By Mathew Lee

In the Division I Canton regional finals, Massillon Perry (17-9) faced off against No. 14 Chardon (26-3) with the winner advancing to Huntington Park on Thursday for the state DI semi-finals.

Chardon got it going early in the bottom of the 1^st inning. Senior Tanner Dovsek led off with a triple. After a couple strikeouts and a walk to senior John Martillotta, who promptly stole 2^nd, senior Jake Kirsh singled to drive in two and put Chardon up 2-0.

In the top of the 3^rd, Perry was able to get to senior pitcher Jeff Seufer. Senior Sam Mattie led off with a single. Joseph Beals followed that with a single to put runners on 1^st and 2^nd. Mattie was dancing away from 2^nd and Kirsh fired a bullet from behind the plate to pick Mattie off at 2^nd for the 1^st out of the inning. Senior Mason Dottavio then laced a single and junior Lawrence drew a walk to load the bases. Freshman Collin Guscoff then hit a sac fly to left to make it a 2-1 game.  Senior Jacob Flounders followed with a single to tie the game at 2. Junior Kyle Kester then hit a ball to third that was miss-played to allow another run to score and put Perry up 3-2. Junior Aaron Klaiber then laced a single to knock in two more and put Perry ahead 5-2.

And, that is all Perry needed en route to a regional championship and spot in the Division I state final four.

Senior Gary Lawrence was dominating on the mound for Perry after the 1^st inning. He allowed 2 runs (both in the first inning), 5 base hits, 2 walks, and struck out 15 Chardon batters while picking up the victory.

Seufer suffered the loss for Chardon having been knocked out in the 3^rd inning. Given the tragedy that Chardon High School experienced this year, this team overcame great odds and had a very successful season despite the loss.

Perry will move on to Columbus to face Westlake who advances after beating Ashland.