If it feels like deja vu for the Golden Knights, that’s okay with them. They’ll gladly relive it if it means playing in the Division VI state baseball tournament.
In a tight regional championship Wednesday, June 3 at Pleasant Hill Newton High School, eighth ranked Northmor yet again broke the game open late, beating unranked Fort Recovery 8-2.
“We scored and they scored to tie it. We scored and they score to tie it,” Northmor coach Buck Workman recounted of the 2-2 game through six innings. “We go to the seventh, and we had another one of those innings where we broke it open. We played a little small-ball and then the guys started raking. The next thing we know we have six runs on the board.”
The outburst against Fort Recovery (17-11) put the Knights (25-5) into the Final Four where they will play either No. 4 Hartville Lake Center Christian or No. 11 Doylestown Chippewa 10 a.m. June 11 in Akron’s 7 17 Credit Union Park. The state championship is set for 10 a.m. June 12 in the same venue.
Northmor’s other trip to the Final Four came in 1995. The Knights lost to Cincinnati Summit Country Day 11-3 at Ned Skelton Stadium in Maumee. Two years ago the Northmor football team advanced to the state semifinals, too.
“Anytime Northmor goes to events, I feel we always have more fans than anyone else,” Workman said. “Our community is amazing about supporting us and our athletes. I’m glad we can give them another week of baseball.”
The Knights have shown resiliency, and they’ve proven to be clutch.
At the district semifinal against No. 23 Grandview Heights, Northmor scored a run in the eighth inning to win. In the district final against No. 1 West Jefferson, the team scored five runs in the final two innings to rally to the win. Just Tuesday night in the regional semifinals against Dayton Christian, they put up eight runs in the seventh inning to pull away late. And now there’s the regional championship late effort.
“This group doesn’t get fazed by a whole lot” Workman said. “They keep competing. It’s that whole seven-inning mantra. They keep doing it and eventually find a way to make things happen in the late innings.”
Brody Beck pitched another gem for the Knights, allowing four hits, no earned runs, four walks and seven strikeouts. At the plate, Billy Bowlin doubled and singled, while Jack Bowdre and Brady Chapman each singled twice. Bowdre and Ethan Hinton each posted two RBIs, and Brady Carr scored twice.
Highland baseball a regional runner-up
Sandusky Perkins edged Highland 6-5 in eight innings to take the Division IV regional championship June 3 at Bowling Green State University.
Perkins broke open a scoreless game with four runs in the fourth, but the Scots sliced the lead in half in the bottom of the inning. Highland then scored three runs in the fifth inning for a 5-4 lead before Perkins tied it in the sixth. The Pirates (24-5-1) put it away in extra innings.
“There was a lot of traffic on base for both sides,” Highland coach Donnie Kline said. “I felt that both sides were forced to make defensive plays. At the end of the day, their offense is pretty deep. Their batting order was able to flip it over. Their bottom three hitters had seven hits. They were able to flip the lineup a little more, and that was really the difference.”
Perkins will go to the Final Four 10 a.m. June 13 at 7 17 Credit Union Park in Akron where it will face wither Youngstown Cardinal Mooney or Canton Central Catholic.
The Scots (22-10) got a double and single from Jayden Collins and two singles each from Zach Church, Rhett Russell and Cade Minnick. All four scored one run.
“I told the guys it hurts right now. It is painful, but you had a great season,” Kline said. “They have a lot to be proud of. You are talking about a senior class that has had a lot of success over the last four years. They have been the face of our program and have re-written the record book with so many of their accomplishments. They are great young men off the field.”
Highland won an eighth straight league championship and advanced to regionals for the second time in three seasons and fifth time in program history.
“They were so close you could taste it. It stinks to ride home and know we’re not going to get a chance to practice tomorrow,” Kline said.
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This article originally appeared on Marion Star: 31 years later, Northmor baseball heading back to state; Scots fall
Reporting by Rob McCurdy, Marion Star / Marion Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Rob McCurdy, Marion Star | USA TODAY Network
