Waynedale baseball locks down fourth state title in 5 years

With a flair for the dramatic, just as has been the case plenty of times this season, the Waynedale Golden Bears (30-3) came roaring from behind late to capture the OHSAA Division V championship Friday, June 12 in Akron with a 9-5 win over Gahanna Columbus Academy (17-17).

The title gives Waynedale four in the past five seasons, with the team reaching the state semifinal in their one campaign that didn’t end with a championship two years ago.

“This never gets old, never,” Waynedale head coach Lucas Daugherty said.

This program has become one of Ohio’s strongest and continues to put together big seasons year after year. Daugherty said it is a tradition of hard work and dedication, and it’s not just the players doing their part in the success.

“I think there is a belief that we can win, and there’s a genuine effort to stay disciplined and work hard and do things the right way,” Daugherty said. “It isn’t complicated. We’ve got a great group of guys willing to do that and a coaching staff who is committed to doing things the right way.”

The championship comeback began in the sixth inning when Brayden Steiner doubled to deep left to plate Collin McGlothlin. With two outs Logan Troyer smacked a single to right to score Steiner and knot the score at 4-all.

In the seventh inning, the Golden Bears left no doubt.

Jordan Miller walked and stole second to lead off, followed by Hudson Barkman’s RBI single for a 5-4 lead. Barkman stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and Brock Reifsnyder walked and stole second. McGlothlin’s sacrifice fly made it 6-4, and when Reifsnyder scored on a wild pitch one out later, Waynedale led by three.

Maddox Kidd walked and stole second, and after Steiner was hit by a pitch, both runners scored unearned runs on an error and a wild pitch to make it 9-4.

GCA plated a meaningless run in the bottom, but this celebration day would end with the guys in gold taking home the gold.

Troyer had four hits, Barkman added two and knocked in a pair, and Steiner went the distance on the mound, scattering seven hits and striking out seven.

Daugherty said doing all the little things helped push this team to the mountaintop once again this season.

The state semifinal game would be another comeback win, only this one happened earlier in the game.

Waynedale plated two runs in the third, fourth and six frames to elevate themselves past Lucasville Valley (22-8) 7-2.

Cam Miller hammered out four hits in the contest, driving in a pair and scoring three times, while Jordan Miller picked up the win on the mound and added two hits and two RBI. Hudson Barkman would add three hits and two RBI.

“It took me a bit to gauge the atmosphere and really locate my fastball,” Miller said of the mound victory. “I knew if I kept things close, the guys would come through. I trust every single one of my teammates and believed in them that we’d eventually score plenty of runs.”

In both contests the Golden Bears got run support up and down the lineup — a luxury most teams don’t possess.

“We’re very blessed with the talent we have up and down the lineup,” Daugherty said. “I give a lot of that credit to our players because they work very hard to prepare themselves for these types of moments. I’m not surprised because we have a lot of belief in every one of these guys, and they all got the job done when we had to.”

Prior to this most recent run of five straight trips to state, Waynedale claimed its first state crown in 2016 in its only other appearance. With this win the Golden Bears became just the third school in OHSAA history to win four baseball state titles in a five-year span, joining Newark Catholic (2002-04 and 2006) and Cincinnati Elder (1955-56 and 1958-60).

“We have a school and community that loves baseball,” Daugherty said. “These fans are incredible. They turn out and support us, and they are a big part of this program.”

Daugherty said at this point in the season, there is little to coach with the players because they understand the game so well and are so prepared to play situational baseball.

He also said this senior group provided great leadership and set the table for future seasons as the staff continues to work not only with its players, but also to initiate passion in youth baseball players who want to continue the winning tradition.

“It’s a community thing,” Daugherty said. “These young kids can’t wait for their chance to get up here and prove themselves, and we’ve got young freshmen and sophomores here who experience this, and it makes them hungry to get right back here. They want to be the next guys to carry the mantle.”

That mantle now contains one more state championship trophy, one the entire community can celebrate together.