Loveland baseball 'playing with house money' in search for district championship

LOVELAND, Ohio − In the winter, when the focus is on hardwood hoops, baseball teams are often stuck with indoor practices, hoping Punxsutawney Phil doesn't see his shadow. Often times, baseball teams use these sessions to sharpen their skills by hammering home the fundamentals of the game before they can move outside.

A coaches' dream is that those fundamentals, no matter how monotonous they seem in the winter, can save a team's season in the spring.

That's what happened Tuesday night as Loveland executed a perfect relay (7-5-2 in the scorebook) to cut down the game-tying run for the final out in a thrilling 6-5 victory over Lakota West in the Division I district semifinals.

"It's sometimes the things you take for granted. You harp on those things earlier in the year," Loveland head coach Ryne Terry said. "Our motto is, 'It takes all of us.' It's for the team and that's exactly what you saw there at the end of the game.

"Extremely proud of everything that these guys have been able to do."

Rally caps on early for Loveland

Before senior catcher Vinny DeSalvo could apply the game-ending tag at the plate, Loveland had to overcome a rarity early on in Tuesday's tilt with the upset-minded Firebirds. Lakota West jumped out to a 5-0 first-inning lead to stun the No. 4 seed Tigers early.

"We were a little behind the 8 ball there in terms of, this could be our last game of the season," Terry said.

Loveland's "It takes all of us" mantra came to fruition in a comeback effort. The Tigers batted around their order in a six-run third inning, highlighted by a two-run single from senior Christian Juram and capped by a go-ahead, two-run single by junior Derek Fleming to put the Tigers ahead 6-5.

"As soon as we saw one (run), we knew we had confidence that the guy behind us was gonna step up and do his job," Terry said. "We believed in our teammates."

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Pitching, defense leads the way

Loveland had the lead and momentum, the perfect formula for a team that ranks second in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference in collective ERA (2.22) to close it out. The bullpen law firm of Bertke, Harper and Dooley shut the door.

"The second we got that lead I was very confident in our pitching staff," Terry said.

Junior Will Bertke was first out of the bullpen and handed in 2 1/3 shutout innings. Senior Max Harper, the ECC's saves leader (4), followed with 3 1/3 scoreless innings and senior Ryan Dooley finished it with his fourth save in an exciting seventh.

"We knew our bullpen could come in and shut them down. That's what we did," said Harper, who earned the win.

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'Playing with house money'

When Terry, a 2013 Loveland graduate, took over at his alma mater prior to the 2022 season, he inherited a program that had finished second to last in the ECC on both sides of the pandemic-stricken season of 2020.

Terry and the previous classes of Tigers helped restore the program's roar with a winning record (14-12) in 2022 and a trip to the sectional finals last season to help set the table for this year.

"They set the groundwork for everything this group was able to accomplish," said Terry, the ECC's reigning Coach of the Year.

With Tuesday's win over Lakota West, Terry's Tigers made it 3-for-3 on their preseason goals.

"We set out for three goals this year. It was to win the ECC, we checked that a few weeks ago, to win 20 games and to win a sectional title," Terry said. "It was the first time since 2018 we were able to do that as a program that has a lot of rich history. Just restoring that legacy.

"We're playing with house money now."

Loveland faces state-ranked Butler on Thursday

Loveland will throw its chips on the table Thursday afternoon in search of a district championship against No. 3 Vandalia Butler at Mason High School.

Butler, ranked No. 9 in Division I in the final OHSBCA poll, run-ruled No. 14 Sidney (12-1) in the second round before getting past No. 2 Kettering Fairmont (3-1) in the district semifinals.

"There's no reason to be nervous, there's no reason to think we have all this pressure on us," Terry said. "We're gonna go out, play our game, focus on us and keep riding with the Tigers."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: OHSAA baseball: Loveland Tigers restore the program's roar in 2024