'Trusting the process' leads Whiteoak Wildcats to Elite Eight

LANCASTER — Trusting the process seems to be working just fine for the Whiteoak Wildcats, as a three-run rally in the top of the sixth, followed by stifling defense in the final two innings, has led them to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history. The Wildcats defeated the Toronto Red Knights by a 4-3 score at Beavers Field in Lancaster in the Division IV Regional Semifinals.

Not only were the No. 1 state-ranked Whiteoak (27-2) bats hot in the sixth inning, but starting pitcher Evan Brill tossed a complete game for the victory. Brill and the Wildcats’ defense held off the Red Knights in the bottom of the sixth inning, with a double play to end a potential scoring threat. In the seventh, Toronto (20-5-1) threatened by scoring one run, but a fly ball to right field, a pop up to the pitcher and a pop up to catcher Billy Oliver sealed the win for Whiteoak.

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Brill finished the game pitching seven innings, allowing three runs on five hits, one walk and two hit batters. For the season, Brill improves to 9-0 overall and has pitched 54.1 innings on the season. On Thursday, he threw 93 pitches.

As for the aforementioned top of the sixth inning for the Wildcats, their three-run, go-ahead inning began with Chase Butler singling to right field, followed by a six-pitch walk forced by Ryan Roberts.

Then came the biggest hit of the Whiteoak season, as Traeten Hamilton, on an 0-2 count, doubled to right centerfield, scoring both Butler and Roberts to push the Wildcats ahead by a 3-2 score. In the ensuing at-bat, Chase Carraher reached first base on an infield error by the Toronto third baseman, and two batters later, with two outs, Brill (on a 1-1 count) singled to shallow right field to score Carraher for the 4-2 lead.

"Traeten's hit was a seed. Give credit to that kid, he’s down two strikes in that clutch situation and he’s facing an Ohio State commit on the mound, their best, and gets the ball and just owns it. It’s as clutch as it gets," Whiteoak head coach Chris Veidt said. "Our kids have just been so resilient this year, trusting the things that we do, trusting that things are going to work out for them in the long run. They faced one of the top two teams in the state physically today."

Veidt also spoke about Brill's hit in the sixth and how the Wildcats didn't listen to any critics. 

"The thing is, Evan was fighting off that two-strike single there, that’s a two-out run and that’s huge. We did a great job all day getting the leadoff man on," Veidt said. "Mason Lehr, getting the runner over there early to third base, allowed us to score the first run. It was Wildcat baseball at its finest, and the most impressive thing is kids are social media fanatics, so they were fed some negativity this week. There was a faction of people that didn’t give us a chance in this game.

"We talked about that coming into it: trust the process. Trust yourself. Embrace the positive, flush the negative, have your buddy’s back. We did. A lot of things about today were surreal. A lot of things are coming together. In my mind, this is a good baseball team that’s won 27 games, so it wasn’t any fluke. We just buckled down, and we were at our best when we had to be our best. That’s what champions do."

For the game, the Wildcats were led by Butler — the No. 8 batter in the order — with a 2-for-3 day at the plate with one run, and Hamilton, who finished 2-for-2 with one walk, an intentional walk and two RBI.

WHS totaled six hits in the regional semifinal with Brill going 1-for-2 with a walk, one run and one RBI. Trever Yeager was 1-for-3 with an RBI. Chase Carraher drew a walk and scored one run, while Roberts collected one run.

Though the Wildcats gained the momentum and lead in the later innings of their game with Toronto, it was the Red Knights — who were the regional champions one year ago — who led through five innings of play by a 2-1 lead.

Whiteoak was first to get a run on the Beavers Field scoreboard with Brill leading off the top of the second with a six-pitch walk. Brill stole second base and moved to third on a ground out by Mason Lehr. The first run scored by the Wildcats crossed home plate followed a sacrifice fly to right field off the bat of Yeager, allowing Brill to score for the 1-0 lead.

Toronto scored their first two runs in the bottom of the second inning, beginning with a lead-off double to left field by Lucas Gulczynski, who took third base on a wild pitch. With one out, Zach Gulczynski hit an RBI line drive single to centerfield to score Lucas Gulczynski and went to second on an errant throw to first base on a pickoff attempt.

Zach Gulczynski scored the Red Knights’ second run off a two-out base hit to centerfield by AJ Clegg for the 2-1 advantage.

After Whiteoak took the 4-2 lead, the Red Knights weren’t going down without a fight with Zach Gulczynski forcing a lead-off walk in the bottom of the seventh inning. He took second base on a wild pitch, which caused Whiteoak head coach Chris Veidt to call for a mound visit.

"Getting back to Evan and his composure – the leadoff hitter’s up, right. Quite frankly, the guy we retired here at the end, that’s the No. 9 hitter. We know coming up at the top of the order is Karaffa, the Ohio State commit," Veidt said. "Getting back to the beginning of the inning, talk about a kid (Brill) keeping his composure in the tightest situation he’s been in all year – he’s got two strikes on the kid. He throws a curveball and a fastball, just off the plate. What’s he do? He flushes that negative moment, throws a couple wild pitches, kid scores, he keeps his composure, battles and we’re out of the inning.

"I just went out there just to be sure because you never are (sure). I went out there early and said ‘hey, guys, sometimes that inner warrior dialogue is turned up too high,’ just to make sure we were down to about a 4, and we were. That last situation, even that much more clutch, I’m out there talking to Evan. I’m like ‘Evan, turn the dial down a hair. Let’s just relax, throw and catch and play our game. That run doesn’t mean anything. If that guy gets to first base, let’s turn another double play – we’ve already turned two today – and whatever happens, happens.’

"Everything I said to him: ‘Trust the process. Visualize success.’ He said ‘Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.’ I knew we were in good shape. If we were going to get beat, it was because they were better physically, not because they were stronger mentally."

Following the mound visit, Zach Gulczynski moved to third on a fly ball to right field and then scored on another wild pitch for a 4-3 score. After the run, the final two outs were recorded with a pop up to the pitcher Brill and a pop up to the catcher Oliver to send the Wildcats to their first-ever regional final game.

The pitching loss was charged to Nolan Clegg, who pitched six innings in the start. Pitching in the seventh inning was Nate Karaffa. Clegg allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits and four walks, as he also struck out four. Karaffa pitched one inning, allowing no runs, one hit, one walk, one intentional walk and striking out two batters, working out of a bases-loaded situation to end the inning with a called third strike.

Toronto — who were the No. 4 state-ranked team in Division IV — finishes 3-1 in the postseason. In the sectional finals, as the No. 1 seeded team in the East District, Toronto won by a 16-0 score over No. 14 seeded Newcomerstown. Next, in the district semifinals, the Red Knights won against No. 4 seeded Catholic Central, 9-1, and then in the district finals this past Wednesday, the Red Knights defeated No. 7 seeded Strasburg-Franklin by a 6-0 score.

Next for the Whiteoak Wildcats is the regional finals on Friday, May 25 against Eastern Meigs, who won their regional semifinal over Centerburg by an 8-3 score Thursday. Eastern (27-2) and Whiteoak met previously this season, with Eastern winning by a 5-3 score. The regional final game will begin at 5 p.m. at Beavers Field in Lancaster.

"It’s special. It’s a special moment," Veidt said about reaching the regional finals. "A lot of head coaches don’t get the opportunity to feel this feeling, and it’s emotional. It really is because you think about all the years and the toil and the kids that have made it – and the past kids, the administration, the community, the parents that have made it all possible. They’re a big part of it.

"It’s a big win, but it’s not our final win. We’ve got to come back tomorrow and work our magic again and trust the process and believe in ourselves. We’re going to enjoy this tonight. We really are. I mean, you have to. But in the end, we’re going to show up tomorrow to pitch well and play Wildcat baseball, and that’s what it’s all about."