PITman Stats

My fiance Jennifer and I made the trip to Columbus for the 3rd straight year to take in all 12 games of the OHSAA state baseball tournament. It’s a lot of baseball, but a lot of fun! For only $8 per person per day, for 4 games each day, it’s hard to find a better bargain. Sure, there is no re-entry, but we pack our coolers and backpacks with all the snacks, sandwiches, and drinks for the entire day, hunker down in the stands, meet some new people, watch some high-caliber baseball, keep book for all the games, and work on our farmer’s tans. I tweet inning-by-inning scoring updates at my personal Twitter account, @AndrewMarcum. Below are those updates along with my other thoughts and commentary from throughout the week.

DII Semi #1: Wapakoneta vs West Holmes
DII Semi #2: Columbus St. Francis DeSales vs Mentor Lake Catholic
DI Semi #1: Westlake vs Massillon Perry
DI Semi #2: Cincinnati Moeller vs Grove City
DIII Semi #1: Wheelersburg vs Fredericktown
DIII Semi #2: Lima Central Catholic vs Grand Valley
DIV Semi #1: Minster vs Tinora
DIV Semi #2: Cuyahoga Heights vs Hiland
DII Championship: Columbus St. Francis DeSales vs Wapakoneta
DI Championship: Cincinnati Moeller vs Westlake
DII Championship: Wheelersburg vs Lima Central Catholic
DIV Championship: Minster vs Cuyahoga Heights

DII Semi #1: Wapakoneta def. West Holmes, 3-2

West Holmes Knights’ semifinal lineup

There was no better way to start off the weekend than to watch a local team, West Holmes. They were the only (1 of 3) Ohio Cardinal Conference district champion to make it to the Final 4 (Ashland – DI regional runner-up, Orrville – regional semifinalist). Two outstanding Junior pitchers faced off – West Holmes’ Gabe Snyder and Wapakoneta’s Johnny Crawford. After WH got on the board in the first, Crawford showed why he’s such a highly touted recruit by shutting down the Knights. It wasn’t a quiet finish, though, as the Knights lined out to a diving center fielder to end the game with the tying run left in scoring position. Both teams were young, but Wapakoneta had ZERO Seniors on their roster… they were tough on the mound, at the plate, and on defense. Watch out for these guys next season! West Holmes’ top 2 pitchers (Snyder and Dillon Baird) can carry them next year, as well. (Official OHSAA Box Score)

DII Semi #2: Cols. St. Francis DeSales def. Mentor Lake Catholic, 3-0

Coming into the weekend, St. Francis DeSales was the heavy favorite to repeat as Division II state champs, especially with #1 Defiance losing the weekend before. Not only did they hit the snot out of the ball in last year’s state tournament, they returned a lot of kids, including several college prospects. Mentor Lake Catholic wouldn’t go down easily, though. The story of the game was the pitchers – DeSales’ Nick Eltzroth and MLC’s Joey Samuele. Both threw outstanding games, each giving up only 3 hits… and they worked FAST on the mound! Official game time was was 1 hour 8 minutes! DeSales happened to get 2 of their 3 hits in the same inning for all the runs they’d need, and advanced to the state championship. (Official OHSAA Box Score)

DI Semi #1: Westlake def. Massillon Perry, 6-2

Westlake came in having their longtime head coach, Jeff Short, having announced he’d be retiring after the season. They entered the state tournament in style, coming back big time over a very good Ashland squad in the regional final. They rode that momentum, smacking 10 hits and scoring in 4 of their 6 innings. Perry got hot at the right time to get to the state tournament, but they couldn’t quite keep up. (Official OHSAA Box Score)

DI Semi #2: Cincinnati Moeller def. Grove City, 3-2

What a game between two great teams! Moeller was absolutely loaded with college prospects and one heck of a pitching staff, while Grove City was the epitome of a team, played hard, and were highly-ranked all throughout the season (finished 26-3) after making it to the state tournament last year. Moeller got all their runs in the 2nd inning and looked to have GC overmatched. But that was not the case, as Grove city chipped away, kept Moeller off the scoreboard the rest of the way, and had the tying run in scoring position when the game ended. I’m sure that Moeller would win at least 3 of 5 if they were to play, especially with their pitching depth; but Grove City belonged, that’s for sure! (Official OHSAA Box Score)

DIII Semi #1: Wheelersburg def. Fredericktown, 3-0

Wheelersburg was making their 4th trip to the Final 4 in the last 5 years – one heck of an impressive run! Oh, and they happen to be my fiance’s favorite team – loves their colors (orange and black), enjoys sitting among their fun fans, and likes their coaches. W’burg started Derek Moore, who pitched in last year’s state semifinal, as well. He finished the year 13-0 and showed why in a solid 4-hit shutout. They needed that solid performance, though. Fredericktown’s Nash Cunningham pitched a 4-hitter himself; and all 3 runs he gave up in the 4th inning were unearned. What appeared to be a quick 1-2-3 inning had the 3rd batter reach on error. W’burg took advantage, putting together 3 hits with 2 outs for what ended up being the only runs of the game. Yay – Jennifer gets to watch her team again! (Official OHSAA Box Score)

DIII Semi #2: Lima Central Catholic def. Grand Valley, 2-0

Before every game, Jennifer and I would pick a winner. This was easily the hardest game for me to pick beforehand. Grand Valley came in at 30-1. I don’t care who you’re playing, what conference, whatever… 30 wins and only 1 loss is impressive! No college prospects that I knew of (PrepBaseballReport’s scouting), but sometimes those are the scary teams. Lima CC, on the other hand, played a tough schedule and had several losses along the way. I went right up ’til before the 1st pitch, when I finally chose LCC. Their pitcher Travis Clark threw a heck of a game (3 hits) against a GV team that made good contact but couldn’t break through. If they play 5 times, I’m not sure who wins more… but it was a good game. (Official OHSAA Box Score)

DIV Semi #1: Minster def. Tinora, 12-2

Although the previous game was my toughest choice, this game here was the only game all weekend that I picked incorrectly (yah, I went 11/12 and missed the biggest blowout of the tournament). Tinora had a highly-touted starting pitcher, Tyler McKenney, that I was banking on to contain Minster. But what was I thinking? Minster, the defending state champs, just kept crushing the ball like they did last season. Oh, and they had Doug Huber on the mound, who threw in last year’s state semi, too. This game was never, ever in doubt, as the orange & black scored 9 runs in the first 4 innings and cruised from there, totaling 14 hits to Tinora’s 3. I wouldn’t make that mistake again! (Official OHSAA Box Score)

DIV Semi #2: Cuyahoga Heights def. Hiland, 6-4

Not very often does our Daily Record viewing area have a team make it to state in baseball. This year we had 2 – West Holmes in DII, and now Hiland in DIV – the only 2 high schools in Holmes County! Oh, both girls’ basketball teams made it to state, and the boys basketball team won state for the 2nd straight year. Anyway, this is baseball we’re talking about. CH’s starting pitcher, Austin Lane, crushed a 3-run HR in the top of the 1st and a 2-run HR in the 7th. Hiland, who tied the game at 3 after only 2 innings, almost came back in the 7th, having gotten the tying run to the plate before falling short. (Official OHSAA Box Score)

DII Championship: Cols. St. Francis DeSales def. Wapakoneta, 3-2

I remember turning to a DeSales fan during this game and saying “This is beautiful baseball!” It was such a treat watching this game. Sure, DeSales had 10 hits to Wapakoneta’s 3, but it didn’t seem that 1-sided. Even when DeSales went up 3-0, Wapak came right back for a run to keep it close, and it was neck-and-neck from there. I think maybe one difference in the game was that DeSales had been there before and truly expected to win, while Wapakoneta, with no Seniors on the roster and in a similar spot as last year’s DeSales team, was not quite ready, yet. Don’t take that as them not belonging, ‘cuz they definitely did – but DeSales just seemed totally prepared and at home in that environment. Eltzroth, the semifinal winning pitcher, came in to pitch the last 1.1 innings to finish off Wapak. What a game, and congrats to both teams. As I said earlier, don’t be surprised if Wapakoneta is back next year. (Official OHSAA Box Score)

DI Championship: Cincinnati Moeller def. Westlake, 9-6

Cincinnati Moeller gathers at home plate before the state championship

The way this game started, it appeared Moeller would run away with the game. They scored 8 of their 9 runs in the first 3 innings with 5 hits and something like 12 stolen bases. They were just toying with Westlake. But in true Westlake fashion, they did not go away. Their coach made some changes, and their kids started to hit. And hit! They actually outhit the Crusaders 9-8 and left 4 runners on base in the last 2 innings. Moeller’s bats were up to the task, but the real difference was, again, their deep pitching staff. I think we saw at least 4 pitchers throw 85-90+, which is insane for a high school team. They were just too loaded and easily one of the best teams I’ve ever seen at the high school level. Top-to-bottom. Sadly, there was some poor sportsmanship that left a bad taste in my mouth, but those kids earned everything and impressed everyone along the way for their play on the field. (Official OHSAA Box Score)

DII Championship: Wheelersburg def. Lima Central Catholic, 1-0

Wheelersburg with their pre-game team prayer

THE story of this game was Wheelersburg’s Freshman pitcher Wade Martin, who had a Perfect Game going with 1 out in the 7th! It was almost forgotten that it was still a 1-run game, but that was quickly realized when the first batter to reach base for LCC tripled down the line, putting the tying run at 3rd with only 1 out. The next batter grounded to the 2nd baseman, who threw home and barely, barely got the speedy pinch runner at the plate, essentially preserving the state championship and the 1-hit, 9K shutout in the state championship for the Freshman,  Martin. Lost in the shuffle was LCC’s Nick Watkins, who threw an absolute masterpiece himself, holding W’burg to 1 run on just 2 hits. Everyone in Huntington Park was on their feet in the 7th inning, which created a great atmosphere you’d expect at that level. (Official OHSAA Box Score)

DIV Championship: Minster def. Cuyahoga Heights, 5-4

Mayhem after Poeppelman’s walk-off RBI single to win the DIV state championship.

Minster yet again crushed the ball, getting 10 hits en route to building a 4-0 lead going into the top of the 7th. However, Cuyahoga Heights took advantage of Minster throwing the ball around, getting some clutch hits, and scoring 4 runs to tie the game at 4. What?! Watching the game with Jennifer and me were two Triway baseball players. With the score 4-0 and a long drive ahead of them, they decided to leave after the 6th inning, saying they already knew who was going to win. While they were right, they missed one heck of a comeback, and the only walk-off of the weekend! The way Minster had hit all weekend, there was no doubt they’d threaten in the bottom of the 7th. Poeppelman capped it off with an RBI single to left, and the celebration began. The better team won, for sure, but it was fun to see an ending like that! (Official OHSAA Box Score)

What a weekend it was. Not only did Jennifer and I take in 12 great high school baseball games, but we also hit up Skyline Chili both on the way down and back up Sunday, as well as my favorite pizza place, Hound Dogs, on Friday night. When we go down each year, we stay with one of her relatives who lives in Columbus. That always adds to it all, as well, hanging out with them in the evenings, and staying over through Sunday to chill after a long weekend of sitting in bleachers.

Well, that’s about all I have for my recap of the OHSAA state baseball tournament!