MASSILLON - It's tough to sum up what happened on Friday at Carl "Ducky" Schroeder Field at Massillon Washington High School when Grand Valley advanced to the Division III state semifinals by beating Ursuline, 12-11.
I can tell you that Stanley Sirrine delivered the game winning hit.
I can tell you that when Mason Berkey crossed the plate for the game's winning run, GV punched its ticket to Columbus on Friday to play at Huntington Park in a Division III state semifinal.
I can tell you who had all the hits, errors, wild pitches, passed ball, missed calls (there were plenty for both sides) and runs scored.
But, what I can't tell you is how it actually happened.
How Ursuline lost.
How GV won.
You can study the scorebook from Friday's game for days, watch film of it, been there live and still not really be able to describe how or why the Mustangs are still playing and the Irish aren't.
"This is..." GV coach Russ Bell said, thinking, trying to sum up the words to fit his emotions. "I don't know, this is more of a rollercoaster than anything I've been on at Cedar Point let me tell you.
"I don't have words to describe it right now."
Leaving Bell at a loss at this point is quite remarkable as he seems to have pushed every correct button possible in leading the Mustangs to a remarkable 30-1 record.
Many high school teams don't win 30 games over three years. Most don't even get to play 30 games in two seasons, given the always unpredictable Ohio weather.
Nonetheless, that's exactly what GV has done.
"At Grand Valley, no one has ever went to state," Berkey, who went 5-for-5 in the win, said. "It's emotional because I've been playing with these guys since I was 10 and we're really close. It's crazy."
It's been well-documented how long this group of seniors has been together. How they went to state in the fifth grade. How much they enjoy playing together, and the success that has come with that enjoyment.
During that time though, Ursuline coach Sean Durkin has been in charge of the Irish for 15 seasons.
He's won a state title.
His teams personally ended three of my four seasons while I played at John F. Kennedy from 2004-'07.
He's reached the regional finals six times.
He's never lost one of those regional final games. That is, until he faced the Mustangs on Friday.
Jefferson coach Scott Barber told GV after the Falcons split a doubleheader with the Mustangs on May 5, to go beat the Catholic schools.
Mission accomplished.
GV shortstop/pitcher Mitchell Lake said after Thursday's regional semifinal game that he and his teammates weren't done yet.
There were still games left to be played. According to Lake, three to be exact, the final one being the state championship.
The Mustangs can now check one of those games off. One down, two to go.
Much like the difficulty of getting the final out of Friday's game, those will likely be the toughest wins that this group has ever tried to get.
But, I certainly wouldn't doubt them.
They've overcome every challenger put in their way this season.
When they've needed big hits they've gotten them. When they needed a player to step up, he has.
The junior Sirrine stepped up when called upon on Friday.
Jeromy Rockafellow, who much like Berkey at times gets lost in the shuffle of the talent surrounding him, played first base, right field then stepped to the mound for the final three outs in the seventh before getting the win.
Every player on this team has accepted its role up to this point.
And there is no reason to expect they won't continue that this week in Columbus.
Hopefully they do it in simpler fashion than Friday.
Bell might not make it through another rollercoaster ride and I certainly don't want to write another column admitting I don't actually know what happened in another Mustang win. Knowing this group, though, they'll do whatever needs to be done to win.
"Every year we've played good but this is our last year and we just want to make it the best we could," Berkey said. "It's just really emotional."
He thought it was emotional?
Try watching this team play from the stands.
Peluso is a sports writer for the (Ashtabula) Star Beacon