Pirates drop district final heartbreaker, 7-6, in 9 innings

Kevin Colley, The Portsmouth Daily Times, OhioThu, May 28, 2026·9 min read

CHILLICOTHE — There are always games out there in every postseason where two teams battle as if they both should be representing a particular district at the regional or state level.

Tuesday evening's OHSAA Division IV District Championship Game between the Logan Elm Braves' and Wheelersburg Pirates' baseball programs was certainly as high-quality of a district title game as one could hope to find.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

Up 3-0 through two innings of work following RBI singles by Brady Doss and Cameron Conn and an RBI groundout by Drew Holland, Wheelersburg looked as if it would run away with the district title early.

Logan Elm, however, punched right back by sending 11 batters up in a six-run third frame that gave the Braves a 6-3 advantage after three innings of work.

But countering with resolve as they have many times in the past, Wheelersburg came back to match Logan Elm with three runs in the bottom of the third inning as a two-RBI single by Conn and an RBI base knock by Holland tied the game at six runs each.

Through clutch pitching and defensive plays by both squads, the game remained tied all the way to the bottom of the ninth, where Logan Elm ultimately grabbed the upper hand as Zane Seimer's two-out single to left field drove in what was the game-winning run as the Pirates' season ended to the Braves in a OHSAA Division IV District Championship Game that was held at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

Despite the setback, Wheelersburg head coach Derek Moore said that the barnburner of a contest, which featured 13 runs on 17 hits between both sides with just one defensive error through nine innings of work, capped off a year that he said was the most fun that he's ever had in coaching.

"In the time that I've coached baseball, this was the most fun that I've had," Moore said. "I couldn't be more proud of the guys for how hard they played. (Tuesday evening's) district final provided games and situations that you dream of playing in. Logan Elm were able to just get one more big hit than we were. It's hard to fathom that this is over, because this was such a fun group to coach and we lose three great seniors. This loss is going to sting for a while, but we have a lot to look forward to and a lot of great talent coming back as well. Our guys should certainly hold their heads up high. We're extremely proud as a coaching staff of how the guys attacked and approached things (on Tuesday)."

Following a three-up and three-down inning by the Braves, Wheelersburg wasted no time getting on the scoreboard in the early portion of the contest. The Pirates ripped off consecutive hits from Holland, Doss and Andrew Tabor in the first inning to plate a run as Doss' base hit to center field allowed Holland to score the game's opening run.

Wheelersburg then followed that first frame up by puttting each of its first four batters on in the second inning, as Dylan Bundy's single through the right side was followed by an error and a walk to load the bases, leading to an RBI single by Conn and an RBI groundout by Holland to push the Pirates' lead to a 3-0 margin early on.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

Unfazed, Logan Elm struck with a big third inning as the Braves, in addition to sending 11 batters to the plate, got four singles, drew two walks and had a hit batter in the inning.

As a result, the Braves went from down three to up three — as Logan Elm took a 6-3 advantage heading into the bottom of the third frame of action.

But after getting two outs against it, Wheelersburg not only timed up Seimer, the Braves' starting pitcher, but reliever Kelton Bennington as the Pirates kept on trucking in a resilient third frame.

Bundy, for the second time in as many at-bats, reached with a single to get things moving, and after a bases loaded walk by Owen Wilburn, Tanner Scior was hit by a pitch.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

This turned the lineup over to Conn, the team's leadoff hitter, and Holland, the two-hole hitter. They proceeded to do their part as Conn drove in a pair of runs with a single to dead center, while Holland drove a single to left field to tie the score at six apiece.

"To respond the way that we did in the bottom of the third — that's not easy," Moore said. "It takes a great deal of courage and guts to be resilient and battle back. The guys did a great job of having a short-term memory. Earlier in the year, we would've struggled to do that, but these guys didn't let the top of the third snowball into anything else. I'm so proud of how they didn't sulk and kept working. It was a great game to be a part of. The growth from our players throughout the season was incredible to watch," Moore said. "We gave up a big inning where it felt like nothing could go right, but the effort to battle back and tie the game just shows the competitiveness of our guys and how they've grown together throughout the year."

The rest of the game proved to be a defensive slugfest.

Russell, who was relieved by Tanner Scior on the mound in the third inning, helped in a big way. In the fifth inning, Russell caught all three balls hit to him in the frame while playing center fielder, looking like a pure natural in doing so as Russell moved to his right and reached out to catch a hard-hit baseball to deep center field by Bennington for the first out of the fifth, then moved to his left to do the same with Seimer's well-hit ball center to end the inning.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

In the process of making those two catches in particular, Russell arguably saved a run and possibly a big inning from occurring in keeping the game tied at six.

"Bransyn Russell hadn't played outfield his entire life prior to this year, but we knew that as talented as he was as a freshman, he could do some special things," Moore said. "We already knew that he would be a big piece to our pitching staff, but we stuck him there thinking that he would be a good fit this year, and he really grew with each passing game. He made two phenomenal plays out there in center field."

With the game still tied at six heading into the seventh, Drew Holland may have only topped Russell's two defensive web gems with one of his own. Reacting on a well-hit baseball by Logan Elm's Brady Neff to begin the seventh inning, Holland made a quick reaction by diving to his right deep in the hole at second base to rob Neff of what looked to be a sure base hit.

"Drew just has a great baseball mind and is a guy who you can depend on heavily," Moore said. "He made a fantastic play at second base to also save a base hit for us. Those are winning baseball plays from two guys that have been big for our team all year."

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

Behind the relief work of Scior and Wilburn, the duo allowed just two hits and one earned run in six-and-a-third innings of work while striking out seven batters between them as both players gave Wheelersburg a chance to win with their efforts from a pitching perspective.

But after both teams failed to crack the other in the seventh and eighth frames, Logan Elm came through in the ninth as Neff, who singled to center field to lead off the inning and moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt, was brought in on Seimer's RBI base knock to left field.

Wheelersburg got a leadoff walk from Russell in the bottom of the ninth and moved the freshman over to second base, but couldn't bring him in the loss.

Along with Conn and Holland, who went 2-for-5 with three RBI (Conn) and 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored (Holland), Wheelersburg was led offensively by Doss. The number three-hole hitter in the order went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI and was intentionally walked twice in the contest.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

"I believe that Brady's the most feared hitter in all of Southern Ohio," Moore said. "He got walked intentionally twice (on Tuesday), which made it 10 for the year. He's just a terrific talent. But I believe as good as he is offensively, he doesn't get enough credit and gets overlooked for the work that he does defensively. He had a great, great throw to pick off a runner that was trying to steal and he blocked about a half-dozen balls to keep them from going to the backstop. He's a complete player."

Along with Doss, Wheelersburg also graduates Tabor and Brycen Longfellow from the 2026 version of the Pirates' roster.

"Brycen led our outfield this year and really took on a leadership role and did things for the betterment of the team. He is a quintessential Pirate, a guy who plays Pirate baseball. He's a four-year guy. Then Andrew Tabor is a guy who fought through injuries and different setbacks, including missing all of last year due to injury, to battle back. He battled through all of that and was a vital, integral, huge part of our success. I was so excited to see him get rewarded for all of the hard work that he put in, and for how great of a teammate that he is, as well. I just love that those guys got to compete in a game like this, even though it didn't go our way. They deserve to play in environments like this. They were a big part of why this team was so fun to coach as the senior leaders of our team."

Wheelersburg finished the 2026 season 16-12. The Pirates won 10 out of their last 15 games during the course of the year.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

"It's always the hardest part as a coach to lose guys like them," Moore continued. "We would've loved to have won (on Tuesday) and seen what we could do had we gotten to regionals," Moore said. "Anything can happen once you get there. But Logan Elm, they do a great job and they're going to be a tough out for anybody. (Drew) McGlone and his staff at Logan Elm do a great job and will be a tough out for anybody they play. We will hold our heads high and keep moving forward."

Story byThe Portsmouth Daily Times, Ohio