Regional baseball: Medina Christian loses in extras

OBERLIN — After the Medina Christian baseball team compiled pedestrian records in its first two seasons as a member of the Ohio High School Athletic Association, no one in their right mind would have expected a deep Division VII tournament run this spring. Yet there the Knights stood on Oberlin College's Dill Field late in a Region 25 semifinal Tuesday afternoon, in position for another stunning upset. While Kidron Central Christian put up three runs in the top of the ninth inning and ultimately survived 4-3 and advanced to take on the Ohio Baseball Coaches Association's top-ranked team, Tiffin Calvert (26-2), in the championship Thursday, Medina Christian left no shadow of a doubt that it belonged. That was the attitude of everyone wearing baby blue afterward, as the Knights (11-6) couldn't have handled a could-have-gone-either-way loss with more grace. "We're definitely loose because we love the game of baseball," bulldog ace left-hander Caden Dyer said after tossing 8 1/3 innings. "It's a lot of fun to play. We thank the Lord every day for a chance to play this game, but when it comes down to it, we're close. We're a tight-knit family." Throwing a tight curveball for strikes whenever he wanted to set up sneaky 78-mph fastballs, Dyer (5-2, 2.37) took a two-hitter into the ninth in a gutsy 93-pitch performance. Derek Kruszewski was everywhere in center field and shortstop Daniel Hussey and third baseman Jaxon Longsdorf made big throws in big spots, Adam Collier ripped an RBI double complete with a belly rub celebration that put Medina Christian ahead 1-0 in the second and Noah Landers smashed a 320-foot, two-run double to left to make the score 4-3 in the ninth. As brilliant as the Knights were for 90% of the afternoon, a few miscues in critical moments loomed large. The biggest was when a stiff wind coming in from right field caused a two-out fly ball by the Comets' Preston Clark to die a bit, leading to an error that tied that game at 1 in the sixth inning. There also were two runners thrown out at home. One was an unlucky Knights bounce on a pitch that bounced and went to the backstop before popping right back to Central Christian catcher Luke Schrier, who threw to pitcher Kye Kooker for a bang-bang play at the plate to keep the score 1-0 in the third. The other saw a runner forget there was only one out and round third following a groundout to short for the second out, then being easily tagged out at home without a slide to end the fifth. Still, the effort was a far cry from a 12-2 loss to the Comets (15-10) on April 23, the only time all season Medina Christian lost by more than five runs. "Everybody was playing hard and doing their job," Landers said. "We were playing for each other." Looking like the high school version of Guardians standout Parker Messick, Dyer was incredibly efficient with inning pitch totals of four, nine, 14, 12, eight, 16, nine and 10 to enter the ninth at only 82 pitches. The first six innings of the game took a mere 1 hour, 5 minutes, as Kooker and later Clark nearly matched Dyer pitch for pitch. Dyer's scoreless streak ended at 28 2/3 innings on the error in the sixth, his first allowed run since May 7 in a win over Brooklyn. The junior's streak without an earned run finally was halted at 31 1/3, as Kidron Central Christian took a 3-1 lead on Jacob Neuenschwander and Lucas Endsley doubles before reliever Landers allowed an RBI single to Schrier. "That's the thing: Last time against them, I tried to work the corners and they weren't chasing. They're a disciplined team," said Dyer, who gave up seven runs (6 earned) in 1 1/3 innings against Central Christian in the first meeting. "So I was like, 'All right, I'm going to come out today and pound the zone and make them hit me.' That was my exact mentality: Make them hit me." Clark had been cruising with three shutout innings heading into the bottom of the ninth, but the Knights made him work. Kruszewski and Hussey had back-to-back, one-out singles before Landers hammered a ball that landed on the warning track in left field to cut the deficit to 4-3 with two outs. Clark finally got out of the jam with a painted called third strike. Medina Christian was proud of everything it accomplished considering an already light regular-season schedule saw eight games canceled due to weather and the fact it only got to play four games at Reagan Park, its temporary home until a new field can be built across from the Montville Township campus. With only one senior, four juniors, two sophomores and five freshmen on the 12-man roster, the future is bright. "We emphasize a lot at practice — and even here — every game have energy through the end," Landers said. "That's just what we emphasize, especially in a game like today. Emotions were riding high, so we kept the energy up." Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com. Kidron Central Christian 4, Medina Christian 3 (9 inn.) Division VII, Region 25 Semifinal at Oberlin College CENTRAL CHRIST. 000 001 003 — 4 5 0 MEDINA CHRISTIAN 010 000 002 — 3 8 1 WP — Preston Clark (3-1) 4 innings, 2 runs, 2 earned, 4 hits, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts. LP — Caden Dyer (5-2) 8 1/3 innings, 4 runs, 3 earned, 4 hits, walk, 5 strikeouts. Central Christian (15-10) — Clark double, walk, run; Jacob Neuenschwander double, RBI, run; Luke Endsley double, hit batter, RBI, run. Medina Christian (11-6) — Dyer 2 sigles; Daniel Hussey single, double, run; Noah Landers single, double, 2 RBIs, run; Adam Collier double, RBI.