Waynedale baseball rallies past Keystone for Division V district title

Waynedale baseball rallied from a three-run deficit in the bottom of the seventh inning for one of the biggest comebacks in program history, beating Keystone 8-7 in a Division V district final May 29. That says a lot when one considers everything the Golden Bears have done since the program’s first-ever run to state in 2016.

They’ve won three state titles in the past four years, posted a 48-6 record in the OHSAA playoffs, won eight district championships, and been to state five times and counting. That’s not counting what COVID-19 took away, which only makes it that much more impressive.

Adding one more chapter to that storied legacy was this year’s squad, led by a group of six seniors who simply wouldn’t let it end.

“We knew that we could get it done,” senior Brayden Steiner said. “We just had to keep battling pitch by pitch and just win each at-bat that we could.”

“I was just trying to win every single pitch that I could,” senior Jordan Miller said. “I was fighting to get on base, doing whatever I could and then just trusting my teammates, knowing that they will get hits and get on, and that’s what happened.”

Trailing by three, Miller led off the bottom of the seventh by getting hit by a pitch four pitches into his at-bat, and Hudson Barkman made it runners at first and second after a five-pitch walk. Collin McGlothlin drove a one-out RBI single back up the middle to cut it to 7-5, and Maddox Kidd loaded the bases with a single. An error in the following at-bat allowed Waynedale to cut it to 7-6 with the bases still loaded for Steiner.

“I just knew that I had to get a hit and produce some kind of runs in that situation, especially with one out,” Steiner said. “Even a sacrifice fly would have done it. I am just trying to do anything that I can to get that run.”

After taking the first two pitches, Steiner turned on a 2-0 pitch and doubled to left field, scoring a pair and giving the Golden Bears a thrilling walk-off win and their eighth district title since 2016.

“That’s definitely toward the top of the list,” Waynedale coach Lucas Daugherty said. “I definitely like games where we can win by holding onto leads and keep leads for most of the game, but when it’s all said and done, games like the Keystone game are definitely more memorable. I am very happy with how we battled through that game and fought back. That was definitely a thrilling one.”

Chalk it up as another chapter in the legacy of one of the area’s premier baseball programs.

“It feels amazing,” Miller said. “To be here (June 1) to practice for another few days, it’s awesome.”

It’s something that comes through the tradition of being a Golden Bear and the opportunities to have learned from the greats of the past.

“They really taught us leadership,” Miller said about what he has learned from past players. “Tristan (Franks) did a great job, and Brayden (Steiner) does a great job too, just trying to lead the team and get them in the best direction that we can.”

It’s something that isn’t lost on Steiner.

“It’s definitely hard to follow in those big footsteps,” he said. “But as a program, Waynedale, we’re very capable of doing it again. It just comes down to our work ethic and how bad we want it.”

Growing up and seeing the players of the past setting the standard, it’s something that takes a minute to sink in, even for young players coming up through the system.

“I didn’t think we’d be this good growing up,” Miller said. “I never thought we’d be here where we are at this point right now. Then my freshman year, we had a really good junior varsity team. We went to state my sophomore year, and that’s really when I noticed that we could do something with this team.”

“Every year we get a little bit of a different group with a different personality,” Daugherty said. “This senior class is definitely a special one. There are multiple players that have now been in the starting lineup essentially three years in a row, so there is a lot of experience, and this group is more fun and easygoing. They do a good job not taking everything too seriously. They’re a really fun group. They enjoy being here, whether it’s practices or games, and they keep it light and fun.”

That group of seniors consists of Steiner, Miller, McGlothlin, Hank Miller, Alex Brumfield and Kamden Lemon.

As for how his program is consistently where it is every year, Daugherty pointed to their strength of schedule and their mindset.

“There are certain things that we do consistently,” he said. “Sometimes you have to just survive some tough games, and a lot of it, I would say, is the schedule we play. We try to put the best teams that we can on our schedule. Our league is very strong, so that fills up half our schedule, and we try to really challenge ourselves on the weekends with other good programs in the area and in the other parts of the state so that when we get to the tournament, we are battle-tested. We’ve been in close games and had to do a lot of different things to find a way to win.”

Even bigger is the mindset and the program’s eyes-on-the-prize focus.

“There are certain things in baseball you can rely on,” Daugherty said. “Other things are not as reliable and are more variable. We try to focus on the things that we feel that we have the most control of, which is pitching, defense and some situational hitting — that you can control the outcome a little bit more. Other than that, you just let the other things play out, and you know that sometimes those things will go your way and other times it won’t. So we just focus on what we can control and try to block out the things we can’t.”

No matter how one sums it up, the Waynedale baseball program is the envy of many, not just across the area, but also in the state. The consistency, the execution of the little things, the understanding of the game and handling situational moments, it’s all added up to one of the state’s best small programs that simply excels on the baseball diamond.

“It’s just being in a brotherhood and part of a family,” Jordan Miller said. “All of us hang out inside and outside of baseball. If we’re not practicing baseball, we’re probably out eating together. It’s just awesome.”

“It really means a lot,” Steiner said about being a part of the program and what it means. “It just means win each at-bat, try your hardest each pitch and never give up.”

Taking a second longer, Miller smiled before adding, “It’s just an honor to be part of the Waynedale baseball program, especially playing for it. It’s just an honor, and there isn’t a lot more I can say.”