Logjam at the top: Canon-Mac drops high-scoring game for 4th loss in 5
CANONSBURG – Two weeks ago the Canon-McMillan baseball team had finished off a sweep of Norwin and was in the driver’s seat to win a section title.
Now the Big Macs will need some help to achieve that goal.
After losing two of three to Mt. Lebanon last week, the Big Macs dropped their second consecutive game to Hempfield on Tuesday.
A seven-run fourth inning turned the tide for the Spartans, who defeated the Big Macs 12-9 in a Class 6A Section 2 game at McDowell Lane Field.
Once ahead of the pack in the section race, the Big Macs now find themselves in a muddled mess.
Canon-McMillan (7-4, 12-4) has four losses and now no longer controls its own destiny because Mt. Lebanon and Norwin have three and Hempfield has four.
Mt. Lebanon plays one more game with winless Woodland Hills before playing Norwin next week
“The past two series have been tough,” Big Macs coach Brendon Steele said. “We’re in a tough conference and we just have to do the little things right and execute. When you put up nine runs you usually feel pretty good about yourselves, but (Hempfield) is a good hitting team. They had 18 hits today.”
Canon-McMillan led 7-3 entering the fourth, but Hempfield sent a dozen batters to the plate and scored seven times.
Mercyhurst recruit Ian Kovalchik belted a three-run homer over the left field fence that tied the game at 7-7. Shuglie went the other way with a single that plated the go-ahead run.
RBI singles by Chase Damaska and Lucas Simmons made it 10-7. It was the second hit of the inning for both. Seven of the 12 runs scored after two outs, including three in the fourth. Half of Hempfield’s hits came after two strikes.
“At the beginning of the year, especially in the first section series, we had so many opportunities with two outs and put together so many good at-bats, but seemed to be one hit short,” Hempfield coach Tim Buzzard said. “Now the last few games we’ve completely flipped the script. Some of that is probably luck, but it’s baseball. Some days it’s right and some days it’s not. It’s working now, which is good for us.”
M.J. Maruschak smacked a solo home run in the sixth and Brayden Radue had an RBI single to cut the lead to two runs. Canon-McMillan had the tying runs on base with two outs when Buzzard made a pitching change, bringing on Drew Jones.
Jones got Ben Taczak to pop out to end the threat.
Evan Dunlap provided an insurance run for Hempfield in the top of the seventh by hitting a sacrifice fly to center.
Hempfield got three runs in the top of the first, but that lead did not last long.
The Spartans opened the door with three errors in the bottom half and the Big Macs gladly took advantage.
The first six batters for Canon-McMillan reached base and none of them recorded a hit. Along with the three errors, starting pitcher Chase Sikorski walked two and hit one batter.
Taczak, the seventh hitter in the order, brought home a run on an RBI groundout. Then Sebastian Shulsky ripped a single to left field for the Big Macs’ first hit.
Noah Westfall followed with a blast off the wall in left field, for a two-run double, which made it 7-3.
Hempfield scored all three of its first inning runs after two outs.
Jones singled to center. Evan Dunlap looped a single up the middle to put two runners on.
That’s when Canon-McMillan starting pitcher Matthew Kocan endured some bad luck.
He got Owen Shuglie to hit a comebacker, but the ball smacked off Kocan’s ankle and away from any fielders. Shuglie reached on a single and Jones scored to make it 1-0.
Chase Sikorski followed with an RBI single up the middle and a third run came in on an error.
After finishing up section play on Thursday, Canon-McMillan will play three nonsection games next week. Regardless of whether or not they win the section, they know they’ll need to be cleaner once the postseason arrives.
“It’s always one of our goals to win the conference, but truthfully we’re focused on getting better every day,” Steele said. “We need to be better than we’ve been the last two weeks. We have to come back strong Thursday and wash all this away.”