With at least two Ohio school vying for back-to-back titles, Defiance becomes the first with an extra-inning win over Hamilton Badin.
Note: Pickerington North has won the Division I title with a 2-1 decision over Cincinnati LaSalle….In Division III Berlin Hiland has won its first state baseball title with a 7-1 decision over Apple Creek Waynedale….Newark Catholic and Triad are to follow in Division IV.
Columbus – It was billed as the I-75 championship because Defiance and Hamilton Badin high schools are both located in proximity of the main north-south Ohio highway artery.
And, it was also billed as one of the back-to-back title possibilities in the 2006 OHSAA baseball picture, with Defiance seeking to repeat its Division II title of a year ago.
They didn’t disappoint the monster partisan crowd that made the trip into downtown Columbus from Defiance County.
Tied 2-2 after seven innings, second baseman Austin Taylor roped a single to center field in the bottom of the eighth inning to score University of Louisville-bound pitcher Shay Smiddy with the winning run, 3-2.
It marks the fourth state title for Defiance, having previously won in 2015, 2013, and 1992.
Badin, the runner-up, was seeking its third championship, previously winning in 1991 and 1996.
The other Ohio school seeking back-to-back honors is Newark Catholic, who plays Triad in the Division IV game at 7 pm. Newark is seeking is third title in four years and its ninth overall, which would move the Green Wave into sole possession of second place for all-time titles. The record is held by Cincinnati Elder, with 12.

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Defiance's Shay Smiddy hustles homes with the winning run in the Saturday's Division II title game with Hamilton Badin. (Press Pros Photo by Sonny Fulks)