High school boys baseball: (4) Hawken vs. (11) Canton Central Catholic district semifinal preview capsule
May 22—(4) Hawken vs. (11) Canton Central Catholic
What: Division III district semifinal
When: 2 p.m., May 23
Where: Copley, 3807 Ridgewood Road, Akron
Records: Hawken 16-4, Canton Central Catholic 11-11
Hawken's path: Def. Northwestern, 12-2
Canton Central Catholic's path: Def. Oberlin, 24-0, Def. VASJ, 10-0
On deck: Winner advances to play (3) Elyria Catholic or (5) Black River in a Division III district final on May 25.
For the record: No. 4 seed Hawken features a balanced attack. While just three batters are batting over .300, the Hawks have been fine with grinding out difficult wins with four victories being decided by two runs or less. ... Both Dominic Brancel and Khalil Suggs have both hit three home runs. But the Hawks haven't relied on the long ball this season, but their consistent hitting throughout the line-up is what makes them dangerous. Brancel and Nick Bollinger lead the way with 16 RBI with Khalil Suggs and Paxton Laschinger hot on their heels with 14 and 13, respectively. ... Hawken has also had strong pitching performances time in and time out as well with a strong one-two combo of Lucas Brandt and Devin Anthony, both having ERA's below 1. ... Canton Central Catholic has yet to allow a run in the tournament and just two hits. Ethan Lyke leads the Crusaders bats with his .382 batting average and two others over .350. However with no Crusader pitcher holding an ERA under 2.50, look for the Hawks to take advantage of that.
Hercik's pick: Hawken
