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Reign delay: Springfield baseball wins regional
Tigers top Cuyahoga Heights after rain halts Division IV final
By Joe catullo Jr.
copley
As if Springfield coach Matt Weymer didn’t get wet enough during Friday night’s thunderstorms, he got twice the amount on Saturday.
After sealing a 6-3 victory over Cuyahoga Heights (14-9) in a Division IV regional final, the Tigers (20-7) doused their coach with two coolers filled with water and ice.
“One time it hit me in the head. We need to get a little better at executing that,” Weymer said laughing.
The Tigers led by the same score when the game was suspended until Saturday in the bottom of the sixth inning. Both teams waited 16 hours, and Springfield needed only 20 minutes to finish the job.
“We had rest, and coming in here we had the right mindset,” Jojo Caraballo said. “We had an hour bus ride to get into a good mindset, and we came in here prepared.”
James Hillyer, who relieved starter Jordon Peterson on Friday, pitched a two-inning save, allowing no runs on no hits, two walks and two strikeouts. Peterson went five innings and allowed three runs (one earned) on three hits, four walks and three strikeouts. Caraballo paced the offense with two hits and two RBIs.
Hillyer said the 16-hour delay made him anxious.
“At first it kind of felt like a new game, then I just turned around a couple of times to look at the scoreboard and then realized two more innings we need to get this done,” he said.
With runners on first and second base and one out in the bottom of the sixth, Ryan Rosenlieb grounded into a fielder’s choice. Rosenlieb rolled his right ankle, hitting the middle part of first instead of the corner, and had to take an early exit.
At the end, limping noticeably with no sock or spike on, the senior led his Redskins to the handshakes with Springfield and received the runner-up trophy.
“The kids voted him our honorary captain this year, so that tells you a little about him there,” Cuyahoga Heights coach Marc Lowther said. “He’s always going the extra mile, doing extra work. When some kids don’t want to carry the ball bucket or the helmet bag, he grabs it.”
The Redskins advanced to the regional final for the third time in the last four years after beginning this season 2-6 and finishing fifth in their conference.
“They never quit, they worked hard, they did what they had to do, and it showed that we got here,” Lowther said. “Before the district final game, I told them, ‘Guys, Cuyahoga Heights baseball is expected to be here.’”
The Tigers earn their sixth trip to the state semifinals and third since 2009. They will battle Defiance Tenora at 1 p.m. Friday at Huntington Park.
Springfield has never won a state baseball title, finishing second in 2011, 2009 and 1980.
“Every second was worth it when it comes down to it in the end,” Weymer said. “First game our bus broke down on the side of the road. Then we got the rain last night. Every obstacle’s been thrown at us this year, and these kids have come through and done a good job. Every second of the way is worth it when you go to state.”