The Circleville Tigers etched their names in the history books for Pickaway County high school baseball teams, becoming the first to win a regional championship in a 9-4 win over two-time defending champ Steubenville.
The (19-10) Tigers scored a run in the first inning, then added five in the third for a 6-0 lead.
The (18-7) Big Red came back with four unearned runs in the fourth inning, thanks to three Circleville errors to make it 6-4. The Tigers took the momentum back with three runs in the sixth inning for the eventual 9-4 margin of victory.
Circleville's Andrew Barnhart and Ethan Wolfe combined the duties on the mound with Barnhart pitching the first 3 and 2/3 innings, while Wolfe finished up.
Four Tigers had multiple hits in the game. Garret Kennedy was perfect at the plate, going 3/3, including 2 RBI's. Garrett Gray was 2/3 with 3 RBI's, Cory Cline was 2/4 with an RBI and Jake Mancini was 2/4.
Circleville 9/11/3
Steubenville 4/6/3
Circleville faces D-2 top-ranked (24-1) Wapkoneta in the State Semis on June 1st at 4pm inside Huntington Park in Columbus. Wapakoneta beat Ontario 11-5 in 8 innings, Sunday in the Bowling Green University Regional Final.
Wapo scored 6 runs in the top of the 8th, when their hitters were walked 8 times, with 5 of those runs "walked-in" with bases loaded.
To relive the memories of the Circleville Tigers history making Regional Baseball Championship victory, go to our podcast link found below....