OXFORD − Badin baseball’s redemption tour is right on schedule.
Coming off a heartbreaking loss in last year’s Division II state final, Badin hasn’t skipped a beat in its attempt to win the school’s first state championship since 1996.
On Thursday, June 5, Badin (25-6) used another stellar pitching performance and a relentless lineup to blow out Vandalia Butler (28-4), 10-1, in the Division III regional championship game at Miami University’s Hayden Park.
“We remember it every day,” Badin senior Kade Bowling said of last year’s state final loss. “It’s burned in my mind at this point. We take it and just keep going.”
It’s the 16th regional championship in Badin baseball history and fourth over the last five seasons.
“I’m so excited for my guys. It’s an incredible journey. This year has been so enjoyable,” said Badin head coach Brion Treadway, who picked up his 300th career win in Tuesday’s regional semifinal and now has five regional crowns. “To have the opportunity to represent our school and go to the Final Four is just unbelievable.”
Butler, which appeared in the regional tournament at the Division I level in 2021 and 2024, was searching for its first state Final Four berth since 2000.
A battle between two of the state’s top 3 teams (Badin No. 3, Butler No. 1) turned one-sided in a hurry.
Facing Butler starting pitcher Mason Reckner, Badin dented the scoreboard right away when Eli Wolpert and Austin Vangen worked back-to-back walks. Kade Bowling and Chase Luebbe followed with RBI singles and Butler made an early call to the bullpen without recording an out.
Cooper Ollis capped a four-run first inning for the Rams with a sacrifice fly to center.
Badin played add-on in the second with two outs as Vangen ripped another RBI single to score Cade Cummins. Vangen came across on Bowling’s second RBI single to give the Rams a 6-1 lead.
Jackson Carmella’s RBI triple and a two-run double by Cummins, Badin’s nine-hole hitter, ended the afternoon for Butler reliever Koby Dues and forced another call to the bullpen with the Rams ahead, 9-1.
Bowling, the GCL Co-ed’s leader in batting (.451) and RBIs (32), went 6-for-8 with six knocked in during the regional tournament.
“Our offense was just absolutely relentless. We just punish baseballs, and our defensive played incredible,” Treadway said.
The early run support was plenty for Badin right-hander Caleb Driessen, who entered Thursday’s regional final 7-1 with a 0.30 ERA.
The junior, who tossed four innings of five-hit, one-run ball to lead Badin over Kenton Ridge in the district final May 31, authored his seventh complete-game effort of the season.
Facing a Butler offense that averages 9.5 runs per game, Driessen received early run support and settled in after giving up a sacrifice fly in the second, retiring 17 of Butler’s final 19 hitters.
Badin, which has now scored 47 runs on 45 hits in four tournament games, took a 10-1 lead on an RBI single by Ollis in the sixth. Badin could’ve ended the regional final in walk-off fashion, but had a runner thrown out at the plate one batter later.
That allowed Driessen to finish the job with back-to-back strikeouts as the Badin dugout swarmed him on the mound to start the celebration.
“I really wanted to get back out there and finish this thing,” Driessen said. “I think it was just awesome having the whole bench surround me in a dogpile.”
Needing two wins to snap a 29-year state title drought, Badin will face the Region 11 champion in the Division III state semifinals on Friday, June 13 (10 a.m.) at Canal Park in Akron.
“We got our biggest game of the season coming up. These guys are relentless competitors,” Treadway said. “They’re not just satisfied with going to state, they want to finish the job.”
Badin 10, Butler 1
WP- Driessen (8-1); LP- Reckner (3-1)
Leaders: Badin- Bowling 3-4, 2 RBI; Carmella 3B; Cummins 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI. Butler- Schilling 2B; T. Richardson 2-3.
Records: Badin 25-6; Butler 28-4
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: ‘They want to finish the job.’ Badin blows out Butler for Division III regional title
Reporting by Shelby Dermer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
