'We're just taking wins any way they come': Waynedale rallies to win district semifinal

CRESTON — Waynedale had been there before.

The Golden Bears entered the bottom of the seventh inning trailing by two runs. The breaks hadn't gone their way all afternoon. They were making good contact, but they weren't falling for hits when it mattered.

But they never panicked.

The Bears calmly completed the final-inning comeback, capped off by Trey Barkman's walk-off double, to beat Beachwood 4-3 in the Div. III Creston District semifinals. Waynedale faces Chagrin Falls back at Norwayne High School at 5 p.m. in Wednesday's district title game.

"We're playing every game like it's our last and not taking anything for granted," said Barkman, who was the lone Waynedale player with multiple hits. "Especially with baseball, you never know what's going to happen. At this point, we're just taking wins any way they come."

Waynedale's playoff credentials are obvious after winning the Div. III state title a year ago. Five current Golden Bears — Barkman, Connor Gatti, Dylan Raber, Otto Solorzano and Timmy Short — started in last year's state championship game, and all five factored into the Bears' comeback Monday.

Raber supplied the first hit of the inning, giving Waynedale runners on the corners (Tate Venables began the inning with a leadoff walk) with no outs. After Venables scored on a groundout from Tristan Franks and Raber scored on a passed ball to tie it at 3-all, Gatti and Short both walked to put runners on for Barkman.

"I wasn't worried at all," Raber said. "I put my beliefs where they should be, and I played baseball."

After what uneven outing on the mound — 5⅓ innings pitched, five hits, three earned runs, seven strikeouts and five walks — Barkman was ready to make a big play with his bat. And he did just that, smoking an inside fastball deep into left field for the game-winning double.

"There's nobody else you really want up in a situation like that," Waynedale coach Lucas Daugherty said.

Then there was Solorzano, who entered in another high-leverage situation as a relief pitcher. The Bears trailed 3-1 when Solorzano entered in the sixth inning with the bases loaded and one out. The 2022 state championship game winning pitcher only faced five batters the rest of the game, striking out four of them.

"He just goes in and fills up the zone and he pitches the same no matter what the situation is," Daugherty said of Solorzano.

There's no doubt who will be on the mound in Wednesday's title game either. It'll be Solorzano, who has his full availability after throwing just 21 pitches Monday.

Starting pitcher Josh Rosenblitt went most of the way for Beachwood, shutting down the Bears until the final inning. He finished with six strikeouts, six walks while giving up six hits and three earned runs. Brett Zawatsky and James O'Neill had two hits apiece for the Bison.

Beachwood never trailed until Barkman's walk-off hit, capturing a 1-0 lead in the third inning on a Luke Bennett grounder that just snuck through the left side of the infield. The Bison scored their other runs on a throwing error and a bases-loaded walk.

It hasn't always been smooth ride for the Bears. They lost a few games they shouldn't have. They've come up short in a lot of close games. But all of that prepared them for a game like the district semifinal.

"Since we had been there and battled through in previous games, I think we just knew to stay course, keep a good approach and keep battling. And that would give us a chance," Daugherty said.

In fact, Monday's game was reminiscent to last year's district games, when Waynedale beat Manchester and Gilmour Academy by one run apiece on its way to a state title.

"Last year there were so many one-run games that came down to the wire," Raber said. "That has helped a lot of our seniors this year to stay smooth and calm in those moments and it showed in this game."

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Baseball: Waynedale rallies to beat Beachwood in district semis