CANFIELD TAKES DOWN ONE OF THE STATE’S BEST
By Ty Bartell
LAGRANGE OH- “Softball” and “tournaments” are two words that pair incredibly together, just like pizza and pop! One of the very best softball tournaments in the state of Ohio, The Prebis Memorial Tournament, occurred on Saturday for the 17th time and featured several YSN schools! One of the premier matchups happened on Saturday between Division II powerhouse, The Canfield Cardinals and another perennial powerhouse in The Amherst-Steele Comets.
The Comets struck first, scoring a run in the first inning off Malena Toth, but the single run would be all they could muster, as Toth left the bases loaded with a pair of strikeouts to limit the damage in the inning.The Cardinals would strike back in the top of the second, after the first two got out in the inning, Hailey Freedy got aboard and Faith Morell lined a single up the middle to bring Freedy home! A couple batters later, Cara Spencer roped a single into left field to score two more runs for The Cards, giving Canfield a 3-1 lead.
In the top of the third, Canfield would add some insurance runs to their lead with a Malena Toth RBI-single and a Faith Morell RBI sac fly, increasing The Cards lead 5-1. Steele pitcher Leah Sprague helped herself out with an RBI-single in the bottom of the third to get a run back and cut the deficit to three runs. Malena Toth would once again limit the damage in the inning, registering another big time strikeout, retiring the big bat of Emma Nagy to end the inning while leaving two on base.
Marina Koenig would deliver a response in the top of the fourth with a two RBI-single, giving Canfield their largest lead of the ballgame at 7-2. The lead would be all The Cardinals would need, despite Kristen Kelley roping an RBI-double to right center field in the bottom of the seventh, Toth would cause a pop-fly to first base where Macey Kalina would be there to take care of the final out in the game, giving Canfield their 15th win of the season!
Amherst Steele (12-5) will look to get back in the “W” column hitting the road against Elyria (6-8) on Monday, May 1st. While The Canfield Cardinals (15-1) are set for an All-American Conference (AAC) showdown, where they will host Austintown-Fitch (15-0) on Monday in the first of a two game set, scheduled for a 5 p.m. first pitch with The AAC crown on the line!
