AKRON, Ohio – Southwest Ohio sent three prep baseball teams to the Ohio High School Athletic Association state semifinals in Akron for a second straight season.
By the time they took the field Friday, Badin was the area's last chance at a state baseball title. Ohio State commit Keegan Landstrom had silenced Mason's bats in the Division I game and Akron Hoban's Noah LaFine, a Vanderbilt commit, was hoping to do the same against the Rams.
LaFine got down early, but Hoban used a three-run third inning to take the lead against the Rams, one they would never relinquish. The defending Division II champion Knights held off Badin 4-3 to advance to Saturday's final.
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"We're not ready to leave," Badin coach Brion Treadway said. "We fully expected to win that ballgame."
Badin outhit the Knights 6-5 and starter Nik Copenhaver and teammate Erik Rawlings teamed for 13 strikeouts, but it was all too little too late.
Junior Zack Zimmerman was the only player with two hits in the game and Hoban sophomore Parker Falkenstein drove in two runs with the eventual game-winning hit in the Knights' big third.
Badin began the game by scoring a pair of runs in the first which was already more than Roger Bacon and Mason scored in their respective state semifinals.
Landyn Vidourek walked and after a bunt by Lucas Moore and an error, he was headfirst across home just minutes into the game. Later Rodney Rachel's bunt would plate Moore for the 2-0 advantage.
"I thought we put ourselves in a great position to put the pressure on them and they responded," Treadway said. "That's a tough team and they never quit coming."
Zimmerman would answer for Hoban with a run-scoring hit in the first. In the third, Copenhaver would walk in a run with the bases loaded, then Hoban's Falkenstein sent two more Knights to the plate with a single to left.
LaFine left the game after getting two outs in the fifth. Caleb Kepler came in and would give up a run-scoring single to Diego DeCello as Badin pulled within one.
Treadway pulled Copenhaver in the sixth for undefeated senior Erik Rawlings, the likely day two starter. He kept the Knights off the scoreboard to get Badin to the seventh.
"Erik warms up a little bit better out of the bullpen," Treadway said of his decision to start Copenhaver. "Nik takes a little while to get going. We knew if we needed to go to one we'd rather go to Erik. They both had tremendous seasons and have dominant stuff. At the end of the day, we missed a couple pitches and we've got to put more runs on the board."
Penn State signee Jimmy Nugent would single in his final Badin at-bat, but the next three Rams flew out ending their successful season at 26-7. Nine seniors now leave the program.
Among those returning is Kentucky commit Moore who is already hoping for a third straight trip to the Division II semifinals for his senior season.
"Not the way we wanted to go out here," Moore said. "We'll flush it. I'm glad I get the opportunity to come back here next year hopefully."
Akron Hoban (23-9) plays the winner of Bishop Hartley/Chardon Saturday night in the Division II state final at 7 p.m. back at Akron's Canal Park.
"Anytime your season ends with a loss there's a lot of emotions," Treadway said. "It's just hard. I love my guys. It's a lot of fun coaching at Badin for baseball. It's hard when it's over. We were ready. we just failed."
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