OHSAA baseball: Darby beats Gahanna, Orange tops Pickerington North to win district titles
One swing from Travis Yankovich was all the Hilliard Darby baseball team ended up needing in a Division I district final Wednesday against Gahanna Lincoln.
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning, Yankovich’s two-run home run gave fourth-seeded Darby the lead in an 11-1, five-inning victory at Upper Arlington. The Panthers won their second consecutive district title and seventh overall.
“This means a lot,” Yankovich said. “These guys are a great group of guys. I love them. They’re my brothers. We grew up playing together and it’s just a blast.”
Darby (19-10) will play Grove City or Watterson in a regional semifinal next Thursday.
After allowing Adam Buerger’s RBI double in the first, Cooper Gilkerson shut down Gahanna the rest of the way, retiring the final 14 batters. He struck out six and walked none.
“Cooper was lights out,” Darby coach Chris Fugitt said. “He’s been lights out all year. He’s a sophomore and nothing fazes him. He could give up four home runs in a row and he just gets back on the mound and wants the ball.”
Darby took command in the third, scoring five runs on just one hit — an Evan Vulic three-run double — to open a 7-1 lead. The Panthers were aided by four walks and an infield error in the inning.
Darby added a run in the fourth on Yankovich’s RBI single and scored three in the fifth, capped by Cam Gilkerson’s two-run single to end the game. Cam Gilkerson also doubled twice to lead the Panthers’ seven-hit attack.
Carson Samuels took the loss for 24th-seeded Gahanna (16-13).
“(Our) guys are very competitive,” Lions coach Mike Shade said. “I don’t think today was indicative of how we can play, but all credit to Hilliard Darby. They came out and hit the ball well and their kid pitched very well.”
After the game, Darby’s 10 seniors headed to Value City Arena to participate in the school’s graduation ceremony.
“Today was a lot of fun,” Fugitt said. “Our seniors graduated and it’s a day we’ll never forget. We played great baseball. We got good pitching. We played outstanding defense. That’s kind of what we do. We got timely hits. I didn’t expect (the score) to be like this. We did what we needed to do.”
Olentangy Orange 7, Pickerington North 1
Led by pitcher Josh Tabor, Orange earned its first district title since 2021 and fourth overall by beating North at Grove City.
The Pioneers (20-10) will play Olentangy Liberty or DeSales in a Division I regional semifinal next Thursday.
“This never gets old,” Orange coach Tom Marker said. “This group has been with us forever. We have 17 seniors. Cole Cahill and Josh Tabor have been on our roster since they were freshmen and Charlie Scholvin was on it as a sophomore, so we have three guys that played on the 2021 team. It’s kind of cool that they got a taste of it.”
Tabor allowed two hits, struck out 12 and walked two in a complete-game effort.
“I was surprised somewhat (by the score),” Marker said. “With Tabor being on like he was that helped us be a little more confident offensively.”
Leading 3-1, Orange added four runs in the fifth.
Cole Cahill hit a solo home run in the first and added a double and single to lead Orange’s eight-hit attack. Ian Dando added two singles.
Harry Kreinbrink scored North’s run in the seventh. Brett Madison took the loss for the Panthers (14-12).
Division II: Bloom-Carroll 9, Jonathan Alder 6
Bloom-Carroll rallied from 4-1 and 6-5 deficits to knock off top-seeded Jonathan Alder in a district final at Liberty.
The second-seeded Bulldogs (28-2) will play Washington Court House in a regional semifinal next Thursday at Ohio Dominican. It’s their second district championship in three years.
Andrew Hall pitched six innings of scoreless relief to earn the win.
“I wasn’t too nervous when I came in because I believed in my team, and I knew that we had come from behind in a lot of games all year, so that gave me the confidence that I needed,” Hall said. “I knew it was a big moment, but the only thing I was thinking about was my teammates and how far we have come this year. I didn’t want to disappoint them.”
Tryce Chaffin led Bloom-Carroll's nine-hit attack with three hits, three runs scored and an RBI.
Ashton Martin had three hits and scored twice to lead Jonathan Alder (26-2).
“It’s tough that there’s only going to be four teams that win their game, so anytime you do deal with that and deal with the emotion of a loss and deal with the emotions of seniors moving on and leaving the program, you try to draw on that and bring back the things that you’ve accomplished,” Pioneers coach Craig Kyle said.
—Frank DiRenna and Tom Wilson, Lancaster Eagle Gazette
Division III: Columbus Academy 2, Utica 0
Sophomore pitcher Harmon Gouhin helped Academy capture its first district title since 2018 and eighth overall, allowing four hits while striking out three and walking three in a complete-game effort at Beavers Field in Lancaster.
“Harmon threw well and kept the ball around the plate,” Academy coach Todd Dunkle said. “We had some really good defensive plays. Rex Whitney at second base made three outstanding plays. We turned a couple double plays. Defensively, along with Harmon’s pitching, we played a great game.”
The Vikings (19-10) will play Toledo Ottawa Hills, Genoa Area, Archbold or Metamora Evergreen in a Division III regional semifinal next Thursday at Garrold Parratt Field in Hamler.
“The atmosphere there is great and what these guys bring as baseball players is tremendous,” Dunkle said.
Third-seeded Academy scored in the second inning when Peter Tsung came home on Whitney’s sacrifice fly and added a run in the third when Theo Falkenhain scored on a wild pitch.
Jordan Hartman, Matthew Hite, Tyler Collura and Gavin Chinn each singled for ninth-seeded Utica (14-13).
“Utica has a good team and they play the game the way you’re supposed to,” Dunkle said. “We played just a little bit better than them.”
Division III: Heath 3, Fredericktown 1
The fifth-seeded Bulldogs (20-8) upset top-seeded Fredericktown (25-2) at Beavers Field and will play Waynesville in a regional semifinal next Thursday at Wright State.
Heath trailed 1-0 after one inning, but Tannar Patterson blanked the Freddies the rest of the way.
The Bulldogs tied the game on Connor Corbett’s RBI double in the third and took the lead for good on Cooper Bradley’s RBI single in the fourth.
They are headed to their first regional tournament since 2011.
“It’s amazing,” senior third baseman Jacob Bunn said. “If you’d have asked me sophomore year if we would be in this place, I would have called you crazy. I never thought we would be here.”
Heath went 6-20 in 2021.
—Kurt Snyder, Newark Advocate
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Darby, Orange win OHSAA Division I district baseball titles
