Chardon takes down defending champion Archbishop Hoban to win OHSAA baseball Division 2 title

Chardon scores five runs in the sixth to beat Hoban 8-5 to capture Division II state baseball championship
Chardon takes down defending champion Archbishop Hoban to win OHSAA baseball Division 2 title
Chardon takes down defending champion Archbishop Hoban to win OHSAA baseball Division 2 title /

Photo by Jeff Harwell
Photo by Jeff Harwell

AKRON, Ohio – To beat a champion and take their crown, you at some point need to deliver a knockout punch.

For Chardon, that punch came in the sixth inning as the Hilltoppers beat Archbishop Hoban 8-5 in the OHSAA Division II state championship game and took the crown from the defending champs.

“They are the defending champs,” Chardon head coach Brian Long said. “We want to be in their seat.”

They took the seat from Hoban by scoring five runs in the sixth inning after trailing 5-3.

Leo Colombi led off the inning with a single and then after a strikeout, Ethan Faber and Will Francis were each hit by a pitch to load the bases for Christian Hall. The senior delivered with an RBI single that cut the deficit to one.

“I just tried to stay calm, take some deep breaths and do what I had to do,” Hall said. “Just do what I normally do in BP – just see the ball out of the hand and try to drive it.”

With the bases still loaded, Nolan Kirsh was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to tie the game. After another strikeout, Francis scored on a wild pitch to give Chardon a 6-5 lead and the other two runners moved up and Jake Barker drove both runners in with a single to make it 8-5.

“We have been preaching all season that we need to hit top to bottom,” Hall said. “Most games that you look with teams who win or teams who are at this level, state champions, they can hit top to bottom.”

It was the second straight night the Hilltoppers had exploded for five runs in the sixth inning, as they did it on Friday night in a 6-5 win over Bishop Hartley in the state semifinals.

“I was in the dugout all game talking about the sixth inning is our inning,” Hall said. “I said we are about to bust it open right here.”

After pitching 2.1 innings earlier in the game, Hall stepped back to the mound for the second time and got the final six outs to clinch the state title. He allowed a baserunner in each inning but got two double plays to get out of both. The last one was the play that finished the game and the run to the title.

With a runner on first and one out, Nate Shimmel hit a line drive that was gloved by Kirsh at third base. He made the throw across the diamond to complete the double play and set off the championship celebration.

“The double play man, it went in slow motion for me,” Hall said. “I saw it off the bat, I saw him catch it and I didn’t even see the dude coming off first. As soon as I saw my third baseman turn to make that throw, I was like ‘ooh we got him, that’s game.’ My heart dropped and I was so excited.”

This win was special for the Hilltoppers, who had never won a state title in baseball. But they weren’t going to be handed anything. They went to Akron and played against a defending champion in Hoban who was playing just minutes from home.

“That’s a great Hoban team,” Long said. “We earned this. We worked very hard for this.”

But even if people thought going into the game that Chardon was an underdog, that was just fine with them. After all, they had already proven people wrong just to get here, not to mention that they have won back-to-back football state titles with some of the same players.

“We knew people thought we were the underdogs,” Hall said. “We like that. We have a bunch of players who are football players who have won two straight championships. We like being the underdog, we like to fight.”

At the end of the night, the head coach summed it all up in just eight words.

“It’s a great day to be a Hilltopper,” Long said.

Photo Gallery:

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Published
Ryan Isley, SBLive Sports
RYAN ISLEY, SBLIVE SPORTS

Ryan Isley is a Regional Editor for SBLive Sports, covering Ohio and Pennsylvania.