Malvern baseball captures first sectional title since 2009

For the first time since 2009, Malvern baseball owns a sectional championship – and the Hornets earned it the hard way.

Malvern traveled to Zanesville as the road dog May 20 and knocked off No. 2 seed Bishop Rosecrans 4-2 in a Division VII East 1 sectional final, sending the Hornets to a district semifinal for the first time in 17 years. Pulling off a postseason upset on the road is impressive enough. Doing it while holding a higher-seeded team to two runs and zero extra-base hits? That is the baseball equivalent of walking into somebody else’s backyard and stealing their grill right in front of them.

Darnell Jackson led the offensive attack by going a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases and an RBI, constantly creating headaches for the Rosecrans defense every time he reached base. Dakota Berger added an RBI, while timely hitting and aggressive base running helped Malvern capitalize on four Bishop Rosecrans errors.

Jaxon Jones delivered a dominant outing on the mound, striking out seven over five innings while allowing only two runs and one walk. Cooper Kiehl slammed the door over the final two innings to earn the save as Malvern improved to 10-15 on the season. Being the Hornets’ first sectional title since 2009 means a good number of the current varsity players were drinking from sippy cups the last time Malvern advanced this far in the tournament – and many weren’t even around to do that.

Track and Field

The postseason success on the diamond was matched by a huge performance from the Malvern boys’ track and field team at the Division V Nelsonville-York district meet.

The Hornets captured the Division A team championship with 111 points, finishing 19 points ahead of runner-up Waterford. And unlike some team championships that rely heavily on depth, Malvern piled up district titles like a team trying to clear shelf space for extra trophies.

Owen Ball led the charge with a dominant hurdles double, winning the 110m hurdles in 15.38 and the 300m hurdles in 41.17. Parker Bowe was equally unstoppable in the throwing events, capturing the discus title with a toss of 154-2 and winning the shot put with a monster throw of 62-0.

Malvern also flexed its strength in the relay events. The Hornets won the 4x200m relay in 1:33.86, captured the 4x400m relay in 3:35.01, and added another district championship in the 4x800m relay with a winning time of 8:37.82. The 4x100m relay also qualified with a second-place finish in 46.90.

Individually, Julius Gore placed second in the 100m dash with a time of 11.67, while Camrin Detchon finished third in the 800m run in 2:02.53.

Malvern’s girls also turned in a strong performance at Newcomerstown. Mya Doughty placed third in the 400m run, while Kami Rayborn added a fourth-place finish in the same event. Olivia Maher finished third in the 100m hurdles and fourth in the 300m hurdles.

The Hornets’ top girls result came in the 4x400m relay, where Olivia Maher, Emma Maher, Rayborn, and Doughty captured first place in 4:17.37. Malvern also placed fourth in the 4x200m relay.