MASON, Ohio - It may have taken two games but at the end of the day, the Walsh Cavaliers baseball team became the 2022 Great Midwest Champions at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio. 

The Cavaliers battled the Ashland Eagles in a hard fought doubleheader to win the title. Ashland forced the winner-take-all contest with an 8-6 win in game one. Walsh returned the favor with an 8-5 win in the nightcap with rain on the way. 

With the title, Walsh is headed for the 2022 NCAA Tournament - the first time that Walsh has qualified in the Division II era. 

GAME ONE (L, 8-6)

• Ashland struck first in game one with a run in the second inning and a pair of runs in the third inning for a 3-0 lead.
• After Shea Simmer tripled off the right field facade, Brady Maciak grounded out to score Simmer as Walsh cut the lead to 3-1 after three innings. 
• A leadoff Ashland walk in the fourth came around to score on a RBI double as the Eagles got a run back at 4-1. 
• Walsh loaded the bases in the fourth with a single, double and a walk. Following a pitching change, Cameron Kaiser was hit by a pitch to bring home a run. Ben Lefebvre followed with a sacrifice fly. The two run frame trimmed the Ashland lead to 4-3 after four innings. 
• Ashland added two more runs in the fifth and one in the top of the seventh as the lead grew to 7-3 at the stretch.
• Joey Holiga was drilled with a pitch to open the seventh inning and two batters later, Jacob Beachy delivered a two-run shot to left field. Walsh was hanging around 7-5 as the game shifted to the eighth inning. 
• Davis Burick tied off on Ashland's closer with a line drive to the trees in left field in the eighth. 
• Ashland got a run on a double play in the ninth and hung on for an 8-6 win, forcing the if necessary game. 

Overall, Walsh had ten hits in the game. Beachy, Jarret Lyon and Maciak all had two hits. The squad had five extra-base hits, including two triples in the game. Austin Marko walked four times. 

Tyler Giesige allowed one run in two innings of relief while Todd Bangtson tallied four quality innings of relief work with one run allowed on two hits. 

GAME TWO (W, 8-5)

• Walsh jumped ahead early on a number of Ashland miscues in the first inning. The first two batters reached on a double by immer and a catcher's interference call with Maciak at the plate. After a strikeout, Lyon lined a ball to second base. The second baseman couldn't field the ball cleanly and then threw the ball wildly to the plate. Simmer scored on the plate and the runners moved to second and third. A Beachy sacrifice fly made it 2-0 before Marko drilled a two-run bomb to left field. 
• Ashland got one run closer on a RBI single in the bottom of the first inning. 
• Kaiser singled home a run in the third while Joey Holiga doubled off the center field wall in the fourth as Walsh's lead ballooned to 6-1 in the fourth. 
• A two-run Ashland double in the bottom of the fourth pushed the Eagles within 6-3. 
• With the bases loaded on a double, hit by pitch and a walk, Andrew Morse singled through the left side and Simmer plated a run with a fly ball to center field. Walsh gained an 8-3 lead with two and a half innings to go. 
• In the bottom half of the seventh, a two-run triple by Ashland created an 8-5 game as the game headed to the eighth. 
• Brant Alazaus worked around a single in the eighth before retiring the Eagles in order in the ninth. With a storm rolling in behind the ballpark, Alazaus got the game-winning and title-clinching groundout to ensue the slow-lived celebration on the field. 

Walsh took advantage of seven Ashland errors while walking seven times and gaining seven hits. Beachy had two hits while five others had hits. Marko and Kaiser walked twice each to reach base three times. 

Brandon Cahill started and gave the Cavaliers four innings of three-run ball. Nick Lallathin followed with three innings of two-run baseball with four strikeouts. Alazaus, the opener of the tournament, finished things off with two scoreless innings to close the contest. 

Walsh takes their 30-21 record into the Midwest Regional at a site to be determined on Sunday (May 15). After the selection show, the Cavaliers will know their opponent and location. 

-WC-