The Berkshire Badgers’ baseball team had not mustered much offense in the first five innings against Chagrin Valley Conference foe Orange but came on strong in the final two frames, scoring eight runs to topple the Lions 10-5 for their third straight victory last Friday in Pepper Pike.
“It is a testament to the guys and our players as a whole to keep fighting and understanding that we are always going to have a shot and when we put the ball in play good things will happen,” said Coach Craig Barstow.
It marks the first time that the Badgers (7-6, 3-2) sit above .500 this season, as they have had to dig their way out from an early hole when they experienced a 1-4 start. Since then, Berkshire has gone 6-2, including recording three CVC Valley Division victories to set themselves up for some meaningful baseball in the second half of the season.
On Friday, the Badgers traded runs with Orange, but the Lions seized a 4-2 advantage in the bottom of the fifth inning when senior right-hander Blake Jacops delivered a RBI-single to left field and senior catcher Jake Vallone lifted a sacrifice fly to center field.
The Badgers responded when the bottom half of their line-up set things up for a thrilling rally in the top of the sixth frame.
After a RBI-single to right field off the bat of senior second baseman Nolan Morris to trim the lead to one run, sophomore right fielder Chase Bajzel laid down a bunt to advance the runners from first and second base and reached base safely, but also advanced to second base on a fielding error, which also resulted in a run scoring to tie the game at 4-4.
According to the first-year coach, Bajzel had gone zero-for-seven in his first full week of varsity action since getting called up from the junior varsity level but picked a good time to record his first career varsity hit.
“It was enough to get the pitcher off of the mound and a little bit of movement and good things happened from there and it is a testament to him to get down the line,” Barstow noted. “Then he followed it up later in the game with his second varsity hit but just putting pressure on the defense and making things happen and it happened to snowball from there.”
Senior left fielder Sam Barcikoski pushed the Badgers ahead when he hit a two-run single to right field, followed by a sacrifice fly to right field by freshman catcher Christopher Brancel, a fielder’s choice ground ball to the pitcher from sophomore designated hitter Holden Hedrick plated another run, and when junior Oliver Miller scored on a wild pitch the Badgers’ went ahead 9-4 as they recorded seven hits and two walks in the inning.
Berkshire’s pitching was fueled by sophomore righty Evan Pollock, junior Paden Brent and Miller, who combined to hurl seven innings, surrendering five runs on six hits, six walks and striking out nine batters.
“That was great just to keep us alive to have a shot because two and three runs is not insurmountable but once you get down four, five, six, or seven, it can feel insurmountable so it was a great testament to them to pound the zone,” said Barstow.
As the Badgers prepare for a busy final few weeks of the season, including a stretch of five consecutive league games, Barstow lauded his team for bouncing back from a challenging 2025 season where they went 5-15.
By returning seven varsity starters from last year’s team, including four seniors, Barstow said that while last year stung, it also left a lasting impression on the team as they gained a great deal of experience, and are playing some of their best ball as of late so hopefully they can finish strong and still remain in contention for the coveted CVC Valley Division crown and also gain home field advantage for the first game of the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division V postseason.
“I wanted to put the onus on the players and get them to believe,” he said. “On bad teams, no one leads and on good teams, coaches lead and on great teams players lead and I want the players to lead so I wanted the captains to hold themselves and other players on the team accountable so I believe they have responded to that.”
After a home-and-away series against league rival Chagrin Falls on Monday and Tuesday, the Badgers will host CVC Valley Division foe Kirtland on Friday in Burton at 5 p.m.
