No. 32 Baseball knocks off No. 34 Olmsted Falls 7-3 to win Sectional Championship

No. 32 Midview Varsity Baseball defeated No. 34 Olmsted Falls High School 7-3 in an OHSAA Division III Sectional Championship match-up Saturday (May 24) on the campus of North Ridgeville High School.

The Southwestern Conference rivals were originally slated to play at Midview on Thursday but rain postponed it until Saturday and also forced the location change. The Sectional Championship was a team effort.

Senior Noah Munshower pitched a six-inning gem. He scattered three runs on seven hits with five strikeouts to improve to 5-5 on the season. Sophomore Benjamin Szczepanski worked into and out of a jam to secure the victory with a scoreless final frame.

Olmsted Falls jumped out to a 2-0 advantage on a two-out double in the top of the second. Junior Kaiden Vogelpohl got the Middies on the board with a RBI single in the bottom of the third. Senior Camden Scott, who walked and stole second earlier, scored on the play.

Midview's big inning came when the batted around and scored five runs in bottom of the fourth. Senior Brayden Widenmeyer led off with a walk. Munshower sacrificed him to second. Senior Cason Pelko walked, and then sophomore Luke Jockel drilled a RBI double to left to even the score. A hustle play by Scott on a ground ball allowed him to reach on an error and helped Pelko score. Junior Daniel Melendez drew a two-out walk to load the bases. Senior John Derringer singled to left to score two and then senior Chase Harper drove in another with an infield hit to make it 6-2 Middies.

The Bulldogs scored a run in the top of the sixth, but the Middies answered with a Melendez double and Derringer RBI single to extend the lead back to four runs. Olmsted Falls brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh but a ground ball to Pelko at shortstop ended the threat and sealed the victory.

Both teams finished with eight hits and two errors. Derringer paced Midview with a 2-for-4 and 3 RBI performance. Sophomore Seth Randall also had a pair of hits in the win.

The Middies (10-14), who avenged a pair of league losses to the Bulldogs with the victory, advance to play at No. 2 Wooster High School on Tuesday (May 27) at 5 p.m.