COSHOCTON — In the words of Tom Berenger in the classic film "Major League," Gaven Blake needed to "throw something nasty."

New Philadelphia's right-hander found himself in a seventh-inning crucible when Tri-Valley loaded the bases with one out in their Division II district final, needing two runs to keep its season alive. With a potent middle of the order waiting, the heat only intensified on the Quaker reliever.

He found a bucket of cold water just in time.

Blake yielded a sacrifice fly to clean-up man Hansel Holmes that got the Scotties within a run, but he induced a game-ending pop out one batter later to secure a pulsating 5-4 win at Lake Park that sent his team to their second straight regional.

Battle-hardened New Philadelphia (15-10) advanced to play Cambridge (16-4), an 11-3 winner against top-seeded Indian Valley in the other East District final, at 2 p.m. Thursday, at Harrison Central. Either Newark Licking Valley (18-7) or Hebron Lakewood (11-15) will take on Washington Court House (25-1) in the second semifinal Thursday, with the winners coming back at 5 p.m. on Friday for a state berth.

Bollon comes up clutch

Bollon's one-out, two-run single in the seventh sent the Quakers ahead to stay, although Ashton Sensibaugh's deep drive to left with two on in the Scotties' half of the seventh, which resulted in an out at the fence, made everyone in attendance hold their collective breath.

"Gaven has been one of our better arms out of the pen this year," New Philadelphia coach Tyler Weisel said. "He's a bulldog and a competitor, so we knew the moment would not be too big for him. He got into a bit of trouble, but he kept competing."

Blake came on after freshman starter Owen Courtney, equipped with an array of off-speed pitches, took a three-hitter into the seventh. He was lifted after yielding a lead-off single to Daniel Huffman.

Blake came on and walked Nate Better to put runners on first and second with no outs, which brought Sensibaugh to the plate. He gave the first pitch he saw a mighty clout into the evening sky, but a slight breeze blowing in from the north held it back just enough.

It was emblematic of the Scotties' missed chances.

"If only that thing would have been hit down the line," Tri-Valley coach Marc Hadley lamented. "It would have been gone."

Tri-Valley still had a fighter's chance. Senior Bennet Baker, hitting more than .400 on the season, was hit by a pitch to load the bases after a wild pitch moved the runners up a base. That brought up the veteran Holmes, whose long fly to right field got Huffman home, but it was caught for the critical second out.

"It was kind of like the story of my season," Holmes said. "Right at people."

One pitch later, the Quakers could officially celebrate.

"Man, I love these dudes," Weisel said. "And they are flat-out competitors. We had the guys we wanted out there in that huge spot."

Quaker thumpers make noise

Bollon and No. 3 hitter Carter Vandall, headed to Mount Union to play basketball, were burs in the Scotties' saddle from the outset.

Vandall's run-scoring single in the first inning, after Carson Long's double, got the Quakers on the board early.

In the sixth, with Tri-Valley up 3-2 after a two-run fifth, Vandall singled to lead off the inning. Two batters later, with runners on first and second, Bollon laid down a bunt down the third-base line that resulted in a single.

Blake's sacrifice fly one batter later tied it at 3.

"(Bollon) put that bunt in a perfect spot," Hadley said. "Credit to that kid. The pressure was all on him and he got it done."

The real damage came an inning later, with familiar suspects doing the inflicting.

Holmes got a strikeout to start the seventh, but Brandt Wells singled sharply to right and Vandall muscled a single to left on a hard pitch on his hands to left to stir the pot.

Holmes walked Maddox Brown to load the bases with one out. Bollon worked a full count before hitting a flare over the second baseman's head to plate both runners.

The last one proved the biggest. Holmes told Hadley he wanted the ball during a mound visit in the sixth, when starter Brady Kaufman was lifted after 5 1/3 strong innings.

He had been there before — he pitched in the district finals in 2021, when Hadley was an assistant under former coach Kevin Yoder. Holmes felt he was squeezed by the home plate umpire on a pair of close calls, but he wasn't making excuses.

"I've been in that situation," Holmes said. "I figured being a senior leader that you wanted to be the one to handle that pressure."

Pressure doesn't rattle young starters

The sophomore Kaufman, a star reliever in two previous postseason appearances, allowed six hits, three earned runs and struck out five as he and Holmes combined for eight strikeouts. They yielded only two walks; Courtney surrendered three earned runs with two walks and four strikeouts in six innings, as Weisel praised him for staying ahead in counts.

There was one deciding difference — Courtney rarely allowed hard contact.

"I talked to a lot of people leading up to this game — Philly is on fire right now," Hadley said. "They came in confident and were swinging the bat. They did just enough to put us out. There were a few that leaked in there, but the same thing happened for us against John Glenn (in the semifinals). That's baseball."

Tri-Valley (18-6-1) saw its season end one win shy of its first district title since the late Terry Clark led them to Division I crowns in 1996 and 1997.

"That's why you work all year, to get that higher seed so you get that last at-bat," Holmes said, shortly after bidding farewell to his teammates. "It was one batter away, I guess. One hit away. If one of those fall, then we're good."

Agony and ecstasy

A streaking Quaker squad with five wins in seven games now faces a showdown against the veteran Bobcats with a chance to avenge last year's regional loss to Steubenville.

Meanwhile, next year's Tri-Valley team returns the bulk of its roster from this year, including a budding ace in Kaufman and No. 3 hitter Sensibaugh, among others. Replacing veteran leaders like Holmes, Baker and ace right-hander Landon Harney, who pitched the team to a pair of tournament wins before Monday, will be no small task.

"We're going to find a way," Hadley said. "We have the people in our school who are willing to put more work in than anybody else. We're going to find ourselves back here at some point."

Baker couldn't hide his emotions. A baseball-only fellow, he was among many who had plenty of time and energy invested.

Watching it end was a struggle.

"It's physically and mentally exhausting," said Baker, coming off his first career homer in the sectional. "We needed to jump on that game a lot sooner. We needed to score a lot more runs than we did.

"I love all of these guys," Baker added. "This was by far my favorite year. We all just clicked. I never had a problem with anybody, so it was always a good time."

Neither Holmes nor Baker, two program linchpins, were sure of their future plans. Holmes left as one of the most respected two-sport players of his era, having also provided strong leadership in football for a team that won a Muskingum Valley League title.

He made a strong declaration about the 2024 team.

"I'll call it now," Holmes said. "You'll see them in the regionals next year. I guarantee it."

[email protected]; Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: New Philadelphia reliever quells Tri-Valley rally in district finals