LOUISVILLE — Gavin Casdorph was speechless while being swarmed by his Hillsdale teammates Friday evening.
The senior fanned four while twirling a shutout at Warren JFK (19-8) during Friday’s Division IV regional final at Louisville High School’s Andy Aljancic Field.
A 3-0 victory punched the Falcons’ ticket back to the Final Four. Hillsdale (19-11) was the Division IV state runner-up in 2019.
Pitching a complete game, Casdorph gave up five hits and walked one.
With two outs in the away half of the seventh, he forced a flyout from JFK’s Santino Ciambotti — gloved by Hillsdale’s Jack Fickes to end the game.
“I was speechless,” the senior said. “I just went crazy with my team. We’ve worked so hard to get here.”
Hillsdale coach Jason Snow’s face beamed with pride as he watched his team receive its regional final medals.
He said the Falcons have made significant progress since the start of the season.
“We’ve battled through some tough times toward the end of the year and we’ve figured it out,” Snow said. “We’re just playing clean baseball right now and that’s what we have to continue to do.”
Falcons survive JFK’s 2nd-inning rally
Scoreless through three innings, the Falcons struck first in the home half of the fourth.
A leadoff triple from Braylen Jarvis provided early momentum. Kael Lewis followed Jarvis with a double, driving in the Falcons’ first run.
Aiden Hoffman dropped an RBI single to center field — bringing home Lewis and increasing Hillsdale’s lead to 2-0.
The Falcons added a run in the fifth after retiring JFK 1-2-3 in the away half of the inning. Fickes scored from third via a sacrifice fly hit to center field by Owen Hoffman.
JFK struggled offensively after loading the bases in the second. Taggart Carfangia doubled to left field with two outs, striking the Eagles’ first hit of the game. Trevin Rinck reached first via a walk.
Nico Ciminero drilled a ground ball off the foot of Casdorph and beat out the throw to first — loading the bases with two outs in the away half of the second.
With two balls and two strikes, Casdorph struck out Ciambotti — ending JFK’s two-out rally.
JFK coach Jim Ciambotti said his team lacked a key hit during Friday’s regional final.
“We had multiple guys in scoring position. We just couldn’t get the big hit at the crucial time,” he said.
The Eagles defeated Tiffin Calvert 2-1 in ten innings late Thursday evening to reach Friday’s matchup with Hillsdale.
Ciambotti said the time between games was a non-factor in regards to Friday’s performance.
“Credit to their (Hillsdale) pitcher and credit to their team,” he said. “They had a tough game yesterday too, so that’s no excuse.”
Highlight reel
Hillsdale to face Fort Recovery in Division IV state semifinal
The Eagles finished Friday’s game with five hits. Carfangia led JFK with two hits from three at-bats. Caleb Hadley, Dominic Ryan and Ciminero all recorded a hit.
Jaden Rishel pitched 4.2 innings for the Eagles — giving up six hits and one earned run. He struck out two and walked one. Micheal Bartoe worked the final 1.1 inning.
Hillsdale managed six hits during Friday’s regional final. Brock Bower, Aiden Hoffman and Jarvis recorded two hits each. Fickes, Jarvis and Lewis each scored a run. Owen Hoffman, Aiden Hoffman and Lewis all tallied an RBI.
Casdorph pitched all seven innings for the Falcons — giving up five hits. He struck out four and walked a batter.
The senior said his teammates have helped prepare him to perform in crucial moments.
“My buddies, seniors and my whole team keep me up,” Casdorph said. “They keep me mentally focused and I’m prepared for anything with them.”
After the Falcons claimed a district crown, Snow said his team’s confidence began to grow.
“I think after the district game they felt like ‘Hey, we can do this,'” he said. “It added on yesterday and their confidence is building right now.”
Hillsdale will meet Fort Recovery in a Division IV state semifinal game at 4 p.m. June 8 at Akron’s Canal Park.
Fort Recovery defeated Leipsic 5-1 Friday in a Division IV regional final.
(Below are photos from Hillsdale’s 3-0 victory over Warren JFK on Friday evening at Andy Aljancic Field. Credit: Curt Conrad, staff reporter)
