43
STATE BASEBALL News & notes
Gallery
There’s always time to dance
COLUMBUS
Champion sophomore pitcher Andrew Russell literally had the Hawks circling him on the mound at Columbus’ Huntington Park as he warmed up for the sixth inning of Saturday’s Division III state championship game.
Hiland had posted runners on third base in the third, fourth and fifth innings in Saturday’s title tilt, but he and the rest of the Golden Flashes were still clinging to a 1-0 lead.
But as Russell went out to warm up for what may have been the most important inning of his high school career, anyone on the Hiland bench hoping that the sophomore would be nervous had to be disheartened by what they saw.
He was dancing.
Photo Gallery: Champion Baseball State Championship
The Isley Brothers’ “Shout” was playing in the ballpark and Russell was doing a little shoulder shimmy to the beat as he prepared for the sixth.
“I had to treat it like it was any other day,” Russell grinned. “In the end it is certainly a little different and winning a state championship for our school is a huge deal. But I just had to keep my emotions in check and rely on my defense.”
Russell threw 110 pitches, scattering seven hits and walking two while striking out eight Hiland hitters. But even with a high pitch count, Champion coach Rick Yauger had no thoughts of pulling him with the title on the line.
“I knew Andrew was a competitor. He wanted the ball,” said Yauger. “When we were going out for the seventh I just told him to go win us a state championship. His response was ‘Consider it done.’”
Setting the table
When Champion’s Lucas Nasonti strode to the plate to lead off for the Flashes, he was just thinking about getting on base and sparking the offense.
He lit the flame in ignominious fashion as he was hit by a Mitch Massaro pitch. But a Kyle Forrest sacrifice and a Michael Turner single moved him around the bases for the game’s lone run.
“I just wanted to get something started in that first, and I never thought it would be the only run of the game,” Nasonti said. “I was hoping we’d get a couple more, but that is how it goes sometimes. But we stayed focused and played defense and it worked out.”
Lessons learned at LaBrae
Champion catcher Michael Turner had one of the biggest plays of the game in the fifth inning, going all the way back to the Huntington Park screen to snare a foul popup off the bat of Andy Miller to end a bases-loaded threat.
He actually brushed the netting of the screen with his glove before making the catch, prompting the umpires to question the play, but they ruled that the ball had remained in play.
Turner credited the ability to make the play to a similar play that he didn’t make against LaBrae earlier in the year.
“I dropped one like it at LaBrae and we worked a lot on that type of play since then,” admitted Turner. “Coach Tim Calhoun, who played at Hiram, really taught me a lot about making that play and it made a difference today.”
For Turner, who will go on to play at Kent State next year, it was the culmination of a lot of work over his career at Champion.
“Michael has only been catching for a couple of years,” Yauger said. “It is a testament to his work ethic as to how far he has come. He works on every part of his game every day, and he does it with the mindset that everything he does will help him get better.”
Batcho’s Backstop
While sophomore Andrew Russell was the driving force in Saturday’s win in the Division III state championship, it was Drake Batcho’s effort on the hill on Thursday that put the Flashes in position according to Yauger.
Batcho went seven strong innings against Bellville Clear Fork, scattering four hits and a run while striking out nine in a 2-1 victory over the Colts.
“We aren’t here without Drake Batcho’s performance,” Yauger said. “He drove the bus, Andrew just used it to pick up the trophy.”
–Eric Mauk for The Vindicator