Junction ends Hannington’s undefeated streak in softball finals

Weather hampered the first few days of the Canton Men’s Softball League finals, but when the best-of-seven series got underway on Thursday, August 26, Canton Junction ran away with the first game 19-11, ending Hannington’s 23-game undefeated streak in the process.

The series was due to continue Monday and Tuesday, and game four was scheduled for this evening (Thursday) at Messinger Field at 6:15 p.m.

If necessary, the finals will be decided next week with games on Tuesday at Devoll, Wednesday at Messinger, and Thursday at Devoll.

Junction came into the finals as the third-seeded team in the tournament.

“With Hannington’s undefeated in the season up to that point, picking up the ‘W’ in the first game was crucial as it solidifies the notion that the task ahead of us isn’t an impossible one,” said Nick Lance, Canton Junction’s manager. “Overall, we’re very happy to be where we are. It’s been a long road from our beginnings as a team (five years ago) that went winless through our inaugural season, to arriving here in the finals, handing out the first loss to a team that went undefeated in their season.”

Junction came out slugging early, scoring six runs in the first inning. But Hannington’s came right back in the bottom of the inning to take an 8-6 lead. The game stayed close after that with Hannington’s leading 9-7 going into the sixth inning. Junction then exploded for nine runs and held on for a 19-11 win.

Jarod Cowens and Jay Metzger each had three hits for Hannington’s and Tony Falco hit a two-run homerun.

“In terms of leading hitters, we don’t subscribe to the concept of highlighting single players’ performances for a game,” Lance said. “When you beat a team like Hannington’s, you do it as a cohesive unit and not as individuals. I will say that Patrick O’Sullivan’s performance on the mound has been a real driving force for us through the playoffs as a whole.”

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Posted by Mike Berger on Sep 2 2010. Filed under Beyond CHS, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.