Baseball: New Albany Eagles come up short of state title repeat
New Albany baseball coach Dave Starling took a pragmatic approach after the Eagles’ last game of the season, a loss that was atypical not only of their play this spring but also that of their Division I state championship run a year ago.
The Eagles committed eight errors in their final two games. Six of them came in two innings, and while the team was able to overcome them in a 9-2 regional semifinal win over Westerville North on June 3 at Dublin Coffman, they could not the next day in a 2-0 regional final loss to Grove City.
“We haven’t booted the ball like that all year. It’s a tough way to lose, but if you don’t put any runs on the board, you can’t expect to win,” Starling said.
It was a particularly tough ending for a senior class that went 80-14 and helped deliver three district championships — extending the Eagles’ streak to four in a row — as well as a share of the OCC-Ohio Division title this season and an outright OCC-Capital championship in 2019.
New Albany finished 24-7 overall and 12-3 in the league, tied for first with Grove City. The Eagles went 2-1 against the Greyhounds during the regular season.
“This is probably the most successful senior class in the history of the school when it comes to baseball (with) the things they’ve accomplished,” Starling said. “There’s nothing for them to hang their heads about. They’re a special group and I’m going to miss them for sure. They’ve competed every year they’ve been here. Hopefully, the younger guys have picked up on that.”
Seven hitters who batted .310 or better paced the lineup, led by junior Oliver Shroyer (SS, .419, 31 hits, 17 RBI). Classmate Eli Henderson (OF) batted .409 with a team-high 36 hits, including a home run, and 21 RBI to earn second-team all-league, all-district and all-state.
They were followed by junior Owen Johnson (2B/P, .356, 26 hits, 1 homer, 21 RBI), senior Andrew Ecleberry (OF, .351, 34 hits, 1 homer, 20 RBI), junior Ben Clark (C, .350, 35 hits, 1 homer, 20 RBI) and seniors Caden Robinson (P/1B, .333, 16 hits, 10 RBI) and Cam Behaien (OF, .310, 13 hits).
Robinson, a Memphis recruit who was league co-Player of the Year, first-team all-district and honorable mention all-state, was 6-0 with a 1.27 ERA, 77 strikeouts and 23 walks in 44 innings.
Junior Elijah Griffith went 7-3 with a 2.77 ERA, 33 strikeouts and 13 walks in 43 innings, and senior Aaron Pirkle was 5-1 with a 4.15 ERA, 32 strikeouts and 26 walks in 27 innings.
Junior Tom Bohman had a program-record eight saves.
Clark and Shroyer were first-team all-league and all-district, while Ecleberry and Griffin were second-team all-league and second-team and honorable mention all-district, respectively. Pirkle and senior pitcher Andrew Trybus (P) were special mention all-league and Bohman and Johnson were honorable mention all-league.
Pirkle and Trybus were honorable mention all-district.
Senior Oliver Cush (OF) is a High Point recruit, while senior Carter Druckenmiller (2B/OF) signed with Lake Erie, Ecleberry will play at Ashland and Pirkle is an Akron recruit.
“We had such great chemistry,” Cush said. “We had a lot of guys returning, so everybody knew what it takes. It was the hard work we all put in. The reason we kept things going was everybody staying together.”
dpurpura@thisweeknews.com
@ThisWeekDave
NEW ALBANY BASEBALL
•Record: 24-7 overall
•OCC-Ohio standings: New Albany (12-3), Grove City (12-3), Pickerington North (9-6), Gahanna (6-9), Westerville Central (6-9), Westland (0-15)
•Seniors lost: Ben Bartleson, Cam Behaein, Mitchell Brockmeyer, Oliver Cush, Carter Druckenmiller, Andrew Ecleberry, Aaron Pirkle, Caden Robinson, A.J. Scott and Andrew Trybus
•Key returnees: Tom Bohman, Ben Clark, Elijah Griffith, Eli Henderson, Owen Johnson and Oliver Shroyer
•Postseason: Def. Big Walnut 2-0; def. St. Charles 12-2; def. Canal Winchester 2-1; def. Westerville North 9-2; lost to Grove City 2-0 in Division I regional final
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Baseball: New Albany’s run at state title repeat falls short
