Canton rallies to tie contest but errors allow St. Paul to eliminate Warriors

Canton pitcher Jill Petraitis was one of three Warriors to earn All-NCCC honors.

CANTON, June 3 – The Canton High softball team never quit this spring. They fought hard. Still, a team has to make plays. The Warriors committed five errors including two in the top of the ninth inning as their season came to an end with a 5-4 loss to No. 21 St. Paul on Wednesday. 

“We fought hard and we played well,” Canton coach Charley Batan said. “It was a good all-around ball game. We got beat by a better team today. I’m proud of my seniors and how they handled everything. They were a great group of seniors.” 

St. Paul (12-10) scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning to take a 4-1 lead. But the Warriors rallied with three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Katie Walker’s two-out, two-RBI triple cut the lead to one run. Walker tied up the game on a RBI single by Samantha Anderson. 

While No. 12 Canton (13-8) did make some crucial errors, they did throw out three St. Paul runners at the plate – twice in the later innings. 

Canton pitcher Jill Petraitis threw out a runner at home on a fielder’s choice for the second out in the sixth inning. In the top of the seventh, St. Paul had a runner on third with one out. Canton third baseman Alexa Szczepanski grabbed a sharp hit off the bat of Lindsey O’Bright and fired the ball to Hill, who tagged out the runner. 

St. Paul took advantage of two errors in the ninth inning to score the game-winning run. The Falcons also received 12 strikeouts from pitcher Alessandra Milardo, who went the distance to earn the win. 

Petraitis scattered six hits and struck out seven. Walker was 2-for-4 with a triple for Canton while Hill and Sophia Pelehach each had doubles. 

Canton’s three seniors – Hill, Walker and Petraitis – were each voted onto the All-NCCC team by the league coaches. 

After dropping a 5-1 loss to Suffield on May 12, the Warriors finished out the season with four wins in five games. The only defeat in that five-game stretch was a 9-8 loss to Somers on a two-run double by Megan Gagne in the bottom of the seventh inning. 

St. Paul 5, Canton 4 (9)
At Canton
St. Paul (12-10)    200  002  001  — 5-6-4
Canton (13-8)       000  103  000  — 4-5-5
Alessandra Milardo and Lauren Benoit; Jill Petraitis and Katie Hill; WP: Milardo; LP: Petraitis; 2B: Katie Hill (C), Sophia Pelehach (C), Benoit (S); 3B: Katie Walker (C)