GATES MILLS, Ohio — For the third time in school history, Perrysburg baseball is state tournament bound.

Perrysburg (25-7) defeated Lakewood St. Edward (19-12), 8-2, at Gilmour Academy’s Figgie Field at Shamsky Stadium in the eastern Cleveland suburbs Friday to win a Division I regional championship.

Perrysburg finished as D-I state runner-up in 2011 and also qualified to the state final four in 2003 but they have not brought home a state championship yet. All three trips to state have been under coach Dave Hall’s watch.

“It’s been a long time,” Hall said. “It’s been 13 years since we’ve gotten back to state. It’s big. The last few years I didn’t know if I’d get back.

“I didn’t know if we’d get back there but these kids have been tough all year. We’re playing good at the right time — that is what we are happy about.”

Every year, a Northwest District team takes on a Northeast District team for the D-I regional championship, and the last four years Northwest Ohio has won.

Not only that, but all four winners have represented the Northern Lakes League, and one of them, Sylvania Northview, went on to win a state title in 2022. Hall doesn’t know what’s in store for his group, but he believes the chemistry is there.

“I think they were (confident). I think they’ve been through a lot,” Hall said. “The Northern Lakes League, as you can see, is one of the best in the state.

“This is the fourth year in a row we’ve had a team go to state. When you are playing the Anthony Waynes, the Northviews, the Whitmers, we are used to this day-in and day-out. It’s not anything new.”

While Hall has 22 players on his tournament roster, including nine seniors, he says this is one of the most unselfish teams he has ever coached.

“They play as a team,” Hall said. “They really like each other. There is no ‘I’. It is all about the team. We’re playing about 10 kids at this point and there are 12 guys going nuts for them.”

The Yellow Jackets will play Mason, which shut out Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller, 3-0, Friday in a regional final at Miami University’s Hayden Park.

“They’re having fun, and I heard Mason was beating Moeller so that might be nice. Of course, Mason is good, too,” Hall said. “At this point, hopefully you can put the bat on the ball, get a couple lucky breaks, and throw strikes.”

Mason and Perrysburg will meet at 7 p.m. next Friday, May 7, at Canal Park, the home stadium of the Akron Rubber Ducks, the Double-A minor league team in the Cleveland Guardians’ organization.

“I mean, we’re fired up out here,” said Perrysburg’s University of Toledo-bound senior pitcher and first baseman Matt Hubbard.

“I can’t wait to get going and play another game. We have one more opportunity at least and we are going to make the most of it,” Hubbard continued.

Hall says Hubbard is one of those players you don’t get to coach every day.

“Hubbard is one of a kind,” Hall said. “I mean, I’ve coached a lot of kids. I just don’t know if there is anybody quite like him. I don’t know if they’ll make another one like him.

“I mean, in three sports he’s just a go-getter. He never shuts up if you hear him in the field. He wills teams to win. He’s just a great kid.”

Hubbard is not the only senior who is ready to play more baseball.

“It feels absolutely amazing,” senior catcher Quinn Weber said. “I can’t describe the feeling. We just stay together as a team — this is what we do — stay together as a team and go win another ballgame.”

The other seniors are outfielders Abram Hire and Brady Zilles, second baseman Jack Losee, designated hitter Carter Stanton, pitcher Dugan Smith, pitcher/first baseman Parker Faris, and third baseman/shortstop Trent Bezek.

Bezek says most of them began playing together in the early years of youth baseball, and now its coming to fruition.

“We’ve grown a lot,” Bezek said. “We all love each other and we all love playing together. Most of us have played with each other our whole lives, which feels great to make it to state with this team.”

Taking it one step further, Weber has been catching the pitchers just as long, and the pitchers trust him to call the pitch in most cases.

“It starts when we were kids — always growing up together,” Weber said. “Battery — that is what we call it — battery. Parker (Faris) and I, Hubby (Hubbard) and I, (sophomore) Tyler (Palmer) and I — we are just a battery out there working. Every day we go out there to win.”

If Perrysburg can defeat Mason, the Yellow Jackets will be playing for a state championship against the winner of Twinsburg and Delaware Olentangy Berlin at 1 p.m. on Sunday, June 9 at Canal Park.