Bees matriculate to regional tourney
Squad marks graduation with district title
Medina celebrates its Barberton Division I District baseball championship, which came on graduation day for the Bees’ seniors. Photo by RAY SARVIS
In the morning, Cade Pipoly and Trace Peterson left high school behind as they strode across the stage during Medina High School commencement ceremonies.
In the afternoon, the duo left Brunswick behind as they and their teammates graduated from the Barberton Division I District championship with honors, beating the top-seeded Blue Devils 9-4.
In winning districts as a No. 7-seed, the Bees (15-15) demonstrated how they relish the underdog role; by contrast, they failed to make it out of sectionals despite being the higher seed for the previous three years.
The day may have been a long one for Medina’s senior ballplayers, but the offense made short work of Brunswick’s Jack Gleske, getting to the junior pitcher for three runs in the top of the first.
No one was happier to have the cushion to work with than Pipoly, who earned his second win over the Blue Devils this season.
“It was awesome,” he said. “Everybody in the field behind me was great – great players and a great team, but especially when we’re hitting; we just put the bat on the ball and put it in play and that’s what gets us runs.”
Leadoff hitter Ryan Bowers got everything started when he reached first on an infield error. Control issues got the best of Gleske, who walked Hunter Havekost and Pipoly to load the bases.
Bowers then drew first blood when he easily scored on a wild pitch that advanced the runners, setting the stage for catcher Peterson, who lined a two-run single to right-center for a 3-0 lead.
“I’ve been struggling the past couple of days, hitting-wise,” Peterson said. “So my coach just told me, ‘Don’t do anything too big; just get a single and get some runs in.’ I said, ‘All right,’ so I got a single, got some runs in.”
The Blue Devils (13-13) were not prepared to go easily, however, as Gleske began hitting his locations. Brunswick’s offense broke through in the bottom of the third, as catcher Mike Williams hit a ball to deep center that easily scored Cameron Sasala.
Brunswick looked primed to garner some more runs with runners on first and second and only one out, but Pipoly escaped with a strikeout and a fly out to end the threat.
The Bees then effectively put the game out of reach with a five-inning fifth, highlighted by Hunter Havekost’s bases-loaded single.
“I was just trying not to do too much,” Havekost said. “The first pitch has always been inside, so I just took it and ended up scoring two runs.”
That closed the book on Gleske as John Onderak was called in to relieve the junior with nobody out and runners at first and third. A wild pitch and a balk helped Medina tally three more runs and an 8-1 lead.
Brunswick got two of those runs back in the bottom of the inning, but Pipoly managed, with the help of some solid defensive play, to make it to the bottom of the seventh when, after throwing more than 115 pitches, he was chased by a two-out double by Frank Ciacchi.
First baseman John Curtis came on and, after the Blue Devils plated one more run, caught Jack Wonkovich looking to record the final out and send the Bees to the Parma Regional against Avon on May 25 at 5 p.m. It is Medina’s first appearance at regionals since winning consecutive district titles out of Hudson in 2010 and 2011.
“It was a tough season at the beginning of the year and we’ve just been rolling,” Medina coach Nick Kaplack said. “It was awesome for our seniors, especially, who just graduated. They’ve worked really hard and this is a senior-led team.”
In the afternoon, the duo left Brunswick behind as they and their teammates graduated from the Barberton Division I District championship with honors, beating the top-seeded Blue Devils 9-4.
In winning districts as a No. 7-seed, the Bees (15-15) demonstrated how they relish the underdog role; by contrast, they failed to make it out of sectionals despite being the higher seed for the previous three years.
The day may have been a long one for Medina’s senior ballplayers, but the offense made short work of Brunswick’s Jack Gleske, getting to the junior pitcher for three runs in the top of the first.
No one was happier to have the cushion to work with than Pipoly, who earned his second win over the Blue Devils this season.
“It was awesome,” he said. “Everybody in the field behind me was great – great players and a great team, but especially when we’re hitting; we just put the bat on the ball and put it in play and that’s what gets us runs.”
Leadoff hitter Ryan Bowers got everything started when he reached first on an infield error. Control issues got the best of Gleske, who walked Hunter Havekost and Pipoly to load the bases.
Bowers then drew first blood when he easily scored on a wild pitch that advanced the runners, setting the stage for catcher Peterson, who lined a two-run single to right-center for a 3-0 lead.
“I’ve been struggling the past couple of days, hitting-wise,” Peterson said. “So my coach just told me, ‘Don’t do anything too big; just get a single and get some runs in.’ I said, ‘All right,’ so I got a single, got some runs in.”
The Blue Devils (13-13) were not prepared to go easily, however, as Gleske began hitting his locations. Brunswick’s offense broke through in the bottom of the third, as catcher Mike Williams hit a ball to deep center that easily scored Cameron Sasala.
Brunswick looked primed to garner some more runs with runners on first and second and only one out, but Pipoly escaped with a strikeout and a fly out to end the threat.
The Bees then effectively put the game out of reach with a five-inning fifth, highlighted by Hunter Havekost’s bases-loaded single.
“I was just trying not to do too much,” Havekost said. “The first pitch has always been inside, so I just took it and ended up scoring two runs.”
That closed the book on Gleske as John Onderak was called in to relieve the junior with nobody out and runners at first and third. A wild pitch and a balk helped Medina tally three more runs and an 8-1 lead.
Brunswick got two of those runs back in the bottom of the inning, but Pipoly managed, with the help of some solid defensive play, to make it to the bottom of the seventh when, after throwing more than 115 pitches, he was chased by a two-out double by Frank Ciacchi.
First baseman John Curtis came on and, after the Blue Devils plated one more run, caught Jack Wonkovich looking to record the final out and send the Bees to the Parma Regional against Avon on May 25 at 5 p.m. It is Medina’s first appearance at regionals since winning consecutive district titles out of Hudson in 2010 and 2011.
“It was a tough season at the beginning of the year and we’ve just been rolling,” Medina coach Nick Kaplack said. “It was awesome for our seniors, especially, who just graduated. They’ve worked really hard and this is a senior-led team.”