Confident Edison charges into state semifinal

MILAN TWP. — For Edison, it's simple. Play great defense, throw strikes, score when opportunities arise. And enjoy the ride. That's been Edison's winning formula in the baseball postseason. The Chargers committed no errors in two regional victories and capitalized on nine miscues by their opponents on the way to becoming only the fifth area team to advance to the state semifinals in the past 36 years. Edison (23-8) faces Cincinnati Roger Bacon (19-7) in a Division III semifinal scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at Canal Park in downtown Akron. "Don't get me wrong, making it to state is a huge accomplishment. We should be extremely proud; farthest any Edison team has ever gone," Edison senior Thomas Simon said. "At the same time, we're here for a reason. We might as well go down and try to win a game or two and make some noise. That's the plan." Edison is on a baseball high after winning the program's first regional title last week, knocking out Fredericktown 5-4 in eight innings and Ottawa Hills 3-1. Now the Chargers get to play the second week of June. "It's all I've been thinking about most of the week," said Edison second baseman Clint Finnen. "I'm really looking forward to it. I can't wait." Chargers coach Sean Hoover is in his 21st year as the Chargers' head coach and is relishing his team's postseason run. "It was the best two-hour bus ride I've ever had, if you can have a good two-hour bus ride," he said about the ride home from the regional. "Just listening to those kids in the back of the bus and how excited they were on the way back from Elida, knowing that they're in the final four. Those are the things that make it worthwhile. "Seeing their dog pile at the end, it's so cool to see. They're willing to come in and listen to us coaches. To see it pay off is a really great feeling." Baseball success begins with pitching, and Edison has plenty of talent in that department. Simon (7-1, 1.57 ERA, 97 strikeouts in 62.1 innings) and junior Ben Bates (9-1, 1.15, 64 strikeouts in 55 innings) have been dominant. "Thomas and Ben are both throwing great," Hoover said. "We're confident going to Blake (Simon) and farther down the line. Blake pitched in a district championship last year. Joe Pennell came in and got some big outs in those games. Those guys haven't thrown an inning yet in the postseason. They threw in big games and we haven't had to use them yet." The Chargers have allowed only 12 runs in five tournament games. Their offense (4, 5, 3 runs in last three games) has done enough to win. Xander Danner, one of 10 seniors on the roster, leads Edison with a .470 batting average. Thomas Simon is batting .398 from his leadoff spot with a team-high 35 runs and No. 2 batter Finnen leads the team with 24 runs batted in. Hayden Fry leads the Chargers with 10 doubles and is batting .367 while center fielder Bryce Michaelis is at .345. All four semifinalists in four divisions heading to Akron earned their way into the final four, but Edison's state draw appears to be as favorable as possible. Roger Bacon, a member of the tough Miami Valley Conference, trailed in its last four tournament games. The Spartans don't have an All-Ohio player on their roster. The other Division III semifinal features Liberty Union and Waynedale. Liberty Union's Jacob Miller is one of the state's top players and is a Louisville commit. The right-hander's fastball has been clocked at 99 mph and he's considered a potential MLB first-round draft pick. Miller has allowed only three hits in three tournament starts, striking out 46. Miller likely will start against Waynedale, which has won 23 straight games and was the 2016 D-III state runner-up. Waynedale pitchers Otto Solarzano and Trey Barkman both are 9-1 with earned-run averages below 2.00. Roger Bacon, which lost in the 2019 state semifinals, is led by pitcher and leadoff hitter Jake Tschida and Logan Huber, who is 11 for 16 with nine runs batted in in the postseason. Huber was the quarterback for the Spartans' football team. The Spartans, who joined their current conference in 2019 after many years in the rugged Greater Catholic League, were 8-4 in league play. State poll champion Cincinnati Christian Hills Academy went 12-0 in the MVC. Roger Bacon, which returned seven starters this year and like Edison features a lineup dominated by seniors, won two district and two regional games by a combined score of 20-11. The Spartans edged Madeira 4-3 in a district semifinal on Anthony Hoffman's walk-off single. They scored three times in the seventh to defeat Springfield Northeastern 6-3 in a regional final. "Obviously everyone down there is good," Hoover said. "At this point you go enjoy, you stay focused and make your plays, you do what you've done to get to this point." The Chargers, champions of the SBC Bay Division, are enjoying practices this week and plan to take it all in at Canal Park. "I'm just excited to play," Danner said. "The field is gonna be awesome. I've seen pictures. I've never been there. "My dad was there a couple weeks ago watching a different high school game. He said it's one of the coolest things you'll ever experience." ----- Area baseball teams in final four 1971: Margaretta (lost in semifinal)1978: Norwalk (lost in semifinal)1980: Norwalk (lost in semifinal)1985: Bellevue (won championship)2003: St. Mary CC (lost in semifinal)2007: Perkins (lost in semifinal)2014: Perkins (lost in semifinal)2020: Vermilion (lost in semifinal) ----- Edison roster Seniors Brady Barker, IF; Joey Pennell, P; Bryce Michaelis, OF; Hayden Fox, IF/P; Xander Danner, OF; Keegan Smith, IF; Noah Smith, IF/OF; Cameron Smith, C; Thomas Simon, IF/OF/P; Ben Hahn, IF Juniors Ben Bates, P; Hayden Fry, IF; Dominic Dymond, C; Clint Finnen, IF; Max Hoover, IF Sophomores Carson Smith, IF/P; Blake Simon, IF/OF/P; Aiden Drake, OF Freshmen Cy Finnen, C; Abe Hermes, IF; Luke Blatnik, IF Coaches Sean Hoover (head coach), Mike Old, Jeff Dymond