CANTON, Ohio (WLIO) — Leipsic is headed to the Division VII state championship game after an incredible late comeback and 11-10 walk-off victory over South Webster on Friday.

Trailing 8-4 in the sixth inning, the Vikings erupted for six runs. Colin Niese delivered a two-run single before John Dewar added an RBI hit to pull Leipsic within one. Mill Paniagua later drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game, and Julian Zuniga reached on an error that allowed two more runs to score as the Vikings grabbed a 10-8 lead.

Despite the deficit, the Vikings never lost belief.

"I seen him in that. I looked at him when I was on first there, and I was like, 'Let's go.' We just talked about this, like, 'Let's go, let's win it,'" Niese said. "It's always in the back of your mind, like, 'Man, we came all the way down here, you know, you're probably going to pack up and go since you're down, it's looking that way.' But we got a feeling as a group. I don't know, you never given up until the last out."

South Webster answered with two runs in the top of the seventh to even the score at 10-10.

But for the second straight game, Leipsic delivered a walk-off winner.

With two runners on in the bottom of the seventh, Dewar lined a game-winning single up the middle to score Aaron Hazelton and send the Vikings to the state championship game.

"I was sitting on the curve ball, just trying to hope I can get a fastball, and like I did, I hit a fastball, thank God," Dewar said. "And yeah, early on, I don't want to swing as hard as I can. I just gotta put the ball in play, try to get it through the gap like I did."

Leipsic's 11-10 victory marks the program's first trip to a state title game since 1976.

"We're fortunate the way we played. We're fortunate, but these guys, I don't know how this is like the third straight game where we're like, 'We're out, we're done, we're out of it,' and they find a way to climb back in," head coach Darren Henry said. "And I think we'll be fine. They seem to bounce back. They'll be ready to play tomorrow. I think I'm hoping they're a little bit looser tomorrow."

The Vikings will be seeking the program's second state championship when they face St. John's in an all-West Central Ohio showdown for the Division VII state title Saturday at 4 p.m. in Akron.

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