OHSAA District Final
Roger Bacon 4, Benjamin Logan 1
The Benjamin Logan Raiders saw their season come to an end Saturday morning, falling 4-1 to Roger Bacon in the OHSAA District Final. For the second consecutive season, the Raiders were stopped one win short of advancing to the regional tournament as an early Spartan offensive surge proved too much to overcome.
Benjamin Logan threatened immediately against Roger Bacon starter Bryan Yaecker in the top of the first. Soli Hughes drew a leadoff walk and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Xavier Allen. Parker Yelton was then hit by a pitch, putting two runners aboard, but a 4-3 double play off the bat of Adam Tinsman quickly erased the threat and kept the game scoreless.
Roger Bacon wasted little time taking advantage.
Raider starter Micah Gregg retired the first two batters he faced, including a strikeout, before the inning suddenly unraveled. Gregg hit a batter on a 2-2 pitch, issued a walk, and surrendered a single to load the bases. Looking for a way out of the jam, Gregg left a pitch over the plate to Maximus DeFranco, who ripped a ball into right field and raced around for a bases-clearing triple to put the Spartans in front 3-0 after one inning.
Gregg helped his own cause in the second with a leadoff single, but the Raiders were unable to capitalize despite advancing him to third base.
The Spartans threatened to add to their lead in the bottom half of the inning after putting the first two runners aboard and moving both into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Benjamin Logan escaped the inning with a huge defensive play as a fly ball to left field turned into an inning-ending double play. Soli Hughes delivered a perfect throw home to Parker Yelton, who applied the tag to cut down the runner and keep the deficit at three.
After a quiet third inning, the Raiders finally broke through in the fourth.
Yelton, Tinsman, and Gregg opened the inning with three consecutive singles to load the bases with nobody out. Carter Fay then bounced into a 4-6-3 double play, but Yelton crossed the plate from third to cut the Spartan lead to 3-1.
Gregg returned to the mound in the bottom of the fourth and worked around a leadoff single to keep the Raiders within striking distance.
His afternoon ended after four innings. Gregg allowed three runs on three hits while walking three and hitting one batter. He struck out one.
Benjamin Logan continued putting runners on base but could never find the timely hit it needed.
Cohen Archer singled to begin the fifth inning, while Yelton opened the sixth with another base hit, but both opportunities were quickly erased as Yaecker settled back in.
Soli Hughes took over on the mound in the fifth and navigated around a two-out error and single to keep the Spartans off the scoreboard. The sixth inning proved more challenging.
After issuing back-to-back one-out walks, Hughes watched both runners execute a double steal before another stolen base allowed one run to score and stretch the lead to 4-1. Roger Bacon later loaded the bases, but Hughes responded with consecutive strikeouts to prevent any further damage and give the Raiders one final chance.
Trailing by three in the seventh, Benjamin Logan refused to go quietly.
After the first two outs were recorded, Oliver Morse reached on an error and Hughes worked a five-pitch walk to bring the tying run to the plate. Xavier Allen battled after falling behind in the count, but Yaecker recovered from a 2-0 count and recorded the game-ending strikeout to secure the district championship for Roger Bacon.
Hughes tossed two innings of relief, allowing one run on two hits while striking out two.
Offensively, Benjamin Logan collected six hits. Yelton and Gregg each recorded two hits, while Tinsman and Archer added one apiece. Yelton scored the Raiders’ lone run, and Hughes reached base twice via walk.
Despite the disappointing finish, Benjamin Logan closes another successful season with a 17-8 record and a second straight district runner-up finish. The Raiders captured a sectional championship and advanced to the district final after a dramatic extra-inning victory over Valley View, but their postseason run ended one step short of the regional tournament.
