Ben Burleson delivers his first pitch in what would be a stellar outing for the Eagles. The next stop is the Final Four in Canton. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Logan Gapen)
Headlined by a 2-hit shutout from Ben Burleson, the Eagles followed in the footsteps of several other successful boys programs at the school by winning 5-0 over London in a regional final.
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The football team hasn’t lost a game since 2023, blowing through its opposition on the way to a second consecutive Division III state title last fall, and the boys wrestling program won the Division II team championship in 2025.
Winning has even spread to boys soccer, which reached a Division II state semifinal last fall, and to boys lacrosse, which is playing for the Division II championship on Saturday.
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Determined not to be left out is the baseball program, which ended an 11-year drought of reaching the state tournament Thursday in a Division III regional final at VA Memorial Stadium.
With a 5-0 win over London, the Eagles will play Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy at 7 p.m. June 11 at Thurman Munson Stadium in Canton in a state semifinal.
“We are blessed here with some very competitive human beings when you look at the success we have with football and wrestling and soccer, and now lacrosse,” said Jeff Boulware, who took over as coach in 2020. “It’s a very competitive place, and these guys are no different. It’s a veteran group this year, and a very special group.”
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It was all smiles for these Watterson teammates as they celebrate a 5-0 shutout win over London.
Speaking of special, that’s an appropriate word to describe how Watterson senior pitcher Ben Burleson performed while helping his team improve to 26-3. In addition to striking out seven, he allowed just two hits and no walks—producing his second shutout of the postseason.
Burleson even added a two-run double and a walk for the Eagles, who are in the midst of their fourth consecutive season of at least 20 wins but ended last season feeling disappointed after losing in a regional semifinal.
“There’s a lot of energy for sure and a competitive nature (at our school),” senior first baseman Michael Mulligan said. “We’re definitely not done yet and we’re super focused. We want to keep it going. Last year we had big goals for ourselves and fell a little short, but this year we’ve kind of stepped up a little bit and are dialed in a little bit more.”
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Mulligan played a big role in getting the Eagles off on the right foot in the regional final. After junior center fielder Caden Mangini walked to open the game and senior second baseman Michael Wozniak flied out, Mulligan smashed a two-run home run over the right field fence.
Ben Uhlenhake celebrates a critical error, an overthrown ball, that allows him to easily score from third, giving Watterson an early 3-0 lead.
Junior Ben Uhlenhake, a key football player the last two seasons, reached on a two-out double to left. Senior second baseman Brady McAninch then bunted down the third-base line but London senior pitcher Braden Collins’ throw was too high and Uhlenhake sprinted home for a 3-0 lead.
“Caden and (Wozniak) had some great at-bats to start off the game and saw a lot of pitches, and I knew he was going to come after me,” said Mulligan, a Toledo commit. “I was lucky enough to catch one on the barrel out front. I just wanted to hit something hard. We’ve got Ben (on the mound) and he’s so easy to play behind. He’s a great pitcher, and he keeps everyone engaged because he attacks hitters.”
Burleson allowed a two-out single in the first inning and hit the leadoff batter in the third, but the only other hit he allowed came in the sixth when junior shortstop Sawyer Blakeway reached on an infield single. Blakeway was later picked off for the third out.
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“I was just pounding the zone, letting my defense work,” Burleson said. “I know they will make plays. They’ve been making plays all year.
“It’s pretty humbling to be able to go out there and do what I do, win games and get to spend one more week with my guys.”
In the fifth, Uhlenhake walked and McAninch reached on an error to set up Burleson’s two-run double to left-center.
“Ben’s not going to overpower you with his fastball,” Boulware said. “He’s economical in how he goes about his business, throws a ton of strikes, mixes up his slider and changeup in any count, and is absolutely not afraid. He loves to compete. He’s been our guy for a couple years now.
Brady McAninch puts away a pop fly to help keep London at bay.
“With Mike Mulligan coming through in a big stage like that, I’m so happy for him, but then we can’t forget about two batters later when we get a base hit bunt from Brady McAninch which they throw away and we score a run. Sometimes it’s those little things when you add on a run that make a big difference. It kind of deflated them a little bit. We played a clean game, and how quickly Ben works keeps our defense engaged.”
London should be a team to watch in the coming years after going 19-11 overall and reaching a regional final for the first time.
It was just the second season for the Red Raiders under coach Marcus Stone, a 2016 Bishop Ready graduate who played in the same league throughout his prep career against the Eagles and came in knowing the challenge his program was facing.
London lost 10 games in its league before finding its groove during the postseason.
“It was just a great group of seniors, seven of them who stuck together through everything,” Stone said. “All of the trials and the tribulations we had with injuries and just losing a couple games early on, they stuck together and put together one of the best runs in London history. They’d never won a district championship (prior to 2025), and last year was our first in school history. This year, we repeated and went further. Now we just want to keep building, keep attacking, and keep playing Red Raider baseball.”
Watterson will be making its eighth state tournament appearance, and its legacy as a central Ohio power includes titles in 1988, 1991, and 1997.
The state championship game, should the Eagles win their semifinal matchup, is scheduled for 7 p.m. June 12 at 7 17 Credit Union Park in Akron.
“We’ve got a special group,” Wozniak said. “We always do what we need to do, whether it’s win games 3-2 or 16-15. We just want to try to win every pitch, and every inning try to bring what we can bring. I just want to enjoy it with my friends. It’s not every day you get to (compete for titles) with people you love.”
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