OV Baseball Makes History with Trip to Sectional Championship
Photo by Keith Stewart
Okaw Valley pitcher Peyton Hagerman thrusts his fist into the air after tallying the game-winning strikeout of Wednesday's sectional semi-final against Oakwood.
Staple T-Wolf defense and pitching keep hold of 1-0 win
May 27, 2015
by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com
In football, senior Joe Jeffers was known as “Jumping Joe” for his often aerial grabs as a tight-end. In baseball, he might as well be called “Jackrabbit Joe,” especially after his helmet flew off as he careened past second base Wednesday following his shot to deep right field for a triple. The next at-bat, Peyton Hagerman, sent Jeffers home on an RBI groundout, which would be the one and only run of the game as Okaw Valley defeated Oakwood 1-0 to advance to Saturday’s sectional championship.
“Joe’s triple was the offensive story of the game,” said Okaw Valley head coach Andrew Hagerman. “Devon (Still) was outstanding all day long. Peyton (Hagerman) had an outstanding game. You’re talking about a lot of seniors coming through today.”
Still took the mound for OV to start and would go 5 and 1/3 innings, throwing 85 pitches, which included eight strikeouts, one walk, one hit-by-pitch, and just four hits. Hagerman came in with a high-pressure situation at hand as Oakwood had bases loaded with just one out. The senior would strikeout the next batter in what may have been the second-most pivotal play of the game. The third out then came from the big glove of left-fielder Cody Drake, who had to track the fly ball in the wind.