'We knew we had something special': Norwayne wins first district title in 20 years
CRESTON — In many ways, Norwayne escaped during the district semifinals earlier in the week.
The Bobcats had to rally from multiple deficits to beat perennial winner Canton Central Catholic in eight innings, extending their season with a walk-off hit from Lucas Dudte.
Norwayne wasn’t about to let that opportunity go to waste Wednesday.
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The top-seeded Bobcats won their first district title since 2004 in commanding fashion, jumping on Manchester from the start in a 12-2 five-inning victory. Norwayne moves on to next week’s regional semifinals at Massillon Washington High School to face Perry. Norwayne and Perry play Thursday, May 30 at 2 p.m. followed Waynedale versus South Range in the 5 p.m. game.
"It feels amazing," Norwayne senior Mike Steingass said. "This is a special group of guys. From day one of the offseason, we knew we had something special. It's awesome that we could come through like this.
"But the job's not finished."
It was a break through for a Norwayne program that has enjoyed major regular-season success — three straight Wayne County Athletic League titles — over the past few years without the postseason hardware it really wanted. This team had all the tools to be a regional team and realized it quickly against Manchester.
"I always looked in the gym and saw the banner — 2004 was the last (district title)," Norwayne senior Beau Polen said. "I knew that three-peating the WCAL wasn't enough. We wanted to go for districts and now we want to go for regionals."
Unlike Monday when Central Catholic plated four runs in the first inning, this time it was Norwayne putting on all the pressure, hitting the ball all over the field to jump out to a 6-0 lead in the first. Polen, Steingass, Ashton Snyder, Logan Dichler and Garrett Schmidt all had hits in the first inning, with the first five Norwayne batters all reaching base and scoring.
The Bobcats didn’t relent from there, scoring four runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth, including a bases-loaded hit by pitch with Polen at the plate to score Trey Balis and end the game early.
With a lineup and pitching staff loaded with multi-year varsity players, Norwayne is making the most of a season that’s been years in the making. Eight different players had hits against Manchester and two pitchers — Beau Polen and Dan Steingass — combined to limit the Panthers lineup.
"From day one, their leadership really stood out to me," first-year Norwayne coach Joe Gilmore said. "(I knew) this was going to be a fun team to work with. ... We won our league, we won sectionals, we won districts. We're checking off all the boxes."
Polen got the start in place of normal No. 2 starter Mike Steingass, who is still recovering from an ankle injury. He picked up the win in just three innings, striking out three and allowing five hits.
"I did it for Mike, because he should have been the one starting," Polen said. "It ended up being me. I knew I had a good defense behind me. ... I was just throwing strikes and letting my defense take care of it. And my offense helped me out really well."
Polen (Norwayne's leadoff hitter), Dylan Tanner (No. 6) and Mason Moyer (No. 9) all had two hits against the Panthers. Middle-of-the-order batters Steingass, Snyder and Dichler each drove in two runs.
That kind of depth makes Norwayne a tough out the rest of the way. During its 11-game winning streak, the Bobcats have scored five runs or more nine times.
"We're really confident about one through nine," Polen said. "Even some of the people on the bench could go right in and we'd be confident. We have like 11 guys who can hit the ball."
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Baseball: Norwayne wins first district title in 20 years
