Hawken swept West Geauga in a two-game series to win the Chagrin Valley Conference Chagrin Division title on May 6. The Hawks started game one on Monday and resumed it the next day for an 11-0 six-inning win before blanking the Wolverines in game two 10-0 in five to clinch the second straight year, this time the outright league title.
Game photos click here.
Hawken swept West Geauga in a two-game series to win the Chagrin Valley Conference Chagrin Division title on May 6.
The Hawks started game one on Monday and resumed it the next day for an 11-0 six-inning win before blanking the Wolverines in game two 10-0 in five to clinch the second straight year, this time the outright league title.
“We weren’t here to share it this year. We shared it with Perry last year, but we didn’t want to do that again,” said Hawken Head Coach Aaron Brandt. “All the credit goes to Perry; they swept us early in the year. We knew coming in that the mindset was to take both games from West G. We love to walk away with this kind of confidence going into the end of the season. We’re the champs, now let’s get some tournament wins.”
Hawken drew first blood in the top of the fourth inning of game one with a six-run frame led by a go-ahead RBI single by Cole Twardokus. Asher Kimball delivered with a two-out, two-run single, with three more runs crossing thanks to an Ethan Gipson fielder’s choice, a Grant Namy single, and a bases-loaded walk to Maddox Ruch for a 6-0 lead after four.
Jack Ruple hit an RBI double in the fifth, with back-to-back RBI singles from Ruch and Gipson capping off a 9-0 lead after five, and Ruple later added on in the sixth with an RBI single, while Eli Mester crossed the dish on an error for an 11-0 win.
This win was the 300th career win the coach who took the job all the way back in 2004.
“It’s been an amazing ride,” Brandt said. “I’ve had so many good players over the years, so many good families to work with. I’ve been lucky enough to coach my own son, but a lot of other kids that feel like my sons.”
The Hawks got rolling in Game 2 with a three-run rally in the bottom of the third with a Namy RBI single, followed by a Miles Hamilton run-scoring base hit, and Twardokus added the final run on a fielder’s choice.
Kimball ignited a five-run fourth with a RBI triple, with Namy adding a two-run single, and another Twardokus RBI with a sacrifice fly. Dilan Nadkarni punched an RBI single to right for an 8-0 lead after four.
Gipson came up with the bases loaded and walked off the Wolverines with a two-run single for a 10-0 five-inning win to complete the sweep.
In both games, Hawken started a little slow but then got rolling with crooked numbers to score 21 total runs between the two games.
“That’s been our M-O all year,” Brandt said. “It’ll be the third or fourth inning and I’ll start getting nervous, and then we put together big innings where it keeps rolling. That’s high school baseball. The West G pitchers were both rolling good through three innings, and then all of a sudden, we just jumped on them and had a big inning.”
The Hawks’ two conference losses came against Perry amid a three-game losing skid, but they have since turned the corner and are rolling with a nine-game winning streak, gearing up for postseason play.
“I give all the credit to our senior leadership; we’ve got a tremendous group of seniors,” Brandt said, pointing out the key to the nine-game streak. “All eight of those guys are stepping up and finding ways to bring the younger guys along in a way that everyone feels like a big part of the team. That’s really rolled for us.”
The cherry on top of the second, outright CVC title clinching win game, was the five-inning no hitter by sophomore Cole Twardokus, making it two years in a row, two CVC clinching scenarios, two no-hitters.
Last season, in a 10-0 win over West Geauga on May 6, 2024, then-senior Lucas Brandt threw a no-hitter to clinch a share of the league title. Fast forward 365 days, with sophomore Cole Twardokus on the mound to clinch the outright league title, another no-hitter.
“The cherry on top of the day was to have a sophomore come out and throw a no-hitter,” Brandt said. “A year prior, we had a senior throw a no-hitter in the same situation. Last year, a tie, this year, an outright title. That’s some good karma for us.”
Between the two games, Gipson and Kimball paced the offense, both going 3-for-5 with three RBI, while Namy went 3-for-7 with four RBI. Twardokus went 2-for-6 with two RBI, while Ruple finished 3-for-8 with two RBI.
Gipson earned the win in game one, going six shutout innings, allowing six hits with two walks and four strikeouts, while Twardokus pitched a five-inning no-hitter, allowing one walk with seven strikeouts for the win in game two.
Hawken wraps up conference play at 8-2, and sits at 14-4 to start the week.
