Photo by Kim North Wheeling Central’s Steven Brodegard works to the plate Friday night against Barnesville in the OVAC Class 3A championship game at Mazeroski Field inside Sally Buffalo Park in Cadiz. The Maroon Knights defended their title, 8-0.

CADIZ – Wheeling Central repeated as OVAC Class 3A baseball champions on a chill-filled night at Mazeroski Field inside Sally Buffalo Park.

The Maroon Knights (17-4) received six strong innings on the mound from senior Steven Brodegard, while classmate Matt Criniti had three hits and scored three times from the No. 9 hole in an 8-0 blanking of top-seeded Barnesville (14-4).

“Matt has been doing that for us all year. He could probably be batting higher in the lineup, but we use him down there and he comes through,” Wheeling Central head coach Todd Cover said. “He fits perfectly in the nine hole and he turns the lineup over for us.”

Wheeling Central, the No. 3 seed, scored the only run it would need on a triple by Zayne Rosnick to deep right-center with two out in the top of the third inning. The hit scored Criniti, but Rosnick over slid the bag and was tagged out.

The Shamrocks had a runner thrown out at the plate with one out in the bottom of the fourth in what veteran Barnesville head coach D.J. Butler took the blame.

Parker Sobutka led off with a single and was replaced by Evan Wells on the basepaths. A groundout moved Wells to second and Brylon Lucas walked. Keegan Martin’s shot to left was fielded by Brady Ernest who threw a laser to catcher Koy Lipinski who applied the tag to the sliding Wells, who stumbled coming around third. A strikeout ended the inning.

“I cost us a run there. I probably should have held him with a good bat coming up,” Butler said. “I think that gave them the momentum.”

The play at the plate ignited the Wheeling Central bats as it tacked on six runs in the top of the fifth to all but seal the deal. Criniti had an RBI double, while Rosnick doubled in two more. Ernest and Kade Koroneos added run-scoring singles.

Criniti scored the final run in the sixth as part of a double steal.

Brodegard, the Mercyhurst University signee, struck out nine, walked two and scattered half-a-dozen singles. He threw 107 pitches, with 65 being strikes.

“Steven threw a really good game. They had a couple hits off of him, but he stayed the course and got the job done,” Cover added.

Dylan Blon, Barnesville’s all-time wins leader, suffered the loss. The Marietta University recruit struck out five and walked a pair in four-plus innings of work.