While the vast majority of the high school baseball teams in Ohio have packed away their equipment for the season, the Washington Blue Lions are one of just 16 teams (four in each division) that are still playing.

Washington has progressed all the way to the State Final Four in Division II, with a semifinal game against Ontario (Mansfield) Friday at 1 p.m. at Canal Park, 300 South Main Street in Akron.

The Record-Herald stopped by practice Tuesday afternoon and spoke with head coach Mark Schwartz and seniors A.J. Dallmayer, Titus Lotz and Jonah Waters.

The Blue Lions go into the State tournament with a record of 27-1. They are winners of 26 games in a row.

A combination of factors have propelled the Blue Lions to the State tournament.

“Our pitching has been excellent,” Washington head coach Mark Schwartz said. “Our defense has been excellent. And we keep getting timely hits. We’ve gotten several two-out hits.

“Jonah Waters against Bloom-Carroll had a big two-out hit in the first inning that gave us a 1-0 lead in the Regional semis,” Schwartz said. “He’s been doing that all year.”

The community is behind the Blue Lions, all the way to Akron.

“The support has been amazing,” Schwartz said. “We’ve had big crowds everywhere we’ve gone. When we won the Districts and then the Regionals, we had a police escort through town. That was pretty exciting for these guys.

“Then we show up at the school and we have a big crowd waiting for us to get off the bus,” Schwartz said. “These last few days, I’ve gotten many calls and texts from people, congratulating us and saying how excited they are for us and rooting us on.

“You go through town right now, many businesses have something on their windows supporting us,” Schwartz said.

“I can’t ask for a better group of parents,” Schwartz said. “They are so supportive and have been helping us with meals, snacks. The overall support of our parents has been excellent.

“We’re excited to get to Akron this weekend,” Schwartz said. “I think maybe half of Fayette County may be there, if not more.”

Just what is the key to this amazing run all the way to the State tournament?

“We’ve talked since day one of practice in February, that it would take all 12 guys — we have 16 guys traveling with us in the tournament — it would take every player to know their role, fulfill their role, for us to succeed,” Schwartz said.

“We couldn’t have won 27 games and 26 in a row without these players understanding that and accepting their roles,” Schwartz said. “This is probably the most tight-knit group I’ve ever coached. They get along so well; they have each other’s backs. They support each other and that makes a difference. That’s a big reason why we’re successful this year.

“It’s been a pretty special season and these guys are a pretty special group of young men,” Schwartz said.

Saturday, June 3, the Blue Lion baseball team was treated to breakfast at McDonald’s, Schwartz said. “Nick Epifano and Randy Young had us out there for breakfast. Randy interviewed three of our players and myself for the McDonald’s sports show.

“We took a light batting practice (Monday), we’re going to take a light batting practice today (Tuesday),” Schwartz said. “Tomorrow (Wednesday) we’ll hit, do some defensive stuff and then get out of here so the guys can go pack.”

Schwartz said the team will depart around 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

“We’re going to practice Thursday night at the University of Akron,” Schwartz said. “We’ll have a team meal and then get some sleep and then get ready to head to the field Friday morning.

“These guys are on a mission,” Schwartz said. “They’ve been focused since the beginning of the year and they really want to finish this with a state championship.

“They’re going to give us everything they’ve got,” Schwartz said. “They’re going to leave it all on the field.”

“We had a lot of hype going into this season,” Jonah Waters, Washington’s catcher, said. “Everybody’s been looking at our team and our age group, since as long as I can remember and started playing. I remember them saying that we had a really talented group of boys. I think we’ve definitely shown that we have what it takes to go far, we definitely have.

“We are like a family, us boys are,” Waters said. “We play for each other. There’s no selfishness; there’s no personal stat that anybody cares about. It’s just win or lose, that’s all we care about. I think that just kind of shows what type of team we are.”

Waters was asked just what is giving this team that special something this season.

“I think everybody has just accepted the role that they’re supposed to be in,” Waters said. “And try not to do anything more. They know what they have to do to win games, we know what we have to do to beat opponents. At this level, we’re only playing good teams. There are no free wins here, it just doesn’t happen (this far into the tournament).

“Everybody has to go out and they have to do their job,” Waters said. “Everybody knows it and everybody’s been doing it. That’s why I think we continue to win games. If we go out here this week and everybody stays focused and just works on what they need to throughout this week in practice, I think we’ll go out here and I think we’ll win this thing.”

“At the beginning of the season, we hoped to accomplish a lot,” pitcher Titus Lotz said. “This is more than we expected.

“I just feel like one of the biggest things, the difference from last year to this year is, injuries,” Lotz said. “The guys have gotten healthier. Mainly it’s the team bond. We have such a love for each other and love for the game and we want to play for each other so much.

“Every time we go out there, we’re not regretting anything,” Lotz said. “We go out there and give it everything we’ve got — blood, sweat and tears. I think we’ve done well at picking each other up. It hasn’t just been two guys all year, it’s been everybody. Everybody’s stepped up and been able to contribute to this one awesome season.

“We’ve gotten tons of support from fans and family and friends,” Lotz said. “A lot of people coming out and supporting us and I just want to thank them for being here and supporting us. I appreciate their time and support of our program. I hope to see you all out in Akron. We’re an exciting ball club to watch, so, if you haven’t seen us, come out and watch us and support us.”

“It is an amazing feeling,” pitcher A.J. Dallmayer said. “We’re kind of living what a lot of kids have dreamed and hopefully what a lot of kids in Court House are still dreaming today. It’s really like all possible through our team.

“I know every single one of these guys,” Dallmayer said. “I can trust them on the field, off the field. It just kind of brings us all closer together as a team. We kind of piggyback off of each other. We just have something really, really special going on. It’s just amazing to share it all with these guys.”

The community support has been noticed and is very much appreciated by the team.

“It’s awesome to see,” Dallmayer said. “I was driving through town today to practice and I look at some of the (storefront) windows and I see ‘Go BLB’, ‘BLB to State’. It’s an amazing feeling to see everybody having our backs; everybody coming to the games, like at Ohio Dominican (site of the Regional tournament) — so many people. It was just outstanding.

“I was walking through the aisle behind the field after the (Regional championship) game,” Dallmayer said. “Every step I took I got a high-five. I got a ‘congratulations.’ I got a ‘great job.’ People just telling me that they’re going to come to the next game and watch us and they have our back. It’s just been an amazing feeling.”

By Chris Hoppes

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