Staff photo / Brad Emerine Fitch reliever Jake Lawrence delivers a pitch during the Falcons’ loss to Massillon on Tuesday.

CANTON — En route to Thurman Munson Stadium for a Division I district semifinal baseball game between fifth-seeded Fitch and sixth-seeded Massillon early Tuesday afternoon, I-76 had a lane closure that brought traffic to a standstill.

The Falcons encountered the same result against Massillon.

Fitch generated plenty of traffic, but when the base paths got clogged up, they remained in a standstill, as the Falcons were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and lost 12-3.

The game lasted a not-so-tidy 2 hours, 54 minutes, as the teams combined to use eight pitchers. They combined to walk 12, strike out 15 and hit one batter. The game also featured seven bunts, four for sacrifices.

“We knew they like to play small-ball and we expected it,” Fitch coach Joe Paris said. “We knew if we didn’t execute and make defensive plays that it was going to be a long day, and it was.

“We also struck out seven times in the first three innings, left six guys in scoring position and left eight or nine on overall in those first three innings. You can’t do that and be successful against many teams, let alone a great team like Massillon Washington.”

The Tigers (21-4) scored twice in the first inning, as Zach Catrone’s two-out single plated Jaylen Leedy, who led off the game with a single. Luke Sabo then blasted a double to left-center field.

On the mound, Catrone set Fitch down in order in the first inning on three called strikeouts.

Massillon sent 10 batters to the plate in the second inning and extended its lead to 7-0, with Leedy supplying a two-run single, Catrone a two-run double and Sabo an RBI single.

Jake Lawrence relieved starter Jake Corll to get the final two outs. He kept the Tigers at bay for a while, giving Fitch an opportunity to get into the game. Especially since Catrone had trouble locating the plate with regularity.

Fitch scored twice in the bottom of the second inning, without putting a ball in play. Catrone walked four and struck out two and reliever Jordan Weise walked in the second run before striking out the next batter. But the bases-loaded walks to Eddie DeFlorio and Alarik Sierra got Fitch on the board.

Shane Rue’s high chopper over Fitch third baseman Mike Sciotino made it 8-2 in the third.

Joe Roth put a ball in the field of play for the first time for Fitch to lead off the bottom of the third and Mikey Sciortino got a one-out bloop single into right field, but a double play ground ball ended the threat.

“We couldn’t get that big hit today, and we couldn’t string together much either,” Paris said. “It was one of those days.”

Lawrence tired in the sixth and allowed two runs before giving way to Larry Iagulli, who avoided further trouble.

Fitch loaded the bases with nobody out in the sixth on singles by Vinny Sciortino and Brandon Popio and a walk to Brandon Stephenson. But Leedy releived Weise and got a strikeout, an RBI groundout by Sierra and a popout to make it 10-3.

Massillon, which bunted seven times in the game, tacked on two runs in the seventh on a suicide squeeze against new pitcher Ross Linert, and an RBI single by Sabo before Aiden Webb pitched to the final three batters.

Fitch had just three singles in the game, but received eight walks.

“We lose seven seniors, two that were pitchers-only and the rest were starters,” Paris said. “So we’re going to need the young guys to step up next year because we’re turning things over.”