Turpin's baseball season ends in regional final loss to Springboro

They started playing baseball at Turpin High School in the spring of 1977 in the school's first year of existence. Their most important game to date came Friday at the University of Cincinnati's Marge Schott Stadium in the Ohio Division I regional final against Springboro.

For four innings, Turpin's William Henkel and Springboro's Austin Fawley were dueling with the Panthers scoring an early run and holding a 1-0 lead going to the fifth. In the next two frames, Springboro plated eight runs on their way to an eventual 10-3 victory over the Spartans. It's Springboro's first state baseball semifinal appearance and it would have been Turpin's.

"The seniors, there were four, and the talk is how special the impact they made on a young team," Turpin head coach Don Gullett Jr. said. "The senior class led by buying into the program and coming out and trying to build something that we haven't done at Turpin in forever."

Austin Fawley got the win, extending his record to 11-0, going 5 ⅔ innings, allowing 8 hits and striking out five. Calvin Walters led Springboro with a 3-for-4 day, driving in five runs and Jake D'Amico scored three times. Springboro moves to 26-6 and is the first Dayton-area team to come out of the Southwest District since 2006.

"It's a good feeling," Springboro coach Mark Pelfrey said. "It's always tough to get through those Cincinnati schools. He (pitcher Austin Fawley) was outstanding. I was hoping he would be able to finish, but he kind of ran out of gas."

With the loss, Turpin finishes 18-11 with William Henkel taking the loss. Connor Stout led the Turpin hitting attack going 3-for-4 and driving in a run.

"It went a lot like the other postseason games," Gullett said. "A pretty tight game, sometimes up one or down one. I think every game was a one or two-run game that we played other than the first round. That one (Springboro) felt very similar, but I don't think our sophomore (William Henkel) had his stuff like he's had the past three or four starts."

Springboro scored in the first frame when Jake D'Amico led off the game with a double and was eventually singled in by Calvin Walters. That score stood until the fifth when Tyler Kean singled in D'Amico with the game's second run.

Then, with Kean and Barber on base, Walters smashed what looked like a three-run homer to left. However, running to the celebration, he missed home plate and was out on appeal, making it 4-0 instead of 5-0.

The Panthers put up a five-spot in the sixth inning to put the game out of reach with Walters adding a two-run single for a 10-0 advantage. 

The game could have been over after six innings by run-rule, but Turpin added a pair of runs, finally chasing Fawley from the game. With the sacks jammed, reliever Adam Schomberg shut the door with a strikeout. In the seventh, Schomberg gave up another run but finished the game with the Panthers winning 10-3.

Turpin loses four seniors but returns a sophomore-laden roster for next season and five juniors. For senior Peter Henkel, Thursday's winner on the mound, the regional runner-up trophy was in his hands, but not yet his heart.

"It will feel better later," Henkel said. "It was my last year. This is further than I've ever gone in any tournament."

Added Gullett on Peter Henkel, "He may be the most amazing player I've ever seen getting the most out of what he had."

Before this season, the last Turpin winning season was in 2012 in the old Fort Ancient Valley Conference when the Spartans were coached by Rob Lubanski.