AKRON – One swing, a lot of prayers, calming minds, aggressive baserunning, a couple beautiful bunts.
They all proved to be keys as Hiland became just the third team in OHSAA history to win three straight state titles. After blowing a two-run lead in the top of the seventh, the Hawks rallied in the bottom of the frame to pull out a 5-4 win over Lake Center Christian and clinch the Div. VI state title on June 15.
“Each one is awesome on its own,” said Hiland coach Chris Dages. “But stringing three in a row, that doesn’t happen very often, so yeah, it’s special. We just have a really great group of guys here.”
The hero on the night was junior Logan Yoder, who stepped to the plate with the bases loaded, one out and the game tied at 4-4.
Five at-bats earlier, Caden Coblentz led off the inning by getting hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored the tying run on a throwing error off a perfectly placed bunt single by Mike Miller. After advancing to second via interference, Miller took third on Colin Coblentz’s sacrifice bunt. Lake Center then elected to walk Grady Monigold and Danny Hostetler to load up the bases, and that brought up Yoder.
The junior proceeded to take a 2-1 fastball from Grant Coblentz and lined it into right field to drive home the winning run in Miller.
“Nothing matters here, just one single, right here,” said senior shortstop Keith Hershberger to Yoder seconds prior to his at-bat. “It was perfect, he delivered, and that was great.”
Yoder never had a doubt. He went to the plate on a mission as he was 0-3 at that point.
“I was looking for a pitch up in the zone,” he said. “I didn’t want to chase anything down low like I had been. I wanted something up that I could hit hard, he gave me that fastball, and I executed on it.”
Was there any doubt if it was through?
“It felt really good off the bat,” he added with a smile. ” I knew it was through and that it was down. I just ran it out to first base, made sure I stepped on bag, and after that it was celebration.”
For Colin Coblentz, it was pure joy.
“It feels so great,” said Coblentz. “Things started falling apart at the end, I was really getting mad at myself, I made a few errors, I was not happy, but the defense had me. We then went into dugout and prayed.
“I was very, very happy,” he said, smiling. “I was just wondering how soon I could run onto the field. I started holding everyone back, we were scared, we’ve seen too many times where people run out too early. After that it was dogpile, and I think I may have blacked out a couple times.”
Seniors Kaden Kandel, Keith Hershberger star for Hiland
A pair of stars as well for the Hawks were seniors Kaden Kandel and Keith Hershberger. Kandel was dynamite, working five shutout gutsy innings, finishing with three strikeouts and really found his stride after escaping a hazardous third inning jam.
Grant Coblentz reached via an error, Kandel walked Colton Smilek and Luke Heckert back-to-back to load up the bases with just one out and the Hawks leading 1-0. Kandel buckled down and got Caleb Shelly to foul out to first baseman Caden Coblentz, and then Nathan Bryant lofted a fly ball that leftfielder Cade Beachy squeezed.
“He’s been phenomenal all year for us,” said Dages. “We knew that he had the ability to get out it, to work his way out of it. He did and the defense played tough behind him, got out of that pinch.”
Behind Kandel was Hershberger, who put up a couple of ESPN worthy highlight reel web gems at shortstop, something that Dages has enjoyed watching.
“He has a great glove in the field, great range, great arm, great hand, he’s an anchor in the middle of the infield for us,” said Dages. “He is a leader, talks to the guys the whole time, always moving, always thinking ahead, and I love to watch him work out there at short. He had a phenomenal day at the plate, too.”
Hershberger made a diving snare to steal hit from Grant Coblentz and then made another diving grab and popped up and fired across to first to double up the runner to end the inning. It’s all about the training and the time put in.
“That goes back to all the infield work in the offseason,” said Hershberger. “All the effort the coaches put in to opening the doors to let us come in and do ground balls. We’re always working, and we take a lot of pride in our infield.”
Hershberger was happier with his bat, something he says has eluded him this postseason.
“I’ve had a rough tournament,” he said. “I was just trying to calm down, be really close with God in the box. I just trying to help my team out as much as I could, looking for anything over the plate, just stay back on it and drive it the other way. He gave me a curveball on the outer half of the plate, I just threw my barrel at it, and I guess good things happen.”
Hershberger finished 2-for-2 including driving in the game’s first run on an RBI single to plate Grady Monigold.
“It definitely felt good,” he smiled. “It was nice to hit the ball today.”
Hiland baseball vs. Hartville Lake Center: Live updates
Bottom of the seventh: Lake Center 4, Hiland 3
Leading off for the Hawks is Caden Coblentz against Lake Center’s Grant Coblentz.
Coblentz is hit by the pitch to leadoff the inning and that brings up Miller. Now it’s Coblentz advancing on a wild pitch as he takes second base and Miller is out in front 1-0. A perfect bunt by Miller and the third baseman can’t make the play as he fires the ball down the line allowing Coblentz to score and Miller advances to second on fielders interference.
That brings up Colin Coblentz with a runner at second and still no one out. Coblentz with the perfect sacrifice bunt to move Miller to third and Lake Center will talk things over.
Monigold now steps to the plate with the winning run just 90 feet away in Miller. Now Monigold and Danny Hotstetler get the intentional passes and the bases are loaded of Logan Yoder. Yoder lines an RBI single and the Hawks have won!
The Hawk’s have now won their third straight state title with some late game heroics here at Canal park.
Top of the seventh: Lake Center 4, Hiland 3
Stepping into the box is Klingelhofer for the Tigers against Kandel as the Hawks are just three outs away from that State Title.
Kandel walks Klingelhofer to start the frame to bring up Grant Coblentz.
The left fielder gets ahead early in the count 2-0 and draws the second straight free pass. Lake Center Christian now has runners at first and second and here comes Hiland skipper Chris Dages for a meeting on the mound.
The Hawk’s will make the switch and call on center fielder Colin Coblentz to close this one out.
Smilek will be the first batter Coblentz faces as he tries to bunt on the first pitch and fouls it back to the backstop. A call strike two has Coblentz ahead 0-2 as Lake Center doesn’t agree with the call and wants a clarification. Strike three swinging for Coblentz nails down out number one to the roar of the Hawk Faithful.
Now here comes Heckert trying to keep the Tiger’s season alive. Heckert taps one back to the mound, Coblentz looks to third and then fires the ball over the first baseman’s head and just like that, the Tigers have cut it to one as Kingelhofer scores. We still have runners at the corners with Shelly at the plate and still one out.
A wild pitch now allows Grant Coblentz to score and we are tied at 3-3 with a runner now at third in Heckert. Shelly is still batting here with a 2-2 count, has fouled off four straight pitches and now hits fly into left field and now the Tigers are in front 4-3 with two outs.
That brings up Bryant to the plate, who grounds out to shortstop Keith Hershberger to end the inning. Now the Hawk’s are down to their last three outs as they try to keep their dream of a third straight state title alive.
Bottom of the sixth: Hiland 3, Lake Center 1
Leading off for the Hawk’s is Logan Yoder, who gets ahead early in the count 3-1, before finally going down looking after fouling back three straight pitches.
That brings up Hershberger, who is 2-for-2 and is now hit by a pitch.
Kandel now comes up with two outs and strikes out swinging to end the frame.
Top of the sixth: Hiland 3, Lake Center 1
Hiland makes a pitching change as it turns the game over to the left handed Mike Miller to close matters out. Miller has been a rock for the Hawk’s in late game situations and today, he looks to make his biggest close out yet.
Miller pitches aggressively as he gets Shelly down the hole quickly 0-2 and just misses with an 85 mph fastball for strike three. Shelly works the count back to full as he and Miller are locked in a nice duel before finally drawing the free pass.
Nathan Bryant walks to the plate, he is 0-2 on the day and with the count 1-2, Miller is called for a balk as he drops the ball on the hill to advance Shelly to second. Bryant flies out to Colin Coblentz as Shelly advances to third on the fly out.
That brings up the Tigers Brayden Myers who grounds out to shortstop Keith Hershberger, but Shelly scores to get the Tigers on the board.
Rainieri now comes to the plate and singles to left center to keep the inning going for Lake Center.
Caudle now steps into the box for Lake Center and flies out to the right fielder Grady Monigold for the third and final out.
The Hawks are now just three out away from their third straight State Title.
Bottom of the fifth: Hiland 3, Lake Center 0
Kandel leads off the fifth for the Hawk’s and falls behind early before Shelly gets on him on strikes.
That brings up Caden Coblentz, who grounds out to the third baseman Nathan Bryant for the second out of the frame.
Miller comes to the plate for Hiland and draws the two-out walk to bring up the speedy Colin Coblentz. That also draws a meeting on the hill for the Tigers as Coblentz steps to the plate and now we have a new pitcher in the left handed Grant Coblentz.
Now Coblentz steps into the box and on the first pitch, Miller steals second base as the Hawks now have a runner in scoring position as Coblentz draws the walk.
Monigold walks to the plate and lines RBI single back up the middle and just like that the Hawk’s lead 3-0 and still have runners at the corners.
Hostetler walks up to the plate for Hiland as it looks to put this game away. Instead Grant Coblentz gets Hostetler to fly out to right field to end the inning.
Top of the fifth: Hiland 2, Lake Center 0
Now just three innings away from that elusive three-peat, Kandel will open up by facing Klingelhofer. The Tigers are down to their last nine outs here in this exciting Div. VI State Final battle with Hiland.
Kandel fans Klingelhofer on five pitches for the first out.
Grant Coblentz comes to the plate for Lake Center Christian and draws the walk on four pitches. Smilek comes to the plate and flies out to Beachy in left field and just like that, we have two outs here at Canal Park in the fifth inning.
For the Tigers, that brings up Heckert, who flies out to Colin Coblentz.
Kandel over the last two innings now has fired 25 pitches, 15 for strikes as he continues to grind it out here and has settled down since that third inning.
Bottom of the fourth: Hiland 2, Lake Center 0
Leading 2-0, Danny Hostetler leads off the inning for the Hawk’s as they look to add to their advantage. The senior catcher grounds out to Myers at shortstop for the innings first out.
That brings up Logan Yoder for Hiland, the junior hits a soft fly down the right field line that is tracked down by Lake Center second baseman Chance Klingelhofer.
Hershberger walks up to the plate, the Hawk’s shortstop put his team on the board first with an RBI single in the second. He singles back up the middle here to bring up Cade Beachy, who grounds out to third baseman Nathan Bryant.
Top of the fourth: Hiland 2, Lake Center 0
Myers leads off the fourth for the Tigers and works the count full before grounding out to second baseman Wagler.
That brings up Rainieri, who flies out to Colin Coblentz.
Kandel is working much more efficient here this inning with 12 pitches, eight for strikes as he fans Caudle on four pitches.
Bottom of the third: Hiland 2, Lake Center 0
Kandel leads off the inning with single to right and advances to second on a wild pitch on the next pitch against Caden Coblentz. His fellow senior goes down swinging on strike three for the first out.
That brings Miller to the box, the junior lines a seeing-eye 2-2 single back up the middle to score Kandel.
Colin Coblentz flies out to Grant Coblentz.
Monigold walks to the plate and ground out to the shortstop Brayden Myers to end the inning. The Hawk’s have added to their lead and now lead 2-0 through three.
Top of the third: Hiland 1, Lake Center 0
Working with the lead, Kandel gets Chance Klingelhofer to groundout to Keith Hershberger. The senior shortstop with his third beauty at shortstop as he ranged up the middle and fired across to get the out.
Grant Coblentz reaches on a throwing error by Wagler that saw him advance to second base with one out.
Now up is Smilek, who walked on four pitches his first time up. Make it five straight balls to Tiger sophomore as he opens the count 1-0. A 1-2 wild pitch see’s Coblentz advance to third as Kandel rallies back to get Smilek in the hole but walks him for the second time in the game.
That brings up Hecket with runners at the corners and one out. He fouls off multiple pitches to get the count full before drawing the walk to load up the bases for Lake Center Christian.
Shelly steps to the plate with the chance to even the score or cause more damage. The sophomore falls behind the count 0-2 before fouling out to the first baseman Caden Coblentz for the second out.
Kandel is now one out away from escaping this jam with Nathan Bryant at the plate for the Tigers. Bryant flies out to left fielder Cade Beachy and Kandel pulls an Houdini act to get out this frame unscathed.
Bottom of the second: Hiland 1, Lake Center 0
Leading off for the Hawks is right fielder and slugger, Grady Monigold, who works the count full lining a double into the gap in right center. Hiland has it’s first hit of the game and a runner in scoring position.
Now up is the catcher and another senior, Danny Hostetler, who tries to bunt to even the count 1-1. Shelly gets a pair of strikeouts as he fans Hostetler swinging and then get’s Logan Yoder looking. Just one blemish is a wild pitch that allows Monigold to advance to third.
Keith Hershberger doesn’t let Shelly off the hook as he lines a single into right field and the Hawk’s are on the board. Shelly ends the frame by getting Cade Beachy to fly out to Grant Coblentz.
Top of the second: Hiland 0, Lake Center 0
Here in the second, Kandel continues working fast as he gets Shelly to groundout to Isaiah Wagler for the first out of the frame. The senior is still looking to get his rhythm as he has fired 14 pitches so far, just six for strikes.
The senior attacks Nathan Bryant to get his first strikeout of the game getting a looking strike three on a 2-2 pitch.
Brayden Myers lines a two-out double to centerfield for the Tigers and the game’s first hit of the day.
Falling behind to Jacob Rainieri 3-0, Kandel gets a foul back to the backstop for strike one before issuing his second free pass. That brings up Wyatt Caudle for Lake Center Christian, who lines one to right field but junior right fielder Mike Miller is there to make a sliding catch.
Bottom of the 1st: Hiland 0, Lake Center 0
Hiland goes quickly in its half of the frame Shelly needs just 11 pitches to get through the inning.
Caden Coblentz flies out to Grant Coblentz to lead off the inning.
Mike Miller goes down looking and Colin Coblentz lines a 2-2 pitch deep the edge of the warning track in center field. Luke Heckert is there to make the twisting leaning catch and we are headed to the second inning.
Top of the 1st: Hiland 0, Lake Center 0
It’s sunny here at Canal Park in the heart of Akron, where Hiland goes for its third straight State title and fourth overall against Lake Center Christian. The Hawks downed the Tigers on April 17th 4-1 in a game that saw Kaden Kandel fire six one-hit innings with seven strikeouts to outduel Brayden Myers, who scattered eight hits and fanned six. Today, Kandel, a senior, will lock it up with Lake Center Christian sophomore Caleb Shelly with the Div. VI State Title hanging in the balance.
Kandel starts out working fast getting Grant Coblentz to line out to shortstop Keith Hershberger for the game’s first out.
After walking Colton Smilek on four pitches, Luke Heckert lines out to Hawk’s shortstop Keith Hershberger, who makes an ESPN web gem play. Getting up, Hershberger fires across to get Smilek to complete the inning-ending double play.
HAWKS’ ROAD TO STATE
State final: Hiland 5, Lake Center Christian 4
State semifinal: Hiland 4, Sherwood Fairview 2
Regional final: Hiland 10, Southeastern 0
Regional semifinal: Hiland 11, West Jefferson 4
District title: Hiland 3, Garaway 0
District semifinal: Hiland 10, Newcomerstown 3
District opener: Hiland 12, Monroe Central 0
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Wild walk-off sends Hiland baseball to third straight state title
Reporting by Joshua McWilliams, The Times-Reporter / The Times-Reporter
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
