PARMA — The St. Ignatius baseball team is a defending Division I state semifinalist and features big-time pitching recruits Connor Adams (Louisville) and Murphy O’Brien (St. Bonaventure).
Highland’s response: That’s cool, but we can play, too.
The Hornets (18-9) and Wildcats (20-10) will battle at 3 o’clock this afternoon at Ron Mottl Field on the Cuyahoga Community College Western campus in a D-I regional semifinal. The winner gets Amherst (22-8) or Whitehouse Anthony Wayne (23-6) at Bowling Green State University on Friday.
Highland respects St. Ignatius but isn’t awestruck. Coach Jay Grissom’s team is confident after beating Brecksville, archrival Wadsworth and Archbishop Hoban to win the balanced Barberton District.
“We feel like we belong,” outfielder Andrew Klafczynski said. “We’ve seen in the (state polls) that we’re kind of the underdog, but we feel like we’re right with the best teams in the state.
“We need to not look at Iggy on the front of their jerseys and feel like we’re the underdog and play outside our game. Just because they may have been recruited and that they’re a private-school team doesn’t mean they can beat a team that has been playing together for as long as I can remember.”
St. Ignatius began the season 1-6 and has since lost twice to Brecksville, but both games had asterisks. The first was at Progressive Field and featured both teams changing pitchers every inning, while the second was the regular-season finale and after the Hornets eliminated the Bees in the sectional finals.
The Wildcats may not have the most intimidating roster longtime coach Brad Ganor has fielded, but they’re battle-tested and riding a wave of momentum after beating rival St. Edward 3-1 in the Strongsville District championship game, giving them a 19-4 record since losing to Massillon on April 13.
The top talent is there, too, with left-hander and expected starter Adams (5-3, 0.74 ERA, 62 strikeouts in 47⅓ innings), O’Brien (4-2; 1 hit and 9 strikeouts over 4⅔ innings vs. St. Edward), Ashland outfield recruit Michael Rogers and All-Ohio quarterback Dennis Grosel at third base.
“I told (the players) at the very beginning of this week, ‘Hey guys, we are not concerned with the name on the front of the (St. Ignatius) jersey. Let’s be concerned about ourselves,”’ Grissom said. “This time of year, everybody wants to start using scouting reports, this, that and the other thing. That stuff is important and we take it as coaches, study it and want to know what’s going on, but I don’t necessarily want to talk about that with these guys. Let’s worry about what we do and how we do it.”
Like St. Edward but against a weaker schedule, Highland is on fire with a 13-3 record while outscoring opponents 100-49 since a 5-6 start. Unlike the Wildcats, the Hornets do not have a player committed to play collegiately.
Highland has reached this stage with balance, strong defense (.943 fielding percentage) and continuous improvement. The laid-back leadership of nine seniors has been vital as well.
Catcher Greg Loeding (.402, 18 RBIs, 27 runs) and third baseman Michael Oriti (.364, 15, 14) have been the biggest run producers overall, while center fielder Ethan Suran (.333, 19 runs), left fielder Klafczynski (.323, 15) and first baseman Hunter Rinard (.333, 12 RBIs) have emerged during the second half.
Not to be outdone, the double-play combination of Adam Nagy and Victor Zamlen has been steady and right fielder Jonah Marsh is 5-for-9 with eight RBIs in the postseason.
The pitching staff also is deep, led by senior left-hander and slated starter Thomas Ruth (4-0, 1.62 ERA, 69 strikeouts in 39 innings) and heady sophomores Billy Keller (4-1, 1.46) and Bryce Budzinski (3-1, 1.68).
“Honestly, I think we do a good job feeding off each other’s success,” Grissom said. “This is the first year in a couple years I’ve consistently seen our guys as a whole being excited for each other.”
Highland is carefree and ready to roll. The Hornets feel like they’re gambling with house money and have nothing to lose.
They also have looked to history as proof that high school baseball is unpredictable. The 2007 Hornets defeated future Triple-A pitcher Tyler Burgoon of Defiance in the regional semis, while the ’08 team reached the regional finals after going 10-12 in the regular season.
“We’re all excited to see what happens,” Loeding said.