Corespondent file photo / Robert Hayes Hubbard senior Johnny Reyes slides into home plate to score the Eagles’ fourth run during the top of the fifth inning of a game against Poland on May 8.

The drought was over.

It took eight innings last week, but the Hubbard baseball team knocked off Norton 3-0 to claim the program’s first district championship.

The Eagles entered the season with three goals: win the Northeast 8, win 20 games and win the district title. They accomplished all three goals in one of the best seasons in program history.

“We’ve been close the last few years,” Hubbard head coach John Schiraldi said. “Two years ago, we lost in the district finals, last year it was district semis. It was literally the last play of the game away from being in the finals last year.

“We had been there and felt like we knew what to expect this time. I think that helped with the end result. This team is a little more battle-tested going through the grind of our conference schedule, and we played some really good non-league teams.”

The Eagles have a habit of going on lengthy winning streaks, which has propelled them to a 23-6 mark entering today’s regional semifinal.

Hubbard started the year 5-4 but won 13 straight games, a run that began on April 22 against Lakview and continued until falling to Cardinal Mooney on May 15. The Eagles dropped back-to-back games against the Cardinals and eventual Division II district champ Stow-Munroe Falls, but they have won their last five.

“We just took ’em one at a time and talked about winning series, and that’s kinda what we’re doing at the tournament,” Schiraldi said. “Regional final or state, you don’t have to worry about that yet. You have to worry about winning tomorrow’s game. That’s it, and after that, you move onto the next. I think if we keep that mindframe it helps.”

Hubbard beat Salem, Brookside and Norton to punch its ticket to the regional round. The Eagles won by a combined score of 14-0 in the playoffs and have only allowed one run — which came in an 11-1 win over Columbiana — during their active five-game winning streak.

The pitching has been spearheaded by junior Braydon Songer, who has a 0.33 ERA this season. Meanwhile, Gabe Rusnak has a sub-1.00 ERA and hasn’t lost a game since the Eagles started getting on a roll in the middle of the season.

“Obviously, (Songer) is the head of the rotation, but Gabe Rusnak is right behind him,” Schiraldi said. “In the district semis, he pitches a 1-0 game against Brookside. After that game, somebody asked me about a mound visit or what I said to him. I just felt comfortable with him because he wasn’t gonna get rattled. Gabe pitched a 1-0 game in the district semis two years ago when he was a sophomore against West Branch to send us to our first district then.”

Schiraldi said part of the pitching staff’s success is a result of having senior Johnny Reyes behind the dish.

I think a lot of their success is due to how good of a rapport Johnny has with those guys,” Schiraldi said. “He does a really good job handling them during games. He’ll go out and talk to them. I just think he does a really good job as a four-year starter and catcher.”

Hubbard has a challenge awaiting them at Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium in Canton.

The Eagles will take on the Canfield Cardinals, a program familiar with making it to the regional round. The Cardinals enter with a 20-10 record after beating Field 7-6 in their district final, their first district title since 2021.

There’s also some recent history between the teams. Canfield knocked Hubbard out of the district semifinals last year, beating the Eagles 8-7 in the eighth inning.

But Schiraldi said his group has the talent to make a run the rest of the way. He referenced West Branch’s run last spring to a Division II state championship, and he believes his squad has the right combination of talent, experience and resiliency to have similar postseason success.

“You’re in uncharted territory, so it’s a little new, but I think playing a local team actually kinda helps with the motivation. You wanna prove you’re the best team in the area,” Schiraldi said. “Canfield’s a very good program. They knocked us out last year, so there’s some motivation there, of course. You wanna play well against them, but on top of it, you already made history. Let’s see how far we can take this.”