Posted by CatTales
on 6/1/2009, 10:41 pm
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Canal Winchester KOs Cambridge again
JEFF HARRISON/The Daily Jeffersonian
May 31, 2009
ZANESVILLE -- It started out like a heavyweight slugfest -- Canal Winchester delivering a big shot in the bottom of the first inning only to have Cambridge come storming back with an uppercut to the jaw.
Canal Winchester continued to pound away the remainder of the bout while the Bobcats had more than their share of tactical errors and the result was a second straight KO for the Indians, this time a 13-7 decision in the Division II Regional championship game at Gant Memorial Stadium on Friday.
The loss ended the Bobcats' tournament trail one game short of the OHSAA Division II State Tournament, but Cambridge (23-7) had plenty of success including a school-record number of victories; sectional and district titles and an OVAC Class 4-A Tournament runner-up finish.
"The kids played their hearts out and we took it one step farther than last year," said first-year CHS head coach Dave Gray. "We've had a great year.
"We won 23 ballgames...the most in school history," the CHS coach added. "We proved that we can play with them...they're a class program."
Canal Winchester -- which had defeated Cambridge by a 4-2 count in last year's regional semifinals -- put six runs on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning, sending 10 batters to the plate.
Wes White led off with a walk and then five consecutive singles followed -- Mike Romanowski, Drew Dosch, Matt Romanowski, Tyler Steube and Curtis Steube, with Dosch and Tyler Steube driving in runs.
After Cambridge starting pitcher Billy Webb recorded consecutive strikeouts, however, Cory Spelman delivered a two-run single for the early 6-0 lighting.
The Bobcats came back strong in the top of the second, with Tyler Hardesty, Taylor Leppla and Webb singling in succession for the first tally. After a walk to Timmy Harvey loaded the bases, Kyle Cox smacked a two-run single up the middle forcing Canal Winchester to replace starter Matt Romanowski with Dosch.
Dillon Van Dyne greeted the new hurler with an RBI single and Tyler Ford reached on a fielder's choice before Winston Turner and Zach Freeman both collected infield RBI singles to complete the six-run outburst and knot the count at 6-6.
"They scored six on us right off the bat," said Gray, "but we came back and scored six and made a ballgame of it and I'm proud of the kids for that. We certainly didn't quit."
Canal Winchester went up 7-6 in the bottom of the second after Cambridge made a pitching change to Cox when Mike Romanowski walked; stole second; moved to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch.
The 'Cats got even at 7-7 in the top of the third on back-to-back one-out singles by Harvey and Cox and a fielder's choice-RBI off the bat of Van Dyne.
The tie was broken in the bottom of the frame, however.
Aaron Barber reached on an error and later scored on a wild pitch; Ryan Rose singled and scored on an RBI hit by Spelman; and Dosch delivered a sacrifice fly-RBI to plate Spelman and give the Indians a 10-7 upperhand.
Canal Winchester delivered the knockout blow in the sixth by adding three more tallies.
Dosch opened with a walk before Matt Romanowski reached on an error. Tyler Steube then singled to plate Dosch and when the ball was misplayed in the outfield, Romanowski also came around to score. A sac fly-RBI off the bat of Curtis Steube allowed Tyler Steube to cross with the final run of the contest.
"They made the plays and we didn't...just too many errors," said Gray of his squad and its six fielding miscues. "You can't do that against a quality team like that or you're in trouble. Once they got the lead back, they just kept building on it."
Spelman, Rose and Tyler Steube each had two singles to lead Canal Winchester while Cox and Harvey each had a pair for Cambridge.
Matt Romanowski, Dosch and White combined for three strikeouts and two walks, with Dosch getting the victory. Webb, Cox, Steve Harris and Harvey teamed for four Ks, four walks and a hit batsman, with Cox tagged with the defeat.
Gray praised his group of six seniors -- Harvey, Turner, Leppla and backups Jeff Carroll, Lance Morrison and Nick Liptak.
"We got a lot of leadership from our seniors - the three guys who start as well as the three on our bench," he offered. "We're going to miss them all."
Cambridge has one regular season East Central Ohio League make-up game with New Philadelphia remaining and a Bobcat victory would mean a share of the league crown with Dover.
Canal Winchester will play in the OHSAA Division II State Tournament at Huntington Park in Columbus on Thursday at 4 p.m. against the winner of the Hudson Regional
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