The Berkshire Badgers’ baseball team’s deep playoff run ended in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division V Northeast 3 district title game, losing 9-3 against Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division rival Chagrin Falls last Friday evening at Mentor High School.
“It was a little bit of everything,” noted Coach Craig Barstow. “I think we hit the trifecta in the third inning. We gave up a couple of hits, a couple of hard-hit balls and we had a couple of walks and then we had a couple of errors in the same inning.”
It marked the Badgers’ (13-14, 5-5) eighth time in school history reaching a district final, the first time since 2021, but it was Barstow’s fourth time in a district title game, as the first-year coach was a member of two separate teams that played in the district championship during his own playing days for the Badgers and served as an assistant coach on the team during the 2021 campaign.
Not only did the Badgers overcome the odds to reach the district final but Barstow added that it was a prideful moment that the district championship became a CVC Valley Division duel, as the teams each went 1-1 in their regular season series.
“Michael Sweeney, the Chagrin Falls’ coach, he coached when I was in high school, so I have known him for a long time,” Barstow added. “It was a cool experience to see CVC foes compete for a district title.”
On Friday, the Badgers struck first in the top of the second as senior left fielder Sam Barcicoski delivered a RBI-double to right field, pushing Berkshire ahead 1-0.
Chagrin Falls responded with a six-run frame in the bottom of the third inning, as it sent 10 batters to the plate, recorded five hits and the Badgers committed one fielding error.
After the Tigers put a runner in scoring position at second base with one out, freshman right-hander Chase Brancel intentionally walked senior center fielder Henry Cimperman to set up a force play, but Chagrin Falls loaded the bases on a single by junior catcher Ash Martin and senior first baseman Jack Watson ripped a two-run double to RF, allowing the Tigers to take a 2-1 advantage.
“We started behind in the count and it is one of those things when the bases are loaded and you are behind in the count, you have to go right at them,” said Barstow. “We had to force the issue at that point, so we ended up grooving and hoped for the best and Watson got us that day.”
Sophomore left fielder Dylan Pribanic followed with a two-run single, junior designated hitter Leo Calabrese plated another run on a fielding error on a ground ball and senior second baseman Eric Nemunaitis hit a RBI-single to left field.
According to Barstow, Chagrin Falls batters were aggressive early in the count against freshman right-hander.
The Tigers threatened to end the game early by adding three more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, increasing the lead to 9-1, just two runs shy of triggering the mercy rule after five innings of play.
Berkshire scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning, as sophomore third baseman Evan Pollock drove home a run on a Tigers’ fielding error on a ground ball and senior center fielder Oliver Miller laced a RBI-single to center field, cutting the Tigers’ lead to 9-3.
Barstow said that Berkshire had plenty of baserunners throughout the game against the Tigers’ pitching, but ultimately stranded 16 runners in a game where missed opportunities loomed large.
“In your season of baseball, you are going to have seven-line drives that are out and seven bloopers that are hits and you probably didn’t deserve the blooper hits and probably didn’t deserve the liner outs but that is how baseball is,” Barstow noted. “We talked after the game and how that is a microcosm of life, you win some and you lose some like that, but it was one of those unfortunate situations.”
Although Chagrin Falls’ offense was explosive, Brancel still finished the game, tossing six innings while surrendering nine runs (five earned) on nine hits, five walks and five strikeouts.
Barsow lauded the Badgers for a resilient season, as they fell into an early hole at the beginning of the season with a 1-4 record but never stayed down for long, always bouncing back with several victories to halt a potentially long losing streak.
“I told the kids after the game yesterday that ‘You are one of the eight best teams to ever come out of this school and I could not be prouder of you.’”
