CANTON — The Lake Center Christian School baseball team is headed to a state championship game. The Tigers rolled to a 10-1 win over Bloomdale Elmwood in an OHSAA Division VI state semifinal June 14 at Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium. Lake Center, making its first state tournament appearance in any sport, heads to the championship game June 15 at Canal Park in Akron.
Here’s how the game unfolded through our live updates.
FINAL: Lake Center Christian 10, Bloomdale Elmwood 1
Brayden Myers throws a complete-game one-hitter to improve to 12-1 on the season and Luke Heckert has three hits and three RBIs for the Tigers (28-4). Lake Center moves on to face Hiland in tomorrow’s 1 p.m. state final at Canal Park. Elmwood finishes the season at 22-9.
Lake Center adds two more runs
The Tigers make it 10-1 in the top of the seventh with two runs, including another Luke Heckert RBI. Lake Center is three outs from the state championship game.
Lake Center gets the run back on Elmwood
Luke Heckert drills a leadoff triple and scores a couple of batters later on a Nathan Bryant sacrifice fly. The Tigers lead 8-1 in the middle of the sixth. Heckert is 3-for-4 on the day.
Elmwood gets on the board vs. Lake Center
The Royals get their first hit off Brayden Myers, who also walked three in the bottom of the fifth. But Myers limits the damage to just one run scoring on a wild pitch. Lake Center Christian leads 7-1 as we head to the sixth. Zack Gross in to pitch for Elmwood.
Lake Center extends advantage on Elmwood to 7-0
Chance Klingelhofer walks with the bases loaded to score one run and Grant Coblentz drives in another with a fielder’s choice for his second RBI of the day. The Tigers lead 7-0 in the middle of the fifth.
Lead grows for Lake Center Christian vs. Elmwood
Luke Heckert strikes again, with his RBI single scoring Chance Klingelhofer and making it 5-0 Tigers in the middle of the fourth. Heckert has a pair of RBI singles today.
Lake Center Christian leads 4-0 in OHSAA state semifinal
Another Elmwood error leads to Brayden Myers eventually scoring on a wild pitch in the top of the third. Myers then proceeds to work a 1-2-3 bottom half. He has allowed no hits, walked one and struck out four as we head to the fourth inning.
Lake Center adds to advantage on Elmwood
The Royals are not sharp early, and it is costing them. An error and a couple of wild pitches lead to RBI singles from Grant Coblentz and Luke Heckert. Lake Center leads Elmwood 3-0 in the middle of the second.
Tigers lead Elmwood 1-0 after the first inning
Brayden Myers works a hitless bottom of the first, striking out one and walking one. First baseman Jacob Rainieri due up in the second for Lake Center.
Lake Center takes an early lead
Nathan Bryant’s two-out RBI single scores Colton Smilek and puts the Tigers ahead 1-0 after the top of the first. An Elmwood error extended the inning, allowing Bryant to come to bat. Smilek had doubled with one out.
Lake Center Christian and Elmwood underway in OHSAA D6 state semifinal
The Tigers are the visitors and batting first, with Grant Coblentz leading off against Elmwood’s Landon Snow.
Today’s starting pitchers for Lake Center Christian and Elmwood
Junior right-hander Brayden Myers will be on the mound for the Tigers. Senior right-hander Landon Snow is pitching for the Royals.
Getting to know the Lake Center Christian Tigers
Lake Center baseball makes the first state final four appearance for any team sport in school history. The Tigers began fielding varsity athletic teams during the 2004-05 school year. Lake Center broke through to state after falling in regional semifinals the previous two years. The Tigers ranked No. 2 in Ohio in the final coaches association state poll.
Pitching duel on deck for Lake Center and Elmwood?
Both Lake Center (27-4) and Elmwood (22-8) bring some serious pitching to this matchup. Junior right-hander Brayden Myers tossed a shutout in Lake Center’s 10-0 five-inning regional semifinal win against Rootstown. He is 11-1 with a 1.47 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 62 innings. The Tigers also have junior starter Nathan Bryant (6-3, 3.55 ERA) and sophomore reliever Caleb Shelley (6-0, two saves, 0.45 ERA). Bryant is an Ohio State recruit. Landon Snow threw a seven-walk, 10-strikeout no-hitter in Elmwood’s 8-0 regional semifinal win. Zackery Gross followed with a two-hit complete-game win during an 8-1 regional final victory. Gross struck out nine and walked three.
Stark County high school baseball at state
Lake Center tries to become the first Stark County high school baseball team to make a state final since Jackson won the 2017 Division I state title. The Tigers are the first county team to make the final four since Central Catholic lost in a Division III state semifinal to Archbold 3-2 in 2021.
What’s next for Lake Center or Elmwood in OHSAA Tournament?
The Lake Center-Elmwood winner will face Hiland at Canal Park in Akron in a Sunday state final on June 15. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Father’s Day. Hiland beat Sherwood Fairview 4-2 in today’s first semifinal.
Reach Josh at josh.weir@cantonrep.com
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: OHSAA state baseball scores | Lake Center Christian vs. Elmwood semifinal highlights
Reporting by Josh Weir, Canton Repository / The Repository
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