The Oak Hills High School baseball program seemed trapped in a revolving door for some time.
Players learned new systems, adjusted to different expectations and adapted to changing leadership. By the time Shawn Sowders arrived before the 2025 season, the Highlanders had ultimately played for four coaches in five years.
Oak Hills responded by building something stronger.
Now, less than two full seasons into Sowders’ tenure, the Highlanders are playing for a Division I regional championship and have become one of Southwest Ohio’s most compelling postseason stories.
“We started Sept. 1, had our meeting, started lifting three days a week, and we’ve been going at it,” Sowders said. “This is very rewarding for them because they know what they have done has paid off.”
The transformation began with accountability.
Sowders established a series of standards that players wear on the backs of their shirts and carry into every workout, practice and game.
“The best part is, I don’t have to hold them accountable anymore,” Sowders said. “They hold each other accountable. They wear it.”
The buy-in quickly became evident.
More than 70 players within the program regularly attended 6 a.m. weightlifting sessions three times each week throughout the offseason. Coaches rarely had to check attendance.
“They show up,” Sowders said. “I don’t have to call and say, ‘Where are you?’ They’re there.”
“They have bought into what we were selling. And I think that’s what they wanted. That’s what they needed.”
The Highlanders steadily grew stronger through one of the area’s toughest schedules.
The confidence followed.
So did the victories.
The team’s rallying cry now echoes throughout the dugout after practices, workouts and games.
One. Two. Family.
What began as words has become the foundation of the program.
It is why Oak Hills is still playing baseball in June.
OAK HILLS FINALLY SOLVES MASON
The memory lingered for an entire year.
Mason ended Oak Hills’ season in the Division I regional semifinals in 2025, holding the Highlanders hitless and sending them home with an offseason full of unfinished business.
The disappointment fueled early-morning workouts, weight-room sessions and a determination to return to this stage.
“We didn’t forget that,” Sowders said. “We remember that.”
When the postseason rematch finally arrived Wednesday at Miami University’s Hayden Park, Oak Hills delivered the response it had spent 12 months preparing to make.
Luke Wardwell drove in five runs and the Highlanders (23-7) erupted for 10 runs over the final three innings to defeat Mason 11-5 and advance to the Division I regional finals.
For junior Lincoln Schreiber, the victory carried special significance.
“That was my first time beating them on varsity,” Schreiber said. “Last year we lost to them in this game, and then this year we lost to them in the regular season.
“To finally beat them here, at this point, it was amazing.”
The game featured all the emotion expected from a matchup between longtime Greater Miami Conference powers. Tons of chirping from the stands, the dugout — just about anywhere inside Hayden Park.
“It’s always good,” Schreiber said. “GMC matchup, man. Some of the best ball in Cincinnati.”
Oak Hills struck first in the second inning when Adam Williamson delivered an RBI single.
Mason responded with four runs in the third. Liam Sander’s two-run double and Isaac Vargo’s two-run single gave the Comets a 4-1 lead and appeared to put them in control.
The Highlanders never panicked.
Instead, they chipped away.
Xavier Wasson tied the game with an RBI single in the fifth inning before Mason reclaimed the lead moments later on Chase Gandert’s go-ahead hit.
Oak Hills answered again.
Schreiber singled home the tying run in the sixth inning, setting the stage for Wardwell’s two-run double that pushed the Highlanders ahead 7-5.
The rally represented everything Oak Hills had worked toward since last season’s defeat.
“We knew how it felt last year to fall short in this game,” Schreiber said. “That’s been our goal. It’s been the standard to win this game now. We’re not trying to just make it to a district final. We’re trying to make a statement.”
The statement continued in the seventh.
Wardwell delivered a two-run single as Oak Hills scored four more runs to put the game away.
The Highlanders finished with 11 hits. Wardwell collected three hits and five RBIs, while Schreiber, Wasson and Dax Redman each produced multi-hit performances. Oak Hills also drew seven walks and committed no errors.
“We got to battling,” Sowders said. “Today, everything went our way because we kept battling.”
Ryan Murphy, the Greater Miami Conference’s Pitcher of the Year, earned the win with six strikeouts over five innings. Williamson closed the game with a save.
Sowders admitted afterward that he never doubted his team’s ability to fight back.
“Nobody hits Murphy,” the GMC Coach of the Year said with confidence. “Let’s just be honest. Nobody’s hit him all year long.”
As the celebration began, the significance of the moment became clear.
Earlier this season, after an exhausting 10-inning loss to Mason, the Highlanders gathered together and made a promise.
“They said, ‘We’re going to win so we can see them again,’” Sowders recalled.
The rematch finally arrived after six consecutive wins got the Highlanders to regionals.
Oak Hills made sure the outcome was different.
MINNESOTA FISHING CAN WAIT
Sowders was supposed to be fishing in Minnesota this week.
Instead, he’s coaching baseball.
So, the fish can wait.
Oak Hills is still playing.
The Highlanders are one victory from a trip to the state semifinals, continuing a postseason run fueled by community pride, player commitment and a culture that has rapidly transformed the program.
“The fish will be there,” Sowders said with a laugh. “The fish will be there after this is over with.”
The Highlanders will square off against St. Xavier in a Division I regional final at 5 p.m. Thursday back at Miami University.
And what exists right now feels bigger than baseball.
The crowd that packed Hayden Park to watch Oak Hills take down Mason reflected how deeply the Highlanders have connected with Cincinnati’s West Side community.
“We had an active crowd here today,” Sowders said. “Some people probably haven’t seen a baseball game in a lot of years, and they’re here. They’re bought in.”
The support stems from something deeply rooted in the program.
West Side baseball.
West Side pride.
The Highlanders have embraced that identity.
“You heard it at the end,” Sowders said. “One-two-family.”
The phrase echoes throughout the dugout and locker room, serving as a reminder of the culture that has carried Oak Hills this far.
The players have embraced a similarly simple mindset.
“Just do our thing,” Schreiber said. “Don’t worry about the other team. Just play our ball.”
That mentality mirrors Sowders’ philosophy.
Before Wednesday’s regional semifinal, the coach intentionally avoided distributing scouting reports to his players.
“I said it’s about us and our game,” Sowders said. “It’s not about their game. It’s our game.”
The approach was evident.
Oak Hills fell behind by three runs against one of Ohio’s best pitching staffs.
The Highlanders responded with patience, timely hitting and flawless — error-free — defense.
Wardwell drove in five runs.
Schreiber delivered a pivotal RBI during the sixth inning rally.
Williamson contributed at the plate and on the mound.
Redman anchored a defense that handled what it could flawlessly.
Every player seemed to provide something.
That’s exactly how Sowders envisioned it.
After years of coaching turnover and uncertainty, the Highlanders trust what they have built.
“This year, they’re our guys,” Sowders said. “They’re not somebody else’s.”
For Schreiber and his teammates, Wednesday’s victory represented validation.
The Highlanders remembered how last season ended.
They remembered the offseason workouts.
They remembered the early mornings and the standards that became the foundation of the program.
Now they stand one victory away from the state semifinals.
“We knew how it felt to fall short,” Schreiber said. “That’s been our goal.”
The Highlanders spent the last year preparing for another opportunity. Now they are trying to make sure the journey continues.
If that’s the case, Minnesota’s fish will have to wait a little longer.
