North Union’s Ashton Haubiel goes into his swing at the incoming ball. The Wildcats dropped an 8-4 verdict at West Jefferson during the Division III district championship contest.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
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North Union head coach Nick Blakeley kept waiting for the Wildcats to get going on Tuesday during the Division III Central District baseball final at West Jefferson.
It finally happened, but it was not enough for North Union to advance to its first district final since 2009.
The seventh-seeded Wildcats lost 8-4 on the No. 3 Roughriders’ diamond.
“At some point you feel you are going to get hits,” Blakeley said. “We did start hitting, but it was too late.”
Held scoreless through the first five innings and getting just one hit off West Jefferson pitcher Brodie Quinn, NU picked up a single marker in the sixth on an RBI-double by Ashton Haubiel.
Ethan Switalski came on in relief for the Roughriders in the seventh.
The Wildcats greeted him with back-to-back singles from Evan Beery and Drew Schmidt.
After Switalski got a strikeout, an error by the Roughriders on ball hit by Caden Potts allowed both Beery and Schmidt to score to make it 8-3.
Potts crossed the plate on a ground out by Landon Converse.
Mason Bright kept the inning alive with a single.
The Roughriders, however, were able to get the final out on a ground ball, ending one of the most productive seasons in several years for the Wildcats.
North Union finished with a 16-10 record, the most wins in a season since 2009.
West Jefferson’s record improved to 18-6.
The Wildcats also claimed their first-ever Central Buckeye Conference Mad River Division title and their first league championship of any kind since 2011.
“Our players gave great effort and fought hard,” Blakeley said. “They kept up that fight to do something special this year.”
Blakeley added the achievement will be something to enjoy for years to come.
“When they come back into the gymnasium they will be able see ‘2024 league champions’ on the banner,” he said.
West Jefferson took the lead with a three-run second inning, aided by a run-scoring triple by Quinn.
It remained 3-0 until the Roughriders plated five runs in the bottom of the fifth.
The big hit was a two-run double by Blake Bogenrife.
Tyler Krebehenne was the starting pitcher for North Union with Bright coming on in relief in the fifth. They combined to yield five hits, strike out eight and walk five.
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