Olentangy Orange baseball falls to St. Xavier in OHSAA state semifinal

AKRON – The Olentangy Orange baseball team’s bid for its first state title ended with a 5-0 loss to Cincinnati St. Xavier in a Division I semifinal June 11 at 7 17 Credit Union Park.

>St. Xavier pitcher Jack Ryan, a Boston College commit, went the distance, limiting the Pioneers to three hits – all in the first three innings. He struck out eight and walked one.

>The Bombers (26-5) play Cincinnati Moeller for the championship at 4 p.m. June 12 in Akron.

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>Orange (24-6) was making its third state tournament appearance and first since 2023. The Pioneers also reached state in 2017.

>In a game that pitted two aces in Ryan and Orange senior Reid Hemrick, an unlikely player emerged as a star at the plate for St. Xavier in sophomore Dominic Dials. A .245 hitter entering the game, Dials hit his first two home runs of the season.

>The left-handed hitter led off the bottom of the third with a homer to right to open the scoring and hit a two-run homer to right in the fourth for a 3-0 lead.

>Dillon Brus added a two-run triple in later in the fourth.

>Hemrick, a Toledo commit, went five innings, allowing five runs on five hits with three strikeouts and four walks. Mason Poulter threw two scoreless innings in relief.

class="exclude-from-newsgate">(This story will be updated.)

>High school sports reporter Frank DiRenna can be reached at fdirenna@dispatch.com and at @DispatchFrank on X.

>This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Olentangy Orange falls to St. Xavier in OHSAA baseball state semifinal