The St. Xavier Bombers punched their ticket to the state championship game on Thursday night, relying on a dominant pitching performance from senior Jack Ryan and a massive offensive showcase from Dominick Dials to blank the Olentangy Orange Pioneers 5-0.
The St. Xavier Bombers punched their ticket to the state championship game on Thursday night, relying on a dominant pitching performance from senior Jack Ryan and a massive offensive showcase from Dominick Dials to blank the Olentangy Orange Pioneers 5-0.
The Bombers entered the state semifinal tasked with cooling off one of the most dangerous and hottest programs in Ohio. The Pioneers arrived from the Columbus area boasting a formidable 24-5 record, riding a massive 15-game winning streak, and holding the No. 3 ranking in Division I. Built around a high-octane offense that had consistently blown games open throughout the postseason and a suffocating defense, Olentangy Orange presented a massive hurdle. Facing this powerhouse, the Bombers turned to Ryan to neutralize the threat and set the tone on the mound.
He faced an early test in the top of the first. After striking out the leadoff batter, Orange's Jake Luling ripped a one-out double to center. However, Ryan dialed in, inducing a groundout to shortstop Braden Bricking before striking out Xavier Aguila swinging to strand the runner in scoring position. The Bombers tried to ignite a spark in the bottom half of the frame with a single from Dillon Brus, but Pioneers starter Reid Hemrick caught him stealing to end the inning.
The pitching duel continued into the second. Ryan stayed in a rhythm, opening the frame by inducing a groundout to second baseman Cam Schaefer before striking out Colby Luling for the second out of the inning. With two down, Orange's Jackson Hoyt managed to extend the frame, poking a ground-ball single to left field. However, Bombers sophomore catcher Sam Sprengard quickly erased the two-out threat, firing a strike to Bricking to catch Hoyt stealing and end the top half of the inning. Hemrick matched Ryan's zeroes in the bottom of the second, sitting the Bombers down in order.
In the top of the third, Ryan continued his clinical dissection of the Orange lineup. He caught Jaxen Miller looking for his fourth strikeout of the night. Despite yielding a one-out single to Zane Konczak, Ryan remained unfazed, blowing a strike past Griffin Zavislak for a swinging strikeout and inducing a groundout to first base to end the threat.
The stalemate finally broke in the bottom of the third. After Ryan's scoreless frame, Dominick Dials stepped to the plate and ambushed Hemrick, launching a solo home run on a fly ball to right field to give the Bombers a 1-0 lead. Brus followed later in the inning with a deep triple to center, but Hemrick managed to escape without further damage.
The game broke wide open in the fourth inning. Ryan set the tone in the top half by retiring the Pioneers in order, highlighted by a flyout to left and a sharp groundout to short, shifting the momentum entirely to the St. Xavier dugout. After a Logan Von Holle walk and a groundout pushed him to second, Dials stepped up and delivered his second heroics of the night. He crushed a two-run home run to right field, expanding the lead to 3-0.
The Bombers weren't done. Schaefer and Sprengard drew back-to-back walks, setting the table for Brus. The speedy senior outfielder delivered a back-breaking, two-run triple that scored both runners. Though Brus was thrown out at the plate trying to stretch it into an inside-the-park home run, the damage was done—the Bombers led 5-0.
Olentangy Orange brought in Mason Poulter to pitch the fifth, and the reliever successfully quieted the St. Xavier bats for the remainder of the evening. But with a five-run cushion, Ryan pitched with extreme confidence. He worked around a walk in the fifth, pounding the strike zone and relying on his defense to keep the shutout intact. In the sixth, Ryan looked as fresh as he did in the first, mixing speeds and keeping the Pioneers' hitters completely off-balance to generate a quick 1-2-3 inning.
Ryan took the mound in the seventh looking to finish what he started, and he slammed the door shut with authority. He struck out Aguila and pinch-hitter Evan Doerbecker looking to notch his final punch outs of the night. A final fly ball off the bat of Colby Luling settled safely into the glove of Brus in right field, sealing the 5-0 complete-game shutout and sending the St. Xavier Bombers to the state title game, where they will face GCL South rival Archbishop Moeller for the state championship.
