Canton's 'Ryan Express' zips
past South Lyon East, 8-1

May 10, 2010, 11:55 p.m.

  First impressions were deceiving during Monday afternoon's KLAA Kensington Conference cross-over baseball game between Canton and host South Lyon East.

  The Cougars' very first batter singled off Chiefs' starter Ryan Bazner, giving the hosts reason for optimism.

  The high hopes soon turned to gloom for East, which didn't record another hit off the hard-throwing Bazner, who struck out 12 batters in six innings in Canton's emphatic 8-1 victory.

  "His fastball was moving between 82 and 85 (miles per hour) and he had 'Mr. Snappy' working behind that," said Canton coach Mark Blomshield, referring to Bazner's hard-to-hit slider. "It took us a while to get going today, but once we got going, we hit the ball well."

  The game was scoreless until the fourth when the Chiefs put a two-spot on the board. They added two more in the fifth and three in the sixth.

  Pacing the winners' 14-hit attack were Chris Perkovich (2-for-3), Andrew Tidwell (2-for-3, RBI), Seth Tschetter (two RBI) and Joe Galanty (2-for-3).

  Sean Harte pitched the seventh for Canton, yielding a walk and a run.

  The Chiefs, who are ranked No. 5 in Division 1, improved to 16-3 overall. They will take on Churchill on Wednesday in a key KLAA South Division double-header.