Staff photo / Neel Madhavan Maplewood’s Tyson Webster delivers a pitch during the Rockets’ regional semifinal contest against Tiffin Calvert on Tuesday in Oberlin.

OBERLIN — The Maplewood baseball team knew what it was getting into in Tuesday’s Division VII regional semifinal against perennial state power Tiffin Calvert.

While a first-inning spark gave the Rockets some confidence and life, the Senecas flexed their bats and showed why they’ve made three state appearances in the last five years, as they downed Maplewood 16-5 in five innings at Oberlin College’s Dill Field.

“We were well aware of how good they were,” Maplewood head coach Matt Vadas said. “We knew what we had to do and that’s play Maplewood-type baseball, put the ball in play, hustle and make them make plays. That was our goal coming in. It worked in the first inning — we got on them, just couldn’t get it rolling.”

As the Rockets came to bat to start the game, Calvert was shaky in the infield in the top of the first inning.

Kenyan Clover and Josh Suba each reached on errors, while Gabe Erwin drew a walk to load the bases with no outs for the Rockets. Then Tyson Webster opened the scoring with a single that scored a pair of runs.

After Zack Suba struck out, Preston Cooper scored another run with Maplewood’s second hit of the inning. The Rockets finished out the inning with an RBI by Cohen Hooper, which allowed another run to score on the Senecas’ third error of the frame, giving Maplewood a 5-0 lead.

“It motivated the team, for sure. Being the away team and getting that early start really encouraged the guys,” Vadas said. “We knew we’d have to put up probably double digits today to hang with them, so it was a great start.”

However, Calvert is averaging 9.7 runs per game with a team batting average of .376, so the Senecas are never out of a game.

In the bottom of the first inning, Calvert’s hit parade began. Vincenzo Lyons led the Senecas off with a double and they were off to the races, putting up six runs on six hits to quickly take the lead.

“They settled down on their side, so hats off to them for bouncing back,” Vadas said. “I think six runs in that first inning on six or seven hits, so hats off to them for not letting that inning get them down.”

Calvert’s hitters kept it going in the second inning, batting around the order once again, as the Senecas put up eight runs on eight hits this time to make it 14-5 after two innings.

“Speaking on my senior pitcher, he’s the heart and soul of the team. He got us here, so he deserved the opportunity,” Vadas said of Webster. “In hindsight, maybe keeping it off-speeds, changing different looks, different speeds might have been a different result. But that’s a good team. Proud of what we did, just hats off to them.”

Calvert added two more runs in the third inning to give the contest its final margin. Lyons led the Senecas with two doubles and a triple with two RBIs, while AJ Shoemaker, Tucker Coleman and Landon King each had two hits and two RBIs.

Despite the loss, the Rockets finish the season at 17-10-1 in Vadas’ first season, while also capturing their second straight Northeastern Athletic Conference title and a district championship.

“With this being my first year, I brought up a brand of what we’re calling Maplewood-type baseball, doing the little things,” Vadas said. “I knew they were a talented group who wanted to do the smart things. I preached high IQ baseball since day one, and those are the kinds of things that helped us with the league title, win a sectional and win the district.”

Led by its five seniors, including Webster, Erwin, Clover, Luke Shipman and Cameron Shipley, Maplewood battled the inclement weather, injuries and lack of numbers throughout the spring.

But still they persevered, and Vadas said this senior class will be remembered for what it overcame en route to its many accomplishments this season.

“For the school in general, they’ve succeeded in winning league championships across multiple sports, so it’s not just baseball for these guys,” Vadas said. “Heart and soul of this team, and they’ll be sorely missed. I’m going to miss them. They made my job as a first-year coach so much easier. They were there day one, multi-sport athletes playing a game at 7 o’clock and coming in the batting cages at 9 o’clock.

“They were all on board and having a group like that makes my job easier. I knew just how talented they were. I was glad to get this opportunity, and I have nothing but respect for that senior class and what they’ve been able to accomplish.”