Photos courtesy of Shelly Pike
The Canton varsity baseball team dropped a pair of heartbreakers last week, falling to Malone 6-1 on Thursday and to Carthage 9-8 on Friday. Malone scored five runs in the seventh inning, while Carthage rallied from a 6-4 deficit in the seventh to force extra innings, then added three more runs in a walk-off win in the eighth inning.
Canton, now 2-7 overall and 2-5 in the NAC Central, has a busy week ahead. After a road game at Massena at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, the Golden Bears host Norwood-Norfolk in a doubleheader on Wednesday, with the first game scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. On Saturday, Canton will play in the James Pinkerton Wooden Bat Tournament at OFA. The Golden Bears face OFA in a league game at 12 p.m., then will face either Beekmantown or Saranac Lake in the tournament championship or consolation game.
Malone 6, Canton 1
Jordan Perry had a dominant day on the mound for Malone, tossing a no hitter with 13 strikeouts and four walks. He added a bases loaded triple to bring in three runs in the decisive seventh inning.
Canton took a 1-0 lead in the second inning after Charlie Todd worked a walk, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. J.J. Ahlfeld drove Todd in on an RBI groundout to third base.
While Perry was cruising through the Canton lineup, Todd was nearly matching him inning for inning. The Golden Bear hurler retired the first eight hitters he saw, then got Perry to pop out after issuing back-to-back walks with two outs in the third.
The Huskies finally got their first hit, a single by Trent Carriero with two outs in the fourth, but Todd struck out the next batter to keep Canton in the lead, 1-0, through four innings.
Todd worked another 1-2-3 inning in the fifth, but a single by Perry, followed by a stolen base and another single by B Spaulding in the sixth, tied the game, 1-1.
Bradley Poupore gave the Huskies (5-5, 3-4 NAC Central) a 2-1 lead with an RBI single in the seventh, and Perry broke the game open with the bases loaded triple to put the game away.
Todd threw 6 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on five hits with 10 strikeouts and four walks. Jackson Ames got the final two outs of the game for Canton, allowing one run on one hit and won walk with one strikeout.
While the Bears didn’t get any hits on the day, Todd reached base three times, walking once and getting hit by a pitch twice. He added two stolen bases. Parker Ames also worked two walks for the Golden Bears.
Carthage 9, Canton 8 (8 innings)
Jaired Bock hit a walk-off, two-run single with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift Carthage to a non-league win over Canton. The Comets had not led in the game prior to Bock’s game-winning hit.
Canton struck for four runs in the top of the first inning and led for almost the entire game. Carthage tied the game 6-6 on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings. Todd hit a two-run single in the top of the eighth to give Canton an 8-6 lead heading to the bottom of the eighth, but Carthage cut the lead to one on a one-out, bases loaded balk. After an intentional walk to load the bases to set up a force play at any base, Bock hit a line drive to center field to plate the tying and winning runs.
Centerfielder John Gidney got the Golden Bear offense started in the first inning with a leadoff single to center field in his first career varsity start. He scored on an RBI fielder’s choice by Todd, and Canton scored again on a sacrifice fly by Ahlfeld. With runners at first and third, Todd scored on a successful double steal with Parker Ames reaching second, and Ames later scored on an error on a ground ball by Paul Redfern to give Canton a 4-0 lead in the first inning.
Carthage (5-5) chipped away with one run in the second and another in the fourth. The Golden Bears extended the lead to 5-2 on an RBI groundout by Connor Miller in the top of the fifth, but the Comets cut the lead to one on an RBI single by Ian Moro and an error in the fifth inning.
Canton increased the lead to 6-4 on an RBI groundout by Ahlfeld, and nearly broke the game open when Parker Ames hit a screaming line drive toward third base, but Mono made an incredible diving catch to end the inning.
Zadok Roiger led Canton at the plate, going 4-for-4 with a double and a walk. Todd was 2-for-5 with three RBI, while Ahlfeld was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Mathew Bradish-Hayes, Gidney and Parker Ames also contributed hits for the Golden Bears.
Roiger also had a solid day on the mound, allowing no earned runs in five innings of work. Roiger scattered six hits and one walk and struck out seven. Ahlfeld threw the final 2 1/3 innings in his first career pitching appearance for the varsity team.
Bock was 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI to lead the Comets at the plate. Ethan Moser was also 3-for-5 with three doubles, and Mono was 2-for-4.
Thomas Storms earned the win, going 7 1/3 innings in relief of Mono. Storms allowed four runs on eight hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.
