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The Big Arm Of The Tournament
Walsh Jesuit's Tyler Skulina came with a 95 mile-per-hour fastball and wowed fans and scouts alike.
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06/08/09 - Sonny Fulks/1570wptw.com
It was an outstanding state tournament, demonstrating all the best attributes of high school baseball…and the kids who love the sport over all others.
It was impressive. Walsh Jesuit junior Tyler Skulina, who came to the championship armed with a 95 mile-per-hour fastball and popped the eyes and radar guns of nearly 50 college and pro scouts
DeSales pitcher Thomas Gentile oohed and aahed the crowd with his curveball that topped out at 80 miles per hour. He'll pitch at the University of Cincinnati next year.
There was the hard hitting of Moeller’s Tyler Hutchinson, whose exhuberance for the game carried his team to its fifth state title.
Todd Kibby, the 6’3” man/child from Springfield Local High School, up in Mahoning County, showed such dominance and command from the mound as to pitch the Tigers to the brink of the Division IV championship. Afterwards, he shyly admitted that he had received a scholarship to play at Bowling Green next year.
Another BG recruit, Alex Bayer from Pickerington, was so impressive the 6’4” senior will play both football and baseball for the Falcons
The list of accomplishments goes on and on. The pitching was superb. The defense steady and dependable. And where pitching and defense dominated, the employment of “smallball”…bunting and timely hitting…artfully executed.
It was more than a worthy championship, compared to higher profile of football and basketball, and this I know…high school baseball, in those communities where high school baseball is important, is alive in well in Ohio. There is talent. There’s financial and fan support for the sport. But most importantly, there’s commitment from athletes and parents alike in those communities to see the game "featured".
“It’s a big deal at Moeller,” said head coach Tim Held, whose Crusaders defeated Pickerington North for the school’s fifth baseball title in Saturday night’s Division I final.
“We do have the advantage of having more boys and more talent to pick from, but there’s tremendous competition for the available opportunities, too. Amateur baseball is a big deal in Cincinnati. We have outstanding facilities in communities like Blue Ash and kids play the game all summer. It’s popular and that popularity carries forward with the young kids right into high school. We had 55 freshmen alone come out for baseball this spring.”
Moeller, with its five state titles, has more than benefited from the culture of baseball found in Hamilton County. But in Cleveland, Division II power Walsh Jesuit, has had a similar experience. Smaller than Moeller, the parochial powerhouse nonetheless points to a year-round commitment from kids and adults alike to keeping the Warrior baseball tradition strong.
“We have the four titles and another trip to state this year,” said one parent of a sophomore on this year’s Division II runners-up. “…but all the kids play during the summer at the highest level of competition possible. And, every one of them here this weekend will tell you that baseball is their top priority among the other sports available at Walsh.”
That point, of course, is a distinguishing factor for success in any sport, and a factor that does not exist at Piqua, Troy, and many other Miami County schools…schools that must share athletes in three sports while struggling to maintain numbers and respectability in baseball from year to year.
Even at tiny Patrick Henry, up in Hamler, Ohio, baseball has taken center stage over football and basketball with back-to-back titles in 2008 and 2009.
“We share athletes, too, like a lot of other Division IV schools,” says head coach Shawn Sunderman. “But we also support each of the other sports and the success we’ve had in baseball has helped create a culture of baseball in our community. At least, we’re getting to that point.
“The biggest thing is all these people who come out to support it,” he continued. “They’ve provided for outstanding facilities at our school. Our baseball complex is second to none you’ll find anywhere, and that appeals to the young kids now. They grow up wanting to play baseball.”
It’s been that way for years at Newark Catholic, where coach Chris Cannizzaro has six state titles to his credit and perennial optimism for yet another. Borrowing on the old movie phrase, Cannizzaro has built it, and the kids keep coming in droves.
At nearly all of the sixteen school representing this year’s state tournament you found someone who boldly said that baseball matters in their community…in Newark, in New Middletown, in Cincinnati, Chardon, North Olmstead, Hamler and Coldwater.
And this I know. From what I saw and heard from those willing to go on record, it’s what separates baseball in Miami County…from the rest of the state.
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