'I'm definitely proud of them': Heath ends Waynedale's three-peat bid in state semis

AKRON — All good things eventually come to an end.

For most of three years, Waynedale experienced the best things, becoming one of the few programs to win back-to-back state championships, making it back to the state tournament to attempt an almost unheard of three-peat.

Heath made sure state title No. 3 wasn’t in the cards.

Conner Toomey’s hit down the right field line won it in the eighth, giving the Bulldogs a walk-off 4-3 victory in the Division III state semifinals at Canal Park, ending one of the greatest three-year runs in Wayne County baseball history.

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"I'm really proud of all the guys from 2022 all the way to this 2024 season," Waynedale coach Lucas Daugherty said. "A lot of different players have contributed to the success. It takes a lot of work. Our guys can really attest to that. They've put in a lot of time and effort to be able to get back here three years in a row. It's not easy to get here and once you get here you play really tough opponents. I'm definitely proud of them."

For much of Saturday’s game, it looked like another state title game was in Waynedale’s future.

Hudson Barkman gave Waynedale a 2-0 lead in the second inning with a double to right-center and Logan Troyer extended the Golden Bears lead to two once again — after Heath's Kaden Green made it 2-1 — when his hit into no-man's land in right-center brought Brayden Steiner home.

On most days with junior Shane Coblentz on the mound, three runs would have been plenty. But an unrelenting Heath lineup made the first-team All-Ohio pitcher work as hard as he's had to all year, eventually breaking through to tie it in the fifth on back-to-back RBIs from Hayden Woodward and Kaden Green.

Coblentz, who struck out nine, walked six and allowed two earned runs, had to exit with two outs in the seventh with his pitch count at 122 — three shy of the allotment of 125.

"They made Shane work really hard on the mound and I think that was kind of the difference late in the game," Daugherty said. "They made him work so hard to where his pitch count got to where we had to pull him. I thought Tate did a great job as well. But if we can keep Shane in there longer, that's obviously what we want. You've got to give credit to their lineup. They were tough the whole game."

Coblentz, whose fastball was touching the low 90s on the stadium radar gun, knew Heath's lineup would be as good as he's faced all year.

"It was difficult, knowing that I couldn't put certain pitches too middle," Coblentz said. "I had to work around a few of their hitters. ... They had a good lineup. Up-and-down the lineup, they put contact on the ball."

Toomey's hit off reliever Tate Venables, after Wyatt Binckley reach via error, finished off Heath's comeback.

"I hadn't been hitting good all day," Toomey said, who entered his at bat 0 for 2 with two strikeouts and a walk. "The tournament's been kind of rough for me. But I always trust my guys to get on. I just knew I had to do my job, put the bat on the ball and even if it didn't score (Binckley), move him over because I trust the guys behind me."

Turns out, Heath didn't need anyone behind Toomey, who came through with the biggest hit of his career, sending the Bulldogs to their first state title game since 2007.

Waynedale's best chance breaking the tie came in the sixth, when the Bears loaded the bases with one out. But Heath starter Riley Baum got the biggest two outs of the game during the next two at bats, forcing Troyer into a line out and striking out Barkman to leave all three runners stranded. Baum pitched all eight innings for the Bulldogs, allowing seven hits and striking out six.

Make no mistake, Waynedale isn’t going anywhere. Coblentz will return as one of the best small-school pitchers in Ohio next year and six underclassmen saw the field against Heath. All three of Waynedale’s RBIs flew off the bats of freshmen.

"It's definitely encouraging having this many young players out here competing against a good team on a stage like this and a lot of our younger guys coming through and producing for us," Daugherty said. "... It's exciting for next year."

Making it to Akron for a fourth straight year in 2025 is a lofty expectation but it will surely be the goal for the 2025 Bears.

"The younger guys are going to work harder," Coblentz said. "We have that bitter taste. I feel like that's going to motivate us even more to get back here next year."

But after the game, tears fell for Waynedale's seniors, who were part of a run very few high school players will ever experience. The two seniors in the lineup Saturday — Otto Solorzano and Tate Venables — especially left their mark on the program. Solorzano was the winning pitcher in both of Waynedale's state title games in 2022 and 2023 and had one of Waynedale's seven hits against Heath. Venables starred in center field and led off for the Bears all year, pitching in big spots as well, including winning the regional final on the mound a week ago to punch Waynedale's state ticket.

"I grew up playing baseball with those guys," Waynedale junior catcher Tristan Franks said of Waynedale's senior class, which also included Kolten Roeder and Tyson Troyer. "They're like brothers to me. I've known them since I was 7 years old. It's going to be different without them, but I know they're still going to be around hitting and lifting, so that'll be nice."

All good things may come to end. But Waynedale can head back to Apple Creek knowing they did better than most on a baseball field in 2024.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: 'I'm definitely proud of them': Heath ends Waynedale's three-peat bid in state semis