Highland, Medina Christian see seasons end in regional semifinals

Sometimes you can be really, really good and the other guy is just a little better. Highland's senior class of athletes has seen that time and again. Still, the likes of Casey Myser, Grady Gibb and Dan Miller, among many others, have made their mark.

The door closed for many of them June 3 in a Division II regional baseball semifinal with a 2-0 loss to Walsh Jesuit at Gilmour Academy in Gates Mills.

Walsh's Shawn Sullivan, who will pitch for the University of Tennessee if he doesn't get drafted and sign with a major league team, which seems fairly likely, tossed a two-hit shutout as he outdueled Highland's Dan Miller. Miller allowed 10 hits but didn't walk anyone and kept Walsh at bay enough to keep things close throughout. The Warriors scored a run in each of the first two innings but went quietly after that.

Matthew Mansbury, who will play for the University of Michigan, scored both Walsh runs and had four of the Warriors' hits, including a triple.

Walsh, which is loaded with big-time talent and plays an even more loaded schedule, went on to beat Shaker Heights 8-4 in the regional final and took a 13-11 record into the state final four. The record is a product of that schedule, which is stacked with powerhouse programs.

Highland's only hits came in the first inning from senior Casey Myser, who singled, and in the final inning when fellow senior Grady Gibb doubled.

The Hornets finished 18-6 and won their third consecutive Suburban League American Conference championship, along with the district title that sent them to the Sweet 16 and into the meeting with Walsh.

Division VII

It took extra innings and a somewhat wild finish to knock Medina Christian from the tournament. After a pitchers' duel stretched for eight innings, both teams' offenses woke up in the ninth. The Comets scored three times in the top half, and while the Knights answered, they couldn't come all the way back and lost 4-3 June 2 at Oberlin College.

The Knights' Caden Dyer and a pair of Central Christian pitchers battled through eight innings, after which Central had just one hit. An RBI double in the second inning by Adam Collier gave the Knights a 1-0 lead. An unearned run allowed the Comets to tie the game in the sixth.

In the top of the ninth, the Comets turned four hits into three runs as Dyer perhaps finally ran out of gas a bit. The Knights answered with Noah Landers' two-run double in the ninth with two outs, but they could not push across the tying run.

The Knights finished 11-6 and could potentially have 11 of their 12 players back next season. Central Christian went on to lose the regional final 10-0 to Tiffin Calvert, the state's top-ranked team.