SENECAS CAUGHT IN GREEN WAVE’S UNDERTOW, 6-4

By Kyle Holsinger

AKRON — The Calvert Senecas shot out to a 3-0 lead after two innings in the OHSAA Division VII state semifinals on Thursday afternoon at Canal Park in Akron. Newark Catholic then scored five runs over the next three frames to take the lead then held on to advance thanks to the closing pitching of Miller Hutchison, 6-4. 

Green Wave starting pitcher Owen Pryzmierski was able to force a couple ground outs and a strike out to quickly retire the side in the first inning.

Calvert senior Blake Coleman walked batter Mikey Hess, and a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt by Alex Nagel helped to get him on first base safely while Hess was able to get to second. After a pop fly to caught by right fielder A.J. Shoemaker, Coleman fanned back-to-back batters to leave the two Newark Catholic baserunners stranded.

The Green & White’s Pryzmierski walked Connor Moyer before striking out two Seneca batters looking. Consecutive walks put Jake Kidwell and Cash Lee on second and first base respectively while Conner went to third for Calvert (27-4).

The Senecas’ Logan Ritzler hit a two RBI single with Lee advancing to third on the play. Next, Coleman singled to bring in Lee for the RBI and helping Ritzler get to second base.

A few pitches later, during the next at-bat, the pair stole second and third. The Green Wave’s Pryzmierski walked sophomore Vincenzo Lyons to load the bases before striking out a batter to get out of the jam, 3-0 in favor of Calvert.

The Senecas’ Coleman struck out one, forced a ground out, walked NC’s Andy Gossett before getting him out on a fielder’s choice to end the inning.

Connor Moyer was walked by Pryzmierski before Cameron Moyer singled to left field—helping Connor advance to second. At this point, sophomore Gabe Badik came in as a pinch runner for Connor.

Calvert freshman Charlie Palm was then thrown out at first on a sacrifice bunt, but his effort moved Badik to third base and Cameron Moyer to second.

A fielder’s choice on a hit by Kidwell allowed him to reach first safely, but saw Badik thrown out at home. Cameron Moyer was about to get to third on the hit. Kidwell then stole second base shortly thereafter. Newark’s Pryzmierski was able to get Lee to pop out to get out of the side.

That’s when Newark Catholic began their scoring run.

The Green Wave’s Nagel doubled to right field, and Miller Hutchison singled to get Nagel to third. The Senecas made a throwing error when Miller stole second; allowing Nagel to score.

A Malone Hutchison single to left field brought Miller home from second for the RBI. A wild pitch by Coleman allowed Malone to advance to second base. He was able to get a couple batters to pop out to get out of the third inning with Calvert still leading, 3-2.

Newark’s Pryzmierski struck out a batter to start the fourth before walking Coleman. After Lyons singled off of him to get Coleman in scoring position at second, the Green Wave made a pitching change; opting to put Miller Hutchison on the mound.

Miller struck out the first batter he faced. A wild pitch by Hutchison advanced Lyons and Coleman to second and third, and then he walked Connor Moyer to load the bases for the Senecas.

Unfortunately for Calvert, Miller was able to leave the runners stranded with a strike out to end the inning.

Blake Coleman and the Seneca defense put together a nice side in the bottom of the fourth. After walking the Green Wave’s Chris Garber, Coleman was able to get a batter to pop out, strike out another, then get ground out the final out of the fourth inning.

Not to be outdone, Newark’s Miller Hutchison was able to get a batter to ground out before fanning two Calvert batters with pitches with a series of fastballs clocking at 85 miles per hour or higher to get out of the inning. 

Miller came right off the filed, picked up a bat, and singled to center field to get on base for NCHS. Calvert then committed a throwing error on a fielder’s choice hit by Malone Hutchison that saw both Hutchisons on first and second bases.

The Green Wave’s Pryzmierski was thrown out at first on a sacrifice bunt. However, Miller and Malone advanced to scoring positions. The Royal & White then made the decision to load the bases by intentionally walking Hal Gillespie.

Newark’s Max Moore hit an RBI single, but a throwing error at first allowed him to advance to second base while the Hutchisons both scored and Gillespie was now on third. The Green Wave had their first lead of the game in the bottom of the fifth, 5-3.

The Senecas changed pitchers at this point from senior Blake Coleman to his sophomore brother, Tucker Coleman.

Tucker walked Newark Catholic’s Garber before striking out a batter to load the bases again. Hess singled off of Tucker to centerfield to allow Gillespie to score. A wild pitch by Tucker seemed to spell disaster for Calvert as catcher Connor Moyer chased it to the backstop and was able to throw it to Tucker Coleman in-time to tag out the baserunner running towards home plate to get out of the inning with a big sigh of relief.

At the top of the sixth, Ritzler got to first on a throwing error. Tucker Coleman then smacked a double down the left field line as Ritzler scored all the way from first base for the RBI, getting the Seneca within a run of Newark Catholic, 5-4.

The Green & White’s Miller Hutchison struck out two more batters to get out of the sixth.

After Nagel was walked by Calvert’s Logan Ritzler, Miller Hutchison singled to get Nagel to second base. Kane Stephey was brought in as a pinch runner for Miller at this point.

A sacrifice bunt by Malone Hutchison advanced Stephey to second and Nagel to third. Then, the Senecas intentionally walked Pryzmierski to load the bases.

Newark’s Gillespie grounded out, but was able to get the RBI as Nagel scored on the hit. Ritzler was able to get a batter to fly out to get out of the side.

The Green Wave’s Miller Hutchison struck out the remaining three batters to end the game and advance to the Division VII state finals, 6-4. Hutchison was 3-4 at the plate with with two runs scored. On the mound, he pitched 3 2/3 innings with 10 Ks and two walks while only giving up a hit and one run.

This is Newark Catholic’s 18th appearance in the state tournament with the Green Wave (21-9) winning the title nine times—most recently in 2016 and finishing as runner-ups thrice. 

The Licking County League representatives will take their 12-game active winning streak into a state finals matchup with Minster (25-6) on Saturday at 10 a.m. back at Canal Park. The Wildcats defeated Russia (18-12) in the game after Calvert’s there, 5-3.

Seneca senior Blake Coleman goes down as the only baseball player in Calvert history to make three appearances in the state tournament—which are Calvert’s only three appearances. The previous two appearances were in 2022 and 2023—Coleman’s freshman and sophomore seasons. A year ago, the Senecas finished the season as regional semifinalists.

The Senecas snapped a 15-game winning streak. The Sandusky Bay Conference River Division champions had previously lost on April 29 at Van Buren, 9-5.