'You have to beat the best.' Roger Bacon goes to DIII regional final after Reading win
FAIRBORN, Ohio – Entering Thursday’s OHSAA Division III regional semifinal, Roger Bacon head baseball coach Tim McCoy knew his team was in for a challenge.
“Going in, we knew Reading was a tough team,” McCoy said. “They’re tough kids, a tough program and we knew we were evenly matched with them. It was going to come down to who could make the plays, the simple things right.”
And as McCoy predicted, the two teams went blow for blow – until his Spartans broke it open.
Beginning with a timely fourth-inning RBI triple by senior Logan Huber – the Spartan bats erupted for six runs, slugging their way to a hard-fought 6-3 victory over Reading in Thursday’s regional semifinal at Wright State University.
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It was the Blue Devils who struck first, however. Reading senior Louie Hess took advantage of a deep ballpark with an RBI triple in the bottom half of the first to put his team ahead 1-0. But as would become a theme, senior Jake Tschida worked himself out of a jam.
Reading senior Micah Bowman showcased his arsenal early and kept the Spartan bats guessing. Through three innings of action, he kept them at bay with just one hit allowed.
“They came out and were going to punch us in the mouth, but it’s what I’ve been saying to these guys all tournament, ‘How are you going to answer?’ In big games like this, you have to answer and that’s what we did.” McCoy said.
With the fourth inning on the horizon, the little things began to trend in the Spartans’ favor.
Huber’s RBI triple in the left-centerfield gap proved to be just the spark the Spartan bats needed. Huber scored moments later on a Blue Devil fielding error to push ahead with a 2-1 lead.
“We’re an athletic team, so when we can start putting some people on first base before two outs happen, we can make things go. It looked like in the first couple innings, their pitcher did a good job of keeping us off balance… But once we got things rolling with less than two outs, we were able to manufacture some runs.”
The Spartan scoring surge continued into the fifth inning, this time courtesy of an RBI single by senior George Janzen. Another Blue Devil error, coming on an errant throw to first on a bunt attempt by senior Luke Wagner, allowed Janzen to hustle his way home for another run. Wagner advanced to third and later scored on an RBI groundout by junior Anthony Hoffmann, extending the Spartan lead to 5-1.
The two teams traded runs in the ensuing inning – the Blue Devils scoring on an error, whereas senior Cameron Gulley slashed an RBI double for the Spartans.
Tschida exited the ballgame following five stellar innings of work. Huber pitched a scoreless sixth inning in relief for the Spartans, setting the stage for senior Dylan Rolfert to put the finishing touches on the contest.
“Rolfert pitched today to close it out – I can’t tell you the last time he pitched – but I could just see it in his eyes, he was ready to go,” McCoy said.
With their season on the line, the Blue Devils weren’t going away easily. Freshman Connor Davis produced a clutch RBI single, reducing the deficit to 6-3 with runners on second and third, and the Blue Devils down to their final out. Rolfert battled junior Conner Thamann, representing the game-tying run, for the final out and eventually prevailed with a strikeout.
Though the team was excited to emerge victorious against a talented team in the regional semifinals, McCoy’s message was simple – we’re not done yet. As McCoy explained to his team postgame, they’re lined up for the biggest game of their lives tomorrow.
“I’m excited for the boys to be able to have that opportunity to compete with the best,” McCoy said. “If you want to play in the biggest games, you have to beat the best.”
His Spartans (19-8) will face Northeastern (18-7) as they vie for the regional championship at 5 p.m. Friday at Wright State University’s Nischwitz Stadium.
The Jets are fresh off a 6-4 upset of Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, the OHSAA Division III reigning state champions, in the latter half of the regional semifinal contest.
Roger Bacon: 0 0 0 2 3 1 0 – 6
Reading: 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 – 3
Pitching: WP -- Jake Tschida (RB) – 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 3 K. | LP -- Micah Bowman (RE) – 6 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 3 ER 2 BB, 2 K.
Notable hitting: RB – Janzen 1-4 1B, RBI; Hoffmann 0-3 RBI; Huber 2-3 RBI, R, 3B; Gulley 1-3 RBI, 2B. | RE – L. Hess 1-3 RBI, 3B; Davis 2-4 RBI, 3B;
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Roger Bacon baseball goes to DIII regional final after Reading win
