LANCASTER – The pitching of left-hander Brody Randall and a first-inning steal of home lifted the Newark baseball team to a 1-0 win over Olentangy Liberty in a Division I regional semifinal June 2 at Beavers Field.
The Wildcats (21-7) advanced to their first regional final since 2006. They will play Olentangy Orange at 2 p.m. June 4 in Lancaster.
“Why not us?” Newark coach Mike Wheeler said. “At this level of the tournament, everybody is going to be good. You’re in the final 16 [teams] in the state [in Division I]. We talked about it. We’re not supposed to be here. Fly around, have fun, make plays and line up and see if we can give ourselves a chance.”
In a game that featured several key plays on the bases, leadoff batter Brody Driskel stole home in the top of the first to help Newark eliminate a Liberty team (24-7) that was the No. 1 seed in the district tournament.
Driskel was hit by a Parker Van Engelenhoven pitch and later dashed home when Bodie Smith was caught in a rundown between first and second on a pickoff attempt. Smith was able to race back safely to first.
Randall allowed five hits with three strikeouts and three walks in a complete-game effort. He was also the winning pitcher in Newark’s 11-1, five-inning victory over Dublin Coffman in the district final May 28.
“It’s all about confidence,” Randall said. “I had people talk to me before the game, give a rundown of teams that [Liberty] played, and I felt confident going out there. I didn’t have any nerves. I knew I was in the right spot, and I knew they wanted me to pitch this game because they knew I could do it.”
Liberty had chances to tie but was denied each time.
Louie Santangelo led off the bottom of the first with a double but was called out when he was hit by a grounder hit by Evan Thacker while running to third. Thacker was later tagged out in a rundown between third and home while attempting to score on Knox Brenning’s single.
Van Engelenhoven led off the bottom of the sixth with a triple that eluded left fielder Trenton Wilson and Smith, the center fielder, who injured a knee on the play and was forced to leave the game.
Randall got out of the jam when Van Engelenhoven attempted to steal home with two outs and was tagged out.
“We had three bang-bang plays at the plate, and two out of three went against us,” Liberty coach Ty Brenning said. “You prepare and you play hard and in the end, the outcome rests on a knife’s edge.”
Van Engelenhoven, a Louisville commit, allowed one run on six hits with nine strikeouts and two walks in 6⅔ innings.
Olentangy Orange 3, Olentangy 2
Maverick Scholvin’s bases-loaded single to left with no outs in the bottom of the seventh lifted the Pioneers to a win over 2025 Division I state champion Olentangy at Beavers Field.
“It’s special,” Orange coach Tom Marker said. “We’ve won four district titles in a row, five of the last six years. That consistency is hard. Consistency is one of the most difficult things.”
Orange (23-5) snapped a scoreless tie with two runs in the fourth on an RBI single by Colby Luling and Jackson Hoyt’s squeeze bunt.
The Braves (17-12) responded in the top of the fifth on Rocco Bucci’s sacrifice fly and a wild pitch that scored Kyle Trautman.
Olentangy had a chance to take the lead in the top of the seventh after Trautman led off with a double, but he was later tagged out at the plate on a failed squeeze bunt.
Reid Hemrick, who is expected to get the start on the mound in the regional final, pitched the final two innings in relief of Zach Wright to earn the win.
Bucci went the distance and was tagged with the loss, allowing five hits while striking out four and walking six.
“Olentangy Orange is the best team in the state,” Olentangy coach Ryan Lucas said. “I didn’t tell our guys that. Our guys thought they could beat the Yankees. It’s incredible what our group did. … Our goals are can we reach our full potential. Last year it was a state championship. One year it’s win 14 games. This group reached their full potential. They were one play away from knocking out a team that I think is the best team in the state of Ohio.”
Cincinnati Moeller 8, Grove City 0
Moeller junior pitcher Nathan McDowell’s teammates call him “the spark plug.”
As the team’s ace, he’s provided electric moments all season, to the tune of a 10-0 record with 83 strikeouts and a 1.04 ERA. In the dugout, he plays music on a Bluetooth speaker to keep his teammates hyped up.
He provided another spark June 2 at Wright State, throwing a shutout with nine strikeouts as the Crusaders advanced to their fifth straight Division I regional final.
“Donovan Glosser, my catcher, helped me out. Stealing strikes, calling a great game back there. I trust him more than anyone,” McDowell said. “The boys hit for me. When I get that run support, it makes it really easy.”
The Crusaders played small ball in the early innings, recording four hits, two walks and three stolen bases to lead 3-0 after three.
The defense was on point as well, getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning and a two-on, one-out jam in the sixth. Glosser had the play of the game, hustling to retrieve a bunt up the third base line and throwing out Landon Hinkle by a half-step.
“I told the guys it kind of felt like death by a thousand little cuts,” Grove City coach Robby Sexton said. “The margins are tight with a team that good. Dylan [Farley] battled [on the mound] and I actually thought we came out swinging. A couple missed opportunities on timely hits, but we had tons of barrels and I’m super proud of the team.”
–Brendan Connelly, Cincinnati Enquirer
Franklin Fenwick 16, Licking Valley 6
Fenwick had a quick first inning in its Division IV regional semifinal against Licking Valley and Panthers ace Grayson Snow at Day Air Ballpark in Dayton.
The team then had a meeting in the dugout about being more patient at the plate. That turned out to be the right strategy as the Falcons overwhelmed the Panthers 16-6 to move within one win of their first state berth since 1982.
Fenwick lost in a regional semifinal last year, while Valley won the 2025 Division III state title.
“After his first five-pitch inning, the guys kind of made a decision not to be too anxious on him,” Fenwick coach Doc Wieland said. “So we started being patient with him. They made a decision to change their approach, and not necessarily swing early in the count. Fortunately for us, he threw a lot of balls, and we were able to be disciplined, work the count and get his pitch count up.”
Carter Shouse had three hits and four RBIs as Fenwick rallied from an early 3-0 deficit.
“My first and second bats were pathetic,” Shouse said. “I had to change my approach a little bit, being a little bit more smooth than the plate, and that really helped for me personally. And the momentum just kept building.”
Zane Hochschild led Valley with an RBI double and RBI single, and Brody Rodgers added an RBI single.
–Cincinnati Enquirer and Newark Advocate
Other central Ohio OHSAA regional semifinal results June 2
This story has been updated with new information and to correct an inaccuracy.
High school sports reporter Frank DiRenna can be reached at fdirenna@dispatch.com and at @DispatchFrank on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Which central Ohio baseball teams won OHSAA regional semis June 2?
Reporting by Frank DiRenna, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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