Tri-Town’s Joe Bunnell safely slides into home before Canton catcher Jeff Mulhall can apply the tag in Thursday night’s Tri-State game at Bowdoin Field.
CANTON, July 2 – The Canton Crushers are looking for little victories at this point in the season.
It could be a nice defensive play such as centerfielder Jimmy Spirito racing down a deep fly ball about 365 feet away from home plate at Bowdoin Field. It could be a nice outing by rookie pitcher Pat Sullivan in his Tri-State League debut giving up just two runs and two hits in the first three innings against a hard-hitting Tri-Town Trojans squad.
However, Canton isn’t getting enough positive plays yet to put together a Tri-State League victory. The Crushers fell to 0-12 Thursday night in a 13-0 loss to Tri-Town. The visiting Trojans hit the hard and deep. They had 14 hits and five doubles. Five Tri-Town pitchers limited Canton to just one hit – a single past the shortstop by Canton’s Ben Sullivan in the third inning.
It’s been a rough week for the Crushers. They had just one hit a week ago in a 7-0 loss to Bristol. On Tuesday night, they had just one hit in a 5-0 loss to Naugatuck. Canton hasn’t scored a run in its last three games.
Canton’s Pat Sullivan pitched well in his Tri-State League debut Thursday against Tri-Town.
“We come out here and try to have a good time,” Spirito said. “You want to enjoy your time here. That’s why we thank the umpires after games. Some of our games get out of hand and some (umpires) just want them to be over with. But we want to get in our licks and put up a fight. We keep a positive mental attitude.”
Spirito played for Canton High over a decade ago. So did manager Tom Dubois. Both have played in the Tri-State League before Dubois formed the Crushers, now in their second season.
It’s been a challenge for Canton. Seldom do they have the same nine players at the game. Building consistency has been difficult. But they do have some younger players that bring a spark. They just need to learn to play with wooden bats in the Tri-State League against older, more veteran players.
Against Bristol, first-year rookie Chris VandeBogart had the lone Crusher hit. Against Naugatuck, the lone hit came from Jake Bryant, the Avon youngster currently attending Eastern Connecticut State. Ben Sullivan finished his high school season at Canton High just a few weeks ago.
Tri-Town (8-2) went to the league championship series a year ago and they are the two-time defending Stan Musial state champions. Leading 2-0, they broke through in the fourth inning taking a 5-0 advantage thanks to a pair of errors and RBI singles from James Cramphin and Connor Murray.
Cramphin was 3-for-4 with two RBI while catcher Landon Gardella was 2-for-4 with two doubles and one RBI. Joe Bunnell was also 3-for-4 with a double and one RBI for the winners. Murray had two hits and drove in three runs.
On Tuesday, Spirito took the loss for the Crushers in a 5-0 loss to the Naugatuck Dogs under the lights at Rotary Field, scattering four hits and striking out three. Bryant had the lone single for Canton in the fifth inning.
With the Fourth of July holiday, Canton has a break. They play next Thursday at Brass City in Waterbury before hosting the Bethlehem Plowboys in the final regular season game of the season at Bowdoin Field on Sunday, July 12.
Tri-Town 13, Canton 0
At Canton
Tri-Town (8-2) 020 412 3 — 13-14-0
Canton (0-12) 000 000 0 – 0- 1-3
Bobby Chatfield, Sam Shurberg (3), Connor Murray (4), James Cramphin (6) and Miles Scribner (7) and Landon Gardella; Pat Sullivan, Chris VandeBogart (6), Nick Stockman (7) and Jeff Mulhall; WP: Chatfield (5-1); LP: Sullivan (0-1); 2B: Steve Price (T), Gardella (T) 2, Joe Bunnell (T)
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