Vermilion's first regional title comes in epic 17-14 slugfest

BOWLING GREEN — It seemed like a different player comes up big each time the Vermilion baseball team takes the field. It was Ethan Hendrickson's turn Saturday as the junior drove in five with two doubles and a home run. He also earned the pitching save for the Sailors, who captured the first regional championship in school history with a 17-14 win over Firelands in the Division II final at Carter Park. "I was just out there trying to play for my guys, trying to get a win," said Hendrickson, who started the game behind the plate and finished on the mound. "That was probably the best hitting game of my life. It was real fun, especially today. "We're going to state for the first time in Vermilion history, so the boys are excited and I'm excited. We're ready to go and try to win a state championship." Henrickson clubbed a bases-loaded double and then scored on a Carter Klausing single during Vermilion's four-run first inning. He swatted a 1-0 pitch over the left-field fence during a three-run fifth, then added an RBI double in the sixth, going 3 for 4 on the day. He was also hit by a pitch and intentionally walked in the seventh. "Ethan Hendrickson had an incredible day and it was a good thing that he did," said Vermilion coach Jeff Keck. "What a big day for him, but that's the way our team has been. All of our players throughout the lineup have come up big in any given game. We don't have that one guy hitting .500, we just have guys who come up big at different times through the season." It's a formula that the Sailors will take to the Akron RubberDucks' stadium on Thursday when they face Akron Hoban at 7 p.m. in the second game of the Division II state semifinals. "We just got to keep that up," Keck said. "We're not changing anything we've done. We'll have the same focus." The regional final victory was also a win for the Sailors against their neighbors and rivals. Firelands High School is just a few miles south of Vermilion, and both districts straddle Erie and Lorain counties. "I know all those kids and I've been friends with them for as long as I can remember," Hendrickson said. "I've even played baseball with some of them before, but that makes it that much sweeter because they are our rivals." For Keck, who spent 15 years working at Firelands, it was more about finally taking the next step to state than any possible rivalry. "It just feels good going to the final four," he said. "I don't think it matters who we played, although it was interesting playing them in the regional finals. They are an exciting team. They run the bases and they steal the bases and they're all tough outs. Every kid in their lineup is a tough out. We're lucky we scored 17 runs." The Sailors (26-6) sent 10 batters to the plate in the top of their four-run first against Firelands starter Zach Brill. The Falcons got two back in the bottom half of the frame by stealing a pair of bases coupled with an error and a sacrifice fly. Jacob Krausher, who is headed to the University of Akron on a baseball scholarship and was the winner in Vermilion's 3-0 win over Tiffin Columbian in the regional opener on Friday, drove in Cody Shultz with a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 5-2 in the top of the second. Shultz opened the frame with a double and moved to third on a wild pitch. The Sailors pushed the margin to 9-2 in the third, taking advantage of bases-loaded walks to Nick Werth and Shultz and a throwing error that went into the Firelands dugout on a sac fly from Krausher that plated two more runs. Firelands (26-6) scored in the third as Kyle Ransom singled, stole second and third, then came home on an infield single from Corey Bomback, but Vermilion added a two-run single from Werth to push the lead to 11-3. The Sailors tacked on three more in the top of the fifth, making it 14-3 on Hendrickson's homer, an RBI single from Fox and an RBI double by Werth. Faced with being eliminated by the run rule, the Falcons fought back with two in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single from Tyler Ruth, who later came around to score after an error, and a sac fly from Brill. Vermilion scored three more in the sixth to regain a 10-run cushion as a Hendrickson double drove in Jack Wells, who walked and stole second. Firelands erupted for seven in the bottom half of the frame, sending 10 batters to the plate, taking advantage of four hits, two walks, two errors and a wild pitch. "I kept telling my kids to keep believing," said Falcons coach Dan Ransom. "I'm proud of the way they responded, proud of the way they acted for the entire trip. It was one helluva trip." The Sailors went on the offensive again in the seventh with a two-run single from Wells, but the Falcons answered with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the frame off Hendrickson before Werth squeezed a fly ball from Newman to finally finish off Firelands. "I think for a second there, everyone took their foot off the gas until we realized they were back in it," Hendrickson said. "We put it back on and luckily it didn't hurt us too much, but it was kind of scary there." Klausing started and got the win, allowing five earned runs on eight hits with two strikeouts and a pair of walks in six-plus innings. Hendrickson got the final four outs for the save, despite walking three. "Both offenses were really tough outs," Keck said. "It was tough to get guys out. Firelands just kept battling and are everything they are built up to be as far as an offensive threat. It was a battle. Fortunately, we were able to come out on top. "This is an unbelievable feeling. I'm so proud of these guys. (Friday), we won a 3-0 game, and today it was 17-14. Any way you can get it done, I guess. They kept battling and Firelands kept battling back. It was just a great high school baseball game." Vermilion 414 231 2 — 17 12 5Firelands 201 027 2 — 14 11 1 WP: Carter Klausing (Ethan Hendrickson save). LP: Aaron Brill 2B:(V) Nick Werth, Cody Shultz, Hendrickson 2, Klausing. HR: (V) Hendrickson ----- Division II state finals Akron Canal Park Thursday 4 p.m. — Bloom Carroll vs. (27-5) vs. Hamilton Badin (27-5) 7 p.m. — Akron Hoban (21-9) vs. Vermilion (26-6)