After surviving hard-fought semifinal games hours earlier, Hagerstown and Centerville squared off in the sectional championship game played Monday, June 1, on the Bulldogs’ home field.
Hagerstown, ranked eighth in the final 2A poll, held a 2-0 lead after three innings before scoring five runs in the top of the fourth inning and four runs in the fifth inning to extend their lead to 11-0. The game was halted after five innings because of the 10-run mercy rule.
Sophomore southpaw Nolan Cheeseman limited the Bulldogs to only one hit and struck out nine to earn the shutout win. Gaige Howard collected three hits and drove in four runs. Kaden Hall collected three hits and drove in three runs. Jaxon Hale had two hits and stole his state-leading 40th base of the season.
For Centerville head coach Corey Van Skyock, it was an emotional game. Van Skyock hugged each player on his team before he discussed the game.
“When you consider what everybody thought our chances were in this tournament before it started, we were given no chance,” Van Skyock said. “Everyone wanted to draw Centerville. We played hard and won two games to make it to the championship game. There is no reason to hang our heads. We return a lot of talent for next year.”
Hagerstown head coach Jay Hale was happy for his kids.
“I can tell you that we were not overlooking Centerville coming into this game,” Hale said. “Centerville had a great tournament. Our kids were focused and played very well. Winning this sectional is important to us and we wanted to make the most of our opportunity. We will continue to work this week in practice for our opportunity in the regional.”
The Tigers advance to the regional game against Heritage Christian at Plainfield High School Saturday, June 6.
Hagerstown (21-7) 1 0 1 5 4 11
Centerville (7-12) 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hagerstown hits: Fletcher Callahan, Hale (2), Hall (3), Howard (3), Zack Logston, Jack Rector, Braydon Sanders, Nick Tinkle, Graham Vinson
Centerville hits: Jacob Alford
A version of this article appeared in the June 10 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.
