Staff photo/Neel Madhavan. Canfield's Madison Angelo puts the ball in play Tuesday against Aurora in the district semis.

JEFFERSON — With both pitchers in control and Canfield and Aurora deadlocked for the first few innings, someone needed to step up for either team — so out walked Cardinals’ senior Jackie Kinnick.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, with the game tied 0-0, Canfield got both lead-off hitters on base with a pair of singles. After a fly out, Kinnick stepped up to home plate with one out and two runners on.

She admitted she was “nervous” in the pivotal situation, but that didn’t stop her from hitting the two-RBI triple that ended up being the difference for the Cardinals in a 2-1 win over Aurora in game one of the Jefferson district semifinals Tuesday afternoon.

“I didn’t have a good at-bat my first at-bat, but I just knew I had to get the ball out there, at least far enough where someone could tag third or score on it,” Kinnick said. “To create that separation, it really sparks the team in the dugout. We get that domino effect in the batting lineup and things happen.”

Hits were hard to come by and neither team’s pitcher was willing to give an inch. Both the Cardinals and Greenmen finished with four hits apiece.

Three of Canfield’s hits came in that all-important fifth inning with Macey Kalina getting the lead-off single and Bridgett Kelly getting on with a base hit right after.

“In tough situations, you’d like to be able to look to a senior because they’ve been there and she delivered,” head coach Joe Angelo said of Kinnick. “She came up basically hit a double, got to third on the throw and even almost made it home. She made that play exciting, it was wonderful.”

Despite pulling ahead 2-0, Canfield still had to sweat out some drama in the end.

After Malena Toth got the first out in the top of the seventh inning, Sophie Retton tallied one of her two base hits for Aurora, pelting a double into right field. Then, Toth got her 12th strikeout of the afternoon, which meant the Cardinals were only an out away from the district final.

However, Aurora’s Kayla Ring belted a long triple to the fence to score one run and put the game-tying run in scoring position on third base.

Toth wasn’t fazed though as she calmly delivered her 13th and final strikeout to close out the win for the Cardinals.

“She’s phenomenal and she continues to impress me at every turn,” Angelo said of Toth. “Even the good innings — I go out to high five her and she’s just calm and cool. Not even a smile on her face. That’s the type of athlete and individual she is. I’m looking for great things from her in the future — at Canfield, in college and in life.”

It wasn’t the first meeting this season between the two squads, as the Cardinals defeated Aurora 5-2 on April 13. That early season meeting helped Canfield know what to expect from the Greenmen.

“I was expecting the same pitcher, which we saw,” Angelo said of Aurora’s Mackenzie Krafcik, who finished with five strikeouts and one walk. “I was expecting us to put the bat on the ball a little harder at the start of the game, which didn’t happen, so kudos to their pitcher. She kept us at bay virtually the whole game except that one inning. I was confident, but on any given day, the girls have to perform, and our girls came to play.”

Canfield’s win sets up a rivalry showdown against Poland in the district final Thursday in this season’s third installment of the Battle of the 224. The Bulldogs defeated West Branch 8-1 in the second game of the district semis Tuesday evening. Canfield won the first meeting between the two teams 12-6 on March 31, while Poland defeated the Cardinals 5-3 on April 29.

nmadhavan@tribtoday.com