Lancers to play for D-IV state baseball title

Van Wert independent sports

AKRON — For the first time since 1962, Linconlview will play for an Ohio High School Athletic Association baseball state championship.

The No. 6 Lancers (24-8, school record 24 wins) advanced to the Division IV state title game with a 2-1 semifinal victory over No. 18 Lucasville Valley at Canal Park in Akron on Saturday.

As expected, the game was a pitchers duel. Landon Price struck out 14 batters, including the first nine he faced and held the Indians two just two hits. Valley pitcher George Arnett kept Lincolnview off-balance with a variety of off-speed pitches and held the Lancers to three hits while striking out four and walking two.

Each team had a chance to score earlier in the game, but all three runs came in the seventh inning, with Cole Binkley driving in Collin Overholt, who opened the inning with a double, and Dane Ebel crossing home plate on a sacrifice fly by Caden Hanf to give Lincolnview a 2-0 lead.

“Binkley came up with the big hit today and Caden Hanf’s RBI sac fly proved to be big,” Lincolnview head coach Eric Fishpaw said. “I’m proud of our kids for battling at the plate.”

Valley (20-12) answered in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI double that plated Andrew Adronis and the Indians had another runner on and the winning run at the plate and just one out, but the Lancers overcame a pair of errors and Price struck out the next two batters to end the game.

Lincolnview will return to Canal Park to play Warren JFK at 4 p.m. on Sunday. Despite having just 11 players on the varsity roster, the Eagles (20-6) upset perennial power Fort Loramie 3-2 in the second semifinal game.

Sunday’s state championship game will air live on 99.7FM WKSD.