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MASON – There is honor, even in defeat, if a team fights until the end. 

That's how Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy's baseball season ended Friday night in a 5-4 loss to last season's state runner-up, Chaminade Julienne, in a Division II regional championship game at Mason. 

Down to its final out of the game and trailing 5-2, CHCA's Lucas Rotello smacked a two-run double to left field that cut the lead to 5-4 and left the tying run at second base. 

That's when the magic ran out for the Eagles. 

CHCA hasn't crafted one of the areas top baseball programs annually by giving up. 

"We don't ever feel like we're gonna lose the game," said CHCA coach Tony Schulz. "We could be down six runs with two outs in the seventh and still feel like we've got a shot to win it. 

"You look at the first game we played in the tournament – we're down 2-1 going into the seventh inning, get a couple guys on and get a rally and we win the game. 

"When Lucas got that hit it kind of felt like that's what was gonna happen here, but, like I said, CJ played their butts off and they earned it." 

It was a 3-2 game in the fifth after CHCA escaped back-to-back bases-loaded situations in the fourth and fifth. But, walks, hit batters and errors allowed Chaminade to tack on two more runs in the sixth, extending its lead to 5-2. 

"Obviously, CJ's a great team," Schulz said. "You don't get to this stage without having studs like they do over there. We felt like we had a good gameplan going in if we didn't walk guys and we didn't make errors, we were gonna win that game. 

"Unfortunately, in key moments, we did both of those things. But, you gotta tip your cap to CJ for taking advantage of those ... they did what they needed to." 

Senior right-hander Blake Sheffer started on the mound and went 4 ⅓ with seven strikeouts, but CHCA's offense stalled after taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning. 

In any championship game, one side walks away elated and the other in tears. That's the nature of competition. 

"When you lose your last game of the season there's nothing you can really say to make anything better," said Schulz. "Especially for the senior class, you feel bad for them no matter when you lose, could be in the state finals, could be in the first round of the tournament, losing that last game is never fun. 

"You let them know how much you love them and how much you loved coaching them and how proud you are of all the work they've put in. We're dating back to mid-September putting in work for this season. So, I'll tell them how much we appreciate all they've done for the program and for this team."