Prep Baseball Report

2021 OHSAA Tournament: Division III State Semifinal - No. 12 CHCA vs No. 24 Barnesville


Dylan Hefflinger and Bruce Hefflinger
PBR Ohio Editor in Chief/NW Scout and Senior Writer

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2021 OHSAA Tournament: Division III State Semifinal - No. 12 CHCA vs No. 24 Barnesville

AKRON - A play that was made in the first inning and one that was not, helped Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy jump to an early lead and the Eagles pulled away for a 7-1 win over Barnesville in the Division III state semifinals on Friday.

With one run already on the board in the top of the first, Barnesville appeared on the verge of extending the advantage when Logan Shepherd ripped a full-count pitch to left-center with runners on first and second and two away. However, CHCA left fielder Alex Moffitt made an impressive over-the-shoulder grap to end the uprising.

In the bottom of the frame,with two on and two away, CHCA pinch-hitter Will Murphy lined a shot to left for what was potentially a third out. But the Barnesville left fielder slipped on his first step and the ball got down for a two-run triple and the Eagles led 3-1 after one.

While Barnesville never scored again, CHCA tallied one run in the second, one in the fourth and two more in the sixth for the victory and a berth in the state finals on Sunday at 10 a.m. against the winner of Archbold and Canton Central Catholic.

Colin Ames threw five innings of four-hit ball to pick up the win for the team from the Miami Valley Conference before Murphy came on with one on and nobody down in the sixth to induce a 6-4-3 double play. Murphy went on to retire the next four batters and move the Eagles to the state championship game for the second time in school history.

Murphy finished with a single, double and triple while Jack Vogele, who led off the first and scored the initial run of the game for CHCA, reached base three times and scored twice. Andrew Brock added an RBI triple for the winners, the 12th-ranked D-III team in the state which improved to 22-8.

Kyvan Johnson hit a run-scoring single in the first for the lone run by Barnesville, the number 24 team in Ohio which closed out the year at 24-8, setting a school mark for wins in a season.

HOT TAKES

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Not often is a non-starter the MVP, but then again rarely is there a pinch-hitter in the first inning. Murphy filled both roles in the state semifinal win. The 136th-ranked junior in the state had a two-run triple in the first and added a leadoff double in the bottom of the third. In the fourth, Murphy was intentionally walked with runners on second and third and two away before contributing a run-scoring single in the sixth, eventually scoring on a Brock triple.

KEY STATS: Barnesville pitchers combined to walk nine batters in six innings of work, with five coming around to score. Additionally, CHCA put the leadoff hitter on base in five of six innings with Vogele reaching on a hit in the first and a free pass in the fourth leading the way.

BIG PLAY: While it may not have mattered in a game that ended 7-1, Barnesville had an opportunity to get out of a big jam in the first. With runners on first and second and no outs, a strikeout throw-him-out play at third did not end well for the Shamrocks. Vogele managed to get in a rundown before making it back to second safely. However, Cooper Robinson was there as well and headed back to first. Then the throw to first base to put out Robinson was high, allowing both CHCA runners to move up. It got worse when the next batter struck out only to reach on a passed ball while Vogele came home with the first of three CHCA runs of the frame.

WHAT’S NEXT: The lineup for Barnesville featured seven juniors, with pitcher and leadoff hitter Ayden Hannahs and three-hole batter Jake Edwards the lone senior starters. Head coach D.J. Butler looks to add a lot more wins to his career mark of 257 career victories, 203 at Barnesville, which had made it to state just one time previous, losing in the semifinals in 2004.

LiNESCORE

Barnesville        100 000 0 - 1 4 2
CHCA                 310 012 X  - 7 7 1

Records: CHCA 22-8, Barnesville 24-8

Winning Pitcher: Colin Ames (5 innings, 1 runs, 1 ER, 4 hits, 7 strikeouts, 3 walks). Other: Will Murphy (2 innings, 3 strikeouts).

Losing Pitcher: Ayden Hannahs (3 innings, 5 run, 5 hits, 7 strikeouts, 5 walks). Other: Gavin Carpenter (3 innings, 2 hits, 2 runs, 0 ER, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts).

Leading Hitters: (CHCA) - Jack Vogele single, 2 walks; Caden Crawford single; Will Murphy single, double, triple, walk; Andrew Brock triple, Ty Yeton single. (Barnesville) - Jake Edwards single; Gavin Carpenter single, walk; Kyvan Johnson single; Spencer Bliss single.

2021 Spring High School Season Content

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