KALIDA, OH — After a marathon 14.5-hour opening day at the 2025 ACME State Baseball Tournament, just four teams remain with a shot at the title.

On Sunday, Defiance and Perrysburg met in the first state semifinal at Holy Name Ballpark, and it was the Bulldogs who punched their ticket to the championship game.

Trailing 4-1 in the fourth inning, Defiance mounted a huge rally. Jaren Honsberger sparked the comeback with an RBI single that brought in Johnny Kissner to cut the deficit to two. Moments later, Colt Ward drove in two more runs with a base hit to right field, scoring Jase Brownlee and Drew Allegretti to tie the game at 4-all.

The Bulldogs weren’t done. Grady Crist’s sacrifice fly brought home Honsberger to give Defiance its first lead of the afternoon at 5-4. In total, the Bulldogs plated four runs in the frame and never looked back.

Earlier in the game, Allegretti had opened the scoring in the second inning when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, driving in James Tracy.

Defiance went on to win 10-4, earning a spot in Monday’s ACME State Championship game.

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