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Canal Winchester sits tucked in the southeastern corner of Franklin County, more isolated, unknown and smaller than its suburban brethren in Dublin, Hilliard, Upper Arlington and Westerville. In fact, there may be no real comparison in Columbus for the Canal Winchester and its Indians sports teams.  This little local village, however, has been making waves the whole school year, ending in Saturday's appearance in the State Division II Baseball Final in Cooper Stadium. Canal Winchester was under the radar to say the least during the regular season, generally hanging around fourth in the Mid-State League and dropping 12 games before entering the playoffs. The Indians then picked up steam and ran off three impressive victories of late leading to their Finals appearance, beating Cambridge 4-2, Steubenville 9-5 and Chardon Notre Dame Cathedral Latin 6-5.

The victory over Latin tasted sweet last Thursday. Canal was down by two at the Coop heading into the seventh (and final inning in high school ball) and won playing small ball with contributions by many. The Indians had singles by Tyler Griffith and Joey Butler and a bunt by Mike Romanowski before a two run hit off the bat of Drew Dosch. Matt Romanowski then singled in the extra eighth inning and scored the winner on Brad Duncan's pinch hit single. That's what great baseball is made of, right? Great baseball is also made from pitching, and Wes White was the man of late off the mound. White (also a SS) struck out eight in the win over Cambridge and allowed only two runs, and had two key hits and three RBI against Steubenville.

Great Baseball also comes from teamwork, and nobody knows how to work better together than a pair of brothers. Make that four pairs for Canal Winchester. Twins Mike and Matt Romanowski joined twins David and Brad Duncan on the roster, which also included Grant and Drew Dosch and Tyler and Curtis Steube. Teams need leaders, and the key man here was Coach Jason Vest. Now, what kind of coach leads a supposedly average team to the State Finals for the first time in 50 years in his first year? Well, that would be the Columbus Dispatch Coach of the Year, an honor won by Vest this year that highlighted the Indians' incredble season. I wish I could report that the highlight was a final victory on Saturday, but alas that belonged to opponent Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit, which won 6-0. With Canal's year, though, that is no blemish.

Ohio State fans also became acutely aware of Canal Winchester this year, with the promise of 7'1" center B.J. Mullens on the hardcourt. Mullens, the Division II player of the year with 26.2 points per game and 14.6 rebounds, will be a Buckeye next year, which is a good thing given the departure of big man Kosta Koufos. Mullens impressed many with his 62 point performance in the Martin Luther King Day tourney in Dayton against a New York City foe just a game after he'd scored 46 in three quarters. Chances are most Columbus sports fans will remember Mullens longer than Canal's baseball successes, but let's give equal congrats to both. And let's not forget that in a little corner of our county stood tall this year a proud village that has every reason to feel so.

Tags: b.j. mullens, baseball, daily take, high school baseball, high school basketball, high school sports