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2022 OHSAA Tournament: Division I State Final - No. 10 Grove City vs No. 24 Northview

June 11, 2022
Dylan Hefflinger and Bruce Hefflinger
PBR Ohio Editor in Chief/NW Scout and Senior Writer

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2022 OHSAA Tournament: Division I State Final - No. 10 Grove City vs No. 24 Northview

AKRON - A line drive back to Blake Bradford was a fitting ending to the Division I state finals on Saturday. The Northview senior allowed just four hits in pitching the Wildcats past Grove City 6-1 and with it the first state title ever at the Sylvania school.

“I’ve been a part of this for 20 years,” head coach Greg Szparka said. “It’s awesome for all of them.”

After Grove City scored an unearned run in the top of the first, Bradford was dominant the rest of the way for the 24th-rated team in the state.

“The first inning we were getting our nerves out and it showed,” the senior right-hander said. “After that we settled down and played our game.

“As the game went on I got more excited. My team gave me runs and I was able to just pitch and do my stuff.”

Walks to Braden Tackett and Benny Seals opened the Northview third and after one out, Brodey Acres roped a double down the right-field line for two runs and a lead the Wildcats would never relinquish.

“They put in a new pitcher and I was timing him up on deck,” Acres reflected. “He was a little bit slower than the first guy. He had a lot of tail on his ball and it’s a lefty. I just tried to stay middle, the other way. It was outer half of the plate and I just threw my hands at it. I guess I got lucky and started the rally.”

Szparka was pleased to get that early advantage.

“When we get a lead I feel so confident the game is over,” the Northview mentor said. “It’s just the way the team’s been all year.”

The Wildcats added one in the fourth on an Alex Prymas triple and Garrett Draper single, and two in the fifth on only one hit before Alex Dupree added an insurance run in the sixth with a run-scoring single.

That was more than enough with Bradford on the mound.

“He’s a competitor, probably the most competitive kid I’ve ever coached,” Szparka noted about Bradford. “He doesn’t like to lose at video games, he doesn’t want to lose here, he doesn’t want to lose paper-rock-scissors. He’s the most competitive kid I’ve seen at Northview in 20 years.”

Benny Seals and Acres both had two hits for the Wildcats, with Seals scoring two and Acres driving a pair in bringing home a state championship to Northview. 

“I’ve imagined this but never thought it’d actually happen,” Acres said of a state title. “I can’t complain that it did happen. It’s better than I ever imagined.”

HOT TAKES

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Bradford was in total control after the first inning, throwing two-hit shutout ball over the final six frames. The senior right-hander did not walk a batter, retiring 11 of the last dozen batters faced, with the only one to reach base via a throwing error. In addition to the solid showing on the mound, Bradford stole home in the fifth inning.

D-I TOURNEY MVP: Acres came up big in both games to spark the Wildcats. As well as his two-hit performance that included two RBIs and a stolen base in the state finals, the senior three-hole hitter had a single and scored a run in a 3-2 triumph over Kenston in the semifinals.

STOLEN BASES: Northview stole nine bases in the game, one away from the Division I all-time record of 10 set by Moeller against Westlake in 2012. Seals and Dupree each had two steals for the Wildcats.

WHAT’S NEXT: Keegan Holstrom, who beat Mason in the semifinals, is back for his junior year and the southpaw Ohio State commit gives Grove City a chance every time on the mound. Four other starters return for the 10th-rated D-I team in the state. … Seals, Riley Ames and Dupree give Northview three solid players to build around along with Garrett Zimmermann, the winning pitcher in the state semifinals.

LiNESCORE

Grove City       100  000  0  -  1  4  0
Northview        002  121  x  -  6  8  3

Records: Northview 21-8, Grove City 26-8.

Winning Pitcher: Blake Bradford (7 innings, 1 run, 0 earned runs, 4 hits, 6 strikeouts, 1 walk).

Losing Pitcher: Zak Sigman (2 innings 2 runs, 0 hits, 2 strikeouts, 4 walks). Others: Jackson Ware (4 innings, 2 runs, 8 hits, 3 strikeouts, 1 walk), Gabe Duncan (0 innings, 2 runs, 0 hits, 0 strikeouts, 1 walk).

Leading Hitters: (Grove City) - Jackson Ware triple, run; Braxton Bryant single; Ty Clifton double; Trent Ruffing single. (Northview) - Benny Seals 2 singles, 2 runs; Brodey Acres single double, 2 RBIs; Blake Bradford run; Alex Dupree single, run, RBI; Benny Crooks single; Alex Prymas double; Garrett Draper single, 2 RBIs; Braden Tackett run.

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