C16  Sunday, June 4, 2017  |  THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH ••
high schools
Lacrosse
Upper Arlington scores at will, takes state title
By Adam Conn
The Columbus Dispatch
DELAWARE — Mas-
sillon Jackson’s zone
defense that was sup-
posed to wreak havoc
on Upper Arlington
came and went with a
whisper.
The Golden Bears
pulled away from a 3-2
lead with a 12-2 run
on the way to a 15-6
victory on Saturday at
Ohio Wesleyan’s Selby
Stadium. It was UA’s
third straight Division I
championship and first
OHSAA-sanctioned
title.
With 14:54 remain-
ing in the first half,
Olivia Schildmeyer
took a draw control
and launched a pass to
Brooke Smith for a goal
and a 4-2 lead, and the
rout was on.
“We had some
great ball movement
in transition that did
light a fire, and they
found their rhythm,”
UA coach Wendy Pinta
said.
From there, the
Golden Bears (19-2)
scored at will — off the
draw, free possessions
and from behind the
Baseball roundup
Sophomore pitches Warren Champion to upset win
By Mark Znidar
The Columbus Dispatch
Those in attendance
had to wonder what
type of edge 15-year-
old Andrew Russell, a
5-foot-10 right-hander
with a medium build,
had to allow him throw a
shutout against what had
been an unbeatable team
in the state championship
game.
It might have been
two items he purchased
before his Warren Cham-
pion team got on a bus
bound for Huntington
Park, and a little talk with
a man he trusts.
“My pregame ritual is
eating a Snickers bar on
the bus and a Snickers bar
right before the game,’’
Russell said. “And I
always talk to my dad
before the game because
Upper Arlington players hoist the state championship trophy, their third straight title and
fourth in five years. [Barbara J. Perenic/Dispatch]
net. Schildmeyer and
Brenna Smith, who
each had a hat trick
with an assist, scored
1:05 apart for a 6-2
lead. Megan Kozar and
Anna Schildmeyer then
scored within 47 sec-
onds to give UA an 8-3
halftime advantage.
“We focused on
fastbreaks,” Olivia
Schildmeyer said. “A
lot of our goals were
scored before (Jackson)
he keeps me calm.’’
Russell fought through
one jam after another on
Saturday, stranding nine
runners and leading the
Golden Flashes to a stun-
ning 1-0 upset of Berlin
Hiland in a Division III
final.
Hiland (31-1) won the
2016 championship and
had a 47-game winning
streak.
“That was the No. 1
team in the state and
(Russell) is just a sopho-
more,’’ Champion coach
Rick Yauger said. “We
knew he was going to
battle for us every pitch
for every out in every
inning. I knew getting
him a run or two was big
because he’s a gamer. He
gave us everything he had
for seven innings.’’
Russell gave up seven
hits, walked two and
could get set up and we
were able to break the
space in the middle.
Kozar opened the
second half with a goal
28 seconds in, and
Olivia Schildmeyer had
her third less than three
minutes later.
“As we got more
comfortable with where
the movement was and
we started to see inside,
we saw some good
finishes, on a slip-cut
struck out eight. He got
out of trouble in the third
and fourth innings, when
Hiland had two on, and
in the fifth with the bases
loaded.
“I just took a deep
breath and treated it like
any other game, which
it was,’’ he said. “The
curveball definitely was
working and the inside
fastball was keeping them
jammed.’’
It appeared Hiland
might get a second
chance in the fifth when
umpires huddled after
catcher Michael Turner
caught a foul pop-up less
than a foot in front of the
backstop for the third
out. There was a question
of whether the ball had
hit the screen before the
catch.
“I got a little nervous,’’
Turner said. “I knew it
or coming in the middle
of the zone wide open,”
Pinta said. “That’s their
high-lax IQ to be able to
pick that apart.”
The Polar Bears’ zone
posed little threat and
the defense scrambled to
hold on, as it was called
for 32 fouls, 16 each half.
“Everything (UA)
had game-planned
for us, they executed
amazingly.” Jackson
coach John Kroah
didn’t hit the net, but I
guess they wanted to be
sure.”
Turner drove in the run
for Champion (27-3) with
a single to center with
two out in the bottom of
the first. Lucas Nasonti
was hit by a pitch leading
off and was bunted to
second.
Minster 2, Russia 1: Senior
right fielder Jon Niemeyer
drove in a run with a single
in the bottom of the sev-
enth inning to give Minster
(25-7) a walk-off victory in
the Division IV champion-
ship game.
The Wildcats won their
third title. They went back-
to-back in 2011 and ’12.
Russia (24-7) scored a run
in the top of the first on a
single by Evan Monnier. It
was the first time Minster
trailed in the tournament.
said. “They pulled us
out of the zone a little
bit and kept sending
those feeds in and were
extremely accurate.
They really took us to
the woodshed.”
Anna Schildmeyer
scored twice and
Brenna Smith added her
third goal over a three-
minute span late in the
second half.
Julia Hartnett led
Jackson (21-1) with two
goals and an assist, and
Megan Rea tallied the
final two goals of the
game. Grace Merrill
finished with six saves.
Libby Mislan made
six saves, five in the
first half, for the Golden
Bears, who won their
eighth state champion-
ship and fourth in the
last five years.
Cincinnati Indian Hill 13,
Chagrin Falls 12: Indian Hill
senior Sarah Price scored
off an assist from Lily
Lance with five seconds
left to defeat Chagrin Falls
in the Division II final. The
Tigers (17-5) headed into
the second half with a
two-goal lead and upped
it to 8-4, but the Braves
(22-10) had six goals over
eight minutes, led by
Minster made it 1-1 in the
fourth on a single by Adam
Knapke.
Tallmadge 4, Dayton Chami-
nade-Julienne 0: In Division
II, Jared Burick gave up
two hits and three walks
and struck out five in 6 1/3
innings, and first baseman
Scott Seeker drove in two
runs to lead Tallmadge
(25-7) over Dayton Chami-
nade-Julienne (22-5) for its
second championship.
The Devils scored in the
first when Phillip Glasser
singled to right, was bunted
to second by Seth Gergely
and scored on a single to
center by Seeker.
A sacrifice fly by Gergely
and single to center by
Seeker made it 3-0 in the
third. Jake Rensel drove
in the fourth run with a
two-out single to right in
the sixth.
Lance and Ellie Rabenold,
to take a 10-8 lead. Braves
keeper Emily Anderson
had six saves, and Tigers
keeper Macky Lurch two.
BOYS
Cincinnati Moeller 9, Cleve-
land St. Ignatius 8, 2OT:
After a scoreless first
overtime, Logan Dieball
scored the winning goal
with 3:34 to go in double-
OT to lift Cincinnati
Moeller over Cleveland
St. Ignatius in the Division
I final.
Moeller (17-7) rallied from
a 7-5 deficit to take an 8-7
lead on a goal by Bren-
dan Sigurdson with 4:08
left in the fourth quarter.
Riley Kinzel tied it for
Ignatius (14-8) less than
two minutes later to force
overtime.
Cincinnati Mariemont
9, Toledo St. Francis 4:
Mariemont keeper Daniel
Cascella went nearly 21
minutes in the third and
fourth quarters without
allowing a goal, and
finished with 10 saves to
lead the Warriors (19-3)
to the Division II title. Nick
Provenza led St. Francis
(18-6) with two goals.
aconn@dispatch.com
Massillon Jackson 8, Strongs-
ville 2: Massillon Jackson
(30-2) scored two early runs
and stretched the lead to
8-0 with three runs in both
the fourth and fifth innings
to defeat Strongsville (25-9)
and earn its second Division
I championship in four
years.
Dillon Dingler, an Ohio
State recruit, had an RBI
in the Polar Bears’ two-
run second inning, and he
doubled home a run in the
fifth. He finished 3 for 3 with
two RBI. 
The Mustangs responded
with two runs in the sixth
but couldn't bring across
any more.
Sophomore Yianni Skeriotis
got the win, allowing two
runs on six hits while going
the distance.
mznidar@dispatch.com
@MarkZnidar