Olentangy Orange (Division I), New Albany (Division II), Watterson (Division III), Fairfield Union (Division IV) and Columbus Academy (Division V) will represent central Ohio in the OHSAA baseball state tournament.
In regional finals June 4, Orange defeated Newark 12-4, New Albany beat Big Walnut 5-1, Watterson defeated London 5-0, Fairfield Union beat Richmond Edison 5-2, Highland lost to Sandusky Perkins 6-5 in Division IV and Amanda-Clearcreek lost to Findlay Liberty-Benton 3-1 in Division V. Academy defeated Versailles 3-2 in a regional final June 3.
Here are recaps of the Orange and New Albany wins:
With his team trailing 1-0 after the first inning, Orange coach Tom Marker gathered his players together in the dugout.
“I told our guys we’re going to get punched at some point,” Marker said. “Newark is scrappy. … We knew they were going to be competitive. We saw that when they [beat] Olentangy Liberty [1-0 in a regional semifinal]. I told them you’re going to get punched, stay even and do what you do.”
The Pioneers responded, taking the lead for good with three runs in the second before pulling away to win at Beavers Field in Lancaster, advancing to their third state tournament and first since 2023.
Orange (24-5) plays Cincinnati St. Xavier in a state semifinal at 7 p.m. June 11 at 717 Credit Union Park in Akron.
Jake Luling led the Pioneers offensively against Newark with a home run, double, single and five RBIs. His three-run double in the second provided an early spark, and he added a solo home run in the fourth and a run-scoring single in the sixth.
“It’s really special,” Luling said of winning a regional title. “We have to keep grinding and putting in the work at practice, and I think we have a real shot.”
Orange ace Reid Hemrick went the first five innings to get the win, allowing four runs on seven hits. He struck out three and walked two.
Moses Crane and Kodie Steele had three hits apiece for Newark (22-8), which managed to close within 4-2 in the fourth and 6-4 in the fifth in its first regional final since 2006.
Newark pitchers hit seven Orange batters.
“This hurts,” Newark coach Mike Steele said. “You never want to finish the season with a loss. Unfortunately, there’s only going to be one team that ends with a win. It was a great season. I’m very proud of our guys. Our guys came in and accomplished things that haven’t been done in 20 years or so here at Newark.”
For the second consecutive season, New Albany’s path to the state tournament went through Big Walnut.
Junior pitcher Aidan Wyche allowed six hits while striking out seven and walking two in 6⅓ innings, leading the Eagles past Big Walnut in a regional final at Grove City.
Laat season, New Albany beat Big Walnut 6-0 in the regional final before losing to Amherst Steele 3-2 in a state semifinal.
“This is incredible,” New Albany coach Mike Sandman said. “I’m so proud of the guys. They came here on a mission. It was a slow start, but we just kept putting the pressure on them. It was amazing to just see our guys keep chipping away at it.”
The Eagles (24-7) play Harrison in a state semifinal at 4 p.m. June 12 at Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium in Canton.
Big Walnut took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Trey Kaylor was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
New Albany went ahead 2-1 on Remy Trautner’s RBI single in the fourth.
Carson Skinner, Justin Speert and Nick Nardell had two hits apiece for New Albany.
Jake Neff had three hits and Nolan Buirley added two to lead Big Walnut (19-8).
“I’m extremely proud of the guys,” Big Walnut coach Mike Stafford said. “One game doesn’t define a season. It’s the course of the season. One team is going to win it. Unfortunately, we came up short, but I wouldn’t trade these guys or this program for anything.”
High school sports reporter Frank DiRenna can be reached at fdirenna@dispatch.com and at @DispatchFrank on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Five central Ohio baseball teams advance to OHSAA state tournament
