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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 III State Semifinal - #8 Coldwater vs #11 Minford

COLUMBUS - This one was decided early.

Coldwater scored five runs in the first inning and tacked on at least one in every frame en route to an 11-0 run-rule victory over Minford in the Division III state semifinals on Thursday.

Three singles, two walks and two costly errors helped the Cavaliers jump in front on Minford freshman hurler Elijah Vogelsong-Lewis, who threw 28 pitches in the first inning.

While Coldwater was rolling at the plate in becoming the first team to score 11 runs against Minford this season, senior pitcher Brad Giere held the Falcons in check, giving up just two hits and allowing only three baserunners in the complete-game effort. The right-hander, who had a six-pitch first inning, walked just one of 18 batters faced.

The Cavaliers gave Giere plenty of support, scoring three in the second inning to knock out Vogelsong-Lewis, who threw 42 pitches but only half for strikes. Jack Muhlenkamp hit a RBI single in the inning while Alex Wourms drove in a pair with an infield single fielded behind second.

A Minford error contributed to a two-run Coldwater third, featuring RBIs from Jake Wenning and Nathan Grunden.and the Cavs closed out their scoring with a run-scoring double by Joey Welsch to plate Cole Frilling, who opened the inning reaching on an error.

Coldwater, playing in the state tournament a record-tying 20th time, will go for title number seven on Saturday.

Hot Takes

Key play: A bases-loaded no-out potential double play ball turned into a run-scoring error in the Coldwater first. A strikeout followed and what could have been just one Coldwater run in the opening frame turned into a five-run inning and the route was on.

Player of the game: Not only did Giere throw a two-hitter, the senior kept his pitch total less than 50 with 49 to give head coach Brian Harlamert another arm available in the state finals. A pickoff at first base for the final out of the game kept that number at the maximum 49 permitted to come back two days later.

Stays hot: In the regionals, Sam Broering had the game-winning hit in the semifinal 2-1 win over Milan Edison, then had three hits in the regional final victory over Columbus Academy.. The senior two-hole hitter kept it up with a 3-for-3 performance against Minford while scoring three runs.

Defense excels: While Minford struggled in the field with four errors which helped Coldwater tally seven unearned runs, the Cavaliers were perfect behind Giere, fielding all seven ground balls to record nearly half of the Minford outs.

Pinch hitters: Talk about everything going right, Harlamert made right move after right move in the win. Three pinch hitters were called on, and Wourms, Noah Miller and Welsch came through with singles, Wourms driving in two runs and Welsch one.

Season finale: With a freshman on the hill, three sophomore starters and four juniors including the top two hitters in Luke Lindamood and Ethan Lauder, the potential is there for the Falcons to make a run at a return trip to state following a 24-3 campaign.

What’s next?: Coldwater has co-ace Frilling set to go in Saturday’s state championship game with hopes of winning state title seven, something done by only three programs in state tourney history.

Linescore

Minford        000 00 - 0 2 4
Coldwater   532 1x - 11 10 0  

Records: Coldwater 27-6, Minford 24-3.

Winning Pitcher: Brad Giere (5 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 2 strikeouts, 1 walk).

Losing Pitcher: Elijah Vogelsong-Lewis (1.1 innings, 7 runs, 3 earned runs, 4 hits, 2 strikeouts,3 walks). Other: Ethan Lauder.

Leading Hitters: (Minford) - Reid Shultz single; Bailey Rowe single. (Coldwater) - Sam Broering 3 singles, 3 runs; Joey Welsch double; Alex Wourms single, 2 RBIs; Seth Miller single, 2 RBIs; Nathan Grunden single, Jack Muhlenkamp single, 2 runs; Jacob Hartings single; Noah Miller single.