AKRON, Ohio – Springboro’s explosive bats, had been impossible to stop in the postseason, were defused Sunday afternoon at Canal Park.
Lewis Center Olentangy defeated the Panthers, 2-1, in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division I state baseball championship game at the home of the minor-league Akron RubberDucks.
Olentangy (24-7) won its first state championship and denied the Panthers (25-8) their first. Combined with Olentangy Liberty’s Division I state football championship and Olentangy Orange’s DI state boys basketball title, their school district became the first one to sweep all three of those sports in the same school year.
“Just an amazing season,” Springboro head coach Mark Pelfrey said. “Even though it stings right now, they’ll look back, and the memories and the journey are the things that will stand out.”
Watch Springboro baseball players leave field as DI state runner-up
Springboro baseball fell 2-1 to Lewis Center Olentangy in the OHSAA Division I state championship game.
It was the last game for 14 Panther seniors.
“It was such a great season,” senior Micah Brandon said. “A lot of emotions, but it’s all about the guys. Just the last time together; it’s such a blessing to be with those guys.”
Senior Cameron Birch, one of the main heroes in Olentangy’s 3-1 win over Lakota West in Saturday’s semifinals, pitched five innings, allowed three hits and two walks, striking out seven. The Panthers made him work as he threw 120 pitches in that span.
Senior Cooper Tracy, who got the save in the semifinals, pitched two perfect innings to end this one. He struck out four of the six batters he faced, regularly hitting over 85 miles per hour on the radar gun.
It was a tough day for the Panthers, who came in averaging eight runs per game in the postseason. They had been shut once all year, by Elder, and held to one run one other time by Division III state semifinalist Badin.
“A lot of guys were seeing it well, it just didn’t happen today,” Brandon said. “All you can do is have good at-bats. It will go your way sometimes and sometimes it won’t.”
“Their pitching did a great job, as good a combination as we’ve seen this year,” Pelfrey said. “They kept us off balance. They were able to throw all their pitches for strikes.”
Springboro sophomore Dylan Brabston pitched into the third inning, allowing five hits and two runs, but only one hit after the first. Junior Jacob Rhinehart threw 3.1 perfect innings in relief, retiring all 10 batters he faced and striking out three.
The pitchers’ duel came down to Olentangy taking advantage of its only scoring opportunity and Springboro not being able to in an inning with some tough breaks.
In the first inning, Olentangy’s Rocco Bucci singled with one out and stole second with two outs. The Braves then scored twice after Cameron Birch reached base on an infield hit to third base that could have been charged as an error. Dominic Pirrone and Luke Chilicki followed with RBI singles.
The Braves only picked up one hit after that, but the two runs were all the Braves would need.
Springboro went hitless with a walk in its first two innings, but in the third, the Panthers found some answers for Birch on the mound.
Vince Fortkamp, Boro’s leading hitter for the year, singled with one out. Brandon, the leadoff batter in the order, singled.
Louisville commit Ben Veletean struck out looking on a 3-2 pitch that Springboro fans thought was high, which would have meant a walk and runners on every base.
The next batter, senior Jake Cane, hit a ball down the left-field line that was ruled to be just foul. It would have gone for extra bases, maybe scoring two. He later singled into center field to drive in Fortkamp with the Panthers’ first run.
Nick Hutchinson walked to load the bases. As Olentangy rushed another pitcher to the bullpen to start warming up, Birch struck out Blake Patterson to end the inning.
Pelfrey said Cane’s first contact was foul by maybe an inch.
“I think it was the right call but it was definitely close,” he said. “We still had opportunities and we didn’t get it done that inning.”
In the sixth inning, Olentangy sent Tracy to the mound.
Cane greeted him by reaching base on an error, but Tracy struck out the next three with fastballs in the high-80s.
Tracy was just as dominant in the seventh inning, inducing two weak grounders and striking out Fortkamp for the final out.
“We’re a really good-hitting team, and some days it just doesn’t fall,” Fortkamp said. “Some days it’s not your day.”
Pelfrey, who completed his 32nd season, would have picked up his 600th career win with a title today.
“He’s a great coach,” Fortkamp said. “He’s in the Hall of Fame. He teaches us all, makes us into great men. He’s outstanding, a great guy. I love playing for him. Every day I love practicing with him. He’s always supporting us. He wants us to grow.”
Springboro senior salute
Springboro seniors are Owen Vaughn, Vince Fortkamp, Jake Cane, Drew Davis, Colten Muhlenkamp, Colton Miller, Ethan Virtue, Blake Patterson, Dylan Preston, Bode Abbott, Adam Smith, Evan King, Matthew Barch and Micah Brandon. Seven of them were in the starting lineup today.
“Such a great group of kids,” Pelfrey said. “The seniors were outstanding leaders. A lot of them were three-year starters, some two-year starters, just their leadership day in and day out. My job was easy. I just sat back and let them run the ship. They deserved to be champions. They are champions; they (just) weren’t able to get there.”
Said Brandon: “It started when we were kids, all playing together. Great group of guys. Led by the seniors who came before us. We learned from them.
“It means a lot. When I was younger, I played for the Springboro Panthers all the way through. It’s all I know. Being able to come out here and do something new means a lot.”