AKRON— No-hit into the sixth. Shutout into the seventh. It didn't matter to the West Branch baseball team.
In pursuit of its first state championship, West Branch achieved its goal in memorable fashion just past noon Sunday afternoon. West Branch rallied from a two-run deficit to stun Hamilton Badin 3-2 in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II state finals at Canal Park.
After clutch hits late and the pitching of Beau Alazaus keyed West Branch in its 4-2 state semifinal win over Indian Creek, West Branch delivered more of the same Sunday. And West Branch did it against a Badin team that's been dominant in the tournament.
Here's how the game unfolded through out live updates from throughout the game.
West Branch baseball wins program's first state championship
In a stunning seventh inning, West Branch rallied from two runs down and beat Hamilton Badin 3-2. Badin had not allowed a run in the postseason until West Branch scored three times in the seventh. West Branch starter Anthony Perry escaped one last Badin threat in the seventh to throw a complete game for the win. Badin got a two-out double before Perry finished off the win by getting a foul out to first for the final out.
Perry struck out none in throwing 98 pitches, pitching to contact and getting out of jams. He worked around five hits and five walks, as Badin stranded nine runners in the game. With runners in scoring position, Badin went 0-for-8 against Perry.
Reaction from West Branch baseball: 'Just like a dream': West Branch rallies in 7th to win first OHSAA state championship
West Branch baseball's seventh-inning rally gives it the lead
Down to its last three outs and trailing by two runs, West Branch has put together an improbable rally to go ahead 3-2. Boston Mulinix knocked in the first run with an infield single. Aaron Tucker's RBI ground out tied the game. Mulinix, who stole second and moved to third on the Tucker ground out, then scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch with two outs.
The 2-3-4 hitters will be coming up for Badin in the bottom of the frame. West Branch starter Anthony Perry is still in the game.
Badin baseball adds to lead in the sixth
Badin pushed its lead to 2-0 heading to the seventh after adding a run in the sixth.
West Branch baseball gets first hit, but unable to score in OHSAA state final
West Branch's Beau Alazaus hit a one-out single to left in the top of the sixth to break up Beau Chaney's no-hit bid for Badin. It was also the first hit in the game by either team with a runner on base. However, the play still ended in an out as West Branch's lead runner was thrown out on the bases. Anthony Perry followed with a walk to put runners on first and second, but Chaney and the Rams got out of the inning with a 1-0 lead.
The teams have combined to leave 13 runners on base, going a combined 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. There have been no two-out hits in the game.
West Branch is down to its final three outs.
Badin starting pitcher Beau Chaney has no-hitter through 5 innings in OHSAA baseball state championship game
Badin starter Beau Chaney has yet to allow a hit to West Branch after retiring the side in order in the top of the fifth. Chaney has walked two, hit two and struck out four. He's thrown 66 pitches. Badin leads 1-0 heading into the sixth.
Badin loaded the bases with two out in the bottom of the fifth but was unable to add to its lead. Badin is 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position, while West Branch is 0-for-2 in those situations.
Badin baseball finally breaks through in fourth inning of OHSAA state final
The Rams turned a leadoff walk in the bottom of the fourth into the game's first run and a 1-0 lead. Austin Buckle walked, moved to second on a sac bunt, moved to third on a balk and scored on Xander Arnold's sac fly.
West Branch and Badin baseball remain scoreless into the fourth
Each team threatened again the third, but neither team scored and the game remains 0-0 after three.
West Branch had a leadoff walk lead to loading the bases with two outs in its half the third before Badin starter Beau Chaney got out of the inning. Badin had a one-out double in it half, but West Branch starter Anthony Perry got a ground out and fly out to end the threat.
West Branch baseball escapes out of bases-loaded jam in second
The game remained scoreless after two innings, with West Branch starter Anthony Perry working out of bases-loaded jam with one out. in the bottom of the second West Branch turned a double play to get out of the inning.
In West Branch's half of the inning, Perry walked with one out to become his team's first baserunner.
West Branch vs. Hamilton Badin is underway
Badin, which has not allowed a run this postseason, retired West Branch in order in the top of the first to open up the state title game. Badin starter Beau Chaney threw 10 pitches in the inning, recording one strikeout.
Perry responded with his own scoreless inning, yielding just a one-out single, throwing just seven pitches.
West Branch baseball starting lineup for OHSAA state final
1 | ss | 12 B. Mulinix | R |
2 | 1b | 26 A. Tucker | R |
3 | c | 10 H. Shields | R |
4 | 3b | 13 B. Alazaus | R |
5 | p | 55 A. Perry | R |
6 | rf | 1 J. Thomas | R |
7 | dh | 9 C. Biskup | R |
8 | 2b | 5 J. Robb | R |
9 | cf | 4 G. Bell | R |
10 | lf | 18 C. Wike | R |
Badin baseball starting lineup for OHSAA state final
1 | cf | 5 C. Taylor | R |
2 | rf | 1 C. Luebbe | R |
3 | dh | 8 K. Anderson | R |
4 | 3b | 3 K. Bowling | R |
5 | 2b | 4 A. Buckle | R |
6 | c | 23 J. Carmella | R |
7 | 1b | 11 X. Arnold | R |
8 | lf | 6 A. Vangen | R |
9 | ss | 7 C. Ollis | R |
10 | p | 21 B. Chaney | R |
West Branch players to watch in OHSAA baseball state championship game vs. Badin
West Branch has won a school-record 27 games this season under head Rick Mulinix, entering today 27-6. It is ranked No. 12 by the state coaches association. It got to the state tournament by defeating defending state champion Kenston 2-1 in the regional finals.
Beau Alazaus has won a school-record 11 games this season, including the state semifinals. He also delivered an RBI triple in that game. Alazaus threw a one-hitter in the 1-0 win over ND-CL in the district semis. He was the Eastern Buckeye Conference Player of the Year.
Boston Mulinix was honorable mention All-EBC. The junior, whose dad is the head coach, contributed a hit, steal and run in the seventh inning of the semis to help seal the win..
Anthony Perry was the winning pitcher in both the district and regional finals. He is 8-0 with a 0.99 ERA, 52 strikeouts and 14 walks in 56.1 innings this spring. He also scored the winning run in the regional finals, had two hits and three RBIs in the district finals and came up with two hits, including an RBI double, in the state semifinals. He was selected first-team All-EBC and entered the state tournament with a team-best .453 batting average.
Jaxon Robb delivered a walk-off single to score Perry in the win over Kenston in the regional final.
Hunter Shields was selected second-team All-EBC. The senior scored two runs in the state semis.He had four hits in the district tournament.
Jeremiah Thomas was honorable mention All-EBC. The sophom*ore had an RBI triple in the district finals and an RBI single in the regionals semis.
Aaron Tucker was selected second-team All-EBC. The senior had an RBI single in the state semifinals. He entered the state tournament hitting .431.
West Branch baseball's OHSAA state tournament history
West Branch is in the state tournament for the second time in program history. It seeks its first state title, having reached the championship game in its only previous appearance in 1973. That year, with the tournament being played at Trautman Field in Columbus, West Branch defeated Philo 8-2 in the semifinals before losing to St. Paris Graham 5-1 in the title game.
Hamilton Badin players to watch in OHSAA baseball state championship game vs. West Branch
Badin is 27-6 this season after going 29-2 a year ago before losing in the regional finals. The Rams are outscoring opponents 55-0 in the postseason. They've scored 10 or more runs in 12 games this season and are ranked No. 6 by the coaches association. Brion Treadway is the head coach and his staff features two former Rams head coaches, Mark Maus (their coach when they last won a title in 1996) and Rick Kunkel.
JeremiahCarmella led the way for Badin with three hits and three RBIs in the 5-0 win over Padua in the semifinals Friday.
Beau Chaney and Tyler Verdin combined on a three-hit shutout against Jonathan Alder. Chaney threw six shutout innings in a 6-0 win over Tippecanoe in the district finals. Verdin is a Heidelberg commit
Chandler Taylor run-scoring single in the bottom of the sixth sparked Badin to its 2-0 win over Jonathan Alder in the regional finals
Matty Helms is a Northern Kentucky recruit.
Austin Buckle and Ian Price are the other seniors regularly in the lineup.
Hamilton Badin baseball's OHSAA state tournament history
Badin is in the state tournament for the 15th time in program history. It seeks its third state title, having previously won championships in 1996 and 1991. The Rams have been a state runner-up six times, the most recent coming in 2016.
How to watch, livestream, listen to OHSAA state baseball tournament
All state tournament games this year can watched on theNFHS Networkand can be heard on the OHSAA Radio Network.
OHSAA Division II state semifinals scores, finals schedule
Hamilton Badin 5, Parma Padua 0
West Branch 4, Indian Creek 2
Division II State Championship:No. 6 Hamilton Badin vs. No. 12 West Branch, Sunday, June 9, 10 a.m.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: OHSAA state baseball live score updates, West Branch vs Hamilton Badin
