Pirates draw big crowd for community send-off

PERKINS TWP. — Perkins' baseball team celebrated at Sam Schweinfurth's graduation party Friday, then jumped on a charter bus that took the Pirates to Akron. The Pirates were the main attraction at a community send-off that began at the party honoring Schweinfurth, one of seven seniors on the team that will play in the Division IV state semifinals Saturday morning. Perkins, ranked No. 3 in the final state coaches poll, will face No. 2 Youngstown Cardinal Mooney at 10 a.m. at 7 17 Credit Union Park. Senior Kash Koch will start on the mound for Perkins. Koch, who threw a no-hitter in a district final, is 7-2 this season with a 1.44 earned run average with 65 strikeouts in 52.3 innings. "Kash has a good mix of pitches to keep them off balance," Perkins coach TJ Blanton said. "Talon (Walton) throws with more velocity, kind of a two-pitch guy, where Kash can throw three or four pitches. That might keep them off balance a little more and that's the strategy we're going with. "Kash said he wanted the game so I'm giving it to him." The Pirates, who won in the state semifinals last year before losing by one run in the championship game, returned all but one player from the 2025 team. They've kept busy during a 10-day gap between games. "It's been hot," said Blanton while munching on pizza at the party at Strickfaden Park. "Practice is a little different wearing shorts instead of pants. The kids are focused. Guys are healed up and ready to go." Blanton's three young children — Baylor (7), Collyns (5) and Beckhym (3) — made posters and posed for pictures with the Pirates. Blanton called the community support for his team "awesome" and thanked VFW Post 2529 in Perkins Township for help footing the bill (along with Ed Hartung) for the charter bus. "Without those guys, you don't know where we'd be," Blanton said. "They've made sacrifices for the United States. Whatever rout some of our kids take, some might end up in the military. Without people fighting for us, the world may be a different place." Several veterans from the VFW shook hands with the Pirates as they boarded the bus. "It's absolutely awesome," Post 2529 commander Michael Link said. "To make it to state is rare, and it's a great opportunity for us to be able to support them. We donate a lot to the schools and we're just glad we can help them." Link, who served in the Marine Corps from 2007-11, knows a thing or two about baseball. He played on a St. Mary Central Catholic team that made it to a regional. His father, Denny, was a coach for the Panthers and his son Arthur plays on the Sandusky Bay Scrappers 10U team. Link said the local VFW post has about 500 regular members. "We're all veterans and we served our time and it never leaves us," Link said. "It's our pleasure, and it means a lot to us when we can keep it going throughout the rest of our lives. That's what we do at the VFW. We're more than just a bar; we support and help veterans and the community and try to make people better." Bill Olejniczak, who served in the U.S. Navy from 1959-65 and was on hand for the event, has ties to Perkins. His grandson Jeremy Blakely was a running back on the Pirates' 1999 state championship football team. "We support all local schools and try to instill a knowledge of where we're at and why we're here and what a great country to we have to do something like this," he said. Lon Lippur, who served in the Army from 1973-77, reiterated the VFW's commitment to community. "After we're done with our time in service, a lot of the guys step up," Lippur said. "We can still give back and that's what we do. We give to everybody and do what we can to give back. That's why we're here." 2026 OHSAA STATE TOURNAMENT (All championship games at 7 17 Credit Union Park in Akron) DIVISION I Thursday's semifinals No. 5 Cincinnati Moeller 8, No. 8 Perrysburg 6 No. 7 Cincinnati St. Xavier 5, No. 3 Lewis Center Olentangy Orange 0 Friday's championship game St. Xavier 4, Moeller 2 DIVISION II Friday's semifinals No. 6 New Albany 4, Harrison 1 No. 4 North Canton Hoover vs. Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit, late Championship game Saturday, 7 p.m. DIVISION III Thursday's semifinals No. 1 Hamilton Badin 5, No. 10 Parma Padua 2 No. 2 Columbus Bishop Watterson 5, Cuyahoga Falls Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy 0 Friday's championship game Badin vs. Watterson, late DIVISION IV Saturday's semifinals No. 3 Perkins (23-6-1) vs. No. 2 Youngstown Cardinal Mooney (24-3), 10 a.m., 7 17 Credit Union Park No. 11 Lancaster Fairfield Union (24-6) vs. Franklin Bishop Fenwick (22-8), 1 p.m. Championship game Sunday, 10 a.m. DIVISION V Thursday's semifinals Gahanna Columbus Academy 5, No. 10 Findlay Liberty-Benton 2 No. 1 Apple Creek Waynedale 7, No. 13 Lucasville Valley 2 Friday's championship game Waynedale 9, Columbus Academy 5 DIVISION VI Thursday's semifinals No. 4 Hartville Lake Center Christian 5, No. 8 Galion Northmor 3 No. 2 Berlin Hiland 7, No. 3 St. Henry 2 Friday's championship game Lake Center Christian 2, Berlin Hiland 1 DIVISION VII Friday's semifinals Delphos St. John's 5, No. 1 Tiffin Calvert 3 Leipsic 11, No. 9 South Webster 10 Championship game Delphos St. John's (19-7) vs. Leipsic (18-9), Saturday, 4 p.m.