Minerva’s magical run ends at regional semis

If the measure of a successful season is whether people will still be talking about it years from now, then Minerva baseball checked that box long before the final out was recorded.

The Lions' postseason run came to an end June 2 with a 2-0 loss to Richmond Edison in a Division IV regional semifinal at Mazeroski Field in Cadiz. But before anyone starts feeling sorry for Minerva, it's worth remembering that this was the same team that captured the program's first district championship and became the first Lions baseball squad ever to reach a regional tournament. That's not an ending. That's a landmark.

Unfortunately, the Lions ran into a pitcher who apparently decided that allowing hits was optional.

Richmond Edison ace Bryce Rogers struck out 14 batters and surrendered just one hit over 6.2 innings. Minerva hitters worked counts, showed patience, and drew six walks, but putting the ball in play proved about as easy as solving a calculus problem while riding a roller coaster.

The Lions' lone hit came from Lane Tarbet, who finished 1-for-3. Brennan Barnes and Cole Sivy each stole a base, while Minerva repeatedly threatened but could never deliver the timely hit needed to break through. Seven runners were left on base as the Wildcats escaped every jam.

As has been the case all spring, Braydon Wood did everything possible to keep the Lions in the game. Wood scattered eight hits over six innings, allowed only two runs, walked one batter, and gave Minerva every opportunity to pull off another postseason upset. The senior finished his career exactly the way he spent most of it: competing his tail off.

The loss dropped Minerva to 14-14, but the Lions' final record hardly tells the story. This group rewrote the program’s history book, won the school's first district championship, reached the regional tournament for the first time, and gave the community a postseason run it won't soon forget.

Track and Field

While the baseball team was wrapping up a historic season, Minerva's track and field athletes were busy competing against the best athletes in Ohio at the Division III OHSAA Jesse Owens Track & Field State Championships at Ohio State University from June 4-7.

The girls led the way by scoring eight team points, thanks largely to Tateum Richard, who continues to run as if somebody forgot to tell her she's supposed to get tired.

Richard placed fourth in the 800m run with a personal-best time of 2:12.88, missing third place by a heartbreaking one-hundredth of a second. One-hundredth of a second is roughly the amount of time it takes to blink, sneeze, or regret a life decision.

Minerva also scored in the girls’ 4x800m relay, where Addison Keyser, Makenzie Beavers, Charlie Galley, and Richard combined to place sixth in 9:35.47. The quartet capped an outstanding postseason by bringing home a state podium finish.

Beavers also competed individually in the 3200m run, finishing 17th in 11:39.78 against a loaded field of distance runners.

The boys came painfully close to scoring additional points, with the emphasis on painful.

In the 100m dash preliminaries, Owen Shick placed 13th in 11.05, missing out on the finals by just two-hundredths of a second. If you think that was the cruel part, you would be mistaken. What really stings is that Shick’s prelim time would have placed seventh in the finals. In the 200m dash preliminaries, it happened again. Shick ran 22.28 and finished 12th, yet that mark also would have been good enough for seventh place in the finals. Track and field can be a wonderfully strange sport sometimes.

The Lions finally broke through on the boys’ side in the 4x800m relay. Owen Yoder, Tyson Fetty, Anderson Scott, and Rowen Hoffee teamed up to place eighth in 8:01.16, earning a spot on the state podium.

Hoffee also competed individually in the 1600m run, finishing 13th in 4:21.49 against one of the strongest distance fields in Ohio.

By week's end, Minerva baseball had closed the curtain on the greatest postseason run in program history, while the track and field team brought home podium finishes, personal bests, and enough state-meet memories to last a lifetime. Not every season ends with a trophy, but plenty end with a legacy. This one managed both.