FINDLAY, Ohio (WLIO) — Liberty-Benton is preparing for the biggest baseball game in program history.

The Eagles enter the Division V state semifinals with a 22-5 record after capturing the program's first district championship since 1997, first regional title and first-ever trip to the state tournament.

Head coach Matt Rader said his team's confidence has continued to grow throughout its postseason run as Liberty-Benton has reached new milestones week after week.

"You know, the last few years we've made it into the district finals, and we've just come up short every year, but this year once we reach that goal, we want it. Just something that clicked, and they just started playing with a lot more confidence this year," Rader said. "And the last weekend's been a lot of fun to watch them grow as a team, as a brotherhood.

"So, I think that's the biggest thing, is just getting over that hump. Finally, that's given us all kinds of confidence. You know, we've been saying this since regionals that we've got nothing to lose. Now we're the underdogs, we've been the underdogs, so we're gonna go out there and give it our best shot. I don't think too many people out there, outside of our program, really expect us to do a whole lot down there, so we're really gonna give it our best shot and see what happens."

Senior left fielder Reid Irwin and junior pitcher Jackson Knepper both said the focus has been on staying sharp and leaning on team chemistry heading into the semifinal matchup.

"You know, during these practices, like the hay is already in the barn, we're just trying to sharpen up, you know, like make sure, like our hitting, like everything we want to do, like offensively and defensively, is all sharp, you know, like whether it's like pick-off moves or like bunting stuff, like the little things, like we said before, like just making sure we have that already, because this is going to be a good two games here, and we got to be sharp for it," Irwin said.

"It's great to see all the support that we have. It's really nice knowing we can go and play with the community support behind us," Knepper said. "I mean, it's been my favorite year of baseball ever, not just because we're here, but because we're more of a family than we have been in the past. It's just really crazy what we've done."

The Eagles will face Columbus Academy, which enters the Final Four at 16-16, on Thursday in Canton with a spot in the state championship game on the line.

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