HARWELLPHOTO.COM
Archbishop Hoban catcher Lucas Sokol, seen here in the regional championship against Lake Catholic, had a great day at the plate, with four hits and three runs scored, but the Knights came up just short in the Division II state championship game on Saturday.
On Friday, Archbishop Hoban meets North Coast League rival Parma Heights Holy Name in an OHSAA Division II baseball state semifinal game at Huntington Park in Columbus.
Third-year coach Jim Diestel and the Hoban Knights (17-8) are making the school’s first baseball state semifinal appearance since 1993. The Knights feature 11 senior players.
Hoban’s success coupled with the tournament run made by Holy Name has focused some well-deserved attention on NCL baseball. But a closer look reveals that the NCL is fast becoming Northeast Ohio’s best Division II diamond league.
Four-time state champion Walsh Jesuit (1999, 2004, 2006, 2008), as well as Cleveland Benedictine, are set to join the NCL Blue Division for 2012. The six-team Blue Division also will include the Hoban Knights, two-time state champion Chardon Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin (2001, 2009), Mentor Lake Catholic and Parma Padua Franciscan.
“It’s an interesting transition for us,” Walsh coach Chris Kaczmar said. “We’ve been in the Cuyahoga River Baseball Conference for many, many years. The CRBC also was competitive.
“One year (2008) we had four teams in our league make it to the state tournament (Lakewood St. Edward, Cleveland St. Ignatius, Gates Mills Gilmour Academy and Walsh Jesuit). So, really, we’re going from the frying pan into the fire.”
Last Saturday, Hoban defeated Lake Catholic 9-6 in a regional championship game. Earlier, the Knights topped Walsh Jesuit for the first time in over 15 years, winning 3-0 in the Akron Division II District championship game at Summit Lake.
Also for 2011-12, Holy Name is switching from the NCL Blue Division (Iarge school) to the White Division (small school). Warren John F. Kennedy joins the NCL for the coming school year as a member of the White Division, while Elyria Catholic has left the league for the West Shore Conference.
Next year’s Blue Division teams are 16-5 in this year’s baseball tourney. Three of the five losses came as the result of friendly fire as Lake Catholic defeated Benedictine, Hoban defeated Walsh Jesuit and Hoban defeated Lake Catholic. That doesn’t include the 5-0 mark Holy Name currently is riding.
“It speaks volumes for the quality of depth we’re going to have in the NCL in 2012,” Kaczmar said.
First pitch for the Hoban-Holy Name Division II state semifinal is slated for 1 p.m.