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Poland, Watterson meet today
By Greg Gulas
POLAND
The greatest compliment is one that comes from a peer within a chosen profession.
When Poland and Columbus Bishop Watterson play at 10 a.m. today in a Division II state semifinal at Huntington Park in Columbus, it will be a meeting between teams whose leaders have a mutual admiration and deep respect for what the other has been able accomplish.
The Bulldogs (27-2) qualified for the school’s second-ever state tournament berth — their first since 1983 — by defeating Canton South, 8-4. in last Friday’s regional championship. The Eagles (24-8) will be going after their fourth state championship trophy — they won state titles in 1988, 1991 and 1997 — after stopping Bellbrook, 14-2, in the Fairborn regional.
It will be the Eagles’ first state appearance since 2001 and the program’s seventh Final Four trip overall.
“Columbus Bishop Watterson has a storied baseball history; a tradition over the years that has produced some really great teams,” Poland coach Rich Murray said. “It has finally sunk in that we are now heading to the state tournament and I couldn’t be more proud of our kids. We’re not going just to say we’ve been to state, we’re going there to win.”
Jared Burkert (6-0, 1.85 ERA, 49 strikeouts in 41 innings) gets the nod on the hill with a loaded bullpen ready to go on a moment’s notice.
“The key for us is our bats need to stay alive. We’ve never scored less than four runs in a game all season and that happened just twice this year,” Murray said. “Jared needs to pitch well and just throw strikes. We have a deep staff that is ready to go and defensively we’re solid as well.”
The pitching staff has combined to post a 2.48 ERA, allowing just 66 earned runs in 29 overall games.
The remainder of the Bulldog staff includes Adam Knight (9-0), who was the winning pitcher in the regional championship, Eric White (5-0), Matt Baker (3-0), Dan Klase (2-1), Pad O’Shaughnessy (1-1), Mark Passarello (1-0) and Don Drummond (1-0).
Ricky Svetlak calls the shots behind the plate and leads the team in both batting average (.522) and RBIs (39).
As a team, the Bulldogs have outscored opponents by a 308-88 margin.
Shortstop Anthony Calcagni (.484), White (.449), who plays center field when not pitching and third baseman Dom Lipari (.400) are all batters hitting over .400 on the campaign.
The Eagles are champions of the Central Catholic League and the last time they won a state title was under current head mentor Scott Manahan.
“We have a deep baseball tradition at our school so we’re both humbled and blessed to be returning to state after a 14 year absence. We’ve pretty much concentrated on the opponents in our tournament brackets up to now, but word I’ve received is that Poland is solid fundamentally and they play the game like it is supposed to be played,” Manahan said. “They come prepared and while we’re still putting notes together on them, there’s a reason they are where they are and set to play for a state title.”
Nine seniors dot this year’s Bishop Watterson roster. Six of them start and two are also pitchers.
Third baseman Avery Janning (.410, 24 RBIs, 20 runs) also pitches while shortstop Jacob Bolton (.386, 28 RBIs, 28 runs) is solid up the middle.
Starting pitcher Chris Slavic (7-1, 1.50 ERA, 64 strikeouts) is joined by Sam Rice (6-2, 1.40 ERA, 64 strikeouts), Janning (3-3, 2.20 ERA) and sophomore Matt Dockman (7-1, 1.17 ERA, 41 srtikeouts) as the group has combined to post all but one of the Eagles’ victories.
“The reason we are where we are is because of our senior class. They are outstanding leaders. Also, our strength has been our pitching and that has been the glue to our season,” Manahan said.
Former Poland coach Bob Martinko, the architect of the program’s only state appearance 32 years ago, is elated that his former pupil is enjoying success and has his team is on the brink of the school’s first state diamond crown.
“I am trilled for Rich because he is one of the best competitors that I have ever coached. He has passed that competitiveness on to his players,” Martinko said. “He pitched the final game that got us to state and while they’ve been to the regionals on several occasions since he took over as coach, I believe this team has what it takes to win it all and wish them the very best in Columbus.”