COLUMBUS -- In the immortal words of famous baseball broadcaster Jack Buck ... "Go Crazy! Go Crazy!
For the second time in school history the Defiance baseball team is bringing back a state championship trophy after dismantling Plain City Jonathan Alder 8-2 in the Division II title game on Saturday night at Huntington Park in Columbus.
"What means the most to me is how the community got behind us and how all the alumni who never got a chance to experience this can share in this championship," stated Defiance mentor Tom Held, who also earned his first state title in four tries. "I don't think there's any program in the state of Ohio that works harder than we do, I know a lot of coaches will say that, but our kids work their tails off. This is for everybody, the entire Defiance baseball family and for this 2013 team that was special."
Senior Weston Rivers was perfect through 51⁄3 innings for the Bulldogs before hitting a batter, but the big lefty dominated the Pioneers. Rivers went the distance allowing four hits and two runs while striking out 15 and walking none for Defiance (31-1, No. 1 Prep Baseball Report, No. 1 OHSBCA, No. 24 in the country USA Today). The 31 wins broke the school record of 30 set in 2005 and tied in 2012.
"I'm so sorry Weston didn't get a shutout, but he won the state championship," Held said. "Those two runs were the first two earned runs we've given up as a staff the whole tournament. He was absolutely fabulous ... he totally dominated a great team, he was in total control, he threw first-pitch strikes, he got the knuckleball over, he was tough."
Jonathan Alder coach Craig Kyle was also impressed with Defiance's big lefty.
"I don't think I've ever coached a game and was dominated by someone as much as he (Rivers) did," said Kyle, whose team beat Defiance 5-0 in 2010 in the state semifinals on the way to winning the state title that season.
"It was pretty nerve-wracking at the start of the game, but when I got out to the mound it felt awesome," said Rivers. "I came out trying to throw strikes, to let them hit the ball to the defense and to get outs. The knuckleball was working today, I threw a lot of strikes."
Rivers was locked in a pitchers' duel for the first four innings with Alder righty Pete Whitmer, but Defiance got to the Alder starter in the fifth for four big runs.
Derek Turner singled to start the frame, but he was erased at second when Austin Hancock hit a chopper to third. Dom Gentile earned a full-count walk from Whitmer, bringing Rob Zeigler, Defiance's leading hitter to the plate. Zeigler singled to center to score Hancock, while moving Gentile up 90 feet.
After Adam Schaffer fly out to right, it was up to DH Austin Yant to keep the inning alive. A passed ball allowed Gentile to move up to third and Zeigler to advance to second. With two strikes, Yant delivered a single to left, scoring both Gentile and Zeigler for 3-0 Defiance lead. Wade Verhoff came in to pinch-run for Yant, and he scored one batter later when Dom Romero also singled to left. Whitmer stopped the bleeding, but the Pioneers were in a 4-0 hole.
"I think I had two strikes on me, and I heard my dad (Steve) in the background telling me, 'keep it short, short swing,'" said Zeigler about driving in the first run. "That's what I did, I hit it right up the middle and we got that run. Austin came and drove in two more."
Said Yant: "Before I went up to bat (senior catcher) Joe Keween gave me a pep-talk. He told me I'm a better batter when I'm aggressive so I went up there aggressive. I had two strikes on me, I didn't like the pitch before, so I just wanted to put the ball in play. I got a ball I could handle and I drove it into left."
Held credited assistant coach Mark Vittorio for an adjustment he suggested.
"Whitmer was throwing in the 70s, so Vittorio said, 'why don't we move up in the batter's box?'" said Held. "Our guys moved up, we were able to hit those balls that were dropping when we were back in the box and then we started hitting."
Defiance added three runs in the sixth, thanks to a pair of passed balls, and a safety squeeze. The Bulldogs took and 8-0 lead in the seventh with a RBI single off the bat of Gentile. The drama after that was whether or not Rivers could finish off the no-hitter.
Unfortunately for Rivers, Alder got four hits and scored a pair of runs, but when the big lefty struck out Trent Kaltenbach to end the game, the celebration was on.
"There isn't a better feeling in the world," said Zeigler about winning the state title. "This is what we all worked so hard for, so to do it is an amazing feeling ... amazing."
Concluded Yant: "Everything about this is special, and the truth is we didn't just do this for ourselves. We did it for all the teams that didn't get here, the ones who came up short and we did it for all the people back home who supported us. It means a lot of us, but it also means a lot to all the people who love the program."
Defiance 000 043 1 - 8 10 1
Alder 000 000 2 - 2 4 3
Records: Defiance 31-1, Jonathan Alder 24-9.
Winning pitcher: Weston Rivers (7 innings, 2 runs, 4 hits, 15 strikeouts, 0 walks).
Losing pitcher: Pete Whitmer (5 innings, 5 runs, 5 hits, 5 strikeouts, 3 walks). Others: Brad Miller, Mitchell Eye.
Leading hitters: (Defiance, 10 hits) - Austin Hancock 2 singles; Dom Romero 2 singles, Derek Turner 2 singles. (Jonathan Alder, 4 hits).