Regional baseball: Elyria Catholic gets off to hot start, but can't hold off Canton Central Catholic

CANTON — Elyria Catholic got the start it wanted but the Panthers weren't able to hold on. The Panthers, making their first regional appearance since 2019, scored four runs in the first inning of Tuesday's Division IV regional semifinal against Canton Central Catholic. After that it was all Crusaders as Canton Central Catholic rallied for a 6-5 win at Thurman Munson Stadium. Elyria Catholic (18-10) started off the game with its first two batters reaching base, Zachariah Gaines was hit by a pitch and Noah Willett followed with a single. Catcher Ryan While loaded the bases with a single off the leg of Canton Central Catholic starting pitcher Joe Stevens. Gaines scored the first run on a sacrifice fly by Panthers starting pitcher Izaiah Amarise. Singles by Luke Doss and Mason Knapp combined with a pair of Crusaders errors led to three more runs crossing the plate. "That's the way we've been doing it. The last tournament game we also jumped out like that," Elyria Catholic coach Bruce Lisicky said. "I don't know if we got complacent, I don't know if we brought (Amarise) back too soon." Almost as quickly as the Panthers took the lead ... the Crusaders snatched it away. Canton Central Catholic batted around in the second inning, scoring four times to tie the game. The Crusaders (22-5) took advantage of four walks issued by Amarise and got RBI singles from Casey Schoenfeld and Gavin McCune. In the third inning the Crusaders got their first two batters on base with a single and a walk before Lisicky went to his bullpen and brought on Gaines in relief. Although Gaines allowed both inherited runners to score as Canton Central Catholic took a 6-4 lead, he retired 11 of the 14 batters he faced to keep Elyria Catholic in the game. "Coming in I knew I had to minimize the damage. That's what coach told me to do and what I've been doing all year," said Gaines, one of four seniors on the Panthers roster. "When I was little my coach would put me in with bases loaded and no outs and I learned to come in and handle it so I didn't feel any pressure today." Gaines also had the biggest hit of the day for the Panthers, who had won four out of their last five heading into Tuesday's game, with a leadoff triple down the left field line in the fifth inning. Gaines came home to score on a Willett sacrifice fly to make it a 6-5 game. "He threw strikes and forced them to put the ball in play and let our defense work for us," Lisicky said of Gaines. "He's a leader. As he goes we go. He's a great kid and a great ballplayer as well." The Panthers were one hit from tying the game in the seventh when Crusaders reliever Brock Bourquin hit Elyria Catholic's No. 8 hitter Brayden Winter with a pitch to start the inning. Clifford Hemlinger bunted Winter over to second but Elyria Catholic was unable to get him home. Canton Central Catholic will face Youngstown Cardinal Mooney in Thursday's regional final. The Cardinals defeated Norton 2-0 in their regional semifinal. "In my opinion, whoever wins this regional is probably going to win state," Lisicky said. Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.