COLUMBUS -- What a weekend for Defiance sports.

What started out on a rainy Thursday afternoon concluded on a bright and clear Saturday evening with a state baseball championship capping it all off.

There was plenty to enjoy and be proud of for the Defiance community.

At Huntington Park, the Tinora and Defiance baseball teams made our small town the only one in the tournament with more than one representative. Take that Columbus and Cleveland and Cincinnati and Toledo.

By Friday afternoon Dace Kime was giving more notoriety to the city when the 2010 Defiance High School graduate was selected in the third round of the Major League Baseball draft.

Not too long later the DHS baseball team rolled past Akron Hoban in the Division II state semifinals, the first Final Four win by the Bulldogs in 21 years.

Although Tinora was unable to duplicate the Defiance success later that day, the Rams joined Wheelersburg as the only schools in this year's field to qualify for the state baseball tourney the past three seasons. In the process, Tinora became the first team in the six-county area to ever play in three consecutive Final Fours.

Yet, the fun was just starting.

Not far from Huntington Park the state track meet was taking place. More outstanding area athletes were on display for all to witness.

Defiance again made a name for itself thanks to a first-place finish by Abel Flores in the D-II 3200 meters. The Tinora girls 800 relay of Kenzie Hall, Ashton Otte, Chelsey Seifert and Tori Abdul also won a state championship while DHS sophomore Samantha Murray nearly added to the list by coming in second place in the 800.

There was more success from track athletes just down the county when Fairview's Matt Tobin won the 400 in D-III for the third straight year and added to it with a 200 title.

Meanwhile, Kime's memorable weekend didn't end with his selection by the Cleveland Indians in the second day of the MLB Draft. On Saturday, the Louisville junior came on in relief during the first game of the Super Regionals and retired all four hitters he faced in picking up a victory for the Cardinals in a 5-3 win at Vanderbilt (Louisville also won on Sunday to advance to the College World Series).

Drama then turned back to Huntington Park where the Defiance baseball team, now nationally ranked, attempted to win a state crown for the second time in school history.

An enthusiastic crowd was on hand to witness round three between the Bulldogs and Jonathan Alder, which just three years prior had beaten Kime and company in the Division II state semis. Last year Defiance picked up a bit of revenge with a regional semifinal win over Alder.

Through four innings on Saturday evening the two teams played scoreless ball. But as the tension mounted, the Bulldogs came through with four two-out runs in the fifth to take the lead.

The excitement was far from over.

While Defiance extended the lead to 8-0 and with a state title within its grasps, there was a matter of potential state history. DHS senior hurler Weston Rivers was throwing a perfect game.

A hit batter ended that with one down in the bottom of the sixth as the large Defiance crowd came to its feet in appreciation of the efforts of Rivers.

But there was still a matter of a no-hitter in the works.

There had been 11 thrown in state tourney history, but never before had any baseball player in Ohio ever accomplished that feat in a state championship game. Nobody had even done it in a semifinal contest since 1986, and there has been none since the change to four divisions in baseball in 1991.

Although the impressive left-handed hurler was unable to finish off the no-hit effort in the final inning, Rivers did put Alder away with a four-hit gem as the Defiance faithful stood in appreciation while cheering loudly of what had just taken place.

That feeling of pride was also going on in clubs, homes and restaurants back in Defiance, with never-ending text messages and even phone calls of excitement being received by those from the local community as well as alumni that had come to witness a sports weekend that will never be forgotten.

The saying - Defiance a Great Place to Live - has never been more true.