Hoban set to return several baseball starters next season with state championship pedigree

The Archbishop Hoban baseball team experienced a range of emotions over the weekend in the Division II state tournament at Canal Park.

Hoban earned an exciting 4-3 win over Hamilton Badin (26-7) in a state semifinal on Friday and then lost 8-5 to Chardon (24-10) in the state final on Saturday night.

The Knights led the Hilltoppers 5-3 through five innings, but a five-run sixth inning propelled Chardon to its first baseball state title.

Final baseball game in 2022: Chardon tops Hoban in Division II baseball state championship game

Hoban won its first baseball state title last year at Canal Park by defeating Bloom-Carroll 2-1 in 10 innings and was six outs away from repeating as the Division II state champ.

The Knights players and coaches received medals and the state runner-up trophy, watched the Hilltoppers players and coaches receive medals and the state championship trophy and then exchanged hugs and reflected on the 2022 season.

"To be here [in the state championship game] back-to-back is absurd," Hoban senior catcher Nolan Holmgren said moments later. "... It didn't end the way we wanted it to, but to go from my freshman year to almost going back-to-back is a really big accomplishment, not just for me, but as a program, too. That was the first time in school history we ever won a state title in baseball and it means a lot."

Senior star behind the plate: Archbishop Hoban pitching staff reaps rewards because of catcher Nolan Holmgren

Holmgren, second baseman-pitcher Shawn Parnell, pitcher-outfielder Caleb Kepler, shortstop Matt Terzola, pitcher Landon Ladany and outfielder Max Alexander graduated from Hoban in May. All six were on the roster in 2021 when Hoban won a state title.

"We have a group of guys that are always working for each other," Hoban coach Andrew Bonnette said. "They have picked up everything we have thrown at them. I know every program works hard, and we really do grind and work very hard. It is sad it is ending this way for a group of guys who work as hard they do. That is just what we will live with.

"We lost to a great group in Chardon. Their coaching staff, their players — nothing but class across the board. If we are going to lose to somebody, that is a great ball team. They hit the snot out of the ball."

Hoban pitchers Ladany, freshman Andrew Karhoff, junior Luke Driscoll and Parnell struggled with their control and combined to hit eight Chardon batters and walk two. The Hilltoppers finished with 10 hits.

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Hoban sophomore Noah LaFine and senior Caleb Kepler were not available Saturday after pitching in Friday's win over Badin.

"Baseball is such a hindsight sport, especially when somebody goes out there and isn't successful," Bonnette said. "We had a couple of guys who came into this game and had never been a part of a game like this before. They were just trying to eat up an out or two and make it to the next inning and survive. It just didn't work out for us."

Hoban finished this season 23-10 after posting a 24-9 record last season.

Chardon's five-run sixth featured three hits, three hit batters, a wild pitch and three strikeouts. Sophomore Leo Colombi and senior Christian Hall each singled and scored a run, and junior Ethan Faber, sophomore Will Francis and junior Nolan Kirsh were hit by pitches and all scored.

Hall's single scored Colombi, Kirsh plated Faber, Francis scored on a wild pitch and Hall and Kirsh came around on a two-run single by junior Jake Barker, who is former Cleveland pitcher Len Barker's youngest son.

Freshman Stone Fawcett, Faber and senior Kyle Maronde scored runs earlier in the game for Chardon. Fawcett hit a double and Maronde smacked a triple before scoring.

"We hit top to bottom [in the lineup], one through nine," Chardon coach Brian Long said. "... That is a great Hoban team. That is so much talent over there, but we earned this. We worked very hard for this. This is a special group."

Chardon junior Brandon Fatur pitched 2⅔ innings in relief to get the win. Hall started the game and allowed four runs in 2⅓ innings, gave way to Fatur and then returned to the mound to pitch a scoreless sixth and seventh to record a save.

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Bonnette liked how his players competed.

"A one-game playoff with all of the stress, there is no replacement for experience," Bonnette said. "When you have playoff experience and you have been here before, now those kids go off to their next team and their next program and they are better for it. I am happy for our kids that they have been able to experience this and take it to the next level."

Four Hoban seniors have finalized their plans to play college baseball: Holmgren (Marshall), Parnell (Cincinnati), Terzola (Baldwin Wallace) and Alexander (Hiram).

"This one is definitely going to hurt, but we gotta move on and we gotta progress and use this as a stepping stone to get better," Holmgren said.

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Kepler plans to continue his studies at Ohio University.

"The senior class, I feel like we left a very monumental mark on the program," Kepler said. "We had a losing record our freshman year [at 9-15], and now we are back in the state championship game for the second year in a row. We are grateful for that, and I think we left the younger kids off in a very good place. There is a lot of experience coming back and there is no doubt in my mind that they will be back next year. I don't think the program is going anywhere."

Senior star on the mound: Love that jokester: Archbishop Hoban's chemistry comes in all facets thanks to Caleb Kepler

Hoban is slated to return several key players next season, including Karhoff, junior third baseman Nate Shimmel, junior first baseman Zack Zimmerman, sophomore pitcher Noah LaFine (Vanderbilt recruit), sophomore center fielder Parker Falkenstein (Wright State recruit), sophomore left fielder Michael Ciavolella, sophomore right fielder Masud Jennings, and freshman outfielder-pitcher Jordan Kievman.

"It is pretty incredible that we have made it to the state championship game two times in a row, but next year we have got to come out stronger than ever because we are losing a lot of great seniors," said Falkenstein, who delivered a single in the third against Chardon to bring home Zimmerman and Parnell.

Falkenstein also hit a single in the third inning against Badin to score junior pinch runner Colin Coyne and Zimmerman after Shimmel worked a walk to bring in Ciavolella. 

Zimmerman added an RBI single that scored Jennings in the first against Badin.

LaFine got the win against Badin after pitching 4⅔ innings. He allowed two earned runs and four hits, hit one, walked four and struck out six. Kepler allowed two hits, walked one and struck out one in 2⅓ innings to earn a save.

Sophomore star on the mound: Noah LaFine is Archbishop Hoban's postseason pitching ace

Ciavolella, Falkenstein and LaFine completed their second year as starters. Kievman and Karhoff have bright futures, too.

"At first, it was a little bit intimidating to play as a freshman on varsity, but as I got to know my teammates, I started to feel more and more comfortable with them because they are all great guys," said Kievman, who hit a triple to score Parnell and then scored on a single by Terzola in the second inning against Chardon.

"It was a fun season to play with them. I worked hard and grinded my way and did my thing. ... There are a lot of great guys on our team, so it is really hard to earn a spot. I am going to keep grinding and work on my swing and my fundamentals in the offseason to get better for the upcoming seasons."

Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Beaven on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBeavenABJ.

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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Hoban set to return several baseball starters next season