Infamous quipster and former Major League Baseball player and coach Yogi Berra was well known for his classic one-liners, which sometimes drew laughter because of the way he took plenty of liberty with his use of the English language. One such line was, “It’s like déjà vu all over again.”

For the East Holmes Hawks Senior League Little League team, winning the State championship with a 12-4 victory over Miami on Wednesday, July 27 at Lucasville was like déjà vu all over again, and again. That’s because the Hawks victory marked the third straight State championship for the Hawks, a major feat considering that there was just one State champion before this run at the senior (15 and 16 year old) level, one at the Junior League (13 and 14 year old) level and two at the 12U Little League level.

But no matter how often it happens, it never gets to be routine, for either players or coaches.

“This never gets old,” said head coach Mike Yoder, who has helmed all three State champion teams. “I hope that the kids never take this for granted, because it is a pretty special experience that not many kids get to go through.”

Last year’s team survived a breathtaking thrill ride of a game to reach the next level of play, grinding out a 13-inning win that was truly a classic. This year’s team didn’t figure it wanted to endure that kind of emotional roller coaster, so it simply beat up its opponents on the path to the title.

The 12-4 win marked the closest game the team played in the tournament, and this one could have been a lot larger margin, although there was still plenty of tense moments for players, coaches and fans alike.

East Holmes got things going in the first, when Jordan Yoder stroked a double, Kevin Schrock singled and Todd Ropp lashed a single to put the Hawks up 2-0. Sheldon Mullet reached on an error, as did Caleb Miller, producing a 4-0 lead.

Enter Yoder, who would take the mound and pitch four perfect innings to start the game. The left-hander was in complete control, never coming close to giving up a hit, displaying great control and dominating the Miami hitters.

Meanwhile, East Holmes tacked on runs, Kyle Troyer walking and scoring in the second, and then three in the third with the key blows coming off the bats of Caleb Miller, who crushed an RBI triple, and Kendall Bontrager, who smashed a run-scoring double. However, the Hawks had plenty of opportunities to add more, leaving the bases loaded, and nearly regretted it.

Yoder allowed his first base runner to begin the fifth, a walk, and that seemed to unnerve him a bit. A double and a hit batter loaded the bases, and a single plated the first Miami run. Another single scored a second run, and with the bases loaded, Justin Kimiercik unloaded a long fly down the right field line, which looked like it could be trouble. Alec Mast tracked it down near the line, turned and got the ball back to second, with a third run scoring.

“That was a huge catch,” said coach Keith Troyer.

As for his fifth inning performance, the otherwise perfect East Holmes starting pitcher said, “I think I started putting too much pressure on myself in the fifth. Then when things starting going bad, I started to overthrow everything trying to get out of it. Fortunately we got out of it and I was able to settle back in in the sixth.”

One more run scored on the lone East Holmes error in the game, and suddenly Miami had momentum, down 8-4. East Holmes had allowed them back in the game.

The Hawks went quietly in the fifth, and a fired up Miami team roared out of the dugout to go score some more runs, with the heart of their order coming up.

Only Yoder simply went out and responded to the pressure situation, getting a routine fly out to center, a ground-out to third on a nice play by Ropp and a strikeout.

The Hawks responded by scoring four more, the key hits coming from Todd Ropp and Caleb Miller, who lashed a two-run double and sent a stake through Miami’s hearts.

Yoder walked the lead-off man in the seventh, his final batter of the day, and gave way to Bontrager, whom Coach Yoder dubbed the Amish Assassin. It took Bontrager three pitches to whiff the first hitter he faced. It took only three more to end the game, as he induced a ground ball to Miller at second, who flipped to Schrock at short for one, and then it was Schrock to first baseman Sheldon Mullet for the game-ending double play.

“I totally predicted that. I told Kevin earlier in the tournament that we were going to end this thing with a double play,” said Miller with a huge grin. Bontrager had only one thing on his mind as he trotted in from left field to take over pitching duties in the seventh: Finish it.

“Just don’t get fancy, throw strikes and do the job,” said Bontrager of his finishing touches, which came on six straight strikes. “I just thought of it as me throwing to my Dad in the backyard.”

That thinking worked well, and it propelled the Hawks back to the Central Regional, where they finished in the Final Four in 2009, and emerged victorious last season, finding their way to the World Series.

Miller, who was used primarily as a situational runner last season, now plays a much more pivotal role, batting seventh and manning second base. He said that the experience last season for himself, as well as catcher Blake Bunch, Mullet, Schrock and Richie Mast, was invaluable, even though none played key roles in last season’s success.

“It was a great learning experience, and I think it taught us that we need to work hard to take care of business,” said Miller. “We understand what it takes to succeed, and at the same time, it has helped us in terms of leadership.”

Yoder said that each new season brings new talent and new challenges, but one of the consistencies has been that he has had good, high-character players to work with, which helps as the staff tries to improve playing skills. Those skills, and character, came to the forefront throughout the tournament and especially when the going gets tough after the fourth inning of the finals.

“I thought we played really well,” said Yoder. “I had loads of confidence in Jordan, and he came right after them. I felt like the only way we were going to get beat was if we beat ourselves, especially once we put all kinds of pressure on them in the first inning. I definitely thought we were the best team here, and we just needed to go out and play like we were. For the most part we did, although we had some base running mistakes we will need to address. Now we need to go have a good week of practice and not be happy with where we are. We’ve got to play better to compete at the next level.”

That level will be at the Central Regional at Peru, Ill. August 6-11, where East Holmes, which is now Ohio, will try to duplicate what last year’s team did. You know, déjà vu all over again.