All the winning trimmings / Trojans face defending state champs
By DOUG HAIDET
T-G Sports Writer
GREENWICH -- Things have reached the decorating point at South Central High School.
The cars parked alongside the Trojan baseball field during the team's practice Tuesday have gotten the removable paint treatment on their windows. The giant rock in front of the school announces what the Trojans were able to do Friday for just the third time in program history.
After collecting its fourth tournament win in 10 days, a 7-5 regional triumph over Cuyahoga Heights, South Central is one of just 16 teams left playing high school baseball in Ohio.
The Trojans (22-7) will take on defending state champion Newark Catholic (23-9) Thursday in Columbus at Cooper Stadium at 4 p.m., the first game of a Division IV Final Four doubleheader.
"We've got kids that love to play baseball," said sixth-year SC coach Darren Hunt. "This senior class hates to lose, and their work ethic and heart is pretty much unmatched -- and it's paid off."
South Central is one of four left standing -- something it also did in 1972 and 1995 -- after postseason wins over Sandusky St. Mary (13-3), Wynford (12-3), Crestline (7-6), Badger (7-6) and Cuyahoga Heights (7-5). Credit to much of that success goes to four-year lettermen Zac Osborn (.000 batting average, 57 stolen bases, 50 runs) and Dustin Gahring (.000), and three-year letter winners Brett Bond (4-1), Ian Franks (.000), R.J. Ringer (.000) and Ben Wheeler (.000).
"There's a lot of experience there," Hunt said. "It isn't something that happened overnight. This has been a work in progress since those kids were freshmen. They deserve to be where they're at."
Overall, Hunt said the makeup of his squad is more balance-oriented than standout-oriented. The Trojans currently have six hitters batting over .300 and have totaled their wins without carrying a pitcher with an ERA under 3.00.
He added Wheeler's sturdy defense has fueled the team's efforts in the field while the offense of Travis Roberson -- who has had multiple clutch postseason hits -- has been a welcome addition at the plate.
"This group is the epitome of team," Hunt said. "We had better talent last year (when they won 16 games), but we're a better team this year."
Winners of five straight for the second time this spring, the Trojans will be taking a stab at their first six-game winning run when they take on the Green Wave, a team that hopes to capture its fifth state title in six years, and seventh in program history.
Newark Catholic's tournament trail has gone through Gilead Christian (), Danville (12-2), Berne Union (14-4), Worthington Christian (10-7), 10th-ranked Racine Southern (8-6) and fourth-ranked Berlin Hiland (9-8).
Cannizzaro
"I've been telling our kids since we started playing the tournament games, there's no need in worrying about how good your opponent is," Hunt said, "especially in the regional and state tournament, because they're all good.
"Throughout the whole tournament we've kind of had the motto, 'Let's worry about ourselves and not what the other team does.' We want to make quality pitches, limit walks, limit errors and hit with guys in scoring position. If you do those things, you'll be in just about every game."
Hunt's theory is supported. Newark Catholic, which ranked eighth in the final Division IV AP poll, is the only team remaining that finished ranked in the division's Top 10.
Also, as a gauge of the vulnerability of the remaining competition, Division IV's Final Four teams have combined for 29 total losses, with each suffering at least six. That is more than the total defeats suffered by the final teams in Division I (21), II (18) and III (22).
"What I keep telling the kids, it's nothing we haven't already seen," Hunt said. "You don't have a season like we're having and see everybody's fourth and fifth pitchers. We've been seeing a lot of No. 1s, and it will hopefully benefit us."
Hunt will send his ace, senior R.J. Ringer, to the mound Thursday. The right-hander is 10-1, collecting four of those victories in the postseason, along with a two-out save against the Redskins Friday.
Cannizzaro will counter with ? .
The talent level South Central has run into isn't new. Before the season started, the Trojans took a trip to Kentucky, where they scrimmaged the 12th- and 25th-ranked teams in The Bluegrass State -- a state that doesn't break its schools into divisions.
They suffered some tough losses and faced a pitcher Hunt said most likely will be drafted.
"At the time, I don't think the kids were all for it, because we went down there and got beat up pretty good," he said. "But it was a good team-building experience and it was good just to see what a very high level of high school baseball is played like."
Said Ringer of the trip a few weeks after returning, "It made us realize what's out there later down the line towards the state playoffs. It lets you know you're not the best team around."
After making the state playoffs, the team has its shot at being one of the best, having already proven it is one of the best around.
The winner will take on the victor of the Fort Loramie (22-6) vs. Fremont St. Joseph Central Catholic (23-7) contest, Thursday's scheduled night game.
n Contact Doug Haidet, sports writer, at 419-281-0581, ext. 245, or dhaidet@times-gazette.com.