A Historic Run Ends
The Bishop Fenwick baseball team saw its historic season conclude on a rainy night in Akron, falling 5-1 to Sandusky Perkins in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division IV state championship game, a victory that secured Perkins' first state championship in its fourth all-time trip to the Final Four.
Coach Doc Wieland, who guided the Falcons through a remarkable turnaround, praised the squad’s resilience, noting that the team’s growth and maturity were evident throughout the campaign despite the final score.
Perkins’ starting pitcher Braxden Martin delivered a complete game, scattering six hits while striking out five, but the Falcons found a spark in the fifth inning when Carter Shouse exited with arm discomfort, prompting Caleb McMonigle to step in and pitch 4.2 innings of relief.
Fenwick answered with a run in the fifth, courtesy of a two-out single by Hudson Kreke and a timely double from McMonigle, but the Pirates answered back with an insurance run that proved decisive.
The Falcons’ seniors — Jackson Kauffman, Michael Kelchner, Jude McCullough, Caleb McMonigle, Ty Miller and Boyd Westerfield — took their final bow on the field, capping a run that included a seven-game winning streak to reach the championship.
Though the loss stings, Wieland emphasized that the experience will serve as a foundation for future success, and the community remains proud of a team that rewrote its own story.