Carmichael Classic: Triway stays red hot, beats Dalton for 12th straight win

WOOSTER TWP. — In the midst of the area’s longest win steak, Triway’s baseball team was at it again Saturday afternoon.

And, like it has been over the previous 11 games coming into their non-league clash with Dalton, it was yet another guy stepping up.

This time it was senior Chad Harper coming through with a back-breaking, bases-clearing double in the second inning as the Titans cruised to an 11-0 five-inning victory over the Bulldogs at the annual Carmichael Classic.

“It's been a different guy every night and that's one of the compliments of our team,” said Triway coach Justin McDowell, whose team improved to 13-2 on the season. “We've won a few in a row and we've played some good baseball ... it's been pretty awesome.”

That continued on Saturday as the Titans extended that area-best winning streak to 12 games.

And they did it the hard way as, with a modest 1-0 lead with two outs in the second, the Titans broke the game wide open with a nine-run inning to all but do-in Dalton (10-7), who came into the contest with eight wins over the last 10 games, including six straight.

After a walk and a pair of hit-by-pitches loaded the bases with two gone in the frame, Harper came up and slugged a 1-1 pitched to deep center field at Blaine and Sean Carmichael Field for a double, the first of two hits on the day for the veteran.

Harper and fellow senior Kade Whitman finished with a pair of hits and multiple RBI as the Titans had 11 runs on eight hits; finding ways to generate runs the hard way and keep their streak of victories going.

“We've been hitting pretty good this year with two outs and, even though we haven't gotten it going early with one or no outs, to score nine runs with two outs is pretty impressive,” Harper said. “We know that we're capable of coming back into any game, no matter the situation. It's huge to have every guy, one through nine, hitting like that.”

From there, the floodgates opened for Triway as Grant Schag drove in Harper on a single to left and then scored after stealing a pair of bases. Cooper Barton then came in, slapped a double to right, scoring Whitman, followed by an infield single by Owen Walter driving in two and Riley Gumber then taking home on a wild pitch.

It’s production like that which McDowell, whose team hasn’t lost since a 1-0 setback to Manchester back on April 3, has enjoyed watching come together.

“All with two outs,” the coach said, with a smile. “We get a walk there from nine-hole hitter and, after that, Chad hit that ball — he's been so close to breaking out — and that got everything to go.

“We would be hard to prepare for, because one through nine our guys are tough,” McDowell added. “The bottom of the lineup, that's what got us going today, and that's why they're there. They're there for the top.”

It wasn’t just the offense making plays, however, as the defense came up huge to quiet a Dalton team just came off of a series sweep against Wayne County Athletic League rival Hillsdale.

Sophomore Ron Bricker, in just his second career start, was downright impressive on the mound as he tossed a one-hit shutout in the mercy-rule shortened game. Bricker walked just one and struck out two, using just 45 pitches, and got a pair of double plays by the Titan in field to keep a goose egg on the board.

“Our defense has been really big for us,” Harper said. “That's how we've been getting through these games. The less errors we have, the less chances to have to score on us, so keeping the numbers low with one or two run, is just huge.”

For the Bulldogs, that second inning proved to be too much to overcome.

Without three starters, as Cade Mullet, Will Carmichael and Talan Greegor all had a rest day to prepare for the closing stretch of the regular season, Dalton had a host of players see action.

Alex Hess took the loss on the mound, going just 1⅔ innings, while Justin Basinger had the team’s only hit – a single in the first inning before the first of Triway’s double plays ended any kid of threat.

“We had some guys banged up and, once we got behind, we started pulling some more guys out,” Bulldogs coach Scott Huth said. “We just wanted to get some quality at-bats today and to only have 16 batters because we hit into a couple double plays, we didn't get as many as we hoped.”

But the day belonged to a Triway team that came oh-so-close to posting its 12th run in the fourth after loading the bases — a number that Sean Carmichael, the namesake of the Classic, wore with pride in his years as the Titans coach.

But Harper knows that Carmichael was looking down with pride on Saturday.

“It's just special,” he said. “It's awesome because everyone loved him and everyone know who he was around this area, so it's just huge to get this big of a win to show him how much we appreciated him and that he's never going to leave our hearts.”

The three games scheduled to be played at Wooster High School as part of the Classic — Smithville vs. West Holmes, Medina Buckeye vs. Wooster and Medina Buckeye vs. Lake — were cancelled due to poor field conditions.

Hoban 4, Waynedale 3

Derek Carmichael returned to his alma mater as Hoban's head coach, coaching in the showcase named for his father and picking up a win in a matchup of two of the top programs in the state.

Waynedale entered 2023 as the defending Division III state champion and Hoban had played in back-to-back state title games, making their clash a big-time matchup on Saturday's slate.

The Golden Bears treated it like a big game too, throwing co-ace Otto Solorzano against a Hoban lineup loaded with college prospects. And he held them scoreless for five innings.

But the Knights broke through in the sixth, which proved to be all they needed.

Hoban entered the sixth trailing 2-0 and touching Solorzano for just one hit over the first five innings. But with two outs, the Knights put four straight hits together, scoring three times on base hits from Parker Falkenstein, Andrew Karhoff and Masud Jennings and a fourth via error.

Waynedale tried to put together a rally in the seventh, with Dylan Raber driving in Tate Venables to cut Hoban's lead to 4-3 but fell just short. Luke Driscoll picked up the win in relief, surrendering three hits and a run over two innings.

Solorzano allowed five hits and three earned runs, striking out five and walking two on just 85 pitches in the loss. Tristan Franks and Jayden Schlabach had two hits apiece for the Bears.

Norwayne 4, Orrville 3 (10 innings)

Triway wasn't the only team in Wayne County boasting an impressive winning streak heading into Saturday. Norwayne entered its matchup with Orrville with 10 straight win and added to that number with a walk-off win.

Trey Balis hit the game-winner to left field, scoring Mike Steingass to give Norwayne its 11th win in a row. The Bobcats have outscored opponents 123-27 during a 13-2 start and head into its matchup WCAL matchup with Hillsdale alone in first place in the league.

Saturday's game against the Red Riders, who entered with a five-game winning streak of their own, was one of the Bobcats' only close games during the streak.

Both teams scored three runs in the first three innings before offenses sputtered, trading zeroes on the scoreboard until Balis' single in the 10th.

Steingass and Logan Dichler led Norwayne with two hits apiece. Brayden Harklau picked up the win in relief, tossing three innings of one-hit ball.

Nick Amstutz threw 6⅔ scoreless innings in relief to lead Orrville's pitching efforts. Parker Evans, Daniel Malcuit and Kaleb Wayt all recorded hits for the Riders.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Baseball: Triway, Norwayne, Hoban win at Carmichael Classic