LaBrae moves to district title game

Correspondent photo / Lowell Spencer
Vikings pitcher Dylan Simpson works through his windup against Crestview. Simpson tossed five shutout innings to help lead his team to the Division III district finals.

STRUTHERS – The third-seeded LaBrae Vikings entered Monday night’s district semifinal game against league rival Crestview with all the confidence and momentum, having beaten defending district champion Lakeview last Wednesday. They had also knocked off the No. 11 Rebels twice in the regular season, not surrendering a run in either contest.

The Vikings seized upon that confidence to make it a three-peat as they once again blanked the Rebels with a 9-0 victory to advance to the district final, set for Wednesday night at Cene Park. The Vikings improve to 18-5 on the season and will take on the top-seeded Perry Pirates with the first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

“The kids are buying into the system,” Vikings head coach Ed Anthony said. “We didn’t take anything for granted because of the eight teams in this district, three of them come from our conference. We really worked hard this week to prepare for them once we knew they were our opponent.”

The season closes with an 11-10 winning record for the Rebels, who knocked off archrival Columbiana to advance to the semifinals. They finished fourth in the MVAC Grey Tier with an 8-4 record.

“The last time Crestview advanced to the districts was years ago,” Rebels head coach Todd Kirby said. “Getting back here is a huge obstacle because you are facing everyone’s ones and twos. Getting into the districts was good for our younger kids to be able to see how we need to prepare.”

But it was the deadly combination of outstanding pitching by the Vikings’ Dylan Simpson and the hot bat of Owen Boone to capture the victory. Simpson fired five innings of two-hit baseball while Boone went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs to help lead the effort.

“We knew what we were getting. We knew they were putting Simpson on the mound,” Kibby said. “Really, it just came down to pitching and catching. We didn’t get any timely hitting when we got runners on base and had a chance.”

While Simpson was holding the Rebels down, Boone began the Vikings’ offensive explosion in the third inning when he smacked a one-out double to left field. Shortstop Austin Rowe provided the game-winning RBI with a single to right to plate Boone and give them a 1-0 advantage. A two-out error by the Rebels third baseman allowed Rowe and Simpson, who had reached on a single, to both score and boost the Vikings’ lead to 3-0 after three innings of play.

That was all Simpson would need as he only surrendered two singles to the Rebels and three walks in his five innings. He also struck out three Rebels en route to improving to 12-0 this season on the mound. Boone moved to the mound to pitch the final two scoreless innings, limiting the Rebels to no hits with two strikeouts while giving up two walks.

“Dylan Simpson again, I mean he is 12 and zero. Correct me if I’m wrong, but out of the pitchers in northeast Ohio he is number four or five in the state for strikeouts, and he’s 15th in ERA. I’m not saying this because I’m his coach, but I don’t think there are too many pitchers in the state that are twelve and zero with an ERA of .017,” Anthony said.

The Vikings added three more runs in the fourth inning, Boone hitting his second double to chase Aiden Doll home for a 4-0 lead. A two-out single to right by catcher Brogan Collins drove Christian Haught and Boone home to give the Vikings a commanding 6-0 advantage.

“I’m more impressed with the defense that there were no errors. And the contact that we are starting to make,” Anthony said. “Earlier in the year we had some close games — 3-2 games, 2-1 games, 4-3 games — but today these guys jumped on their starter and it just steamrolled. Once we start hitting, we are pretty good.”

Boone’s third hit of the night, a single to right in the fifth frame, sent Nate Goldner home after he started the inning with a double to left. Goldner provided the final runs in the contest when he doubled home Simpson and Collins in the sixth frame to reach the final 9-0 margin.

The Rebels’ starting pitcher Ethan Freezle suffered the loss after surrendering six runs, four earned, on eight hits and two walks. He struck out six Vikings batters on the night. Luke Julian tossed the final two innings while getting dinged for three runs on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

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