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ATHENS — Standing on the infield of Wren Stadium on Wednedsay night, Waverly coach Jeff Noble admitted that he’s ridden this group of seniors, quite possibly, harder than any other group he’s coached.
There’s been a lot of growing pains over the years. But they’e now paid off with a new piece of hardware.
The Tigers (17-10) scored three early runs and rode the arm of Tyler Malone to a 7-2 victory over Miami Trace in a Division II district final, claiming the program’s first district championship since 2016.
CREDIT: Seth Fain/SOSA
“I’ve coached for a long time and I’ve told this group that at some point, they’re going to be rewarded for everything they’ve put in over the years,” Noble said. “I told them that we’re 0-0 once the tournament starts and here we are now as district champs. I thank the Lord for all of His many blessings. Our guys played hard and they’ve really turned the corner over the last 2-3 weeks. These seniors deserve this.”
In a time where every pitcher is trying to top 80-to-90 miles an hour per pitch, Malone’s style focuses more on location.
He tested every MT batter’s patience with every pitch, getting most to swing early or make weak contact for easy outs.
He struck out three hitters, but it was more than enough as he went the distance as his defense backed him up at every turn.
“It’s been a lot of hard work and I spent about 10 weeks in the winter just grinding and working on my pitching. Truthfully though, I’ve been preparing for four years for this moment,” Malone said. “To come out and throw a complete game on this stage, that’s all God and I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Waverly got its first two batters on base and then it received an early gift.
Miami Trace (16-9) committed a fielding error on the next at-bat. A throwing error on the same play allowed all three runs to score, putting the Tigers up 3-0.
“After those three runs, my confidence went completely to the moon,” Malone said. “I’m all fired up and I know that even if I don’t strike guys out, my teammates are right behind me. I trust the seven guys behind me, backing me up.”
Miami Trace got on the board in the third inning with an RBI single from Austin Brown. However, the Panthers committed another fielding error in the following inning to score a Tiger runner, which was followed by an RBI single from Hunter Hauck to push the lead to 5-1.
Brown came back up again in the fifth, delivering another RBI single for the Panthers. But ultimately, the night belonged to the Tigers.
Jase Hurd notched an RBI single and later scored on a passed ball in the sixth before Malone closed the deal in the seventh with a 1-3 double play to end the game, punching a ticket to the Sweet 16.
“We’d been locked in for this game since the final out of our last game against New Lexington,” Waverly’s LT Jordan said. “There’s so much time we’ve put in practice working on the little fundamentals that it makes the game a little easier. We’re getting ripped in practice for making little mistakes, so playing in the games is fun and we don’t feel a sense of pressure.”
After Malone’s final stat line, Hauck finished 2-for-4 with an RBI while Hurd was 1-for-3 with an RBI.
For Miami Trace, Brown finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Waverly advances to a Division II regional semifinal at 2 p.m. on Thursday back at Ohio University against Washington, who defeated Jackson to move on.
“We just have to continue staying focused and locked in,” Jordan said. “We’re one of 16 teams still rolling this season and we have a ton of momentum right now, so we can’t slow down at all.”
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