Ohio: Mayfield baseball rallies for district title

"I was just looking for a fastball, a good pitch," Begun said. "I got it right down the middle and the first pitch, I took it out. I had faith in the team. We’re a strong offensive team. I knew we would come back."

"I was talking to one of my teammates earlier about how we knew it would come down to the last inning or the last out," said Santora. "I’m grateful to be in that position and come through like I did."

When he needed them to deliver the most, Mayfield coach Don Ramer watched as two seniors added to their families’ legacies.

"We thought about starting Ryan at DH, but (Christian) Verde offers a little more speed on the bases," said Ramer. "I told Ryan, ‘You better be ready because you’re probably going to pinch-hit in a key situation.’ What more can I say? Ryan will probably be our DH in the next game. He does offer us more power.

"When they went and talked to the pitcher, I said, ‘Jake, this is the moment you’ve been waiting for. Your brothers have been in this situation and now, it’s your time. You’ve just got to get a ball in the zone that you can hit on the ground. Hit a line drive, keep it out of the air and we’ll win this game,’ " Ramer added. "He did."

The win over Willoughby South gives Mayfield a berth into Thursday afternoon’s Division I Regional semifinal against Canton Glen Oak High School at Thurman Munson Stadium in Canton.

"All 17 guys, all of them have a job and there’s situations where I’m going to need pinch-runners, pinch-hitters and so, it’s not like you’re a bench player," Ramer said. "You’re a key component to this team and you’ve got to be ready because I may call on you at any time.

"If we would’ve lost, I would’ve cried," he continued. "The way we won the game, I can’t be happier that the senior class gets the opportunity to go to the regionals and play. Like I’ve always said, this senior class has been special. There’s 12 of them and tonight could’ve been the end for us, but we’re going to continue on because they kept fighting and that’s what they do. They’re fighters."

Mayfield had to fight to either tie the game or take a lead in each of their last three at-bats. In addition to Begun’s blast and Santora’s hit, the Wildcats got an offensive lift in the fifth inning. Paul Mann started the Wildcats off with a double down the right-field line. Santora quickly followed with a single up the middle and a throw to home plate from centerfielder Aaron Lindgren initially held Mann at third base. However, the throw bounced out of the grasp of South backstop Max Stohlman and the run came around to score.

After an attempted force-out on a sacrifice bunt failed to yield an out, Mayfield’s heart-of-the-order hitters delivered big hits. Matt Wetzel swatted an RBI single to right and the next man up, Lee Longo, got an RBI when he singled through the hole at short.

"We squandered opportunities left and right, but when they came back and took a two-run lead, I thought, 'Well, our team has responded all year to being down; can they get over the hump and win it in the last inning?' " said Ramer. "I can’t be more proud."

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2. The Cuyahoga Heights baseball team may have had its rough patches during the 2010 season, but it started hitting at the right time and has not stopped yet. The Redskins scored five times in the seventh inning of their District semifinal win and added another four runs in their last at-bat of an 11-2 win over Southington Chalker in the Division IV Euclid District final Friday. Cuyahoga Heights (Cleveland) junior Mark Lucas was a key cog in the Redskins’ production Friday. He pitched five innings of two-run baseball and had four RBI in five plate appearances.

"I was feeling it," Lucas said. "The baseball was huge. I was just driving the ball and it felt good. We’ve been inconsistent all year, but we’ve progressively gotten better and we’re scoring in bunches."

3. How long had it been since Midview (Grafton)’s softball team won a District championship and advanced to a Regional tournament? Well, the seniors on this year’s team were still in their cribs when the Middies last won a title in 1992.

However, that streak is no more after the Middies’ 5-4 win over the Olmsted Falls Bulldogs last Thursday afternoon in Parma.

4. The Elyria Pioneers and Keystone (La Grange) Wildcats softball programs have been to the Division I and Division II Regional softball tournaments before, but both have a different look this year. With heavy graduation losses from last year, both teams are younger than normal, but they are also hungry.

Elyria’s squad won its District final 3-2 in extra innings over Amherst Steele, while the Wildcats closed out Medina Buckeye’s tournament run 6-0.5. In the Division III Plymouth District final, Milan Edison fought its way to a 2-0 victory over 2009 Division III State runner-up, Bellville Clear Fork. Milan Edison will take on Archbold in Wednesday’s Regional semifinal at Ashland’s Brookside Park. Archbold earned a 7-0 victory over Rockford Parkway in its District final.

Top performers

* In a losing effort, Columbia pitcher Jen Solanics allowed three runs on five hits, but had eight strikeouts against Jeromesville Hillsdale, a team she and the Raiders defeated in last year’s District semifinals. Solanics, a University of Toledo softball recruit, earned Columbia’s only hits of the game by twice doubling to right field.

* Lutheran West slugger Zach Hausmann has earned the nickname "Babe Roof" after hitting four home runs onto the school’s roof last week. His blasts were estimated between 425 and 475 feet, according to The Plain Dealer in Cleveland.

* Walsh Jesuit pitcher Tyler Skulina hit in the low 90s on the radar gun a handful of times in a 10-3 Warriors win over Archbishop Hoban last week. He had six strikeouts and has yet to drop a game in his high school career.

Looking ahead

* Walsh Jesuit vs. Lake Catholic (Mentor), Division II Regional baseball tournament Thursday afternoon at Hudson. The Warriors have been to the Regional tournament 11 times in the last 14 years and were last year’s state runner-up, but the Cougars are looking to be the second consecutive North Coast League team to ruin Walsh Jesuit’s state championship hopes. Walsh fell to Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin in last year’s state final.

However, what’s even nicer than watching athletes achieve their dreams in high school is seeing them take that next step and be productive at the collegiate level. The Elyria and Keystone softball programs have great traditions because of the great players who have worn those respective uniforms over the years.

Two former Lorain County high school stars, Cleveland State freshman pitcher Tess Sito and redshirt junior Jessica Burt, led the Vikings to the Horizon League’s regular season championship and tournament championship game. As with all high school athletes, I hope their greatest accomplishments do not happen at 16, 17 or 18 years old. Rather, I hope it is just the start of something great.