'Muy feliz': Waynedale wins state championship on walk-off hit in extras

AKRON — The words from Otto Solorzano needed no translation.

His smile — and the smiles painted on the faces of his teammates and hundreds of people from the community — spoke a language that could be understood anywhere in the world.

The smile of much-needed joy during a dark time. The smile of something bigger than just another victory. The smile of a state championship that will echo across Wayne County and all of Ohio.

Solorzano was one of many heroes during Waynedale's 2-1 win over Milan Edison in the Division III state championship game, bringing the Golden Bears their first state title in program history — a state championship that will be remembered for much more than the tremendous feat alone.

"Muy feliz," Solorzano repeated over and over after the game.

Muy feliz — the Spanish words for very happy —indeed.

Connor Gatti's two-out, bases-loaded single was the hit that will live on in Waynedale history, taking an 0-2 fastball from Edison starter Ben Bates up the middle to bring Josiah Raber across the plate. His teammates mobbed Gatti in the infield as he lived out the dream scenario of anyone who's played a baseball game.

"Everyone dreams of this," Gatti said. "As a kid you watch games like this and you're like, 'Bottom of the seventh, bases loaded and two outs.' You come up to the plate and you win the state championship, everyone dreams of this. It doesn't feel real."

Just a day earlier, Gatti, Raber and the rest of the Bears attended calling hours for Deegan Bee, their high school classmate who died Wednesday due to injuries sustained in a car accident. Bee in the hearts and minds of the Bears as they took the field during their games in Akron this week. And he was in their hearts and minds as they lifted the championship trophy high above their heads.

"It feels like this was about a lot more than a state championship," Raber said. "It's hard to describe how it feels. It's more than just a trophy.

"This week was full of ups and downs. Early in the week, we were all struggling a little bit, knowing what we had to look forward to on the weekend, but knowing what our friend was going through. It was tough."

The state championship wasn't just about them. It was their tribute to Bee, who was golf teammates with Bears starters Ean Miller and Trey Barkman. It was a healing moment for the community, but especially the guys in the dugout on Saturday.

"I know Deeg always wanted to be a state champion," said Miller, who was neighbors with Bee as well. "He's an athlete. I wanted to win this one for him. I could feel him up there."

Miller made several big plays in the field, including a tough catch in the top of the eighth that prevented Edison from scoring. With two outs and runners on first and second, Edison's Hayden Fry sent a fly ball into left field no-man's land between Miller and leftfielder Ian Lehman. Miller tracked it down on the run to stop one of Edison's best scoring chances in its tracks.

The Waynedale defense, combined with another gem from Solorzano on the mound, made sure the Bears had a chance to win it in the eighth.

Solorzano pitched all eight innings for the Bears, allowing nine hits, but walking nobody and striking out seven. Even with runners on base during six of the innings, Solorzano was able to repeatedly go after hitters and work his way out of jams.

"Otto's composure as a sophomore — he does not get rattled easily and he makes good pitches with runners on base," Waynedale coach Lucas Daugherty said. "He really was tough the whole game to give us a chance."

Baseball has helped Solorzano's transition to the United States greatly after he moved from Nicaragua to Wayne County before the 2021-22 school year.

"It's been really good to have support here," Solorzano said, with Rhonda Jarquin translating. "The coaches have been a huge support. The players have been a huge support. It's been a really good experience."

A head's-up play in the sixth by Raber stalled another potential scoring chance from the Chargers. With no outs and pinch runner Hayden Fox on first base, cleanup batter Fry came up to the plate. He softly fouled off a pitch right in front of Raber, who caught it and immediately threw toward first to catch Fox off the bag.

Raber's throw went wide and the ball flew into right field as Fox ran to second. But there was one problem — Fox never went back to touch first base. Waynedale second baseman Dylan Raber calmly threw the ball over to his catcher, who journeyed all the way from behind the plate to first base over the course of the play, for the odd 2-9-4-2 double play.

"I saw that he didn't touch (first base), and I knew that all I had to do was get down there," Josiah Raber said. "I wanted to get down there myself because it's hard to relay that across the field. ... (Dylan Raber) was head's up enough to throw it over to me."

Josiah Raber saved perhaps the best baseball of his high school career for his final three games, going 8-for-10 during the regional final, state semifinal and state final, scoring six of Waynedale's 14 runs over that stretch, including both against Edison.

Before scoring the game-winner, Raber reached home in the first inning, scoring on a throwing error after reaching via fielder's choice. That gave Waynedale a 1-0 lead until Edison's Thomas Simon drove in Bryce Michaelis in the fifth on single to shallow right field.

Dylan Raber was the only Bear with two hits in the state final.

On a team without a first-team or second-team All-Ohio player — No. 3 hitter Jay Mast earned honorable mention honors earlier in the week — the Bears got it done with contributions from everyone.

Edison's Bates put together a championship-worthy performance of his own opposite Solorzano, pitching the entire way for the Chargers, allowing six hits and striking out nine.

Waynedale, which finished the season on a 26-game winning streak after a 4-4 star became the second Wayne County school to win a baseball title, joining Northwestern, which won championships in 1966 and 1959. It had been a while.

And the timing couldn't have been any better.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Wayndale wins Division III state baseball title on walk-off hit