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2023 OHSAA Tournament: Division III State Final - No. 13 Waynedale vs No. 26 Harrison Central

June 10, 2023
Bruce Hefflinger
PBR Ohio Senior Writer

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2023 OHSAA Tournament: Division III State Final - No. 13 Waynedale vs No. 26 Harrison Central

AKRON - One is not enough.

After winning a state championship for the initial time in school history a year ago, Apple Creek Waynedale repeated the feat on Saturday evening with a 10-1 victory over Harrison Central in the Division III title game.

The final matchup of the 95th annual Ohio High School state tournament got out of hand early with Waynedale scoring one in the first, six in the second and one each in the third, fourth and fifth innings.

“We basically told them if you get fastballs early, put a good swing on it,” explained head coach Lucas Daugherty. “Whenever we get runners on we try to put pressure on and play with confidence.”

The quick lead was more than enough for Otto Solorzano, the winning pitcher in the D-III state finals for the second consecutive year. The southpaw gave up one run on six hits in six innings on the mound.

“He’s an impressive pitcher,” Daugherty said of his junior left-hander. “His demeanor and his poise in all these situations he’s been in impresses me every time. He’s very consistent and fills up the zone.”

While Solorzano was throwing blanks, the bats picked up where they left off on Friday with a four-run final inning in a 6-2 win over Ottawa Hills. Eight Golden Bears had hits including six with two or more led by Dylan Raber with four singles.

“I feel if you’re the leadoff batter your job is to get hits and start innings off,” noted Raber. “That’s what I had to do today and I went out and did what I had to do.”

Tristan Franks had a two-run single and Connor Gatti followed with a double that brought home a pair in the six-run second.

Franks, Gatti, TImmy Short and Trey Barkman all had two RBIs while Raber scored three times and Gatti twice helping the state’s 13th-ranked team in Division III win another state crown.

“I think all our guys and coaches that were here last year were hungry and motivated to get back to this stage,” Daugherty related. “Once we got here I think having been in this ballpark in games like this with this environment, it wasn’t as much of a shock. When we got here maybe we were a little more comfortable.”

One of seven seniors on the team, Raber understands how memorable this accomplishment is for all involved.

“The bond we have for each other is special,” Raber said. “There’s never any problems and we’re always having fun. When it comes down to competition we can be serious and win games. That’s the best part.”

Kaden Jurosko had a single, double and RBI for Harrison Central, the 26th-rated team in D-III, a state runner-up for the second time, the other coming in 1982.

HOT TAKES

PLAYERS OF THE GAME: While the hitting stood out, having Solorzano on the mound made things more comfortable for the Golden Bears. The junior struck out seven and allowed just one walk in his six innings of work. Of his 75 pitches, 48 were strikes.

D-III TOURNEY MVP: Raber, the spark plug for the Golden Bears, finished his state tournament career with a hit in every game. After producing three hits a year ago, including two in the state title game, the senior shortstop connected on five this time around, four in the finals. Raber also scored three runs against Harrison Central after driving in one in the state semis.

BRIEF MOMENT: When Harrison Central got out of a bases-loaded one-out situation allowing just one run in the first inning it gave Huskie fans a brief moment of optimism down just 1-0 against the defending state champions. After a six-spot in the second that hope dimmed quickly.

WHAT’S NEXT?: A strong senior class brings optimism for greatness ahead at Harrison Central. Seven starters are back including the whole outfield and the starting pitcher in Saturday night’s state final, who played shortstop after being pulled. … Two straight state titles have been led by a strong 2023 class, but Solorzano returns to give the Golden Bears an ace to go along with three sophomore returnees at catcher, second base and left field.

LINESCORE

Harrison Central    000 010  0   -   1    6  2
Waynedale              161  110  x  -  10  15  0

Records: Waynedale 24-9, Harrison Central 20-13.

Winning Pitcher: Otto Solorzano (6 innings, 1 run, 6 hits, 7 strikeouts, 1 walk). Other: Timmy Short (1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 2 strikeouts, 0 walks).

Losing Pitcher: Tucker Snyder (1.1 innings, 6 runs, 5 hits, 1 strikeout, 3 walks). Others: Kaden Jurosko (1 inning, 2 runs, 5 hits, 2 strikeouts, 1 walk), Wyatt Pierce (3.2 innings, 2 runs, 1 earned run, 5 hits, 1 strikeout, 1 walk).

Leading Hitters: (Harrison Central) - Kaden Jurosko single, double, RBI; Tucker Snyder single; Braden Cook single; Anthony Pelegreen single, run; Reed Arbaugh single. (Waynedale) - Dylan Raber 4 singles, 3 runs; Tristan Franks 2 singles, run, 2 RBIs; Connor Gatti single, double, 2 runs, 2 RBIs; Timmy Short double, run, 2 RBIs; Trey Barkman single, 2 RBIs; Jayden Schlabach 2 singles, RBI; Gavin Spitler triple, run; Shane Coblentz single, double, RBI, run; Tate Venables run.

2023 Spring High School Season Content

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