CANTON, Ohio -- Danny Allie was hot. The St. Edward coach was major-league hot. And he wasn't afraid to let his team know it, following a sloppy 8-4 victory over Medina on Thursday in a Division I regional semifinal game at Thurman Munson Stadium.
CANTON, Ohio -- Danny Allie was hot.
The St. Edward coach was major-league hot. And he wasn't afraid to let his team know it, following a sloppy 8-4 victory over Medina on Thursday in a Division I regional semifinal game at Thurman Munson Stadium.
"We simply stopped competing," he fumed after the Eagles committed three errors in the bottom of the seventh inning to turn what had been a comfortable shutout into a four-run victory. "We played four innings today and that's not acceptable at this stage of the season. I'm not taking anything away from Medina. They battled all the way through the game and my hat is off to them. We turned the game into a folly."
The folly notwithstanding, the Eagles (26-3) advanced to today's regional title game against Mayfield at 5 p.m.
And yes, Stetson Allie will pitch.
St. Edward, seeking a third state title since 1998, didn't need Allie as they won their 24th straight game behind junior Vince Bartolone, who held the Bees (21-10) to five hits through six innings in raising his record to 4-1.
Bartolone was lifted in the seventh when the Bees got three of their eight hits and took advantage of a walk, a hit batter and two errors. Junior Cody Cooper came on to close out the game, getting the final out on a foul pop with the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate.
Cooper also was the hitting star, bashing a bases-loaded triple to the wall in right-center during a six-run third inning.
"Coach was right," said Cooper. "I think we got a little complacent there. When it got to 8-0 we should have closed out the game."
Mayfield 3, GlenOak 2 The Wildcats (21-6) reached the regional final for the second time in three years when they scored twice in the bottom of the sixth inning and eliminated the Golden Eagles (20-10).
It marks the second time in the past three years that Mayfield and St. Edward have met in the regional final. St. Edward won, 9-5, when catcher Alex Lavisky drove in six runs.
Mayfield will face St. Edward ace Allie, who is headed to North Carolina if he doesn't like what transpires in the draft. Allie routinely reaches mid-90s with his fastball.
That means little to the Wildcats, who rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the sixth. Kyle Koski led off with a single and went to second on a bunt single by Ohio State recruit Tim Wetzel. Junior Rob Razzante and senior Dave Ianiro followed with singles.
"One thing I know is that our kids will not back down from anyone," said Mayfield coach Don Ramer."That's what I like about our team. They will battle anyone and they are excited about facing Stetson or anyone St. Edward might use. We have been finding ways to win."
Wetzel, Koski and Ianiro each had two hits for the Wildcats. Ramer used three pitchers in the game but said that will not be a problem.
"Koski will start and we have Mike Brown and about three others who can throw," he said.