A few weeks ago when the Upper Arlington baseball team seemed to be on the verge of foundering, there likely weren't too many people who believed the Golden Bears ever had a shot at a district championship.

As far as Golden Bears' coach Matt Middleton was concerned, it was the people who really counted that did believe.

"I think we did," said Middleton after seeing his squad take down Gahanna Lincoln 3-1 in a Division I Central District semifinal Wednesday, May 19, at Grove City.

"And that's the reason why we won. We've got a little grit to us, a little toughness to us, that we didn't have at the beginning of the year."

The Golden Bears (23-8) won two of their most important games of the season in different styles, riding the left arm of pitcher Andy Bean against the Lions, then pounding out 10 runs over the final two innings to down a game Reynoldsburg team 12-5 Saturday, May 22.

Late in the regular season, the Bears muffed what seemed an excellent chance to win the Ohio Capital Conference Central Division title. Yet now they are but two games away from a state tournament berth.

Gahanna coach Mike Shade saw his own strong pitching performance by Dinny Galiardi go for naught.

"That was his first loss," said Shade of Giliardi. "He throws hard; he's a competitor. A tough loss for him."

The Lions got runners in scoring position in each of the first three innings, but couldn't collect any timely base hits.

"Their kid pitched well," said Shade. "I think he was the difference in the ball game."

"It didn't seem like it, cause he was walking guys and hitting batters, but he battled and we made plays behind him," said Middleton.

Gahanna had its best chance to grab the game by the throat early, as Bean pitched into trouble with walks in the bottom of the first. With a bases-loaded, one-out situation, the Lions grounded into a double play.

"That's a huge double play in the first inning that Joe McGlumphey and Phil (Jaskot) made," Middleton said.

"It gets us out of a big inning right there with no runs scored, and that's big-time."

Also big-time, of course, was Bean. No matter how many jams he got into, he'd either pitch his way out, or get some sterling defensive play behind him.

"That's the intestinal fortitude of Andy Bean and our defense," Middleton said.

"When he did get guys on, we made plays. They beat it into the ground for the most part, and we made plays."

Bean finally yielded the mound to Jaskot with two out in the seventh. And Jaskot did not disappoint.

"Phil coming in and shutting the door, that's huge in a district semifinal game to come into that situation and throw strikes," said Middleton.

"You have to give credit to those seniors, they want it a little bit, and they're having fun."

Against the Raiders, big hits were turned in by McGlumphy, Bean and Andy Cooper.

The result gave UA its first district title since 2003.

Now, the Bears move on to a regional semifinal against Cincinnati Elder Thursday, May 27, at 5 p.m. at Dublin Coffman.

The winner faces either New Albany or Mount Vernon in a regional final Friday, May 28, at 5 p.m. at Coffman.

This year's state tournament will again be at Huntington Park June 4-5.

The Elder Panthers are coming off a 12-2 district final win over Sidney.

The fourth-ranked team in the state according to the Associated Press, Elder is 25-4 and has averaged nearly 10 runs a game.

"We've got a little grit to us, a little toughness to us, that we didn't have at the beginning of the year."