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Ohio Spring baseball always seems to fly by and in 2018 that is most definitely evident with the fact we are in Columbus at beautiful Huntington Park for the State Final Four. That means the four best teams in each division will battle it out to see who is the champion.

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OHSAA Division I State Semifinal - #1 Mason vs #12 Anthony Wayne

COLUMBUS - It was the drama that makes state tournaments great.

With two on and two away in the seventh inning and Anthony Wayne clinging to a 1-0 lead over the top-rated team in Ohio, Mason’s JP Sponseller launched a fly ball to deep right-center field off relief pitcher Andrew Murphy. As many in the crowd held their breath, AW right fielder Camron Kottenbrock raced onto the warning track to haul in the final out and with it a berth in Saturday’s Division I state finals.

It made a winner of starting pitcher Brock Nartker, who went 6.2 innings before head coach Mark Nell summoned Murphy to come in from shortstop. Nartker, a Wright State commit, battled control problems from the outset but never gave in to a Mason lineup full of college recruits.

The right-handed senior allowed seven walks, including five in the first two innings, but somehow wiggled out of jams to keep the Comets at bay, especially early on. But after a short fly to center and strikeout to get out of a one-out bases-loaded situation in the second, Nartker settled down to retire seven of the next eight hitters, with the other erased on a double play.

A potential no-hitter came to an end with two outs in the fifth when Joe Powell reached on a low throw from short on a ground ball that was ruled a single.

An inning later, Cole Harting blasted a one-out shot to left-center that bounced over the wall just to the left of the 405 sign. A likely triple had the ball stayed in play, the bounce proved big when a Mason Holloway ground out to second advanced Harting to third. But another ground out ended the threat.

It set up the seventh which began with a line out to third. After a hit-by-pitch and pickoff-attempt throwing error, Powell hit a ball to deep right-center for the second out. With Murphy called in, Nick Northcutt was intentionally walked, his fourth free pass of the game. On a 1-2 pitch, Sponseller was then retired to end a Mason 10-game winning streak.

Will Pfennig was the hard-luck losing pitcher, going the distance with a six-hit effort featuring six strikeouts and one walk.

The lone run of the game came in the third with Nartker starting the uprising with a one-out single up the middle. Hogan Heck then advanced pinch runner Jacob Neumeyer with a single before a Nick Schneider run-scoring base hit to left.

Hot Takes

Defense superb: Outside of two errors on Nartker pickoff attempts, the AW defense was outstanding with eight ground ball outs. In addition, a 9-6-5 double play on a fly to deep right field ended another Mason threat in the third.

Player of the game: Hard to imagine a pitcher that walked seven be the star of the game but Nartker was certainly that. Not only did he throw a two-hitter with six strikeouts against a lineup with eight players averaging .315 or better, but produced one of the key singles in the game.

State veteran: While both teams were participating in the state tournament for the first time in school history, it was far from something new for Anthony Wayne’s Schneider. As a junior, Schneider was a member of the Generals’ football team that made it to the final four and in the winter reached state in wrestling.

Key state: Nine left on base. That was the case for Mason, which could never come up with the big hit against Nartker. The Comets left three on base in the second and two each in the fifth and seventh innings.

Season finale: With six starters back, Curt Bly’s squad will again be a force in 2019 but must find pitching with the graduation of the top three from this year’s team.

What’s next?: Murphy is the go-to guy for the Generals in the state finals, with the unsigned senior coming in at 8-0 on the season.

Linescore

Mason               000 000 0 - 0 2 1
Anthony Wayne 001 000 x - 1 6 

Records: Anthony Wayne 27-4, Mason 26-6.

Winning Pitcher: Brock Nartker (6.2 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 6 strikeouts, 7 walks). Other: Andrew Murphy.

Losing Pitcher: Will Pfennig (6 innings, 1 run, 6 hits, 6 strikeouts, 1 walk).

Leading Hitters: (Mason) - Joe Powell single; Cole Harting double. (Anthony Wayne) - Nick Schneider single; Connor Judy 2 singles; Steve Haugh single; Brock Nartker single; Hogan Heck single.

Losing Pitcher: Bryce Budzinski (2.1 innings, 8 runs, 8 hits, 1 strikeout, 3 walks). Others: Brenden Meikle, Gavin Noble.

Leading Hitters: (Olentangy Liberty) - Mitchell Okuley double; Carson Comer single, 2 runs; Brennan Rowe single, 2 runs; Corbin Parrish 3 singles, 3 runs; Corey Mayer single, double, 4 RBIs; Connor Osmond single; Justin Nelson 2 singles, 2 RBIs; Mitch Milheim 2 singles, 3 RBIs. (Medina Highland) - Bryce Budzinski single; Jackson Miller single; Billy Keller single.