ROMM PHOTOGRAPHY
Green second baseman Jacob Ramey awaits the throw to nail a would-be GlenOak base stealer on Friday at Thurman Munson Stadium in Canton. The Bulldogs captured the district title 4-2.
HUDSON, Ohio – After what happened on Friday, you have to start believing that the Medina baseball team is on one of those magical carpet rides, where the stars are all aligned in just the right way for some special, only-once-every-so-often things to happen.
After all, what else could it be?
The Bees (18-8) trailed upstart Solon 5-0 after just a half-inning, and 10-0 going into the bottom of the sixth inning in the Hudson Division I District championship game after the Comets (10-13) scored another five-spot in that inning.
To say it didn’t look good for the Bees is like saying Medina and Brunswick are arch rivals in every single aspect of life.
But the Bees, after scoring two in the bottom of the sixth to make it 10-2, exploded for nine runs in the seventh to shock the Comets -- and maybe even themselves, to a great extent – with an improbable 11-10 victory.
If it isn’t the greatest win in the history of the program, then it is at least in the conversation.
Now Medina advances to the regional, where, maybe, more magic awaits.
In other games:
Tournaments
Canton Division I District
Green 4, Canton Glenoak 2
CANTON, Ohio – Bryce Miller put the Bulldogs (19-4) on his back and carried them to the regional with this district championship game victory over the Golden Eagles (20-6) at Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium. He tossed a four-hitter to raise his record to 5-0, and had two hits of his own in Green’s 10-hit attack. Jacob Ramey also had two hits, including a double, and Mark Zimmerman had an RBI triple.
Strongsville Division I District
Brunswick 7, North Olmsted 6
BRUNSWICK, Ohio – The Blue Devils (13-8) scored a run in the bottom of the seventh inning to defeat the Eagles (16-9) and advance to the district title game against Strongsville (18-1), an easy 13-4 winner over Westlake in the other semifinal.
Canton Division II District
Tallmadge 2, Canton South 0
CANTON, Ohio – The Blue Devils (18-5) scored single runs in the first two innings and made them last in winning a district title game at Munson Stadium over a Wildcats team (14-10) that was playing a virtual home game, with the school located only about two miles away.
Struthers Division II District
Canfield 5, Ravenna 4
STRUTHERS, Ohio – The Ravens (14-6) had a 1-0 lead in the first inning, and scored three runs in the sixth, but didn’t do enough in between against the Cardinals (15-7) in this district championship contest.
Parma Division III Sectional
Louisville St. Thomas Aquinas 11, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy 6
CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio – The Knights (13-10) scored eight runs in the third inning and went on to defeat the host Royals (12-12) to claim a sectional title. Junior David Gray doubled, had three RBI and scored a run for CVCA.
Manchester 2, Garrettsville Garfield 1
GARRETTSVILLE, Ohio – The Panthers (10-14) rebounded from a 1-0 second-inning deficit and stunned the host G-Men (12-3) to win a sectional championship. Junior Mitch Keim tossed a three-hitter for Manchester. Ironically, just two weeks before, the Garfield softball team came to Manchester and shocked the heavily-favored Panthers 7-5 in a sectional title contest.
Regular-season games
Windham 11, Waterloo 0
ATWATER TWP., Ohio – Cameron Pozsgai pitched a four-hitter, singled twice and drove in two runs, and the visiting Bombers (10-8, 6-4) scored eight runs in the fourth inning to win this Portage Trail Conference County Division game over the Vikings (0-15, 0-12).
Kent Roosevelt 3, Coventry 1
COVENTRY TWP., Ohio – Senior Jake Hyre tossed a seven-hitter and struck out 11, and senior Garrett Hickle had a two-run single in the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie and lead the Rough Riders (14-8, 9-3) to this PTC Metro Division victory over the host Comets (9-11, 6-7). Senior Zack Sherbourne doubled for Coventry.
Rootstown 6, East Canton 3
EAST CANTON, Ohio – The Rovers (9-8, 8-4) scored four runs in the second inning and rode that to a PTC County Division triumph over the host Hornets (3-10, 3-10). Senior Jarek Marva (4-3) was outstanding for Rootstown, striking out 15 en route to tossing a seven-hitter. He also drove in two runs. Ryan Burfield had two doubles for East Canton.