AKRON – Yes, Hiland had won three state titles prior in baseball and yes, it had two in a row coming into this year, but don’t tell that to this year’s seniors. They wanted one of their own, something they could say, that they left their impact on arguably one of the area’s richest in tradition programs.
In one the craziest sequences, Hiland used a seventh-inning rally to stun Lake Center Christian 5-4 to win the Division VI state title with junior Logan Yoder delivering the walk-off winner. That gave the Hawks their third consecutive state title and with that, they became just the third program in OHSAA history to accomplish the feat.
“That’s awesome,” said Hiland coach Chris Dages. “I am so happy for these guys, a lot of them have been a part of the last couple championships, but this one is theirs’s alone. That’s something special that they can take away and tell their kids about.”
Dages went on to talk about the run during the past three years and what’s made this program special.
“It’s been an amazing run,” he said. “From 2023, 2024 and 2025, we’ve had unbelievable teams. They’ve all loved playing with each other and for each other and had that special kind of dedication. They pushed each other in the offseason, during the season and made each other better. They know what it takes, they don’t let anyone slack off, because they don’t accept that. Especially the seniors, the older guys, they want to win, and they push the younger guys or drag them right along with them.”
For this year’s seniors, it was goal that hatched last offseason with the goal, to win a state title of their own.
“We 100 percent wanted this,” said senior shortstop Keith Hershberger. “Some of us didn’t get to play a lot coming up, because of how talented the program is. Last summer, it started in summer ball, we played confident baseball and into the fall we lifted and hit. We did all the things we could do to prepare; we were hungry coming out and it feels good to end it on top.”
All that dedication culminated in what Hershberger and his fellow seniors ultimately wanted, to hoist a state championship trophy of their own. On Sunday, they got to do exactly that, even with a little help from the class below them in form of Yoder.
“It means the world to me,” said Yoder about his walk off hit to clinch the win to help send the senior class off the field with the win. “I love these seniors, they’ve put in so much work and so much effort, so to be able to help them out and end their season and careers on a win is bigger than life.”
And making it better.
“Absolutely, the biggest hit of my career,” Yoder smiled.
Colin Coblentz didn’t hesitate when asked which state title meant the most to him.
“This one, it has to be,” he laughed. “This last one, it’s a lot of fun, it was definitely a scary game, but it’s the best.”
Did the heroics at the end have any impact on Coblentz’s grading scale or the fact he faulted himself for why the team was in the jam?
“It sure does, it makes it way more special,” added Coblentz. “Obviously I was very stressed, it was all my fault, I knew it was, so it made it so much better, I was so much happier when everything went well, and I can’t do anything but thank the Lord.”
And becoming just the third program in OHSAA history, let that sink for a minute or two.
“It just means a lot, it’s really humbling,” said Hershberger. “We worked hard; it doesn’t happen by accident and it’s a great example to everyone outside the program. It just goes to show hard we work and how much we put into it.
“It feels great, to do a three-peat. I realize that not a lot of people have had the opportunity to do this, so just trying to take it all in and to end my high school career, there is no better way that we could end it.”
Coblentz couldn’t have agreed more.
“I am grateful for everything that we’ve had,” he said. “All the fun that we’ve had with this group of guys, it’s been a crazy year, but I am very grateful for it. I wouldn’t want to do it with any other group of guys.”
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