District baseball: One strike away, Keystone falls victim to Waynedale rally

CANTON — Keystone found out the hard way that bears are most dangerous when they've been wounded. The Wildcats were within a strike of defeating defending Division V state champion Waynedale on Friday at Thurman Munson Stadium when the Golden Bears attacked with three straight hits to complete a four-run seventh inning rally to stun Keystone and claim the district championship with a 8-7 victory. No. 6-seeded Keystone (16-11) entered the seventh inning with a 6-4 lead and added a run in the top half of the frame when senior Shane Ohl doubled home Luke Devore with an insurance run to give the Wildcats a three run lead. After Golden Bears shortstop Jordon Miller was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the seventh, Keystone coach Bert Fitzgerald went to his bullpen and brought on senior Tucker Webb in relief of starter Blake Moore. Webb walked the first batter he faced, struck out Brock Reifsnyder for the first out of the inning but then gave up four straight singles, including a line drive down the left-field line off the bat of Brayden Steiner that drove in a pair of runs and kept Waynedale's hopes of making a fifth consecutive state tournament appearance alive. Top-seeded Waynedale improved its record to 26-3. "Tucker's the man," Fitzgerald said. "Sometimes teams can just hit some guys. Tucker's had games where he came in and pitched five scoreless innings, it's just some teams against some pitchers." After giving up a triple to Steiner to lead off the game, Moore settled down to hold the Golden Bears to five hits and five runs over six-plus innings with eight strikeouts. "Blake's a killer, he wants to go out there and strike everybody out. We told him just go out there and let your defense work," Fitzgerald said. "He's a veteran, he's been playing for us for three years and he just keeps getting better every year." The Wildcats got their first run in the fourth when junior center fielder Wyatt McKee beat out an infield chopper to lead off the inning. McKee then stole second and came home to score on a Devore single. McKee also played an integral role in Keystone's two-run fifth inning. His double scored Ryan Younglas with the Wildcats' second run. McKee then scored on a Brendan Hagerman sacrifice fly. With the scored tied at 3 going into the sixth inning, the bottom of the Keystone order manufactured a three-run rally to put the Wildcats on the brink on winning their first district title since 2014. Designated hitter Kyle Hurley led off with a single and scored on the second of Ohl's three hits in the game. Second baseman Quinn Otto scored on a balk and Ohl scored on a throwing error after stealing third base. "I didn't really need to tell the guys anything after the game," Fitzgerald said. "They're sad and upset but they're resilient. I just told them I am proud of them and I love them." The good news for Keystone is they started five juniors and one sophomore in the game and can look forward to having one of the area's most talented and most experienced rosters heading into 2027. "Most of these juniors are going to be four-year or three-year lettermen when they're done next year. They just want to compete," Fitzgerald said. "This is what they love, they were looking forward to this game. "A bunch of these guys are going to play 50 or 60 summer games and then play football and basketball. Then we'll reconvene in February and see where we're at. It's a shame we're going to lose this group of seniors." The Wildcats graduate four seniors — Otto, Ohl, Webb and Kaleb Scott. Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.