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Toronto to play for state championship

By From staff reports 2 min read
Toronto’s Nate Karaffa makes a throw to first for an early out during Friday’s OHSAA Division IV state tournament semifinal contest against Antwerp Friday at Canal Park in Akron. Also shown is Toronto’s Nick Sninchak. (Photo by Joe Catullo)

AKRON -- The Toronto baseball team will play for a state championship on Sunday.

The Red Knights earned a spot in Division IV championship game with a 8-0 win over Antwerp on Friday night at Canal Park in Akron.

The start of the game was delayed for more than 90 minutes by a Divison I semifinal between Cleveland St. Ignatius and Hilliard Darby going a tournament record 13 innings.

Once the game got started, Zac Berger opened the scoring in the top of the second with an RBI single to make it 1-0.

Brendan Matyas stole third base and scored on an error in the top of the third, then Nate Karaffa doubled and scored on another error to push the lead to 3-0.

Berger led off the top of the fourth with a single, then scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-0.

Karaffa hit a bases-clearing triple with two out in the top of the seventh inning to make it a 7-0 lead, then a two-out, RBI single by Nick Sninchak pushed the advantage to 8-0.

AJ Clegg continued his strong tournament with a complete game shutout, fanning seven batters.

The Red Knights (26-5), ranked sixth in the final AP Poll, will face No. 4 Jeromesville Hillsdale (23-2) at 1 p.m. on Sunday for the state championship.

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