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2026 OHSAA Tournament: Division V State Semifinal - #10 Liberty-Benton vs Columbus Academy

AKRON - Dominic Dunkle and Kevin Klingerman led a 12-hit Columbus Academy attack and the unranked Vikings are in the Division V state championship game after beating Liberty-Benton 5-2 on Thursday at Thurman Munson Stadium.

Dunkle hit a single, double and triple while Klingerman had two singles and a three-bagger for Columbus Academy, which advances to Friday's finals with a 17-16 record.

Cooper Leibas hit a two-out two-run double to put the Vikings on top 2-0 in the third and Klingerman scored an inning later on an RBI groundout from Thomas Rubey after ripping a long triple to left-center to lead off the fourth.

Isaac Schworm trimmed the deficit to 3-1 in the bottom of the inning and Grady Latta made it 3-2 in the fifth, scoring on a triple and wild pitch.

Rubey delivered a run-scoring single for Columbus Academy in the sixth and Ethan Parish brought in another run with a squeeze bunt for the Vikings, which had an opportunity for more runs taken away an inning prior on a diving grab by L-B cener fielder Connor Barbara.

Leibas struck out nine in throwing a six-hitter for the Vikings, which lost five of their last six regular-season games before getting hot at the right time.

HOT TAKES

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Leibas threw 70 of 100 pitches for strikes to earn the victory while also producing at the plate, with the senior driving in the first two runs of the game.

WHAT'S NEXT?: The 10th-rated Eagles will be strong again in 2027 with five starters back from the first Liberty-Benton team to ever make it to the state tournament. Liberty-Benton will be strong up the middle with sophomore Taden Troyer back at short, 10th-grader Kooper Leatherman returning at catcher and junior Barbara a returnee in center field. Knepper, another junior, is back on the hill with Leatherman bringing more pitching experience. Latta, a sophomore who had two hits, is back in right field for head coach Matt Rader, who is 22 wins away from 200 in his career.

LINESCORE

Columbus Academy 002  102  0  -  5  12  1
Liberty-Benton         000  110  0  -  2   6  1

Records: Columbus Academy 17-16, Liberty-Benton 22-6.

Winning Pitcher: Cooper Leibas (7 innings, 2 runs, 6 hits, 9 strikeouts, 2 walks).

Losing Pitcher: Jackson Knepper (7 innings, 5 runs, 12 hits, 6 strikeouts, 1 walk).

Leading Hitters: (Columbus Academy) - Dominic Dunkle single, double, triple, run; Trey Ransom single; Cooper Leibas double, 2 RBIs; William Donohue single; Tyler Akpofure run; Kevin Klingerman 2 singles, triple, 2 runs; Thomas Ruby single, 2 RBIs; Ethan Parish RBI; Hayes Donaldson single; Anthony Penney single, run. (Liberty-Benton) - Connor Barbara single; Zach Eichert 2 singles, run; Isaac Schwork single, RBI; Grady Latta single, triple, run.

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