Golden Bears return to state firing on all cylinders
Waynedale returning starters from 2022 state title team trying to become repeat champs are Otto Solorzano, left, Connor Gatti, Dylan Raber, Trey Barkman and Timmy Short.
Never fear, the Waynedale baseball team is here — again.
There were some rough patches at times leading up to the Division III Massillon Regional, but the Golden Bears picked the ideal time to put together their two best games of the season.
The Bears outscored regional opponents Independence and South Range by a combined 22-3 margin to earn a repeat trip to the State Baseball Tournament.
After Waynedale run-ruled South Range 14-1 in the regional final, it became the first team in Wayne County history to make back-to-back Final Four trips in baseball since the great Dean Chance-led Northwestern teams did it in 1958 and 1959.
“It was a good time for the bats to come alive,” Waynedale coach Lucas Daugherty said. “It’s been a little bit of a battle this year to get going offensively, but our coaching staff had confidence that our guys could do it. We just needed to put it together and do it in a game. It was definitely good to see it all click in the regional semis and regional final.”
The Golden Bears (22-9) will play Toledo Ottawa Hills (22-10) in a state semifinal at Canal Park in Akron on June 9 at 4 p.m. Heath (22-8) will take on Cadiz Harrison Central (19-12) in the other semifinal at 7 p.m., with the winners advancing to the state championship game at 7 p.m. on June 10.
Most high school baseball fans are well aware of Waynedale’s dynamic duo of senior righthander Trey Barkman (6-1, 0.73 ERA, 85 Ks, 30 BB, 57.1 IP) and junior lefthander Otto Solorzano (9-4, 1.25, 110 Ks, 16 BB, 67 IP).
They were lights out as usual at the regional, with Barkman throwing a three-hitter with 11 strikeouts against Independence and Solorzano following that up with a one-hitter and 10 punchouts in the five-inning mercy rule of South Range.
The Bears’ offense was just as impressive, scoring six runs in the first inning in the semifinals and four to open the final.
Waynedale coaches enjoyed about as stress-free a regional as possible, thanks to the all-around sparking performances from everyone in the lineup.
Barkman and classmate Timmy Short ripped three hits apiece to lead a 15-hit attack in the regional final.
All of this came from a Waynedale team that had to rally from down two runs in its final at-bat to beat Beachwood 4-3 in a district semifinal and had to settle for a three-way tie for the Wayne County Athletic League title.
“I think it really was just confidence, having a game or two where our players did swing it well and they started to have success,” Daugherty said when asked to explain the sudden offensive onslaught. “Guys gained confidence, and then they kind of built off each other’s success.
“We had a couple of our guys at the top of the order get going, and hitting really can become a contagious thing.”
Indeed, baseball fans have watched momentum carry over throughout the lineup at all levels. A couple players get hits, and the following hitters relax and follow suit.
Waynedale’s batting order features a strong mix of seniors and underclassmen: The most used lineup is as follows: 1. senior shortstop Dylan Raber (.314 batting average), 2. sophomore catcher Tristan Franks (.385), 3. senior center fielder Connor Gatti (.333, team-high 34 runs), 4. senior third baseman Timmy Short (.360, team-high 10 doubles, 19 RBI, 20 R), 5. senior pitcher-DH Barkman (.351, 6 2B, 2 3B, team-high 27 RBI, 22 R), 6. sophomore left fielder Jayden Schlabach (.377), 7. senior first baseman Gavin Spitler (.275), 8. sophomore second baseman Shane Coblentz, and 9. junior right fielder Tate Venables. Solorzano also gets slotted in as the DH at times.
Coblentz has emerged as a reliable third pitcher, going 5-1 with a 2.15 ERA, 63 Ks and 15 BBs in 42 IP.
“It’s definitely been a group effort,” Daugherty said. “We have a deep lineup that challenges opponents.”
Returning starters from the 2022 title team that beat Milan Edison 2-1 are Barkman, Solorzano, Gatti, Raber and Short. Gatti had a walk-off RBI single in the eighth inning, and Solorzano notched the complete-game win with seven strikeouts. The Bears won the first baseball state title for a Wayne County team since 1966 when Northwestern won it.
Barkman usually pitches the semifinal game, and Solorzano gets the nod in the final each round, but Daugherty said that can change based on matchups.
“Sometimes we feel that our lefty Otto is a better matchup against a certain team or maybe try a little bit higher velocity guy in Trey,” Daugherty said. “Trey has been clocked at 88 mph while Otto tops out at around 84. They both have a good slider and changeup.
“They both have definitely improved in certain areas since last year, and obviously, they both had really good seasons (in 2022). Limiting walks has helped them throughout the year be a little bit more efficient.”
Barkman has signed to pitch for Ohio University. Solorzano is starting to attract more and more interest from colleges, including some Div. I schools.
If the offense continues to click in a wide-open Final Four, the Bears stand a great chance to make it back-to-back titles.
“Timmy Short has had an incredible season at the plate,” Daugherty said. “He’s been hitting really well and for power in some of these games.
“Connor Gatti and Dylan Raber have had up and down parts of the year, but in the back half of the season, they both have really improved, which kind of coincides with the success that we’ve been having. We need those guys to produce and contribute in our lineup.”
Sophomores Franks and Schlabach have been big parts of the state run.
“Tristan Franks and Jayden Schlabach have been really impressive,” Daugherty said. “They are two leading hitters, and Tristan has done a great job as our catcher.”
Daugherty called it surreal to be headed back to the state tournament again.
“I think we all feel very excited and also grateful for the opportunity to be able to go back there and experience it again,” Daugherty said. “Throughout a lot of the season, we had issues that we were working through.
“We lost some games that we really shouldn’t have lost, but we definitely got humbled and had to work through some adversity. It made the team very hungry to kind of have something to prove.”
Aaron Dorksen can be emailed at aarondorksen24@gmail.com.