Staff photo / Preston Byers. Canfield’s Kylee Kritz throws a pitch during a district tournament win vs. Poland on Wednesday at the Field of Dreams in Boardman.

BOARDMAN — Canfield has made a habit of going down early during the Little League Ohio District 2 12U district tournament. Fortunately, it has also made a habit of coming back.

On Wednesday, for the third consecutive game, Canfield fell behind in the first inning. However, just as it had done vs. South Range and Austintown, Canfield erased the deficit and emerged victorious vs. Poland 7-4 at the Field of Dreams in Boardman.

“We’re not looking to go down, for sure,” Canfield manager Lou Zorella said. “All three games we’ve gone down in the first. We’re working on that, but we do have confidence that we could score some runs, and we just strive on winning the inning. So if we give up one or two runs in the first, we’re just trying to match it or go ahead in that first inning.”

Canfield, despite the troubled start, ultimately won the first inning Wednesday.

Gabby Gunn led off for Poland with a single before Addison Shilling brought Gunn home on an RBI single up the middle.

Following back-to-back ground outs to start the half-inning, Jordan Greenhaw got things rolling for Canfield, which scored its first run shortly thereafter when Poland committed an error. Canfield scored again after two more wild pitches, allowing McKayla Lang take both third base and home.

During the course of Wednesday’s game, Poland’s battery struggled, with wild pitches and on-target pitches glancing off the edge of gloves multiple times, surrendering several runs and creating opportunities for Canfield.

Poland changed catchers twice — Colleen Sweeney replaced Aubrey Donnadio in the third inning before they swapped again later — and pitchers once, bringing in Callaway Shaffer for starter Guiliana Falasca in the fifth.

“It’s hot,” Poland manager Adam Shaffer said of catcher changes. “So I have versatility to be able to rotate or, I guess, substitute. From a pitching standpoint, she’d already gone through the lineup twice, so seeing a girl a third time, it’s better to throw in a new, fresher pitcher with some stamina.”

Both teams’ offenses remained relatively quiet after the first inning, as no additional runs were scored until the bottom of the fourth. But when the runs came, they came in bunches for Canfield.

Greenhaw again sparked the Canfield offense, which followed up on her single with three consecutive singles, the final of which made it 4-1 after a passed ball enabled Greenhaw to score with the bases loaded.

Two more passed balls later in the half-inning gave Canfield the chance to score its fifth and sixth runs of the game.

Down 6-1 heading into the fifth, Poland needed some offense, and for the first time since the opening moments of the game, Poland got some offense.

Following a Mari McDonald single, her team’s first hit since she singled in the second, Donnadio laid down a successful bunt and then Sweeney brought two runners home with a hard-hit double.

Canfield decided to intentionally walk Gunn and load the bases with two outs. During the next at-bat Donnadio scored on a Kylee Kritz wild pitch to pull within two runs. Falasca then drew a walk to load the bases again.

Elinor Erb was unable to capitalize, though, as her strikeout ended the half-inning and left the three runners stranded.

“Those situations are always nerve-wracking,” Zorella said. “But I had confidence that we had it.”

Poland would never be that close again; Canfield scored on another wild pitch to push its lead back to three, and Poland was retired in the sixth without scoring a run.

Adam Schaffer, who said he hopes his team gets another chance to play Canfield, will have a short turnaround to prepare Poland for its losers’ bracket game today.

Today at 6 p.m. at the Field of Dreams, Poland plays the winner of Wednesday’s late game between South Range and Austintown, the result of which was not finalized by print deadline.

“We got to execute the easy things, the fundamentals. So that’s what we kind of preach,” Adam Schaffer said. “But we also want them to have this killer instinct and stay locked in and focused, and then when one girl may make a mistake, be there to support and then coach that.”

Canfield, meanwhile, will have some time to prepare for its district championship game, which is scheduled for Monday at 8 p.m.