West Branch ousts reigning champion

Warriors return to Final Four for first time since 1973

CANTON -- In the bottom of the seventh inning, with the season on the line, West Branch senior Jaxon Robb watched as the batter before him was walked intentionally.

Rather than feel insulted, Robb took it as a challenge. He sent the first pitch from Kenston's Bridger Bischof about 250 feet into left field, well over a drawn-in outfield, and Anthony Perry sped home from second base to give the Warriors a 2-1 victory over Kenston in the Division II baseball regional championship.

"I want to say I felt disrespected but I hadn't done anything this game so I would have done the same," Robb said of the Bombers' decision to walk Charlie Biskup, the previous batter. "It put some pressure on me, but I feel like whenever you feel pressure the faster you react to it the better."

West Branch (26-6) will play Wintersville Indian Creek (22-6) in a state semifinal Friday at 1 p.m. at Canal Park in Akron. It is the program's second appearance in the final four and the first since the 1973 team lost in the then-Class AA title game.

"It felt real good when I hit it and they were playing shallow," Robb said. "I rounded first and saw Perry score and saw the whole dugout running towards me ... it's just awesome. Somehow, I survived the dog pile. I felt a lot of weight but I made it out alive."

This West Branch team advanced thanks to a few well-timed hits and a gritty pitching performance by Perry (8-0), a junior who allowed six hits, walked one and hit three batters but got out of every jam after the first inning.

"He's been outstanding like that all year," West Branch pitching coach Shawn Alazaus said. "He was able to keep his composure and just keep pounding the [strike] zone. He does a great job of keeping the ball down and locating his fastball. He's not going to overpower you with his speed but he's intelligent, he's able to work in and out and he's tough to hit."

Kenston (15-16-1), the defending Div. II state champion (the Bombers also played for the Div. I title in 2022), got 6 1/3 innings from Bischof. He retired the first 10 batters he faced before Aaron Tucker smashed a double to right-center with one out in the fourth inning. Hunter Shields followed with an infield single -- Tucker couldn't advance -- and Beau Alazaus knocked a single to left field and Tucker had to stop at third.

Perry hit a grounder between first and second. He was thrown out but Tucker was able to score to tie the game at 1.

"We were just not being aggressive on [Bischof's] fastball," West Branch coach Rick Mulinix said, "and that could have been my fault. Our scouting report said he didn't have great control and to be patient. But today he was dialed in. But we made the adjustment and we got more aggressive on fastballs."

In the bottom of the seventh, Perry was hit by a pitch to lead off. He stole second and after Jeremiah Thomas flied out, Charlie Biskup was walked intentionally to set up a force play for the Bombers.

In stepped Robb, who played as a freshman but took the last two springs off. He missed a few games at the start of the season to recover from a basketball injury, then played second base regularly with a few pitching appearances sprinkled in.

Friday he came up with the biggest hit for Warriors' baseball in 51 years.

"The last summer game he ever played he came up in a tie game and got a base hit over the second baseman's head to win a tournament," Mulinix said. "That thought crossed my head and I walked up to him and said, 'this is why you came back out this year. You're going to get a pitch and put a swing on it.'"

Kenston, meanwhile, will lament its missed opportunities. The Bombers loaded the bases with one out in the top of the first but scored just the one run. They had baserunners in six innings but were just 1-for-8 with no RBIs with runners in scoring position.

Perry needed just 25 pitches over the final three innings and retired eight of the last nine hitters he faced.

"Just staying composed," Perry said. "Coach Alazaus and Hunter Shields, he's a great catcher, and they kept me composed."

The Warriors had five hits -- Tucker's double and singles by Shields, Alazaus, Biskup and Robb.

Bischoff led the Bombers with a pair of singles and Wes Toth's fielder's choice drove in Kenston's only run.

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