Hot Stove Baseball: Walk-off squeeze gives Midview Class G championship

ALLIANCE — Max Bessey laid down the perfect bunt and Nolan Hazzard squeezed out a victory for Midview. With the championship on the line, Nancy's Diner executed the suicide squeeze to perfection for a 9-8 walk-off win against Sheffield in the Hot Stove Class G (ages 11-12) final at Butler Rodman Park on Sunday. "This Venom team is a great team," Midview coach Dan Rozanski said. "We knew the game was going to be back and forth. They have a couple of good pitchers we knew we'd have to battle against. It was all about winning innings. When you have games like this, you just try to keep the guys focused and keep them believing that they can do it. "All year, we've had such speed on the bases. I knew if we got someone on there we could make something happen." Adding to the drama was that Hazzard, one of the team's fastest players, was nursing a sore right leg after taking a line drive off the top of his thigh earlier in the game while on the mound. That didn't stop him from stealing third during Bessey's at-bat to get himself in position. The coaches decided to lay it all on the line. Bessey bunted perfectly down the third base line and Hazzard zipped past the defense to score. "I got up to the plate and saw my dad give the bunt sign," Bessey said. "I just hit the ball and hoped it stayed fair. I was looking behind me the whole time to watch if he got there in time. He got there, we scored and we won." Both starting pitchers threw gems as Hazzard gave Midview five strong innings. He was virtually untouchable through the first four before the Venom tagged him for five runs in the fifth to take a 6-3 lead. Hazzard finished with eight strikeouts, allowing six earned runs on six hits and a walk. That, combined with scoring the winning run, earned him MVP honors. "I just really wanted this," Hazzard said. "We lost two years ago, so I really wanted to win the state title this year. I was just taking my time and focusing on my catcher when I was on the mound." Jeffrey Bier III tossed a dominant game for Sheffield. In fact, had the Venom won he probably would have been named MVP after striking out 11 and allowing six runs, four earned, on four hits and a walk. Bier went 2-for-4 with a run and a steal. At one point, Bier struck out seven consecutive batters and had 10 strikeouts through five innings, facing just 19 batters. "Pitching was our big thing this whole year," Sheffield coach Brian DeVito said. "It didn't matter who was up there, we basically had three aces. They bring it every game." Sheffield pushed its lead to 7-3 with a run in the sixth inning before Midview answered with four runs to tie the game. Easton Kirby led off with a single, a dropped third strike led to another baserunner and a walk ended Bier's day. All three runners scored — two on a wild pitch and the other on Ashton Hazzard's RBI double. Ashton Hazzard scored on a fielder's choice, tying the game at 7. Vinny Ott put the Venom back in front with a one-out solo home run to left field, but Midview answered with a hit and a walk. The tying run scored on a wild pitch, setting up Bessey's bunt. "The last three seasons we got out in the first round, so even just making it down here is a huge step for us," DeVito said. "We took Nancy's Diner to the bottom of the seventh. There's not much more you can ask for in a game between two powerhouse teams. We just ended up on the wrong side." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.