Badin baseball knocks off Columbus Bishop Watterson, 7-2, for D-III crown

The wait is over!

The Badin High School baseball program, knocking at the door to a state championship on an annual basis, seized the 2026 Division III state title with a 7-2 victory over Columbus Bishop Watterson at 717 Credit Union Park in Akron on Friday, June 12.

The Rams finished the season with a 30-3 record and won their last 26 games in a row to capture their first state baseball crown since 1996.

And, in one of those terrific stories that makes sports so compelling, the 2026 winning pitcher was senior Brooks Treadway – just as his father, Badin head coach Brion Treadway ’97, had been the winning pitcher in the 1996 finale.

“We’ve been on a mission for the past year,” head coach Treadway said, referring to a loss in the state semifinals a year ago during a Welcome Home celebration at Joyce Park’s Alumni Field Saturday afternoon, “and these guys got it done. They brought the juice every day, and I’m so proud of this team.”

Badin – making its fifth trip to the Ohio Final Four in the last six years -- got clutch hitting and critical defense to finish with a flourish and grab the gold trophy. It represents the Rams’ third state baseball title in school history, adding to the 1996 and 1991 championships.

Each time Watterson scored, Badin responded with more – scoring three runs in the bottom of the 1st after Watterson (27-4) had taken a 1-0 lead, then with three more in the bottom of the 5th after Watterson had cut the margin to 3-2 in the top of the inning. Badin added another run in the bottom of the 6th to count the final 7-2 margin – then got a police escort, sirens blaring, through Hamilton on Saturday as its bus brought the team to the 1 o’clock celebration at Joyce Park.

Badin senior pitcher Caleb Driessen had put Badin in a position to play for the state title with back-to-back pitching gems – a 5-0 shutout of Vandalia Butler in the regional finals, and then a 5-2 victory over Parma Padua Franciscan in the state semifinal game played at Thurman Munson Stadium in Canton on Thursday, June 11. He’ll pitch for Miami University in the fall.

Brooks Treadway – headed to Marietta College -- had thrown a flawless five inning no-hitter (only one walk) in the regional semifinals, a 10-0 pounding of Tipp City Tippecanoe, and he was solid in the state finals.

But with Watterson threatening in the top of the 5th, Brion Treadway made the call to the bullpen for senior Beau Chaney. In yet another one of those classic sports hooks, Chaney had been here before – as a sophomore, he threw six innings of shutout baseball in the state finals against Beloit West Branch before coming out with an arm injury. West Branch then stunningly rallied for three runs in the top of the 7th to deny BHS the 2024 state crown in agonizing fashion, 3-2. That’s one of seven state runner-up baseball trophies for the Badin program, including the 1975 squad, which was the very first BHS team to play for a state crown in any sport.

Watterson had the bases loaded with one out in the 5th inning of a 3-2 game when Chaney induced a grounder to sophomore shortstop Derek Ogden, who Coach Treadway later called “the best shortstop in the state of Ohio.” Ogden went into the hole and turned the grounder into a double play, with a great turn by senior second baseman Cade Cummins, that protected the Rams’ one-run margin. Senior Colt Emerson – Badin’s football quarterback and the Ram baseball designated hitter – ripped a two-run double in the bottom of the inning, and BHS stretched the lead to 6-2. Seniors Chandler Taylor and Vinnie Laugle had contributed RBI hits in the 1st.

Watterson threatened again in the top of the sixth, and BHS sophomore Beau Neal came out of the bullpen to relieve Chaney. He fired up yet another double play ball – this to second baseman Cummins – and Badin suddenly had the look of a state champion.

“It’s been 30 years between state championships and you don’t understand the success we’ve had and how hard these guys have worked over 30 years in order to be here tonight,” Brion Treadway told the media after Friday’s medal presentation. “It’s wonderful to win your last game. I’ve left here many times not winning that last game and it’s a dreadful experience that leads you to do a lot of soul searching. So to celebrate that and get to enjoy that with this group of guys is pretty awesome.”

“Eleven” seems to be the operative number in this Badin championship season. The Rams had come up short in 11 previous trips to the state baseball Final Four since that 1996 state title, with five runner-up finishes in those years (2005, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2024). Badin pitchers threw 11 shutouts during the year, and BHS won 11 games via the 10-run rule. And this was Badin’s 11th state crown in various sports in its 60-years of athletic competition

“Well-earned and well-deserved,” Badin Athletic Director Geoff Melzer ’87 said on Saturday. Looking at the good crowd who had come out to welcome the state champions home, he added, “And we have the best fans in the state of Ohio.”

The Rams’ triumph over Bishop Watterson – the teams were the two top-ranked Division III baseball teams in the state – turned the tables from the fall, when Watterson knocked off the Badin boys’ soccer team, 1-0, in the state semifinals en route to the championship. That was one of five schools who had defeated Badin at various post-season levels in the 2025-26 school year and gone on to win state titles. But in a 6th encounter with a state crown on the line, Badin was the one holding the championship trophy.

“Resilience and constant effort” are the hallmarks of Badin baseball, said Hamilton City Council member Joel Lauer ’90, congratulating the Rams on behalf of the city at Joyce Park on Saturday. He jokingly added, “But let’s not wait another 30 years.”

Treadway, who had been the winning pitcher in both games during that run through the 1996 Final Four, then subsequently a 3rd round choice by the San Francisco Giants in the baseball draft, had quipped in the Friday post-game that he was glad he wouldn’t have to answer that question – “When is Badin going to win another baseball title?” – again.

But having won a first championship after two state runner-up finishes in his now 15 years at the helm, Treadway gave a nod to that question on Saturday when he alluded to his 21 seniors and noted, “Success truly doesn’t graduate here.”

Badin’s tournament starting lineup typically included six seniors and three sophomores – seniors Vinnie Laugle at 1b, Cade Cummins at 2b, Austin Vangen at 3b, Eli Wolpert in leftfield, Chandler Taylor in centerfield, and Colt Emerson at DH; with sophomores Keegan Sawyer catching, Derek Ogden at shortstop and Cooper Clay in rightfield.

Of the 21 seniors, 14 have committed to play college baseball. They include Laugle (Earlham College), Cummins (Marietta College), Wolpert (Thomas More University), Taylor (University of Alabama), Emerson (Marietta College), Driessen (Miami University) and Treadway (Marietta College), along with Cooper Anzalone (Lincoln Trail College), Luke Campbell (Lincoln Trail College), Jay Carmella (Cedarville University), Elliot Davis (Thomas More University), Carson Lowe (Ohio Northern University), Carson Niehaus (University of Mount Union), and Carson Sergent (Wittenberg University).

Other members of the state championship roster included seniors Dylan Andrews, Beau Chaney, Braden Dirheimer, Brody Greer, Cooper Moore, Austin Vangen and Nick Vess; juniors Krew Brown, Ronan Domenico, Reece Donges, Brody Fiehrer, Hudson Heid, Logan Karwisch, Gage Maggard and Morgan Minges; and sophomores Nolan Edwards, Beau Neal and Parker Young.

Brion Treadway ’97, a guidance counselor at the school, has now counted 331 wins in 15 seasons directing the Rams. His baseball staff includes Josh Haire ‘94, Matt Marcum ‘96, Brett McKinney ’09, Chuck McKinney ’78, Gavin Mathews ‘17, Eric Cole and former head coach Rick Kunkel ’67.

Badin’s Friday night state championship game, scheduled to start at 7 p.m. in Akron, did not actually start until 8:45 p.m., with previous games running long. But with a 30-year drought between baseball crowns, that additional delay did nothing to dampen Badin’s championship celebration.

Contact: Dirk Q. Allen, Dallen@BadinHS.org or (513) 869-4490