Binckley, Heath ride fast start into third state baseball championship
AKRON ― Tannar Patterson was dealing in the high 80s in last year's Division III state semifinals, but injury prevented him from ever throwing a pitch in 2024.
However, in Saturday's Division III state finals at Canal Park, the Heath junior second baseman fired maybe the biggest "strike" of his career and let his replacement, senior Wyatt Binckley, do the rest.
Staked to an early 3-0 lead, Binckley fed off two big defensive plays in the third inning, including one by Patterson, and pitched a five-hitter as the second-ranked Bulldogs (28-2) finished off a dream season with a 3-1 win Sunday against fourth-ranked Millbury Lake for their third Division III state championship, and first in 17 years. They're 3-0 in state finals.
"Last night, I had dream after dream about this, and this was always the way it ended," said coach Tom Warren, who replaced the legendary Dave Klontz in 2016 and was his assistant on the 2002 and 2007 title teams. "We stood out here last year, in the left field corner, at 9:15 p.m. after we had lost 2-1 in the semifinals, and they said they would be back. With the single-elimination format, that was not easy to do, but they made it back and made it happen. I'm so proud of them."
Patterson, who had two hits and drove in a run, also had a dream.
"Every little kid has a dream like this, that they're going to get here and win it, but I actually did," he said. "My brother (Timothy Patterson) was a sub on the 2007 team. I'm so happy and very excited. We kind of knew, after losing here last year, that we could make it happen. We just kept coming and battled through."
After ending two-time defending state champ Waynedale's 19-game postseason win streak in Saturday's 4-3, 8-inning semifinal victory, Heath came out aggressive on Sunday.
Connor Corbett swung on the game's first pitch, reaching on an error, and Patterson singled to left on the next one. Corbett eventually scored on Riley Baum's forceout as the Bulldogs led 1-0.
In the second, Binckley walked, Conner Toomey singled to left and Paul Gould bunted them over. Corbett delivered a sacrifice fly, and Patterson came through with a two-out RBI single to right for a 3-0 margin that Binckley and the defense made stand up.
"I thought we might have some opportunities, and we usually do well when we're the visiting team and can get something done early," Warren said. "I thought we would get more than three runs, but it was pitching and defense, like it's always been."
The Flyers (28-4), who on Saturday earned their first-ever state tournament win, applied pressure in the third when Gavin Kohlhofer walked and went to third on an error. Toledo-bound Drew Tajblik then stole second. But Binckley got Jay Blazevich to pop out to second. Shortstop Kaden Green then alertly threw Tajblik out at third on losing pitcher Ryan Wagner's grounder.
When Binckley threw wildly past first on a pickoff attempt, Wagner tried to go all the way to third. But Patterson raced over, came up slinging and gunned him out from well into foul territory to end the inning. Lake threatened only one more time.
"When I saw it get past, I hustled and knew I had to throw it quickly," Patterson said. "I guess I had one last chance to show off my arm."
Warren called it one of the best plays he's ever seen.
"Just to slide, throw it as hard as he could, and throw it accurately," he said.
Wagner settled down, allowing just two hits over the final five innings, inducing a fifth-inning double play with two aboard, and the Flyers threw out a runner trying to go from first to third on a sacrifice. But Binckley matched him, letting only one runner get into scoring position the rest of the way. And he got Caleb Tobias to bounce to first, ending that threat in the sixth.
With Heath's huge, orange-clad contingent roaring on every pitch in the seventh, the Flyers went 1-2-3, and Kohlhofer's lineout to Green touched off a major celebration on the field and in the stands.
Binckley threw an efficient 93 pitches, 60 of them for strikes, striking out five and walking only two.
"We knew they could hit, especially the top four, and I went with two speeds on the curveball, fast and slow, with a lot more movement," he explained. "We thought they would be hunting fastballs, so we also mixed in the change-up. The first inning, I was a little jittery, but it really helped, giving me a bit of a cushion."
When Warren gave Binckley, who finished 9-0, the ball in the district finals against West Jefferson, he wasn't sure what to expect. But he pitched a one-hitter, then beat Cincinnati Country Day in the regional semifinals.
"There were nerves going out there, but he really settled in," Warren said. "Those last four innings were probably the best I have ever seen him."
Binckley's transfer in from Licking Valley proved to be a seamless transition, and a fortuitous one for the Bulldogs.
"It's meant everything, with Tannar being out, and our third baseman Jacob Bunn graduating," Warren said.
Said senior first baseman Hayden Woodward: "We lost a player and he (Binckley) found his way and got the job done for us all year. Having him gave us a built-in advantage."
Binckley said his Heath teammates quickly became his new family.
"From day one, they were my brothers," he said. "They took me in and I felt the support right from the start."
The work toward the state return began as soon as last season ended. After losing 6-5 at rival Newark Catholic, the Bulldogs finished with 13 consecutive wins.
"Last year, we were a year younger, and we prepared everything, mentally and physically to win this thing," Patterson said.
Woodward, who went 7-0 on the mound and led the Bulldogs in nearly every hitting category, said he and his teammates had one thing in mind coming into 2024.
"Through summer ball, winter workouts, being on the field together, day in and day out, we were rock-solid," he said. "The focus was on winning. Win, win, win. These eight seniors and I were once little kids at Hoback and have been playing together since we were like 3. And now we've accomplished something most never get to in their lifetime."
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Binckley, Heath ride fast start into third state baseball championship
