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.
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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.
