PLEASANT HILL — With less than 24 hours to get ready for the program’s second-ever regional championship baseball game, Northmor has a plan.
“We’re going to chill at the hotel and get some pizza and hopefully be ready to rock and roll tomorrow,” Northmor coach Buck Workman said after watching his team rally for a 13-4 semifinal win over Dayton Christian Tuesday, June 2 at Newton High School “I’m sure it’s going to feel like forever to get to 5 o’clock. We’re going to take it easy and not do anything crazy.”
Newton, which is 20 minutes northwest of Dayton, will again be the site as the eighth ranked Golden Knights (24-5) take on unranked Fort Recovery (17-10) of the famed Midwest Athletic Conference Wednesday, June 3 at 5 p.m.
Workman said they have a late checkout planned, then they will kill time with a later lunch before heading back to Newton a couple hours before game time to get ready. The last time Northmor played in a regional final, it won to move on to the state tournament in 1995.
Northmor overcomes a slow start
It was a rocky start for the Knights as Dayton Christian (14-13) touched them up for three runs on five hits in the bottom of the first inning. Fortunately for Northmor, senior All-Ohio pitcher Trevor Brubaker found his groove, scattering four more hits the rest of the way. He walked a batter — just his third of the season — and struck out seven.
Northmor managed just three hits in the first four innings as the team remained trailing 3-0 into the fifth. A leadoff single by Brady Carr followed by Jack Bowdre reaching on an error led to Brady Chapman’s bases-clearing triple. A bunt single and a walk loaded the bases, then Brody Beck drove in a run as another error on the play gave Northmor a 4-3 lead. Brooksten Beck’s sacrifice fly put them up 5-3.
The Warriors got a run back in the bottom of the fifth, but Northmor blew it open in the seventh, recording eight runs on four hits and two more errors.
“They’re never out of it. They keep competing,” Workman said. “I say seven innings, seven innings, seven innings. We hit a lot of at-‘em balls early. In the first four innings, we couldn’t crack through. We hit some nice balls, but they made some nice plays on defense. We kept grinding and got a couple breaks late and made some things happen.”
Brubaker threw 82 pitches for 61 strikes as the Warriors went through three pitchers with starter Brody Schmidt working the first six innings.
Besides Chapman’s triple, he added a double as did Brubaker, Carr and Ethan Hinton. Billy Bowlin, Hinton, and Brody Beck all had two hits, and Carr ended with three. Chapman produced three RBIs, while Hinton and the Becks each had two apiece. Bowdre and Carr both scored a pair of runs.
Fort Recovery beat Miami Valley Christian Academy 10-0 in the first semifinal game.
Division IV regional semifinal at BGSU
Highland advanced to the Division IV regional championship game Wednesday, June 3 after handling Millbury Lake 5-1 in the semifinal at Bowling Green State University on June 2.
Caleb Youngman moved his record to 11-0 after tossing a two-hit gem with three strikeouts and one walk, overcoming four Highland errors.
Zach Church hit a double and single for two RBIs, and Branson Newson singled for an RBI for the Scots (22-9).
Highland plays Sandusky Perkins (22-5-1) at 5 p.m. at BGSU. Perkins defeated Van Wert 3-0 in the other semifinal game.
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This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Northmor, Highland playing for regional baseball titles June 3
Reporting by Rob McCurdy, Marion Star / Marion Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
