Prep Baseball Report

OHSAA Division III State Semifinal - South Range vs #19 Madeira


Bruce Hefflinger
PBR Ohio Senior Writer

Follow @PBR Ohio

Ohio Spring baseball always seems to fly by and in 2018 that is most definitely evident with the fact we are in Columbus at beautiful Huntington Park for the State Final Four. That means the four best teams in each division will battle it out to see who is the champion.

To view the other divisions State Final Four Previews, click below:
+ Division I
+ Division II
+ Division III
+ Division IV

To view the Regional Previews, click below:
+ Division I
+ Division II
+ Division III
+ Division IV

To view the Final Team Rankings, click below:
+ Division I
+ Division II
+ Division III
+ Division IV

To view the 2018 Preseason All-State Selections, click below:
+ Division I
+ Division II
+ Division III
+ Division IV

Interested in nominating someone for the 2018 All-State Teams, please click here. All-State will be released a week after the State Finals is complete.

Interested in improving your profile with high school game video? Click here to see how.

Interested in attending a PBR Ohio event? Check out our schedule by clicking here.

To view all things related to the 2018 Spring High School Baseball Season, including the Scout Blog, Team Power Rankings, Preseason All-State Teams and more, click here.

OHSAA Division III State Semifinal - South Range vs #19 Madeira

COLUMBUS - There was even more to his game than on the mound for Jake Gehring.

The South Range freshman broke a scoreless tie with a bases-clearing double in the top of the sixth inning and proceeded to blank Cincinnati Madeira the rest of the way in a 7-0 shutout on Thursday night in the Division III state semifinals.

Tyler Sullivan matched Gehring through five innings, allowing just one hit and two walks up to that point. But in the sixth, the Raiders got to the Madeira junior. With one away, Jared Bajerski singled to left, A foul out and walk followed before Ben Rivera beat out an infield single to the hole at short loading the bases for Gehring.

The ninth-grader for South Range promptly ripped a shot to left that hit five feet in fair territory and rolled to the wall, giving the Raiders a 3-0 lead. Josh Stear made it 4-0 with a run-scoring single before Mike Cunningham’s RBI triple to deep center capped the five-run frame.

South Range added to the lead in the seventh highlighted by an RBI single to right by Brycen James.

Gehring, who permitted six hits in going the distance with six strikeouts and one free pass, got out of first-inning jam when Madeira put the first two batters on base. But a flyout, strikeout and groundout gave a sign of things to come.

The right-handed freshman did not allow another baserunner until the fifth. The Mustangs left runners in scoring position in the fifth and sixth innings, but on each occasion Gehring was up to the task.

Fittingly, Gehring fanned the side in the seventh to send South Range to the state championship game for the first time in school history with a matchup against Coldwater on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Hot Takes

Key play: While the biggest play offensively for South Range was the Gehring double, the defense came up huge in the sixth with Madeira threatening to get back in the game. Matt Megois, Sam Wirsing and Tyler Richmond all singled to open the frame for the Mustangs, but a pop out to short center field kept the bases juiced. Josh Cobb then laced a line shot up the middle that South Range shortstop Brandon Youngs ranged to his left and skied for the second out before touching the bag at second for the twin-killing double play.

Player of the game: Gehring … three RBIs and a shutout is hard to top. The righty threw 112 pitches in the game, 70 for strikes in moving to 8-2 on the season while lowering an ERA that started the day at 0.95.

Strong at the top: South Range proved tough at the top of the order, with Bajerski and Youngs each recording a pair of hits while three-hole hitter James reached base all four plate appearances with three walks and the RBI single. Rivera also had a single and free pass from the clean-up spot, helping set the table for number five hitter Gebring.

Tough in loss: Until the sixth, Sullivan had actually outpitched Gehring. From the second through fifth innings only one South Range batter was able to reach base against the junior right-hander, that coming on a one-out walk to James in the fourth.

Season finale: A talented Madeira squad has much promise for the 2019 campaign, with just three seniors that started. Sullivan and number three hurler Casey Wirsing give the Mustangs two pitchers to rely on for a team that had not given up more than three runs for eight consecutive games until Thursday

What’s next?: It will be quite a contrast when Coldwater, in state appearance number 20, meets South Range, which had never made it to regionals until this year, collide in the finals. Sam Brooks and Youngs give the Raiders a pair of quality pitchers ready to go for a team that started the season 2-6 and also lost six of their lost seven non-tournament games.

Linescore

South Range 000 005 2 - 7  9 2
Madeira          000 000 0 - 0 6 1  

Records: South Range 17-15, Madeira 21-7.

Winning Pitcher: Jake Gehring (7 innings, 0 runs, 6 hits, 6 strikeouts, 1 walk).

Losing Pitcher: Tyler Sullivan (5.2 innings, 5 runs, 6 hits, 2 strikeouts,3 walks). Other: Sam Wirsing.

Leading Hitters: (South Range) - Jared Bajerski 2 singles, 2 runs; Brandon Youngs 2 singles; Brycen James single, 3 walks; Ben Rivera single; Jake Gehring double, 3 RBIs; Josh Stear single; Mike Cunningham triple. (Madeira) - Pat Thatcher single; Matt Megois single; Sam Wirsing 2 singles; Tyler Richmond single; Jake Weiner single.