HAMLER, Ohio — Timely hits proved to be critical in Lake’s Division III regional baseball semifinal against Bucyrus Wynford on Thursday.

The Flyers came through with enough to manufacture some runs, and they prevented the Royals from getting a big one to get any attempt at a comeback going.

Lake plated runs in the second, third, and sixth innings while Drew Tajblik was solid on the mound with an efficient defense behind him as the Flyers posted a 6-1 win at Patrick Henry High School.

“Those innings, we just looked to hit the ball the other way a little bit, hit it on the ground. That’s what the coaches have been telling us all year, and when we do that, hitting’s pretty much electric in our dugout,” Lake senior third baseman Ryan Wagner said. “So whenever one person starts hitting, we all do. It’s just one starts, and everyone goes.”

Lake (26-4) advances to take on Coldwater at 5 p.m. Friday in a regional final at Patrick Henry. Coldwater edged Marengo Highland 4-2 in the second regional semifinal on Thursday at Patrick Henry.

A Flyers’ win would give them their first OHSAA state semifinal appearance since 2001 and just their third in program history (1935).

“It feels amazing,” Wagner said of Lake’s regional final appearance. “I know our team’s confident in each other.

“We know that we can get hits and score runs whenever we need to, and then pitching is the same way. We know that we’re strong on the mound and we don’t really care what the other team has batting. We keep going at them.”

Lake led off each of the three innings they scored in with a hit to build its lead. Wagner singled up the middle to start the second and scored on a sacrifice fly to center from Caleb Tobias to put the Flyers on the board.

Korbin Adkins singled to begin the third inning, stole second, and scored on an RBI single up the middle from Gavin Kohlhofer to extend Lake’s lead to 2-0.

Four straight singles to begin the sixth chased Wynford starter Spencer Miller. Wagner smacked a two-run single to left to score Tajblik and Jay Blazevich and make it 4-0 early in the frame; Tobias added another sacrifice fly to bring home pinch runner Jaxson Rymers; and Jack Sobzack scored on a wild pitch as the Flyers built a comfortable lead.

“I went from being relatively tight to not as tight, we’ll say that,” Lake coach Casey Witt said of his team’s big sixth inning. “... With our roster makeup and our athleticism, we really like our chances to score when we get guys on base. It kind of allows us to play our brand of baseball.”

Meanwhile, Tajblik improved his season record to 11-0 with a complete-game performance. The junior standout and University of Toledo commit allowed one run on six hits, with six strikeouts, no walks, and three hit batters.

Although Lake had two errors, the Flyers made several big plays defensively. Tajblik forced a lineout to Sobzack at shortstop and a popup to Wagner at third to get out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the fifth.

“Really happy with the way we picked the ball,” Witt said. “We know that when Drew’s on the mound, he’s going to give us a chance in every game. We’ve just got to make plays, and today was a testament to that.”

Wynford (21-9) had one hit in each of the first five innings (six of seven overall), but stranded 10 runners. Drew Johnson’s RBI fielder’s choice scored Miller in the seventh inning for the Royals’ only run.

“We hit the ball well,” Wynford coach Tom Smith said. “We did what we wanted to do.

“We wanted to keep the game close, and we fell apart there in the sixth inning a little bit, gave them a crooked number. But they pitched out of jams.”

Sobzack also had two hits for Lake, while Grant McGuire doubled and singled to lead Wynford.

Miller took the loss after allowing six runs on eight hits in five innings, with one strikeout and one walk. The Royals did not commit an error.

First Published May 30, 2024, 10:13 p.m.