AKRON — “I was waiting for that moment for a while,” sophomore Logan Troyer said.
Waynedale’s slinger stared down Graham Local’s Dylan LaFollette in the top of the seventh with two outs and got him swinging to secure the Golden Bears’ third state title in four years with a 3-0 win in the Division V championship on Sunday, June 15.
“Ever since last year, we’ve had a bit of a chip on our shoulder and had the goal of getting back here to Canal Park,” coach Lucas Daugherty said. “The one factor nobody knows exactly is how a starting pitcher is going to respond when they’ve never been on this stage.
“But he was even better than expected.”
Troyer struck out six, walked one, and allowed five hits in the shutout while also having a stellar defense behind him make play after play throughout the contest.
“He made them put the ball in play,” junior shortstop Jordan Miller said. “When he does that, he knows he can trust our defense the way it has been all year — and especially today — it was amazing.”
Miller made highlight plays to get the Bears out of jams multiple times and senior catcher Tristan Franks had arguably the play of the game picking off Graham’s Jack Traylor at second in the fifth to stymie the Falcons’ best offensive inning when their first two runners reached base.
“Logan threw a great pitch and the kid pulled back, so I thought I might as well throw it,” Franks said. “It was just kind of an instinctual thing.”
Josh Yoder drove in the opening run in the bottom of the second moving Jayden Schlabach to third and then advancing him home on an errant throw. The Golden Bears tacked on two more insurance runs in the sixth when Hudson Barkman singled to score pinch runner Kameron Mast, then Yoder rounded home base on Shane Coblentz’s standup double up the middle.
“We were hitting the ball hard the whole day, but we finally found a gap and from there on out, it broke out,” Miller said.
RECAP: Waynedale vs. St. Paris Graham Local
Top of 7th: Waynedale 3, Graham Local 0
THE GOLDEN BEARS ARE DIVISION V STATE CHAMPIONS!
Bottom of 6th: Waynedale 3, Graham Local 0
Steiner rips one to left centerfield for a stand up double and is replaced by Mast as a pinch runner! Falcons are having a meeting on the mound. Yoder then draws a walk! Troyer’s bunt pops up for an easy out before Barkman drills one at the shortstop to score Mast. Coblentz then blasts one up the middle scoring Yoder and advancing Barkman to third. Barkman is picked off at third and Miller grounds out to second to end the inning.
BUT the Bears are just three outs away from another state title!
Top of 6th: Waynedale 1, Graham Local 0
Troyer gets Powell looking for an ideal start to the sixth, then another fantastic field and throw by Jordan Miller at short makes it two quick outs. Dunham cracks one into right field for a single, the fifth hit Troyer has allowed all night. He then sits down Levy swinging at a low pitch.
Bottom of 5th: Waynedale 1, Graham Local 0
Franks reaches first on catcher’s interference before being thrown out at second on Cam Miller’s grounder to shortstop. Miller, however, reaches on a fielder’s choice. Jordan Miller belts one at Reisinger on the mound who bobbles it and opts to throw to first for the out instead of risking an attempted double play. He then ends the half inning by spoiling Schlabach’s perfect day getting him swinging.
New face on the mound for Graham Local
Top of 5th: Waynedale 1, Graham Local 0
Traylor rips one to Miller who tries to make another phenomenal play but the Falcons batter reaches first just before the throw. LaFollette then cracks one up the middle that bounces off Troyer and Graham Local gets the first two runners on base. Jenkins shows bunt to try and move the runners but Franks throws out Traylor at second … what an unbelievable pick off, Troyer then sits Jenkins down for a pair of outs within a minute of each other. Van Hoose is then sat down looking and Troyer is FIRED UP!
Bottom of 4th: Waynedale 1, Graham Local 0
Looking like of the quickest innings of the weekend as Yoder flies out to left, Troyer lines out to short, but Barkman gets drilled to move to first. Coblentz swings at the first pitch and pops up to the first baseman in foul territory.
Top of 4th: Waynedale 1, Graham Local 0
Troyer’s dominance continues forcing a line out to himself, then back-to-back ground outs to Miller at shortstop.
Bottom of 3rd: Waynedale 1, Graham Local 0
Franks reaches first on a walk but is then thrown out at second on Cam Miller’s bunt. Jordan Miller rips one foul to right field that is snagged by a diving Graham’s Brody Jenkins’ for the second out. Schlabaugh goes 2-for-2 to get runners on before Steiner strikes out looking and the Bears are unable to add to their lead.
Top of 3rd: Waynedale 1, Graham Local 0
Troyer walks Dylan LaFolette with four consecutive balls but settles down to strike out Brady Jenkins. It could’ve been the second out of the inning but a pickoff attempt on LaFolette was ruled in Graham Local’s favor. Van Hoose pops up for an out then Owen Powell belts one up the middle to get runners on first and second for the Falcons. A Wheeland hit to shortstop sees Powell forced out at second to get out of the jam.
Bottom of 2nd: Waynedale 1, Graham Local 0
Jayden Schlabach opens with a single before Brayden Steiener lines out to center. Josh Yoder steps up and rips a shot into left field advancing Schlabach to third before he then advances home on an errant throw. Troyer reached on a bobbled ball at first bringing up semifinal hero Hudson Barkman who lines out to left. Coblentz flies out to center to end the inning.
Top of 2nd: Waynedale 0, Graham Local 0
Troyer wastes no time striking out the first batter, collecting a groundout himself, then getting a flyout to center for a quick half inning.
Bottom of 1st: Waynedale 0, Graham Local 0
Shane Coblentz gets plunked for a free base and is then moved by Tristan Franks on a sac bunt. Van Hoose proceeds to strike out back to back batters to get out of the inning.
Top of 1st: Waynedale 0, Graham 0
Troyer gets a groundout to the second baseman for the first out, Zach Wheeland then records the first hit of the game with a hard-hit ball to third. Troyer forced a pop-up to himself for the second out, and then picks off Wheeland trying to cheat off first with a lengthy pickle.
On the mound…
Waynedale sends out sophomore Logan Troyer who has pitched 61⅓ innings this season with 70 strikeouts and a 1.26 ERA; senior Hayden Van Hoose gets the nod for Graham after starting Friday’s semifinal but staying under pitch count before the rain delay.
Pregame of the Division V state championship
It’s a beautiful evening at Canal Park in Akron for the Division V state championship!
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Waynedale baseball wins third state title in four years behind Troyer’s gem on the mound
Reporting by Zachary Holden, Wooster Daily Record / The Daily Record
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