Hawks enjoy another regional crown at Beavers Field
Hiland teammates Michael Miller, left, and Grady Monigold celebrate Colin Coblentz’s colossal home run, part of the Hawks’ 11-4 victory over a talented West Jefferson team in the Division VI Lancaster regional semifinal.
Dave Mast
Beavers Field in Lancaster has become a home away from home for the Hiland Hawks baseball team, which has won six straight games there to earn a shot at state.
This year they added numbers five and six on June 5 and 6 with convincing wins including an 11-4 defeat of West Jefferson and a 10-0 whitewash over Chillicothe Southeastern.
It was a dominant performance in all phases of the game, with the key victory coming over a talented West Jefferson team in the semifinal that was the key contest at regionals.
The Hawks got outstanding pitching in both games, and both games saw Hiland take time to heat up offensively before exploding in typical fashion.
What’s not to like
When Hiland head coach Chris Dages went to pitcher Caden Coblentz to start the Hawks’ Division VI Lancaster regional semifinal contest at Beavers Field, he could sleep well knowing he had a guy taking the mound who has been there and done that before and been successful.
“The first inning, I thought to myself, ‘I love watching this guy pitch.’ He is so effective. It’s a pleasure to watch him pitch and has been for three years,” Dages said. “He’s got a different delivery style, but he’s so effective. It’s just a pleasure to watch him pitch.”
Coblentz really set the table for the victory by looking unhittable for the majority of the game. Only after a marathon fifth inning blitz offensively by the Hawks did he give up any runs, and the heat took a toll late, but for the most part, Coblentz was everything Dages could want in the regional opener.
That other Coblentz
isn’t bad either
