MASON – Sometimes the other team is just better.
That’s how Highland baseball coach Donnie Kline felt about Hamilton Badin, which beat his Fighting Scots 12-3 in a Division II regional final on Sunday, June 6, at Mason.
“The truth is (Badin) is a very good baseball team,” Kline said. “That was the best baseball team we saw all year, including our scrimmages against Division I teams like Gahanna. (They were) well coached and had good athletes at every position.”
The Rams put three runs on the board in the first inning and led 8-1 after three innings en route to the win.
“We were trying to hold them to five (runs), that was our goal,” Kline said. “If we could keep them to five or six runs, we would have a chance. But they kind of blitzkrieged us. That was tough. They did exactly what they needed to do, which was to take us away from what we wanted to do.”
Sergio DeCello had two hits, three runs and two RBIs; Lucas Moore added two hits and two runs; and Brady Imhoff had three hits and an RBI to lead Badin (27-5) on offense.
DeCello capped the initial onslaught with a two-run home run over the right field wall in the third inning.
“Sergio is a four-year starter,” Badin coach Brion Treadway said. “He hits every morning at 5:45. Everything about him is special. He’s a special man and I’m very grateful to have this moment with him and the rest of the guys.”
Ryan Kirkendall added a three-run shot to finish off the scoring in the sixth inning.
Nik Copenhaver allowed two runs over 3 1/3 innings for the win, and Luke McLaughlin allowed one run over the final 3 2/3 to close it out for Badin.
Brock Church had two hits and an RBI, and Kadin Johnson had a hit and two runs to lead the Scots (29-3).
Blake Jodrey took the loss, allowing eight runs (four earned) over five innings.
“I knew their pitcher was undefeated and he had a really good year,” Treadway said. “I saw their schedule and they played Bloom-Carroll and Hartley, and those teams are really good. But I didn’t know a lot about (Highland). I knew they were well-coached. I watched them play (against Dayton Carroll the day before). They played small ball and had some athletes (and) 1–9 looked solid. I knew it was going to be a fight.”
Highland beat Carroll (13-15) 9-3 in a regional semifinal on Saturday, June 5.
Johnson had two hits and two RBIs — including a solo home run — to lead the Scots. Dom Carter and Rider Minnick also had two hits each. Minnick scored twice and Carter once.
Wyatt Groves got the win, allowing three runs over 4 1/3 innings; and Logan Shaffer tossed two scoreless innings of relief before giving way to Tyler Disbennett for the final two outs.
“What a journey,” Kline said. “What a great chapter in Highland history from a baseball standpoint. What they’ve accomplished puts them in the upper echelons of a pretty good program. I think when the dust settles and the boys are able to sit down and look at it, they’ll be pretty impressed with what they’ve done. Right now, it stings; it hurts.
“I told them, ‘Don’t let your heads hang low. (Badin is) probably the state champion. That’s a really good baseball team.’”
Badin faces Bloom-Carroll in a state semifinal on Thursday at Canal Park in Akron.
