CHCA baseball loses heartbreaker in state semifinal

COLUMBUS – With his team assembled inside an adjacent hallway off from the dugout at Huntington Park, Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy head baseball coach Tony Schulz had a message for his dejected team.

The Eagles – clad in their patented purple undershirts inscribed with "Together" across the back – had just gone toe-to-toe with undefeated defending state champion Berlin Hiland (31-0) in a 2-1 eight-inning loss Thursday afternoon in a Division III state semifinal.

“It’s the last thing you want to hear when the season’s over but there’s nothing to hang our heads about there,” Schulz told his team, following his first season as CHCA’s head coach. “We’ve been in a few this year, just unbelievable games … that team’s undefeated for a reason; No. 1 in the state for a reason and we went blow-for-blow with them like a heavyweight boxing match. In an extra-inning game like that, it just comes down to a play here or there. The ball bounces our way, not theirs, and we’re looking at a different scenario, but that’s baseball.

“I couldn’t be more proud of you guys – what you did this year, how you came together as a unit, it was awesome to see.”

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Schulz concluded by asking his coaching staff if they had anything to add, and assistant coach Cody Leichman responded loudly with two words: Griffan Smith. The room slowly erupted in appreciation for the senior left-handed pitcher, who for the fourth time this postseason, put the Eagles on his unwavering wings.

Smith tossed seven strong innings with eight strikeouts and allowed five hits. He took the mound in the eighth inning but gave way to Max Ripperger after Hiland's first two batters reached base.

“The guy’s just a gamer,” Schulz said of Smith, who allowed just two earned runs with 38 strikeouts in 26 postseason innings. “He doesn’t let anything phase him. I feel for the kid right now. The way he pitched … he deserved to be rewarded with a win, but that’s the way the game goes sometimes. You play the best baseball you can and sometimes it doesn’t work out for you when you’re playing a great team like Hiland.

“He’s been unbelievable all year for us and especially here in the postseason run, so he’s got a bright future in or out of baseball with the leadership skills that he has and the mentality he has.”

The walk-off single to left field from Hiland sophomore Andrew Miller ended the third state semifinal appearance in CHCA history. The Eagles, state runner-up in 2014, stranded six baserunners and put runners into scoring position in the seventh and eighth innings, but failed to show anything for it. 

CHCA led Hiland – a team that hasn’t allowed more than three runs in a game all season – 1-0 in the third inning thanks to a throwing error. Grayson Hodges led off with a walk, followed by a single from sophomore Adam Rakestraw, and Griffin Hughes bunted both over to second and third with one out. Hiland catcher Bryan Yoder threw behind the action to second base after a pitch, attempting to catch Rakestraw off the bag, but the throw skipped up into the air and Hodges instinctively scurried home.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Hiland managed to tie the game, 1-1. The Hawks’ leadoff man, Andy Miller, singled to start the inning and advanced to second on a balk. A single back up the middle from Hiland starting pitcher Braden Mast gave them first-and-second with one out. A walk to Michael Miller loaded the bases and a sac fly from Derek Miller put the Hawks on the board.

CHCA closes the season 23-8. The Eagles were ranked No. 16 in the final Division III state poll of the season and didn't have a single player named to the all-state team. 

“This was a special group,” said Schulz. “Really how the whole community and the guys in the senior class really embraced me and they bought into what we were trying to do and the culture we were trying to build. It was a great thing to be a part of.”