Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CHILLICOTHE — Minford had a lot to prove coming into Friday night’s district final.
Not only were the Falcons looking for redemption after falling in a district final last season, but they were also aiming for revenge against Wheelersburg — a team that they had bowed down twice to during the regular season.
Sitting as the state’s top-ranked team in Division III, Wheelersburg looked like Goliath to Minford’s David.
None of that mattered to the Falcons.
In a Division III district championship game at VA Memorial Stadium, the Falcons (19-5) flipped the script on their SOC III rivals. The team’s two pitchers — Mason Bradley and Grant Wheeler — surrendered just four combined hits en route to a 3-1 victory, clinching the program’s fifth district title in the last six seasons.
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
“Wheelersburg is a tough opponent. They’ve taken it to us twice this year, but beating a team three times in a year is hard, and our guys knew that,” Minford coach Eli Daniels said. “They came in, after winning yesterday, with all the confidence in the world. They were having fun, they were loose, and they were locked in. They’re used to being here and they’ve proven it year in and year out.”
After a scoreless first inning, Minford got out in front in the second.
With two runners on and two outs, Max Lauder laid a bunt down the third base line and reached first safely, allowing J.D. Matiz to score from third and put the Falcons up 1-0.
‘Burg tried to answer right away in its next at-bat, putting two runners on base with only one out. However, Bradley struck out a hitter for out number two and followed it up by inducing a ground ball, keeping the lead intact.
The shutdown inning from Bradley only set the tone for the remainder of the game.
Even though Minford couldn’t extend the lead with runners on, Bradley made sure Wheelersburg (23-3) didn’t capitalize, either.
In both the third and fourth innings, the Pirates put runners on base. However, Bradley left them stranded on each occasion and followed up with a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth, keeping ‘Burg off the board and his Falcons ahead by a run.
“Mason Bradley has been a work in progress and he hasn’t pitched that many innings for us this year,” Daniels said. “I’m so proud of that kid. He showed up and did what he was supposed to do. He pitched to ground balls and fly balls and let his team work behind him.”
“The only thing going through my mind was get outs and throw strikes,” Bradley added. “If they hit the ball, then at least I had my defense behind me.”
If the Falcons wanted to hold onto their lead, however, their hitters were going to have to hold their end of the bargain.
They did just that in the sixth inning.
Rhyan Queen walked to lead things off before taking second base on a passed ball. Cam Thacker then singled to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Queen would then come home after a single off the bat of Matiz, giving Minford a much-needed insurance run.
After a Pirate pitching change, Bradley strengthened his own cause, chopping one past the shortstop to bring Thacker home and push his team’s lead to 3-0.
That sixth inning proved to be imperative as Wheelersburg had a little bit left in the tank in the final frame.
After the Pirates put two on in the bottom half, Minford turned to senior Grant Wheeler to seal the deal. But the Pirates wouldn’t go down without a fight as Connor Estep delivered a two-out bloop single to drive in a run.
Minford still stayed calm and collected.
Jake Darling represented the go-ahead run, but he sent a 1-2 pitch straight to Mason Book, who made the catch for the final out — putting the exclamation point on a 3-1 victory that brings a district title back to Minford.
“Grant Wheeler came in, and I think he has five innings for us on the year. But he came in, being a senior, knowing what he had to do and he got it done,” Daniels said. “We’ve got a bunch of tough-nosed kids on this team and they show up to play every day.”
“We knew going in that [Wheelersburg] was a really good team. They beat us both times in the regular season, but it’s hard to beat a team three times in a row,” J.D. Matiz added. “All week, we’ve been set on this game. We practiced hard, and we’ve got a very good group of seniors that led us to win this game.”
The Falcons will now travel to Columbus for a regional semifinal matchup against Barnesville — a game slated for a 5 p.m. first pitch at Ohio Dominican University on Thursday.
“We’re going to keep everything the same. We’re going to play Falcon baseball and let the cards fall where they may,” Daniels said. “We’re going to play our game, and if it happens, it happens. I think we can do it. This team can shock a lot of people, so I’m excited.”
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