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Ohio Spotlight Game: D-II State final - #17 Tallmadge vs #13 Chaminade Julienne

COLUMBUS – Jared Burick and Mikah McGlaughlin combined on a two-hit shutout to lead Tallmadge past Chaminade Julienne 4-0 for the Division II state championship on Saturday afternoon.

Burick went 6.1 innings permitting leadoff singles to Daniel Slaybaugh in the third and Ben Thomas in the sixth.

“We knew he had the stuff to throw that way,” Tallmadge coach Kenny Linn said. “Sometimes his confidence gets away as good as he is but today he put it together.”

The junior right-hander gave up just one walk until one-out free passes to Garrett and Nick Wissman in the seventh. McGlaughlin was summoned in and, after a wild pitch, fanned both batters he faced to give the 17th-ranked Blue Devils their second state championship in school history.

“This community is so in love with this sport, I envied it from the other side,” noted Linn, who coached at Lakewood St. Ed’s prior to coming to Tallmadge. “I’m blessed to have 14 years with this community and these kids. I lucked out.”

First hitter Phillip Glasser and number four hitter Scott Seeker filled their roles well, Glasser scoring two runs and Seeker driving in a pair.

Glasser opened the top of the first with a single, advanced on a Zach Boyd sac bunt and, after a strikeout, came home on a Seeker hit up the middle.

The lead extended to 3-0 in the third with Rich Eyre and Glasser producing singles to begin the frame. Seth Gergely plated Eyre with a sacrifice fly before Seeker drove in Glasser with another RBI single up the middle.

An insurance run came in the sixth after two were down. Josh Taylor started the uprising with an infield single and Burick followed with a single. Jake Rensel made it 4-0 with a base hit to right bringing home pinch runner Derek Lightel.

C-J, the 13th-rated team in D-II, had just 25 batters come to the plate in the game, four more than the minimum.

Hot Takes

Key at-bat: With Chaminade Julienne threatening in the top of the seventh following two walks to open the inning, McGlaughlin came on in relief and quickly went 3-0 on the first batter he faced. But McGlaughlin came back to record a strikeout to prevent the potential tying run from coming to the plate.

Strong in defeat: Slaybaugh had the first of the two C-J hits and appeared ready for another only to be robbed by Glasser who timed his jump perfectly to nail a line shot at shortstop. Slaybaugh also threw one shutout inning of relief.

Player of the game: It is hard not to go with Burick, who closed out his junior campaign with a 10-1 record. The righty struck out five and walked three in addition to adding a single for his fourth hit of the tournament.

Notes: Tallmadge has now won two state titles in school history, winning the 2002 title by beating future major leaguer Chad Billingsley and Defiance 1-0 in the semis and Richmond Edison 6-1 in the finals. … Helping present the Tallmadge state championship medals after the game was athletic director Donald Seeker, head coach of the 2002 squad. Seeker’s sons Scott and Sam are key members of the Blue Devils. ... C-J did not commit an error in the two state tourney games while Tallmadge had just one.

What’s next?: The Eagles have six starters back in the fold including the one, three and five hitters in the batting order. But top pitcher Garrett Wissman leaves a big void in the lineup. … Designated hitter Taylor is the only senior on the Tallmadge roster putting a big target on the backs of the Blue Devils in 2018. Six junior starters, including both starting pitchers at state, means Tallmadge is back as a baseball power after making four state appearances in a seven-year span from 1996-2002.

Linescore

Tallmadge                   102 001 0 - 4 8 0
Chaminade Julienne  000 000 0 - 0 2 0

Records: Tallmadge 25-7, C-J 22-5.

Winning Pitcher: Jared Burick (6.1 innings, 0 runs, 0 earned, 2 hits, 5 strikeouts, 3 walks). Other: Mikah McGlaughlin.

Losing Pitcher: Ryan Peitier (6 innings, 4 runs, 4 earned, 8 hits, 5 strikeouts, 0 walks). Other: Daniel Slaybaugh.

Leading Hitters: (Tallmadge) - Phillip Glasser 2 singles; Scott Seeker 2 singles; Josh Taylor single; Jared Burick single; Jake Rensel single; Rich Eyre single. (C-J) - Daniel Slaybaugh single; Ben Thomas single.