Dragons Look Back on Epic Win, Season

After defeating Lancaster 13-2 on Friday, June 17, the highs that come from winning a state championship haven't worn off quite yet. For Jeff Hoenstine, Devon Boyles and Ty Helsel, the magnitude of their accomplishment is just starting to set in.

The Dragons won the state championship game for a community that has rallied around the team in a big way. Mayor Richard Brantner Sr. has named July 12 "Central Dragons Baseball Team Day," and the team has been invited to participate in the Ag Parade.

The Central Dragons completed an impressive 27-0 season. In a sport where a team can run into a hot pitcher or just have an off night, going undefeated is no small task. It's a goal that most teams say as a joke or in passing, but these Dragons really believed they could do it.

"It was definitely a goal we had after we only lost a couple games in the regular season last year," Boyles said. "In a season, we normally have three goals: to win the Curve Classic, win districts, and then win states. We got that all done, and that was very impressive."

Hoenstine and Helsel both echoed the sentiment, while also mentioning how difficult it is to go undefeated in baseball.

"Baseball is so random," Hoenstine said. "You never know when you're going to have an off day. I mean even with our roster it's still hard."

The Dragons not only won every regular season game they played, but they won in commanding fashion. Central's smallest margin of victory was a 12-6 win over Tyrone. Compare that to their largest margin of victory, which was a 27-3 rout of Greater Johnstown. Central seemed like it would be a team of destiny and a force to be reckoned with.

The Dragons won the district championship at PNG field to punch their ticket to the state playoffs. Central then won its first two state playoff games without any difficulty.

The Dragons were able to advance to the semifinals, which was as far as they made it last year, and their opponent was the Punxsutawney Chucks. The Chucks proved to be a tough opponent for Central. The Chucks took a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning. The Dragons' bats were silent the entire game leading up to that moment.

"I got really nervous," Helsel, the pitcher on the mound when the Dragons surrendered their runs, said. "I still tried to get the guys pumped up in the dugout. I was just kind of hoping that Devon could come in and shut it down."

"Obviously there were some nerves there," Hoenstine said. "It really started to feel like deja vu from last year, but then Devon came in and had that clutch home run."

In the Dragons half of the fifth, Boyles stepped into the batter's box with a real opportunity to put a dent into the Chucks lead. The Dragons had two runners on, and their first real offensive push of the night.

"I knew I just had to put the ball in play," Boyles said. "I knew we had Parker Gregg at first and Paxton Kling on base. I knew that putting the ball in play could've tied it."

Boyles did more than tie the game. With one swing of the bat the Dragons took a 4-3 lead. Boyles had hit an absolute missile over the centerfield fence.

"I was looking for a fastball middle in," Boyles said. "Our coach always says the first two strikes are ours and the third is the team's. So I knew if it got to that point I had to find a pitch middle away to just put the ball in play. When it came off the bat I knew it might have been gone and to see it go over the fence was huge."

The Dragons plated two more runs that inning on their way to a semifinals victory despite a late rally by the Chucks.

"When Devon started throwing those wild pitches I got kind of nervous," Helsel said. "But then when the bases were loaded, the ump called a pitch that hit the batter 'strike three' and that gave me a sense of relief."

Boyles shut the door for the Dragons in the final innings of the semifinals game. Boyles also got the nod for the championship game.

"It felt really good," Boyles said. "I was really nervous for that game but I think coach was confident in me. I also knew that the team had my back heading into that game."

Boyles' opponent on the mound for Lancaster was Noah Zimmerman. Zimmerman had an impressive .96 ERA heading into the championship game. He had also pitched the majority of the state playoff run, a fact that was known by the staff and players on Central.

"We knew his arm was sore," Boyles said. "I knew that I could throw better pitches than he could."

The Dragons' game plan was simple: make Zimmerman throw strikes and when he threw those strikes, put them in play.

"Heading into that game we knew we had to limit strikeouts," Hoenstine said. "We needed to put the ball in play and keep the pressure off our runners."

"The game plan was to put the ball in play and move runners over on ground balls," Helsel said. "I think we did that well and he got flustered."

The Dragons played their game to perfection as they were able to put up 13 runs on Lancaster. Six of those runs came with two outs in the inning.

"I think that it's a testament to the team and how we handle pressure situations," Hoenstine said. "It says something about our team that we are able to trust each other to come through in those pressure situations."

"One through nine, everyone does their job," Helsel said referring to the batting order. "Everyone contributes and you can't sleep on anyone."

The Dragons were on the verge of a mercy-rule victory when Boyles started to lose his command in the 5th inning.

"I knew I was in relief if Devon couldn't finish," Helsel said. "We had talked about it before the game. Even though we had a big lead I still didn't feel comfortable. I was praying for him to get that final out but he couldn't do it. It kind of makes you clench up a bit. When the coach called on me I felt confident since we had already gotten two outs."

"It kind of stunk when I lost my command," Boyles said. "When coach made that walk out, I knew my day was over. But I knew that if we wanted to end the game there, it was better to bring in Ty."

Helsel was able to come in and record the last out for the team and win the state championship.

"It was great getting that final out," Helsel said. "It felt great being on the bottom of that dog pile."

For Hoenstine, the win was extra special. He won a championship with his father coaching.

"It's special," Hoenstine said. "Getting to share a state championship with him is very special to me because he was very influential in my life and career. It's great to know that all our hard work paid off."

Now that the season is over most, of the players are going their separate ways for the summer. It was a historical season for Central baseball filled with memories, but the players all said the same thing. They won't miss the feeling of winning a championship. They will miss the practices and being able to go and see their friends every day and sharing the field with each other.