by Louisville, Ohio – The Tiffin Calvert Senecas made it back-to-back regional championships with a 4-2 win over the Warren JFK Eagles on Friday night.
The two teams previously met in 2021 in the Strongsville Regional final. That year, Warren JFK topped Calvert, 7-2, on their way to the state championship. Tiffin Calvert was looking for their second consecutive regional title, and Warren JFK was looking for their first since the 2021 season.
Terra State Community College commit Mason Anderson took the mound for the Senecas, and junior Caleb Hadley did the same for the Warren JFK Eagles.
The two starters traded zeroes in the first couple of innings before Tiffin Calvert got things started in the top of the third.
Harry Shultz rapped a single to left field for the first hit of the game for either side. Jacob Kidwell then hit a grounder to third, but the throw to second was wide, allowing Shultz to move to third. Jaden Rishel then struck out Caden Otterbacher for the first out of the inning. Leadoff hitter Nick Palm then came up and drove a single to right-center field. Shultz came home to put the Senecas ahead, 1-0. After AJ Shoemaker drew a walk to load the bases, Mason Anderson hit a chopper up the first base line, and evaded the attempted tag. Kidwell would score on the play to increase the lead to 2-0.
Anderson set down the first 11 batters he faced before Caleb Hadley hit a single to left field. He then got out of the inning by inducing a popout to short.
In the top of the fifth, Nick Palm drew a one-out walk, and AJ Shoemaker reached on an error at third. Mason Anderson then drew a hit-by-pitch to load the bases for Connor Moyer.
Moyer delivered a two-run single to left field to score Palm and Shoemaker, increasing the Seneca lead to 4-0.
The Eagles put together a rally in the bottom of the sixth inning. With one out, senior Aidan Rossi drew a hit-by-pitch. Michael Condoleon then followed with a walk to put runners on first and second.
Junior catcher Caleb Hadley then followed up with a two-run double to left field. This scored Rossi and Condoleon and cut the Eagle deficit to 4-2. After a Dom Ryan groundout, the Eagles drew back-to-back walks by Jake Hettrick-Carfangia and Michael Bartoe to load the bases. However, Mason Johnson got out of trouble by getting Santino Ciambotti to fly out on the very next pitch.
The Senecas looked to add to their lead, as they got a pair of runners on due to an error and a walk. Jake Hettrick-Carfangia then came on in relief for starting pitcher Jaden Rishel. He struck out the next two batters, ending the top of the seventh and keeping the Eagle deficit at 4-2.
Jaden Rishel then led off with a single up the middle. Pinch-hitter Freddy Bolchalk worked a 2-0 count out of Mason Anderson before the call was made to the bullpen. Nick Palm would come in relief, looking to get the last three outs of the game.
He managed to strike out Freddy Bolchalk and Aidan Rossi for the first two outs of the inning. Michael Condoleon came up as the last hope for the Eagles, and Palm got him to ground to second to end the game.
Tiffin Calvert, now 29-2, advances to the Division IV state semifinals at Canal Park. They will take on Berlin Hiland in the second semifinal on Thursday, June 8th, at 7pm.
Warren JFK ends their season at 20-6. Junior pitcher Jaden Rishel threw 6.1 innings for the Eagles, striking out five hitters. Junior catcher Caleb Hadley had a pair of hits, including a two-run double in the sixth.
Extended highlights here:
