OXFORD, Ohio – As St. Xavier and Oak Hills took the field at Hayden Park, one drought had to end. The Bombers hadn’t won a regional since 2003, a year they also took home the state title; the Highlanders sought their first regional title in 45 years. After huge swings of momentum in a classic championship bout, St. Xavier held off Oak Hills to win the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division I regional championship, 6-5. The win completes an incredible two year turnaround for
the Bombers, who won just 10 games in 2024 and are now two wins away from a state championship. “We came into a culture that needed to be adjusted and these seniors bought into it,” St. Xavier head coach Don DiGiacomo said. “They made it happen, this is all about St. Xavier baseball.” St. Xavier senior right fielder Dillon Brus, the Bombers all-time leader in steals, said the win marked a culmination of an entire season’s worth of effort. “It means everything. We worked incredibly
hard this season for this, Coach Jack and Coach D pushed us beyond our limits. Being able to do this again with Coach D, it really means a lot to all the boys,” Brus said. The win required a complete team effort. The Bombers’ senior Jack Ryan, playing first base just one day removed from a complete-game no-hitter against Elder, scored the first run of the game on a Logan Von Holle RBI single. Oak Hills’ leading hitter Will Kraus, a Wright State commit, knotted
things up with his RBI single to bring Adam Williamson home. The Bombers set a school record for steals, and that superior base running set up a commanding lead through the middle innings. Ryan was hit by a pitch to reach first, then stole second and third to put himself in position. Von Holle got on with a walk, and Griffin Doxey drove them both home with an RBI triple to deep left. One inning later, it was Dillon Brus with an RBI triple to
score Cameron Schaefer. St. Xavier suddenly held a commanding 4-1 lead with just three innings to play. Oak Hills, however, were no strangers to tight spots. In the regional semifinals against Mason, the Highlanders faced a 5-1 deficit in the fifth before rallying for an 11-5 win. Buoyed by the confidence of what had been, Oak Hills orchestrated yet another a tremendous fifth-inning comeback. Led by Kraus, Dax Redmon, and Logan Schreiber’s RBI singles, the Highlanders put up five hits and drove home four runs
to take a 5-4 lead. Oak Hills went through its entire lineup before finally bowing out to the bottom of the inning. “They’re gritty, we call them blue collar workers on the west side,” Oak Hills head coach Shawn Sowders said of his team’s comeback. “That says a lot about these guys. They bought into a new system, held themselves accountable, and they’re reaping the benefits now.” But the Bombers were far from out of it. DiGiacomo rightly said they were lucky to escape the
inning without giving up more runs, but relief pitcher Sam Vovak found his groove to secure the final strikeout. The Bombers just needed some offense to survive and advance. Where else could that come from than elite baserunning? After Brus hit a single, he stole his 35th and 36th bags of the year to sit on the corner. Brayden Bricking followed up with a single to tie it, putting the leading run on first. With sacrifice flies from Jackson Sharrard and Von Holle, the Bombers
cashed in for a 6-5 lead. “For us to come back and score those two to take the lead, we felt very good with Sam on the mound,” DiGiacomo said. “He doesn’t walk very many guys and had a high number of strikeouts, so we knew he was gonna be around the plate and they (Oak Hills) were going to have to earn it.” Vovak secured a pop out from Kraus, struck out Ethan Moeves, but let the tying run get on base with a
Redman single. That run would never score as the Bombers put out Schreiber on a ground ball to second, and the celebration was on. “Everybody played their part today. These are all brothers, and there’s nobody else I’d rather do it with,” Brus said. For Oak Hills, the loss brings a tremendous 23-8 season to a close. The Highlanders will graduate 10 seniors: Ethan Moeves, Dax Redman, Brady Kornmann, Evan Griffin, Adam Williamson, Anthony Young, Kellen Gantzer, Will Kraus, Brandon Arnold, and Brady Smith. Coach
Sowders praised their contributions to the team’s success. “They’ve set the standard very, very high,” Sowders said. St. Xavier, now 25-5, advances to the state semifinals to take on Olentangy Orange (24-5) at Akron’s 7 17 Credit Union Park on June 11. Brus says the team is confident in its abilities heading into the tournament. “We know what we’re capable of. If we play how we’re supposed to, we won’t lose. We’re just going to play how we play.”
St. Xavier, Oak Hills, Ohio High School Athletic Association, Division I regional championship, Dillon Brus, Don DiGiacomo, Sam Vovak, Hayden Park