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STATE BASEBALL: Badin knows little about Poland
Bulldogs return to Columbus
By STEVE WILAJ
Here’s what Hamilton Badin baseball coach Brion Treadway knows about Poland, which matches up with the Cincinnati-area school today at 1 p.m. in a Division II state semifinal.
“I know they were in the state finals last year,” Treadway said. “It looks like they have a solid program.
“Other than that, I don’t know a lot.”
True, the Bulldogs (28-3) are making their second consecutive appearance at Huntington Park in Columbus after falling in the state title game last season.
And while that’s basically all Treadway and his Rams (21-11) know about Poland, he’s also sure about some other things.
“It’s just gonna be a good baseball game,” Treadway said. “Every team that makes it to Columbus is obviously a great team.
“Everybody is very well coached,” Treadway said. “You don’t get to Columbus without being good or playing really good baseball this time of year. Poland has a heck of a record, so they obviously have had a very successful year.”
The Bulldogs downed Chagrin Falls, 13-3, in a regional final last Friday to get to this point. Hamilton Badin, meanwhile, also notched a regional final romp, defeating Columbus DeSales 10-0 on Saturday.
Poland’s top pitcher is Dan Klase, who is 8-1 with a 1.55 ERA. Jared Burkert is also 3-0 with a 2.33 ERA.
The Bulldogs offense is led by Anthony Calcagni (.412, three home runs, 19 doubles, 33 RBIs), Eric White (.450, 29 RBIs) and Pad O’Shaughnesy (.434, 15 doubles, 37 RBIs).
The Rams are making their first trip to the state tournament since they lost in the semifinals in 2013. They’re looking for their first state title since 1996 — a team Treadway starred on as a junior.
“We’ve been receiving a lot of good pitching and playing pretty good defense,” Treadway said. “Then there’s been timely hits.”
Senior right fielder Ross Mulcare is Hamilton Badin’s top hitter, boasting a .453 batting average with eight doubles, 17 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Senior first baseman Zach Larkin is also hitting .429 with 22 RBIs and Cody Boxrucker, a senior catcher, is hitting .365 with a team-high 25 RBIs.
The Rams’ top pitcher is senior Logan Heintzman, who is 7-2 with a 1.24 ERA in 562/3 innings this season. Nick Taylor also has a 2.41 ERA in 29 innings, while Cameron Madden has a 1.38 ERA in 251/3 frames.
“We’ve just been playing the game hard,” Treadway said.
The winner of today’s contest advances to the Division II state championship on Saturday at 10 a.m. at Huntington Park. It will face the winner of Steubenville (25-2) and Defiance (27-2), who play this morning at 10.