By JOHN KEREZY, eyeoncleveland.com founder

AKRON, JUNE 15 — After all the excitement and hoopla over back-to-back state champions has subsided, a good look at the numbers behind the final score of the OHSAA Division IV state semifinal and final games explains how Hiland emerged victorious.

Putting runs across the plate had never been a problem for the Hawks this season. The team averaged 10 runs a game in the District tournament and 15.5 runs a game in the two Regional contests in Lancaster.  

But runs were very difficult to come by both on Saturday and Sunday at Canal Park in the State Championships games. Final scores in contests were 3-1 (Fort Recovery over Hillsdale), 2-0 (Hiland over Russia), and 3-2 (Hiland over Fort Recovery).

The explanation for this lies in the nature of the playoffs. Teams are going to go with their two best pitchers in District semi-final and final games, and then again in the Regional tournament. By the state tournament, players who are excellent at other positions will also end up on the mound. That’s why Hilldale All-Ohioan Jack Fickes (usually an outfielder) and Russia All-Ohioan Braylon Cordonnier (usually a shortstop) were the starting pitchers in Saturday’s state semifinal games.

It’s also the reason why the Hawks stress the need to have at least two quality starting pitchers year-around. There was no doubt that Finn Schneider and Caden Coblentz would be getting the ball for Hiland. The two combined to throw 12 of the 14 innings in the semifinal and final contests, surrendering only two runs. Finally, it’s also why Brady Yoder’s ability to close out games was important in the state final contest.

The official OHSAA box score has an error: Finn Schneider pitched the first five innings of Sunday’s 3-2 victory, and Yoder came on for the sixth and seventh innings. Hiland’s hurlers were nearly invincible after Troy Holman’s lead-off double in the third inning (more on this below). Fort Recovery had only two base runners, Gavin Faller (base on balls) and Caen Grisez (single to right) in the final five frames of the contest.

Here’s a link to the box scores for Hiland’s state semifinal and final games.

Yoder earned the victory, as visiting Hiland had gained a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth. But more important to the win was the success of the pitching strategy. Finn Schneider was clocked at 60 to 65 mph for most of his pitches.  Brady Yoder was firing in fastballs at about 80-85 mph. Indian batters, conditioned to wait for Schneider’s slower offerings, couldn’t catch up to the heaters.

Two other major aspects of the Hawks’ win on Sunday night were glovework and teamwork. Leftfielder Connor Beachy and Rightfielder Colin Coblentz both turned in excellent defensive gems. Beachy made a fine running catch to record the second out in the third inning, and he also shined in the first when Fort Recovery’s Caden Grisez tried to stretch a long RBI single into a double. Caden hit Brady on a relay, and the throw to Kaden Kandel at second just beat Grisez to the bag. Inning over.

Leading off the third, Fort Recovery’s Troy Holman rocketed a double into the right field corner. Colin expertly corralled the ball and hit Kaden Kandel, who then launched his relay throw to Caden Coblentz at third. Holman, who was trying for an extra base, was out with at least five feet to spare on Coblentz’s tag. Holman hit the ball to the wrong fielder, as Colin Coblentz has the strongest arm among Hiland’s outfield squad.

Those type of plays — relay throws to second third, and home plate, require a lot of teamwork and are the result of many practice sessions. Hiland works on relay throws regularly, and it paid off in the championship game.

Losing coach Kevin Ewink paid tribute to Hiland’s defense.

“We try to teach to be aggressive but smart,” he said. “On Saturday (in their 3-1 victory over Hillsdale) and many times throughout the season, our aggressiveness paid off in extra runs. Unfortunately, this time it didn’t pay off. They (Hiland) didn’t make those mistakes. Credit to Hiland, a great defensive team.”

Hiland Coach Chris Dages cited Connor’s catch in left as being one of the three momentum changing events of the contest, the other two being Grady Monigold’s 2 RBI double and Brady Yoder’s two inning, close-out-the-victory pitching performance.

(STORY CONTINUES after these photos from the season)

Brady hit a curveball for his line drive double that notched the game-winning RBIs in Saturday’s 3-2 victory over Russia.  Grady Monigold launched a fastball into the gap in right centerfield on Sunday night. Replays show that Reece Evers leaped at the ball, but had no chance to catch it.

You can hear comments from all three, Coach Dages, Grady and Brady, here:

And if you want a terrific 220 second (or so) video summary of the title game, here’s a link to the YouTube video which Kee On Sports has produced.

MORE SNIPPETS

SCHEDULE SMARTS

The strategy of Chris Dages and the rest of the Hiland coaching staff in scheduling the Hawks against tough opponents paid off.  If you look at the five teams which beat Hiland this season, the sum total of their records was 92-43 or a .681 percentage. A nearby Division III team that defeated Hiland, Waynedale (3-2, May 2), advanced all the way to the State Finals before falling 3-2 to Heath. Also, one team Hiland defeated this season, Lake Center Christian (4-0, April 25), made it to the Elite 8 in Division IV before falling to Hillsdale.

Three of Hiland’s five losses came by a single run, giving the Hawks valuable experience on coming from behind in close games. In post-game comments, both Coach Dages and players mentioned that the come-from-behind 8-5 Regional final victory over Strasburg bolstered the players and coaching staff’s confidence that they’d come back to win in both the state semifinal contest vs. Russia and the title game vs. Fort Recovery.

BAG OF TRICKS

In comments after Hiland’s state championship triumph, Coach Chris Dages mentioned special offense plays the Hawks regularly practice, such as the suicide squeeze bunt and the double steal with runners on first and third. He was getting ready to open the book for such plays, until Grady Monigold’s sixth-inning blast.

FIRST FLORIDA – THEN THE PARADE

There were some plans to hold a parade for the stat champion Hawks this past week, but it seems that the group of seniors and a couple of other players had a warmer climate in mind.  As this story gets posted, about 10 members of the state championship team are still in the Sunshine State. Many of them motored south toward Florida in the wee hours of Monday morning after the title game.

So, the parade honoring the team will be on Sunday, June 30, beginning in Berlin at 1 p.m.  They’ll be a ceremony and reception honoring the team at Hiland’s Reece Center immediately following the parade.

UNFORGETTABLE SCHOOL YEAR FOR HILAND ATHLETICS

The Hawks’ state baseball title caps off an amazing academic year for Hiland Athletics. Look at the Hawk teams in 2023-2024:

• Boys Soccer: Regional Semi-finalist
• Girls Soccer: Regional Semi-finalist
• Boys Golf: State Semifinals
• Volleyball: Regional Semi-finalist
• Boys Basketball: State Runner-ups
• Girls Basketball: Regional Runner-ups
•  Baseball: Div. IV State Champions

OFF-SEASON UNDERWAY

At this writing, the Hiland Hawks were one of four teams competing in Team Sports Great Lakes World Series Challenge Tournament. The Pittsburgh Sliders, Warehouse Warkats, and Midwest Stars are the other teams. Hiland is undefeated going into the final day of competition on Sunday.

The important part of this is that the post-season 2024 and beginning preparations for 2025 are already happening. BY THE WAY — In 2024 I had an opportunity to interview about half of the members of this team. When asked about who was their most important coach, many of them said their fathers. So Happy Fathers Day, Hiland Hawk Dads!

(Editor’s note: eyeoncleveland.com is a volunteer effort. Many other reporters I encountered at the State Championship are being paid by their media outlets for their work. Out of respect for them and due to a busy personal schedule, I delayed my story until now. )

LINKS TO A FEW PAST STORIES

State semifinal games story: https://eyeoncleveland.com/2024/06/09/return-to-the-title-game/

State Championship Tournament preview story: https://eyeoncleveland.com/2024/06/05/ohsaa-division-iv-state-tournament-preview/

Region 15 (Lancaster) preview story: https://eyeoncleveland.com/2024/05/28/region-15-preview-and-primer/

All told, eyeoncleveland posted about 15 stories and features on Hiland Hawk players in Spring 2024.

MANY THANKS TO: Coach Dages and his staff for allowing me access to the team, and special thanks to Tim Stried, Scott Rex (media relations), and the entire OHSAA staff for their excellent work at the State Championships (actually four tournaments).