Chaminade-Julienne’s quest for their second baseball title in school history came to an end at the hands of the Tallmadge Blue Devils, who won their second at the Eagles’ expense.
Columbus – As fate would have it the Division II championship game came down between teams seeking their respective second state baseball title in school history.
Chaminade-Julienne (22-5) had won its only title back in 1971.
The Tallmadge Blue Devils, from Summit County, won its title in much more recent fashion, in 2002.
But on Saturday afternoon it was the Blue Devils who made the most of their opportunity, shutting out Chaminade 4-0 with an impressive 2-hit shutout through 6.1 innings by junior pitcher Jared Burick. Chaminade mounted its only significant scoring threat with on out in the top of the seventh, prompting a Tallmadege pitching change. Junior reliever Mikah McGloughlin came on to strike out the final two Chaminade hitters and preserve the shutout.
Tallmadge won it with 4 runs on 8 hits and played error-free baseball.
Chaminade concluded its season with no runs on 2 hits and likewise, committed no errors.
But the Eagles simply could not make contact against Burick and McGloughlin, who pounded the strike zone aggressively and had CJ hitters behind in the count for much of the game. Chaminade sent to the plate just four more hitters than the minimum 21 for a seven inning game.
Ryan Peltier pitched the first six innings for Chaminade, giving up four runs, all earned, as Tallmadge scored one in the first, added two more in the third inning, and scored for the final time in the sixth.
First baseman Sam Seeker was the hitting star of the game for the Blue Devils, with a pair of hits and two RBIs.
Tallmadge finished the year with a 25-7 record, and won its second title in its sixth state tournament appearance.
CJ’s Ryan Peltier pitched the first six innings, giving up 4 runs on eight hits.
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Erased...Chaminade's Mark Barhorst was retired on the front end of a double play in the fourth inning, and the Eagles were retired for the season on the short end of a 4-0 shutout. (Press Pros Feature Photos)