them to stay hungry. They’re 10. If they were older, we could work the back-against-the-wall angle. They’re too young to grasp that concept. We’ll tell them to keep their heads up and come back to the ballpark ready to play.”

Tuscarawas County starter Camden Enama struck out five and allowed one hit over the first four innings, and Jackson Martini allowed one hit and fanned four over the final two innings to limit the Canfield hitters.

“[Not hitting] is tough at any level,” Patellis said. “Their kids threw the ball well and they threw hard. They were all around the plate. This is tournament baseball. You’re going to see good pitching and you’re going to see good defensive teams. It’s frustrating when you’re squaring the ball up. You see it at the major league level, the college level and the high school level.”

Tyce Bair walked and worked his way to third with a steal and a passed ball before scoring on Ryan Weibling’s groundout. Joey Pannunaio then doubled and took third on a passed ball before scoring Canfield’s second run for a 2-1 advantage through one inning. They didn’t threaten again until pinch hitters Grant Seachrist and Mason Wurst drew walks to lead off the fifth. They were stranded to end the inning.

Will Murphy walked with one out in the sixth and Gio Altomare singled with two outs, but the duo was also stranded to end the game.

Tuscarawas County plated one in the first, one in the fourth, two in the fifth and three more in the sixth.