AKRON — An unlikely hero emerged for Cincinnati St. Xavier in the Division I state semifinals.
Sophomore third baseman Dominick Dials belted two home runs — his first two career homers — and the Blue Bombers blanked Orange 5-0 at Akron’s 7 17 Credit Union Park on Thursday.
St. Xavier will meet archrival Cincinnati Moeller for the big school title at 4 p.m. Friday in Akron. Moeller beat Perrysburg 8-6.
Dials, the son of former Ohio State and University of Akron basketball player Nick Dials (a Willard graduate), tied the state tournament record for most home runs in a game. He is the fifth player in Division I state tournament history to launch two homers in a game and first since Stehan Kisan for Lakewood St. Edward in 2010.
Dials has dealt with injuries throughout the season. He came in hitting .245 with no home runs and seven runs batted in.
“It’s been a rough season,” Dials said. “I had three injuries and that set me back.”
The game was scoreless when the left handed-hitting Dials led off the bottom of the third with a solo shot. He came to the plate with a man on in the fourth and hit another no-doubter for a 3-0 lead.
“I was just looking for a fastball and adjusting to off-speed,” Dials said, “and both of those were off-speed.”
Pitcher’s Duel
Orange starter Reid Hemrick and St. Xavier ace Jack Ryan were both as good as advertised. A Toledo recruit, Hemrick gave up five hits but four went for extra bases — the two homers to Dials and a pair of triples to leadoff man Dillon Brus. He struck out three in four innings of work.
“The Hemrick kis is a phenomenal player for them and we knew that going in,” St. Xavier coach Don DiGiacomo said. “We hoped by loading the lineup with a bunch of left-handed bats we would be able to get him into fastball counts.
“You saw what he did to our right-handed guys. He really dominated them.”
The Boston College-bound Ryan went the distance, striking out eight. The hard-throwing right-hander gave up just three hits.
“When he gets it going it’s on because he’s a high-emotion kid — in a good way,” Orange coach Tom Marker said of Ryan. “They rally around that.
“He’s uber-talented, he’s very competitive and he’s the heart and soul of that team.”
Ryan gave up a one-out double to Orange’s Jake Luling in the first and singles to Jackson Hoyt in the second and Zane Konczak in the third before retiring 14 of the final 15 he faced.
“I thought I was attacking the zone well early today,” Ryan said. “My slider was really good today. I thought it was sharp.”
Stellar Season
Orange (24-6) reached the state semifinals for the third time in program history and first since finishing as state runner-up in 2023.
“It was a great season,” senior third baseman Xavier Aguila said. “We accomplished so much. I’m just so proud of all these guys.
“It’s just amazing to do it with these guys.”
