Amherst Summer Baseball Classic: Avon's Ian Cain picks up where he left off, dominates Amherst Gold in finish of suspended game

AMHERST — A 26-hour wait between innings had no effect on Avon pitcher Ian Cain at the Amherst Summer Classic. Cain retired five of the first six batters he faced and went on to pick up the win as the Eagles downed Amherst Gold 10-5. When the teams took the field Thursday to resume a game that was suspended Wednesday in the top half of the third with Avon leading 3-0, Cain went right back to work and finished his masterpiece, holding the Comets to a run and five hits over six innings. "I felt like I was pitching well the first day so I just wanted to keep the momentum going," Cain said. "It was a little weird starting a game two days in a row but I thought I handled it pretty well." Cain showed he could have just as big of an effect on the game with a bat in his hand, blasting a pair of doubles. "Ian is someone who knows his body and what he's capable of doing," Avon coach Patrick Scholla said. "He's someone who is always working hard. It doesn't matter if it's spring or summer. That's a testament to work ethic." Avon took a 2-0 lead Wednesday in the second inning on a two-run home run from Ethan Falkinburg that also scored Chris Egger. Although Falkinburg wasn't in the lineup when the game resumed Thursday, the Eagles kept the hit parade going with seven extra-base hits. Three of those extra-base hits came off the bat of shortstop Leo Walters, who had two doubles, a triple and scored three runs. "I was mainly going out there to try and have fun," said Walters, who is about to begin his senior year. "Batting leadoff, I'm the first one who sees all the pitches. If I can tell them what I see it helps them be prepared." Amherst (0-2) scored a run in the third inning when Cam Rios drove home Harrison Schneider with a bases-loaded grounder to the pitcher. Schneider was the starting pitcher for the Comets on Wednesday but Elijah Kender and Brody Glick took over for the final five innings. The Eagles added a run the fifth inning and then broke the game open in the top half of the seventh, using six consecutive hits to score five runs. Sam Spike also drove in three runs for the Eagles, who completed pool play with a 1-2 record. "It's awesome to see the young guys coming out here and being competitive on every pitch," Scholla said. "if you can do that sometimes the results are going to go your way like they did today. "This week has been important for the younger guys to learn what the Avon way of playing baseball means. They learned to play for each other no matter the result and that's what we want them to take into the fall and into next season." Amherst's offense finally came alive in the seventh inning as it took advantage of five walks and an Avon error to score four runs. The Comets' only hit in the inning came from pinch hitter Caleb Melendez, who crushed a triple to the right-field power alley, scoring Schneider and Logan Banyas. Amherst Gold completes pool play today at North Ridgeville. The top four teams will advanced to Saturday's semifinals. Contact Todd Shapiro at 440-329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.