High School Baseball : Canedo Helps Hoover Handle Crawford, 8-7

Tuesday was a good news-bad news kind of day for Hoover High School’s baseball team.

Good news: The Cardinals hit three doubles and a triple and scored four runs in the first inning at Crawford, and it looked as if they would have an easy afternoon.

Bad news: By the end of the third inning, it was 6-6.

Eventually, Hoover struggled to an 8-7 victory behind catcher Albert Canedo’s four runs-batted in, smooth relief pitching by Felipe Preciado (7-0) and slick fielding by center fielder Mike McKnight and second baseman Mike Wahlstrom.

The victory lifts Hoover (14-7 overall, 7-2 in league play) into first place in the City Central League, a half-game ahead of Crawford (11-7, 6-2). Reliever Jeff Thrift (1-1) took the loss.

“The kids really needed it, or Crawford would have been two (games) up on us,” said Hoover Coach Chuck Giles after Canedo threw out Crawford’s Manny Gagliano on a dropped third strike to end the game.

With two out and the score tied, 6-6, in the top of the sixth, Wahlstrom doubled, Gus Garcia received an intentional walk and Preciado beat out a grounder to shortstop to load the bases. Carter and Canedo followed with run-scoring singles.

Crawford scored a run in the bottom of the seventh when Turner led off by drawing a walk, advancing to second on a ground ball to the pitcher and coming home on a single by Jeff Wilcox. However, with Wilcox on first, Gagliano struck out to end the game.

The dropped third strike followed by a strong throw to first was an appropriate way to end the game because nobody epitomized Hoover’s struggles more than Canedo.

In the top of the first, Canedo launched into a Keith Gilbert pitch for a triple, scoring Gus Garcia and Danny Carter. In the bottom of the first, he attempted to pick Eric Turner off of first base after a pitch and threw the ball into right field.

In the top of the second, Canedo singled home Preciado. In the bottom of the second, he threw high to third trying to pick off Thrift, and Thrift raced home as the ball flew into left field.

Giles prefers, however, that Canedo remain aggressive. “I like him to snap the ball around,” he said.

Canedo, a junior, doesn’t fit the usual catcher’s mold. He’s stick-thin at 6-feet 2-inches, 170 pounds and in his second year on the Hoover team; however, it’s his first as catcher. At times, his inexperience shows. Several pitches sailed past him Tuesday, and once he started to throw the ball around the infield after a second strike.

But he got the job done, both offensively and defensively. Twice, he threw out would-be base stealers after balls skipped past him and bounced off the wooden backstop. He caught them on the rebound, barehanded, and fired strikes to second.

“My brother (Donald, who played professional baseball in Mexico) has been giving me a lot of tips,” Canedo said. “He taught me to always be fired up and to just get the job done.”