The opening day of the 2026 high school baseball season delivered a little bit of everything, from dominant pitching performances to explosive offensive innings and late-game drama.
The headline moment came in Riverside’s walk-off victory to open the season, while Bellefontaine’s late offensive surge turned a tight rivalry game into a runaway win. Across the area, strong starts on the mound and timely hitting highlighted just how competitive the early season is shaping up to be.
Riverside Pirates 5, Greenon Knights 4
The most dramatic finish of the day came in Riverside’s season-opening walk-off win over Greenon, 5-4.
Both teams were sharp early, combining for just one baserunner and eight strikeouts through the first two innings as Camden Shoe and Grady Evans dueled on the mound. Greenon broke through in the third, taking advantage of a walk and an error to put runners in scoring position. A ground ball to third resulted in an out on the bases, but the run crossed the plate to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.
Riverside threatened in the bottom half, loading the bases, but Evans escaped the jam to keep the lead intact. Greenon extended its advantage in the fifth with two-out production, scoring once on a defensive miscue and again on an RBI double to right to make it 3-0.
The Pirates answered immediately in the bottom of the fifth. After loading the bases, Colton Hurley scored on an error, Tony Robinson was hit by a pitch to bring in another run, and Shoe delivered a game-tying single to center. Riverside nearly took the lead, but Cooper Crouch was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
Greenon regained the lead in the sixth capitalizing on another outfield error, but Riverside had the final push. In the seventh, Syler Clark doubled and later scored on a wild pitch to tie the game. After a passed ball moved runners into scoring position and an error put runners on the corners, Shoe lifted a pop-up that was dropped by the shortstop, allowing Crouch to score the winning run.
Shoe led the Pirates at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs, and also turned in a strong start on the mound, allowing just one run with three strikeouts.
Bellefontaine Chieftains 10, Sidney Yellow Jackets 2
Bellefontaine used a late offensive explosion to pull away from Sidney, scoring 10 unanswered runs in a 10-2 win.
Sidney took control early, plating two runs in the first inning with the help of a walk, an error, and a sacrifice fly. From there, both starting pitchers settled in, keeping offenses in check until the fourth inning when Spencer Stolly sparked the Chieftains with a leadoff double. He later scored on a sacrifice fly from Lincoln Banta to cut the deficit in half.
Bellefontaine tied the game in the fifth as Sutton Daring came through with a two-out RBI single. The Chiefs then took their first lead in the sixth when Sammy Kline delivered another two-out hit, and moments later Aiden Smith reached on an error that allowed two more runs to score.
The Chieftains broke the game open in the seventh, scoring five runs—all with two outs. The inning featured two RBI walks, a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded, an RBI single from Kline, and a run scoring on a passed ball.
Daring and Kline each finished with two hits and two RBIs to lead the offense, while Stolly earned the win with five innings of two-run, one-hit baseball, striking out three.
Urbana Hillclimbers 2, Xenia Buccaneers 1
Urbana leaned on dominant pitching and clean situational play to edge Xenia 2-1 in a tightly contested opener.
The Hillclimbers got on the board in the second inning, taking advantage of multiple Xenia errors that allowed BJ Potter to reach base and eventually circle around to score. From there, Ohio State commit Grady Lantz took over the game on the mound.
After allowing a hit in the first, Lantz was nearly untouchable, striking out 10 batters over four innings. He struck out the side in both the second and third innings and recorded eight strikeouts among his final nine outs.
Xenia managed to tie the game in the fifth on a fielder’s choice that brought home the runner from third, but Urbana answered right back. A passed ball allowed Potter to score his second run of the game, giving the Hillclimbers a 2-1 lead.
Potter then took over on the mound and closed the door, tossing three innings while allowing one run and striking out three to earn the save. Carter Houseman led Urbana with two of the team’s three hits.
Benjamin Logan Raiders 5, Coldwater Cavaliers 3
Benjamin Logan combined timely hitting with a complete-game performance from Adam Tinsman to secure a 5-3 victory over Coldwater.
Coldwater jumped out quickly, scoring two runs in the top of the first on an RBI double and a groundout. The Raiders responded immediately in the bottom half as Soli Hughes walked and Cayden Brown singled to set the table. Tinsman drove in a run with a double to left, and later in the inning Micah Gregg delivered a two-run single to give Benjamin Logan a 3-2 lead.
Both pitching staffs settled in over the next few innings, with limited baserunners on either side. The Raiders added insurance in the fifth after putting two runners in scoring position, and Tinsman once again came through with a two-run double to extend the lead to 5-2.
Coldwater pushed across a run in the seventh and threatened with additional baserunners, but Tinsman closed out the game by striking out the final two hitters.
Tinsman finished 2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBIs at the plate, while also allowing just three runs on six hits with nine strikeouts in a complete-game effort.
St. Mary’s Memorial Roughriders 9, Indian Lake Lakers 1
Indian Lake opened its season with a 9-1 loss to St. Mary’s Memorial despite some early promise.
The Lakers struck first in the second inning when Braden Tussing drew a bases-loaded walk to bring home the game’s first run. However, Memorial responded immediately and began to take control.
The Roughriders scored one run in each of the second, third, fourth, and fifth innings, steadily building their lead before breaking the game open with a five-run sixth inning.
Indian Lake had opportunities offensively but struggled to capitalize, leaving nine runners on base. Six different players recorded hits, while starting pitcher Jackson Snipes tallied eight strikeouts despite taking the loss.
Piqua Indians 15, Graham Falcons 10
A massive first inning proved too much to overcome as Graham fell to Piqua, 15-10, in a game filled with offense.
Piqua erupted for 10 runs in the opening inning—all with two outs—using six hits, two walks, a hit batter, and multiple defensive miscues to seize control early. Graham starter Brody Jenkins managed to record the final out with a strikeout to stop the damage.
Graham responded in the second with a bases-loaded walk from Jenkins, but Piqua added two more runs in the third to maintain a comfortable lead.
The Falcons made their biggest push in the fourth, scoring five runs with two outs. Jenkins doubled to spark the rally, and RBI contributions from Levi Hollingsworth, Jack Traylor, and Arden McGuire helped cut the deficit to 12-6.
Graham continued to chip away with three more runs in the fifth and another in the sixth on an RBI double from Kingston McWilliams, trimming the lead to three at one point. However, Piqua answered with two additional runs and held off the comeback attempt.
Kase Loudenback led the Falcons with a 3-for-4 performance and two runs scored, while Jenkins and Hollingsworth each added two hits and three RBIs.
