2022-23 News Archive

OLENTANGY: Carter Hire had a run-scoring single after a Kaleb Rice single and Ty Walburn sac bunt and Cooper Tracy hit a two-run double in a three-run seventh propelling Olentangy to a 4-2 win over Grove City, sending the Braves to state for the second time ever. Tracy pitched two shutout innings in relief of Cameron Birch to pick up the victory. Olentangy avenged two regular-season defeats to Olentangy Berlin with a 10-0 win in the regional semis. Rocco Bucci fired a three-hitter. Birch threw a no-hitter and hit a three-run homer in a district semifinal 10-0 win over Reynoldsburg and Bucci had a no-hitter until there were two outs in the seventh in a 5-1 victory over Davidson, sending Olentangy to its seventh district title, the first since 2018. Olentangy, the 10th-ranked team in D-I by Prep Baseball and 11th by OHSBCA and winners of 15 of its last 16, finished second in 2006 in the lone state appearance in school history.

LAKOTA WEST: Adrian Smith struck out nine and did not surrender an earned run in a 3-2 victory over Moeller to send Lakota West to the state tournament for the fourth time, the first since 2017. Tucker Wilburn (Wallace CC commit), Chandler Wright (Northwood commit) and Keegan Campbell (Ohio Northern commit) combined on a two-hit shutout of Olentangy Liberty in the regional semis. Olivet Nazarene recruit Landon Holt bunted in Noah Bramble with the lone run of the game in the first inning in the 1-0 victory. A two-run fifth inning gave Lakota West a 3-1 victory over Princeton in the district finals. Parker Isaacs had two hits and scored a run for the 11th-ranked team in D-I by Prep Baseball and 13th by OHSBCA, with Campbell and Smith (Lincoln Memorial commit) combining on a five-hitter.

SPRINGBORO: Jacob Cane hit a two-run triple in a five-run fourth inning to power Springboro past Mason 8-6, with it a berth in the state tournament for the second time in school history. Cane had a bases-clearing three-base hit in a five-run second in the regional semifinal 5-4 win over Beavercreek. Springboro jumped out to an 8-0 lead and held on to beat Lakota East 8-7 in the district finals with Adam Smith hitting a single and triple and Ben Veletean, a Louisville commit, driving in four runs for the 12th-ranked D-I team in Ohio by Prep Baseball and 13th by OHSBCA. 

PERRYSBURG: The Yellow Jackets of Perrysburg are back in the Division I Final Four for the second year in a row after a 3-2 victory over Medina. Preston Faris threw five innings of two-hit shutout relief for the win. Brayden Heitmeyer had a two-run double to tie the game in the third inning, and Ryan Rettig scored from second base on a fielder’s choice error in the fifth inning with what proved to be the winning run. Aaron Banks tossed five frames of three-hit relief in the regional semifinal 7-2 triumph against second-ranked Massillon Jackson. JD Zeeb hit a single, triple and drove in four for Perrysburg, which finished second behind Anthony Wayne in the Northern Lakes League Buckeye Division. This marks the fourth year in a row the NLL has had a team in the Division I Final Four, Northview winning state in 2022, Anthony Wayne losing in the semifinals in 2023 and Perrysburg falling to eventual state champion Mason 1-0 in the 2024 state semis. The Jackets are rated 17th by Prep Baseball and 18th by OHSBCA.

 

 

NEW ALBANY: Pitching has been dominant for New Albany, which has yet to permit a run in four tournament games, topping Mifflin 8-0 in the district semis, Watkins Memorial 10-0 in the district finals, Columbus St. Charles 7-0 in the regional semifinals and Big Walnut 6-0 in the regional finals. Trey Wentz fanned 15 in a one-hitter vs. Mifflin, Cam Simmons allowed three combined hits with 20 Ks in 10 innings against Watkins Memorial and St. Charles, while Grant Thunberg fired a two-hitter in the regional finals. Jacob Richardson is batting .556 in the tournament and Jate Hoovler .545. New Albany, ranked 11th by Prep Baseball and 12th by OHSBCA, won a championship in its two previous appearances at state, 2004 and 2021. 

AMHERST STEELE: The first Final Four appearance in school history is part of a memorable season for Amherst Steele, which defeated Green 6-3 in the regional semifinals and Oregon Clay 7-4 in the finals. Cael Charles did not allow an earned run in six innings against Clay to pick up his 10th win of the year, a single-season record for the program, and twin brother Cole earned the save for the No. 1 team in Division II, which rallied from a 5-0 deficit to stun Riverside 6-5 on a Harrison Schneider walk-off home run in the district finals. Landon Wolf, who holds the single-season mark for RBIs (52), walks (29) and HBP (14), had tied the game with a three-run bomb. The 28 wins are a school record.

ANTHONY WAYNE: Mason Dzierwa singled in Ben Nieckarz in the bottom of the 11th to send Anthony Wayne to state for third time in eight seasons with a 4-3 win over Loveland. The Generals nipped Edgewood 3-2 in the regional semifinals after shutting out Northview 2-0 in districts behind a two-hitter from Ohio State commit Owen Graf. Carter Johnson was the winning pitcher in both regional games, throwing six innings of no-run relief allowing two hits while fanning eight. Graf has tossed 14 innings in the tournament giving up six hits and two earned runs with 19 Ks for the second-ranked D-II squad. Anthony Wayne, the Northern Lakes League champion this year, has never won a state title, finishing as runners-up in 2018.

WALSH JESUIT: Andrew Holcomb hit a home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Walsh Jesuit a 2-1 walkoff win over Stow-Munroe Falls in the regional semis and the Warriors went on to blank Lakewood 7-0 in the finals to advance to state for the third time in five years and 10th overall. Alabama commit Shawn Sullivan has given up one earned run and six hits in 11 innings in the tournament while Harper Lann, a Wabash Valley JC signee, has fanned 18 in 7.1 frames. Matthew Mansbury, a junior committed to Michigan, is 7-9 with five runs and four RBIs in tourney play for the fifth-ranked D-II team. Walsh Jesuit has won four state championships (2008, 2006, 2004 and 1999) and finished second twice (2010 and 2009).

 

 

LICKING VALLEY: This marks the first state berth for Licking Valley, which knocked off Circleville 6-2 in the regional finals behind a three-hit, nine-strikeout performance from Evan Roberts. Ohio University commit Evan Lichtenauer threw an eight-hit shutout at Bishop Watterson in a 2-0 semifinal victory. Brandt Lichtenauer had a run-scoring single in the fifth and Adam West hit an inside-the-park homer in the sixth for Licking Valley, which has outscored opponents 34-4 in tourney play. The Panthers are ranked 16th by Prep Baseball and 28th by OHSBCA.

BADIN: Badin is making its 16th state appearance after rolling through regionals with a 12-2 win over Monroe and 10-1 victory against Butler. Caleb Driessen allowed four hits and Kade Bowling had three in the regional finals after driving in three in the district finals and scoring three in the district semis. Outscoring the opposition 47-4 in the tournament, the third-rated Rams are hitting .417 in tourney play while posting a 0.84 ERA. Badin, which last won a state title in 1996, has 16 home runs, the most in school history. Brion Treadway picked up his 300th career coaching win in the regional semis. Outfielders Chandler Taylor, an Alabama commit, and Chase Luebbe, a Lincoln Trail signee, are among the standouts for Badin. 

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL: Crew Bellon threw a no-hitter to send University School to state for the first time in school history with a 2-0 win over CVCA. Jack Nelson scored on a single by James Bucci in the second and Nelson singled in Bryce Fielding in the fifth for the ninth-ranked team in D-III, which outlasted Padua 9-5 in eight innings in the regional semis with Slater Schoaf throwing four frames of shutout ball in relief. Deacon Nelson, a junior committed to Virginia, and Tucker Greer, a Case Western recruit, had home runs in the eighth while Aaron Moss, a Kenyon signee who won his 20th career game in the district finals, had four hits and three RBIs. Moss also collected his 100th career hit this season while Rob McNerney recorded his 100th coaching victory. In sectionals, Slater Schoaf and Aaron Kane combined on a no-hitter versus Glenville. 

WAPAKONETA: Wapakoneta punched a ticket to state for the third time with a 6-5 victory over Toledo St. Francis in the regional finals. The Redskins overcame a three-run deficit to SVSM for an 8-4 win in the regional semis. Grant Jolly, a Marshall commit, surrendered two earned runs in seven innings for the victory with Drew Bailey, the winning pitcher against St. Francis, and Ethan Brandt each producing two hits and two RBIs. The seventh-ranked Redskins did not allow a run prior to the regionals behind the pitching of Jolly, who broke the school career strikeout record in the sectional finals. Wapak, which finished second in the Western Buckeye League this season behind Defiance, was a state runner-up in both previous appearances at state in 2012 and 2018.

 

 

MENTOR LAKE CATHOLIC: No earned runs allowed in the tournament has Mentor Lake Catholic headed to state for the third time in school history, the first since 2012. Patrick Radigan, an Ashland signee, tossed a one-hit shutout with 10 Ks in a 1-0 win over Girard in the regional semifinals and Shea Sievers went the distance in a 10-0 three-hit blanking of Canfield in the finals. A.J. Trobenter had two hits in both games, while Radigan produced three hits and three RBIs versus Canfield. Brayden Mann and Micah Nyetrae each drove in two runs. The Cougars, ranked second by Prep Baseball and ninth by OHSBCA, have outscored opponents 51-1 in the tournament, including a 3-0 triumph over Holy Name for the first regional berth in 14 years. 

UNIOTO: Blake Sanders scattered eight hits in a 2-0 regional final win over Indian Creek, a Final Four team a year ago, sending Unioto to state for the third time ever and first since 1994. KB Perkins struck out 10 and allowed six hits in beating London 1-0 in the semis, with Perkins also producing an RBI single after a Keegan Snyder in the fourth for the lone run of the game. Both Perkins and Snyder are Findlay commits. The No. 7 D-IV squad beat Westfall for the third time this season to win districts for the first time since 2018. 

PERKINS: Dylan Crabtree, the lone senior on the team, had three hits and stole five bases in leading Sandusky Perkins past Benedictine 10-4 in the regional finals. The third trip to state in school history was made possible by a nine-run third inning. Perkins, which pounded out 15 hits to outlast Upper Sandusky 10-8 in the regional semis, have scored at least nine runs in every tournament game. Kash Koch was 4-5 and scored three runs, Blake Parker hit a single, double and triple and Quentin Binette drove in four runs. The Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division champs, unranked by OHSBCA and 19th by Prep Baseball, have 154 steals as a team with Crabtree setting school records for a season (45) and career (88). 

INDIAN HILL: Jim Liebel did not permit an earned run in six innings of three-hit pitching to lead Indian Hill to its first appearance at the state tournament with an 8-1 victory over Jonathan Alder. Luke Egnaczyk and Brady Drost had three RBIs apiece for Indian Hill, which beat Bishop Fenwick 6-5 in the regional semis. Devlan Daniel hit an inside-the-park home run to break a 4-4 deadlock in the 10th and left fielder Noah Coffman threw a runner out at the plate in the bottom of the inning. Ashton Graham had four hits for Indian Hill, which ended a 31-year regional appearance drought a year ago. The Braves are unranked by OHSBCA and rated 14th by Prep Baseball.

 

 

WAYNEDALE: Make it four years in a row to state for Apple Creek Wayndale. The Golden Bears, which won state in Division III in 2022 and 2023 before losing in eight innings in the semifinals to eventual state champ Heath a year ago, knocked off Canton Central Catholic 6-3 in the regional finals after a 10-4 semifinal triumph over Cardinal Mooney. Shane Coblentz had four hits and scored three runs while Jayden Schlabach hit two singles and a double in the semis. Brayden Steiner pitched two shutout innings of relief in the finals and also hit a single and home run, scoring twice. The top-ranked D-V team in Ohio had two-run rule wins in claiming a fourth straight district championship.

COLDWATER: Mason Welsch hit a walk-off RBI double to cap a two-run seventh inning in helping Coldwater to the Final Four with a 4-3 victory over Ottawa Hills. Welsch finished with three RBIs, Braxton Taylor scored two runs and Bennett Spriggs had two hits for the Cavaliers, ranked third by Prep Baseball and second by OHSBCA. Aaron Kaup tossed five innings of two-hit shutout ball in a 7-0 blanking of Centerburg in the semis. Spriggs belted a two-run double in a six-run seventh and scored a pair of runs. 

LYNCHBURG-CLAY: Elam Foust hit a one-out single, went to third on a double by Josiah Burns and came home on a Braeden West sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth to give Lynchburg-Clay a 5-4 win over St. Clairsville and the first regional championship in school history. West went all nine innings for the win, a school record 23rd of the season for the sixth ranked team by Prep Baseball and seventh by OHSBCA. Burns finished 3-4 and Cody Bell 2-5 for the Mustangs, which used a four-run first inning to beat Lucasville Valley 4-3 in the regional semis behind a complete game from Cole Wells, the Southern Hills Athletic Conference Player of Year who is 10-0 pitching while batting .574 on the season with five home runs. A Thomas More commit and one of nine seniors on the squad, Wells fanned 12 in a 3-2 district finals win over Portsmouth, avenging a loss in the district finals a year ago and giving the Mustangs their second district title ever. 

ST. PARIS GRAHAM: A four-run fourth inning put Graham up for good in a 5-1 victory over Ironton in the regional finals. Adam Levy fanned eight and walked one in a five-hitter for Graham, ranked 24th by Prep Baseball and unranked by OHSBCA. Levy, a Findlay commit, tossed a two-hitter to beat Mariemont 8-1 in the district finals, giving the Central Buckeye Conference Mad River Division champions their first district crown since 2003. Junior southpaw Hayden VanHoose fired a one-hitter in the regional semifinal 7-0 blanking of MVCA. This marks the first state appearance for Graham since finishing as state runners-up in 1995. The lone state championship for the school came in 1973.

 

 

HILAND: A third consecutive state title is within reach for No. 1 Hiland after a 10-run fifth inning broke a scoreless game in a 10-0 shutout of Southeastern in the regional finals. Colin Coblentz has a .667 average in the tournament with two home runs and 12 RBIs while Grady Monigold is batting .447 while upping his season total for home runs to six. Caden Coblentz, the Inter-Valley Conference South Division Player of the Year, fanned 13 in six innings of a 3-0 district title win over Garaway. Both Colin and Caden Coblentz are Malone commits. Monigold, one of five starters back from last year’s D-IV state champs, broke the school record for RBIs in a season this year with 44.

FAIRVIEW: A five-run sixth inning rallied Fairview past Cincinnati Country Day 6-4 in the regional semifinals, the first regional victory in school history, and the Apaches went on to earn a state berth with a 7-1 win over Fort Recovery, last year’s Division IV state runners-up. Cole Mack threw six innings of two-hit ball, Jonah Shininger earned the save and Elijah Arend had two singles and an RBI in Fairview’s 3-1 win over Lincolnview in the district finals after the fourth-ranked team in the state avenged a regular-season loss to Green Meadows Conference rival Wayne Trace in the semis 10-1. Arend has established a school mark for hits in a season with 54. Fairview has set school records for wins (28), run-rules (10), runs in a game (33), hits in a game (31), HBP in a season (40), hits in a season (330), singles (254), doubles (59), runs in a season (298), RBIs in a season (246), sacrifices (25), OBP (.531) and double plays (19). 

ELMWOOD: A Zack Gross two-hitter gave Elmwood its second regional championship ever with an 8-1 victory over Evergreen. Gross also went 3-3 with two runs and two RBIs while Ryken Zeigler and Cayden Stewart had two hits and an RBI apiece for the Royals, rated 12th by Prep Baseball and 18th by OHSBCA, whose only previous state appearance came in 2007 when Elmwood was state runners-up. Landon Snow fired a no-hitter with 10 Ks in the regional semifinals against Marion Local. Colton Bradford had a single and double while scoring two runs in the 8-0 victory, with Marshal Taft and Aidan Marsh producing two hits each. Gross has 31 stolen bases on the season, surpassing the previous high of 26 at Elmwood.

LAKE CENTER CHRISTIAN: A 9-4 win over Kirtland has No. 2 Lake Center Christian becoming the first team in any sport to make it to state at the school. Caleb Shelly threw 4.1 innings of scoreless relief to improve to 6-0 on the season. Luke Heckert produced three hits to pace an 11-hit attack and drove in three runs. Grant Coblentz, Colton Smilek and Brayden Myers added two hits each. Myers threw a two-hitter in the regional semifinal 10-0 blanking of Rootstown, with Shelby hitting a double and triple while driving in three. It was just the second regional appearance ever for Lake Center Christian, the other in 2009 when 12th-year head coach Shane Byler, who picked up his 200th coaching win this season, was a player. Ohio State commit Nathan Bryant and Shelly combined to strike out 18 and Coblentz went 3-3 with a triple and two runs scored leading Lake Center Christian to its third consecutive district title, a 4-3 win over Rittman.

 

 

NEWARK CATHOLIC: Nine-time state champion Newark Catholic will be making its 18th trip to state after Owen Przymierski had four hits and tossed a four-hitter in a 9-3 win over South Webster in the regional championship. Przmierski, who threw a three-hitter with 11 Ks in an 8-1 victory over Danville in the district finals, struck out 10 while Alex Nagel had three hits in the 11th straight win for the Green Wave, fifth-ranked by Prep Baseball and sixth by OHSBCA. Miller Hutchison had a four-hitter with 11 strikeouts in beating Franklin Furnace Green 7-1 in the regional semis. This will be the first appearance at state since 2022 for Newark Catholic, owners of four second-place finishes in addition to the nine state titles. 

TIFFIN CALVERT: A two-out RBI single by AJ Shoemaker in the top of the seventh rallied top-ranked Tiffin Calvert past Warren JFK 4-3 in the regional finals. Logan Ritzler threw a complete game and had two hits for Calvert, which trailed 3-0 after one inning. The No. 1 team in the state in D-VII run-ruled McDonald 14-4 in the regional semis. Cameron Moyer was 7-7 in the regionals with a home run and five RBIs. The Sandusky Bay Conference River Division champions claimed a fifth-straight district crown with a pair of shutouts behind the pitching of Tucker Coleman, Ritzler and Moyer. Blake Coleman now holds the school record for pitching wins (27) and hits (120). This marks the third state trip in four years for Calvert, which lost in the semifinals the previous two appearances.

RUSSIA: It will be four straight appearances at state for Russia, which has not allowed a run in its past three tournament games including an 11-0 shutout of Cedarville in the regional finals. Maddox Goubeaux fired a one-hitter, a two-out single in the fourth, for Russia, which blanked Mohawk 9-0 in the semis behind a two-hitter from Marshall commit Braylon Cordonnier after winning districts with a 10-0 whitewash of Tri-County North when Cordonnier tossed a four-hitter. Ben York hit a home run to pace a 12-hit attack in the district finals for the eighth-ranked Raiders, which lost to Hiland 2-0 in the D-IV state semis a year ago. Russia has won two state crowns (2022, 1971) and placed second three times (2023, 2017, 1975). 

MINSTER: Louis Magoto threw a no-hitter to lead No. 2 Minster past Montpelier 3-0, sending the Wildcats to the Final Four for the first time since 2019. Magoto got the final out of a 9-8 regional semifinal win over New Riegel, a game in which Minster overcame 11 walks and 10 LOB. Magoto and Ian Homan each had three hits for the second-ranked team in D-VII. Magoto, the Midwest Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year, fired a two-hitter and Reese Beair drove in the lone run of the game in the bottom of the seventh to lead Minster past Delphos St. John’s 1-0 for its 10th district title. Magoto threw a no-hitter in the sectionals for Minster, which came in third place in the MAC behind first place Coldwater and second place Versailles.