AKRON, Ohio — The winner would claim their first-ever Ohio high school baseball state championship. The only question was who would blink first?
It took extra innings to get our answer, but when it came, there was jubilation in Akron and even more in Apple Creek, Holmesville, and elsewhere in Wayne and Holmes counties.
Waynedale knocked off Milan Edison 2-1 Saturday at Canal Park to win the OHSAA Division III baseball title. Center fielder Connor Gatti proved to be the hero, driving in Josiah Raber with a walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth.
Waynedale (27-4) took an early 1-0 lead in the first when Raber scored on a throwing error by Edison shortstop Brady Barker. It remained that way until the fifth, when the Chargers (24-9) evened things up on a base hit by Thomas Simon.
Both pitchers ended up going the distance as the game went into extras, as Waynedale sophomore Ottoniel Soloranzo struck out seven over eight frames while Edison's Ben Bates K'd nine across 7 2/3. It was in the eighth, however, that the Bears managed to load the bases with two out before Gatti drove one through the right side to start the celebration.
The victory not only gives Waynedale its first baseball championship, but its first state title in any sport since the wrestling team took home top honors in 2012. This was Edison's first trip to the state baseball finals, as the program had never even won a regional title prior to this season.
