Waterford’s Braun Doak, right, celebrates with teammate Hayden Jones after getting the final out against Eastern during Tuesday’s district final at Bob Wren Stadium. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

ATHENS — After two-time defending district champion Eastern swept the regular-season series, the odds were stacked against Waterford in Tuesday’s Division VI district final at Ohio University’s Bob Wren Stadium.

However, behind a complete-game mound effort from senior Braun Doak and a relentless lineup, the third time was the charm for the Wildcats as they knocked off the Eagles 8-3.

For Doak, who had two of Waterford’s 10 hits and drove in four runs, this was the matchup he’s been waiting for.

“Two weeks ago, my coach told me that if we got here, I’d probably pitch, so it was on the calendar,” he said. “After I got to the seventh inning, and I needed three more, it’s like, ‘Wow, this is really gonna happen.’ It was surreal.”

Doak had one troublesome inning, surrendering three runs in the bottom of the fourth. By then, though, Waterford had already claimed a 7-0 lead. The Eagles cut it to 7-3, but Doak was undeterred and responded with three scoreless innings to go the distance.

Waterford’s Corbin Stark, left, celebrates after Eastern’s Clayton Moore was caught stealing during Tuesday’s district final at Bob Wren Stadium. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

“He’s one of our seniors,” said shortstop Avery Pottmeyer. “He’s a leader for us. We’re just all trying to get it done for these (seniors). We know how hard they work, and we all trust him when he’s on the mound.”

The TVC Hocking champion Eagles defeated Waterford 5-4 on March 31 and 7-2 on April 16. They’ve been the Wildcats’ nemesis these past few seasons.

“We competed with them for the first game,” said Waterford head coach Chris Schmitt. “The second game, they got us pretty good. We had to make some adjustments. We prepped them really, really well. We went with a game plan, and we’re a different team than we were in March. We were ready for it.”

Pottmeyer added, “We know how good that team is. We just knew coming into it we’d have to play just about our best game we could defensively and offensively. The bats have just been clicking recently.”

Catcher Hayden Jones set the tone early, crushing a leadoff double to left field to begin the game and then throwing out a would-be base-stealer in the bottom of the first. Later, in the top of the third, Jones’ one-out walk preceded Doak’s two-run single to get Waterford on the board.

Waterford’s Kaleb Wright is congratulated by teammates and coaches after getting an out against Eastern during Tuesday’s district final at Bob Wren Stadium. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

Eastern tried to punch back the next half-inning, getting its first two runners on base, but Doak induced two groundouts and a popout to escape.

The Wildcats took that momentum into the fourth, where they exploded for five runs. It started with a one-out single from Cole Mullenix, followed by a double by Weston Hennes to put Eastern starter Ethan Edwards in a jam. Ground balls to third base by Kaleb Wright and Avery Pottmeyer were misplayed — two of Eastern’s four errors in the game — to allow a pair of runs to score. Nine-hole hitter Kam Johnson had an RBI single, and Doak later cleared the bases with his second two-run knock of the game to make it 7-0.

“We talk about momentum all the time,” Schmitt said. “Baseball is a game of momentum. The bottom of the order did it for us. They started hitting the baseball, getting on, and our top (of the order) did what they’re supposed to.”

Hunter Needs drove in the first run for Eastern with a single in the fourth, and Blaise Gilmore later added a two-run double. Otherwise, it was a quiet day at the plate for the Eagles.

Doak allowed six total hits and issued just one walk. Remarkably, he did not strike out a single batter as Waterford’s plan coming in was to pitch to contact.

Waterford’s Braun Doak, right, celebrates after hitting a two-run single against Eastern during Tuesday’s district final at Bob Wren Stadium. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

“We told Braun that we’re not going to strike people out today, and we knew that,” Schmitt said. “We really prepped it and practiced and knew where they were going to hit it and tried to align to that, and we did it to perfection, I think.”

Doak added, “I’m not really a big strikeout guy. Hope they just hit weak contact, and it happened today. So that’s pretty nice.”

Wright and Doak led Waterford with two hits apiece. The Wildcats looked locked in from the start, which makes sense considering how the 2025 season ended.

“We lost 2-1 last year (in the district final),” Schmitt said. “This is 10 months of just sour — not waiting for the opportunity, we have to create the opportunity with how we play baseball. We made it there, and we finally got over that.”

After starting the season 1-4, Waterford has won 19 of its last 23 games to improve to 20-8. Up next is a regional semifinal showdown at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, at Beavers Field in Lancaster. The opponent will be the East District champion, which could be one of four teams, including Buckeye Trail, Hiland, Caldwell and Waterford’s arch rival Fort Frye.

Waterford first baseman Henry Huffman (26) fields a throw as Eastern’s Trace Barnett is retired during Tuesday’s district final at Bob Wren Stadium. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

“We had a rough start,” Doak said. “I’m not gonna sugarcoat it — I didn’t think we’d be here. But, stuff started clicking, everyone started coming together, and us four seniors realized, ‘This is it.’ There’s no more baseball with the Waterford jersey on afterwards. We better make the most of it. Last few weeks — everything’s clicking, and everyone’s having fun.”

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.

At Bob Wren Stadium

Division VI District Final

Waterford 8, Eastern 3

Eastern’s Blaise Gilmore celebrates after hitting a double against Waterford during Tuesday’s district final at Bob Wren Stadium. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

W 002 501 0 — 8 10 1

E 000 300 0 — 3 6 4

WP: Braun Doak 7 IP, 1 BB, 0 SO

LP: Ethan Edwards 3.1 IP, 1 BB, 2 SO

Dawson King 3.2 IP, 0 BB, 0 SO

Waterford (20-8) hitting: Hayden Jones 1-3, 2B, R; Avery Pottmeyer 1-3, R; Doak 2-4, 4 RBIs, 2 Rs; Henry Huffman 1-4, RBI; Cole Mullenix 1-4, R; Weston Hennes 1-4, 2B, R; Kaleb Wright 2-4, R; Kam Johnson 1-3, RBI, R

Eastern (17-10) hitting: Hunter Needs 2-3, RBI, R; Blaise Gilmore 2-3, 2B, 2 RBIs; Clayton Moore 1-3; King 1-1; Edwards R; Lane Atha R

Next game: Waterford vs. TBD, 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 3, at Beavers Field (Regional Semifinal)

Waterford’s Braun Doak flips the ball to first base to get an out against Eastern during Tuesday’s district final at Bob Wren Stadium. (Photo by Jordan Holland)