Baseball becomes way of life for Hilliard Davidson Wildcats father-son tandem

Justin Swallie and his father, Dave, share fond memories on and off the diamond.

Justin played for his father when Dave was an assistant baseball coach at Hilliard Darby, and the two have coached together on the staff at Davidson since the 2014 season.

“It’s awesome,” said Justin, who is in his eighth season leading the Wildcats. “If you would have asked me when I was 17 years old how it was to play for him, I would have said pretty frustrating. It can be tough. When your dad is the coach, he’s always a little bit harder on you, but he expects more.

“Having that opportunity as a dad to be there with your son and coach and be a part of the game is an experience that I love, so my dad probably feels the same way.”

Justin, 40, previously coached his 13-year-old son, Max, at the youth level. He graduated from Darby in 2000 and then played at Otterbein, and when he was named coach at Davidson in June 2013, replacing Jim Dougherty, he knew right away whom he wanted on his staff.

Justin contacted then-Darby coach Chris Fugitt, asking permission to have Dave join his staff.

Dave, 59, serves as the team’s first base coach and also is part of the field crew that helps maintain Davidson’s baseball facility.

“They keep me young; they keep me busy,” Dave said. “I still enjoy it. This is special. One thing that I’m proud of is being able to coach him and coach with him. I was really proud and excited when he got the head-coaching job at Davidson. I was very comfortable at Darby, but the decision to move here was a no-doubter.”

Both agree that Dave’s wife of 40 years and Justin’s mother, Julie, has served as a supporter and mediator during their baseball careers.

“We’ll go out to eat and do family functions, and me and my dad talk baseball and she’ll ask if we can talk about something else,” Justin said. “It will get quiet and she’ll say, ‘OK, start talking baseball again.’ She’s been a big part of this. She’s been amazing as a mom and a wife having to deal with both of us and putting up with us all the time.”

Justin and Dave also have a bond at Weaver Middle School, where both are social studies teachers. They both were previously coaches on the seventh-grade football staff at Weaver, and Dave and Fugitt coached baseball under Dougherty at Hilliard prior to Darby opening.

Dave joined Fugitt’s staff at Darby when it opened in 1997. Dave and his other son, Eric, were part of the 2007 Darby team that won the program’s first district title. Eric, a first baseman, graduated from Darby in 2007.

“My goal is a district championship with both sons,” Dave said.

“That’s why it’s great to have him on staff because he’s been through it,” Justin said. “He knows what it takes to win district and conference championships. He’s been through it at Darby. That experience and expertise that he brings, that’s what I wanted.”

The Wildcats, who went 13-15 last season, expect to be led by senior Brady Boltinghouse (1B/P), who hit .342 with 21 runs scored and 21 RBI. He was special mention all-OCC-Central Division.

Seniors Nicolas Vertikoff (SS/P), Blake Pettit (2B/C/P), Kaden Bowman (RF/P) and Conner Manos (P) are the other experienced returnees. Pettit hit .327 last season and has committed to Ohio Wesleyan.

Junior Colin Neimeister (P/1B/OF) is another key pitcher. Other key contributors should be juniors Cole Carter (LF/INF/P), Grey Mong (3B/P), Will Rupert (CF), Lane Sowers (INF/OF/P) and Aiden Weir (C/INF) and sophomore Patrick Sherman (C/INF/P).

“We have a lot of hungry, younger guys,” Justin said. “Our junior class is eager to get out there and play. Our seniors have been awesome in the offseason getting us going in the right direction.”

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BRADLEY

•Coach: Xander Uxley, second season

•Top players: Carter Hanson, Mason Koons, Joey Lopez, Evan Rygalski and Max Vosters

•Key losses: Ben Duncan, Dylan Gray and Caden VanVorhis

•Last season: 10-18 overall

•2021 OCC-Central standings: Olentangy Orange (14-1), Olentangy Liberty (10-5), Upper Arlington (10-5), Davidson (5-10), Bradley (3-12), Dublin Coffman (3-12)

•2021 postseason: Def. Franklin Heights 4-0; lost to Grove City 6-1 in second round of Division I district tournament

•Outlook: Senior Mason Koons (P/OF/SS; honorable mention all-district, special mention all-league) returns after going 4-2 with a 1.75 ERA, 37 strikeouts and 11 walks in 44 innings. He also led the team in batting average (.391) and runs (22).

Senior pitcher Max Vosters (honorable mention all-district, second-team all-league) went 1-6 but had a 2.57 ERA with 31 strikeouts and 16 walks in 46 1/3 innings.

Senior Joey Lopez (OF; .274, 1 homer, 7 RBI, 19 runs) and junior Carter Hanson (3B/2B/P; .325, 3 homers, 17 RBI, 13 runs) also are back. Evan Rygalski (INF/P) moved up from j.v. to play second base midway through last season.

•Quotable: “We had some younger players last season making mental mistakes early on, but they continued to get better. The big difference compared to last year is that we had more time with each other, which allowed us to mesh a lot as a team. The guys pushed each other in the weight room, and they brought that into tryouts.” — coach Xander Uxley

—Scott Hennen

DARBY

•Coach: Michael Weer, third season

•Top players: Nate Burdick, Cam Gilkerson, Casey Maruniak, Max Mullen, Jameson O’Flynn and Matt Spencer

•Key losses: Alex Chawla, Andrew Patrick, Peyton Riffe and Jake Swartzmiller

•Last season: 21-9 overall

•2021 OCC-Cardinal standings: Darby (11-4), Olentangy (9-6), Olentangy Berlin (7-8), Thomas Worthington (7-8), Marysville (6-9), Dublin Jerome (4-11)

•2021 postseason: Def. Pickerington Central 6-4; def. Olentangy 2-0; lost to Westerville South 3-2 in Division I district final

•Outlook: Darby boasts a deep pool of pitchers, which will come in handy during a difficult schedule and a push for a seventh consecutive league title.

Junior Max Mullen (P/OF) was 7-3 with a 1.20 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings last year, earning second-team all-district and first-team all-league honors.

Juniors Cam Gilkerson (P/utility) and Kyle Kessel (P/OF) and freshman Cooper Gilkerson (P/INF) are the other top pitchers. Kessel and Cam Gilkerson (honorable mention all-district, first-team all-league) are Wright State commits.

Cam Gilkerson, who also plays first base and outfield, drove in 12 runs and batted .355 last spring.

Junior Travis Yankovich (P/INF) and senior Ryan Hance (P/C) provide depth as relievers.

Senior Casey Maruniak (INF/OF) is working his way back from shoulder surgery and likely won’t pitch. Last season, he hit .433 with a team-best 31 RBI and was named honorable mention all-district and first-team all-league.

Senior Jameson O’Flynn (INF) was second-team all-league, and seniors Nate Burdick (C/OF) and Matt Spencer (P/OF) were honorable mention all-league.

•Quotable: “We schedule the best teams we can play. I think it’s important to have that experience because there will be moments where things break down. In high school baseball, I feel like pitching is the key to long-term success. In a competitive conference like we have or to make a long playoff run, you have to have arms. We feel confident in our pitching.” — coach Michael Weer

—Michael Rich

DAVIDSON

•Coach: Justin Swallie, eighth season

•Top players: Brady Boltinghouse, Kaden Bowman, Conner Manos, Colin Neimeister, Blake Pettit and Nicolas Vertikoff

•Key losses: Cam Colman, Ben Curry, Austin Lippolis, Kaden Miller, Kyle Pepera and Kevin Roberts

•Last season: 13-15 overall

•2021 postseason: Lost to Westerville South 6-4 in second round of Division I district tournament

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Baseball becomes way of life for Hilliard father-son tandem