Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy and Walsh Jesuit both won regional championships on Thursday, June 4, securing spots in the Ohio High School Athletic Association state tournament semifinals.
CVCA defeated Archbishop Hoban 3-2 at the Ballpark at Hudson to earn its first-ever Division III state semifinal berth.
Walsh Jesuit topped Shaker Heights 8-4 at Gilmour Academy's Figgie Field for its 11th Division II semifinal appearance.
CVCA Walk-Off Victory
Junior Alex Mammone delivered a walk-off single to right-center field in the bottom of the seventh inning, breaking a 2-2 tie and scoring senior Jacob Lancy.
The win improved CVCA's record to 23-9 and ended Hoban's 13-game winning streak.
"Lancy started off the inning with a nice line drive [single]," Mammone said.
"Jonah [Gaudio] laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Lancy to second, Peyton [Drabick] gets walked. I kind of felt disrespected when they intentionally walked Peyton.
The Lord was with me in that at-bat."
CVCA head coach Jason Herblet praised the program's growth and relief pitcher Mammone's contributions.
"I am so proud of these kids and the culture we have created," Herblet said. "It started 12 years ago when I started here.
... Alex is a big-timer.
He goes in on the mound and shuts people down when we need him to and he came up with a huge hit to win the game."
CVCA took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning when Layne Davis walked and scored on consecutive two-out singles by Jonah Gaudio and Peyton Drabick.
"Ever since the first day of practices, this was our goal — to get here, to keep going and to win a state championship," Gaudio said.
Archbishop Hoban took a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning on small-ball execution and fielders' choices by Zak Zellers and Scottie Albrecht.
CVCA senior Connor McGough tied the game in the bottom of the fifth with a 325-foot solo home run over the left field fence.
"I looked pretty bad on the curveball all day," McGough said. "I figured if I was the pitcher I'd be throwing me a curveball, too.
He did, and with the ball spinning like that, you gotta smack it and it kind of does the job on its own."
Starting pitcher Peyton Drabick allowed four hits and two runs over five innings, striking out six. Mammone threw two innings of relief to close the game.
"Hoban is one of the best teams in the area," Herblet said.
"Peyton went out and dealt and Alex came in like he has done all year as a reliever and closed it out for us."
Drabick credited the team's grit. "We had grit," he said.
"We knew this was going to be a really tough team to beat. We knew we could beat them, and we just gave it our all.
... Connor coming in in the clutch with a bomb, that was awesome."
Senior Kyle Shaw set up the regional final by pitching 6 2/3 shutout innings in a 2-0 semifinal win over Chardon on June 3.
"We played great team baseball," Shaw said.
Hoban finished its season at 24-6. Coach Derek Carmichael said, "This group definitely exceeded expectations.
... We got hot late.
This is the greatest team I have ever been on in the sense of team. Guys doing more than they were asked to do.
Guys stepping up."
Walsh Jesuit Builds Early Lead
In the Division II bracket, Walsh Jesuit used a four-run second inning and a three-run third inning to build a decisive lead over Shaker Heights.
Tanner Fitzwater recorded three hits and two runs, while Matthew Mansbery added two hits and two runs after going 4-for-4 against Highland on June 3.
Walsh Jesuit pitcher Caleb Mecurio struck out six over 3 2/3 innings, and Luca Borichevsky threw 3 1/3 scoreless relief innings to secure the win.
CVCA will face Columbus Bishop Watterson in the Division III state semifinal at 7 p. m.
Thursday, June 11, at Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium in Canton. Walsh Jesuit will play Hoover in the Division II state semifinal at 7 p.
m. Friday, June 12, at the same venue.
