Kline dominant as Patrick Henry wins Div. IV

Mike Conley, June 06, 2009 7:16 p.m.

COLUMBUS -- The deuce was wild for Hamler Patrick Henry, but Brian Kline was steady as could be.

The Patriots' second straight Div. IV state title was led by an effort from Kline, who pitched two innings Friday, seven strong innings of two-hit ball Saturday and added two hits as Patrick Henry topped New Middletown Springfield, 3-1.

The Patriots never trailed after scoring twice in the top of the first inning. Kline made it miserable for Springfield's strong lineup, retiring 16 of the last 18 batters he faced and the final seven in order.

Kline also drove in the final run in the sixth inning with a two-out single up the middle that scored Clay Maas from second.

Patrick Henry becomes the first team to win back-to-back baseball state titles since Newark Catholic won three in a row from 2002-04.

Mitch Leonard and Cody Meyer opened the game with base hits. Leonard scored on a sac fly by Chris Boyer and Meyer scored on a base hit by Tyler Phillips.

Springfield got on the board in the bottom of the second as Bryan Visingardi walked and moved to second on Dylon DeJane's single. Both moved up on a sac bunt by Frank Sferra, and Visingardi scored on a sac fly by Matt Semach.

But Kline left two runners on base and got stronger from there. His RBI single was Patrick Henry's 10th hit to just two for the Tigers.