Archbishop Moeller baseball shows championship mettle with 2-0 win over Walsh Jesuit in Division I state semifinals
Archbishop Moeller pitcher Toby Hueber delivers a pitch during the OHSAA Division I state semifinals on Thursday morning at Akron's Canal Park. The Crusaders defeated Walsh Jesuit 2-0. (Photo: Jeff Harwell)
AKRON, Ohio – Toby Hueber was all smiles as he walked through the concourse at Canal Park on Thursday after Archbishop Moeller's state semifinal game.
And who wouldn't be smiling?
The senior pitcher had just thrown five innings and given up only three hits and struck out five as Archbishop Moeller defeated Walsh Jesuit 2-0.
“It feels amazing because I've been working hard all year,” Hueber said. “It's everything we've wanted all this time. So, for me, it just feels amazing. I couldn't ask for anything more.”
After being held hitless by Walsh pitcher Ryan Piech through three innings, Moeller broke through in the fourth inning thanks to a leadoff triple by catcher Nathan Manley. On the very next pitch, Clay Burdette singled in the hole between shortstop and third base to score Manley, making it 1-0.
“What was going through my mind is really just keeping it simple,” Manley said. “I knew that he was a hard thrower so if I just get barrel on ball there, it's going to end up going somewhere.”
The Crusaders scored again in the fifth, as Ethan Sweat led off with a single and then advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Carter Christenson and an error on Walsh on the play. Hueber helped his own cause with a sacrifice fly to give Moeller a 2-0 lead.
Carson Marsh then took over on the mound and set the Warriors down in order in the sixth before facing adversity in the seventh.
After striking out the first hitter of the inning, Marsh gave up a double to Justin Bremner and walked Raul Gamez to put runners on first and second with one out. He then induced a short fly ball to right field by Topher Salek that looked like it might drop in for a hit, but Conlan Daniel came sprinting in and made a sliding catch the get the out and hold the runners.
“With Carson Marsh on the mound, you know he's just absolutely electric and you know not a lot of teams are used to his velo and I was expecting them to hit it to my side all day especially the righties,” Daniel said. “When the ball went up in the air I thought it was a little soft and I started running in and in the my back of my head, I was like I know I got this ball and it was all about calling Toby off and making the play.”
Breaking on the ball is nothing new for Daniel, who led the Crusaders and the Greater Catholic League with five interceptions on the football field this past fall.
“I'm just used to flying all over the place and going up and getting the ball,” Daniel said. “So just seeing the fly ball and making hard plays, it's just in my nature.”
Marsh ended the game by getting Alex Covas to hit a grounder to shortstop Charlie Niehaus, who flipped to Hueber at second for the force out.
The win sends the Crusaders to the state championship game for the first time since 2015, and Moeller holds an 8-0 record when getting to the season’s final game.
“It’s huge, we haven't been back to the Final Four since 2015,” Manley said. “We've had a lot of really talented guys come through the past two years that I've been on varsity and this is the only year that I've been able to make it to the state tournament and it means a lot that we're going to the championship.”
Moeller made quite the impression on its opponent on Thursday morning, as Warriors players heaped praise upon the Crusaders after the win.
“They’re a very sound baseball team,” Bremner said. “You have to play perfect baseball to beat them. I believe they are the state championship team this year. Anything can happen in baseball, but if I had to put my money on a team, I’d put it on them.”
