Hot Stove Baseball: Elyria Dawgs rally to beat Columbia, reach state final

ALLIANCE — The Elyria Dawgz are one win away from another state title. The Dawgz pounded out 14 hits and got just enough pitching to hold on as they defeated Columbia 19-13 in an Ohio Hot Stove Class F state semifinal Saturday at Butler Rodman Park. The Raiders struck first, scoring three runs in the first inning off Elyria starter Drew Gibbs with back-to-back-to-back hits from John Conlon, Liam McJahnke and Evan Poling. Much of Elyria's comeback centered on the play of Nathyn Valatka. Valatka hit a two-run inside-the-park home run in the six-run fourth inning, pitched three innings in relief of Gibbs and then came back on the mound in the seventh inning to ensure that Gibbs, John Kelly (who pitched two innings) and the rest of the Elyria pitching staff would be available for the championship game. "When I hit the home run I was just swinging for a base hit and then you run as fast as you can," said Valatka, who was the Class G MVP in the 2024 state finals. "This is our second year going to the state finals, it feels good. I'm just hoping we play good (today) and get the repeat." A.J. Miller led the Dawgz with four hits. Gibbs, Kyler Larrick, Jacy Martin and Hunter McAuiiffe had two hits each. "Our boys put in the work and they showed they have grit," Elyria coach Kim Kelly said. "It all comes down to we work as a family and give everything we have on and off the field. "A.J. is little but mighty. He's always willing to go up there and do whatever it takes to get a hit. And Nathyn is our all-star, he always performs every time he comes up to bat." Six of Elyria's hits went for extra bases, with Miller and Gibbs each getting a pair of doubles to join Valatka and Larrick, who had a third-inning double. "I wasn't thinking about much, I just kinda went up there and hit the ball," Miller said. "It depends on the day, anything can happen, but we have a lot of good hitters on this team." The top of the batting order came up big for Columbia in a losing effort. Poling, the cleanup hitter, went 4-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Leadoff hitter Liam Tram went 2-for-3 with four runs and two RBIs, and John Conlon had three hits and two RBIs. McJahnke showed off his power with a double and a triple. The bad news for Columbia was that hitters five through nine went 1-for-16 with nine strikeouts. Elyria will face the North Ridgeville Raptors in today's state final at 12:30 p.m. The Raptors, the only team to beat the Dawgz this season, advanced to the final with a wild 21-11 come-from-behind win over Alliance. "As the season goes on every team gets better and better," Kelly said. "We're ready for (today). With the grit that these boys show and the effort they are willing to put forward I know they are always ready." The Dawgz scored 18 of their runs over the final five innings. Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.