SPRINGFIELD LIVE/Tigers win 13-7

SPRINGFIELD LIVE/Tigers win 13-7

COLUMBUS — For the third time in five seasons, the Springfield High baseball team will play for the Division IV state championship.

Friday at Huntington Park, the Tigers overcame a 6-2 deficit to defeat Defiance Tinora, 13-7, in the state semifinals.

Sophomore Ryan Koehler had four hits and scored three runs. Senior Eoghan Bees was on base five times,

The Tigers scored five times in the fourth inning, wiping out a four-run deficit with six hits, an error and two botched rundown plays by Tinora.

Cody Pitzo had a RBI double while Hunter Snyder and Dalton Donachie also drove in runs. The Tigers chased Rams starter Clay Pittman before the fourth inning ended.

The Rams had taken a 6-2 lead with their own five-run inning in the third frame.

Springfield will take on Newark Catholic on Sunday at noon for the state crown. Newark Catholic defeated Convoy Crestview, 9-1, in the other semifinal game. Center fielder Hunter Davis had three hits and scored three runs for the Green Wave who have won six state titles.

The Tigers were state runners-up in 2009 and 2011. The Rams have made their third straight trip to state.