SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP - Without much fanfare, St. Xavier High School won its first outright Greater Catholic League-South baseball title in four years this season.
They also began the Ohio High School Athletic Association tournament as a No. 1 seed, opening with Middletown on Wednesday.
For a school that won the Division I state football championship, their annual state swimming title as well as GCL-South soccer and basketball titles, coach Bob Sherlock's boys of spring have kind of sneaked up on people.
But, Wednesday's day at the yard was far from the proverbial walk-in-the-park tournament opener as St. Xavier had to claw out a 5-4 nine-inning win to advance.
Middletown came in as the No. 24 seed with an 11-15 record (7-11 Greater Miami Conference).
However, no one told Wes Mercer's Middies to tuck tail and run.
After allowing two St. Xavier runs in the first inning, Middletown sophomore pitcher Joe Kirby kept the Bombers scoreless for the next five innings.
John Calhoun Jr.'s triple got the Middies on the board in the second, then in the fourth, they chased Bombers starter William Jaun from the game and plated four runs.
St. Xavier trailed 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh with one out when four-hole hitter Max Klare ripped a double to pull the Bombers within one. Then with two out, Matt Hartness blooped a ball that fell between shortstop and left field, scoring Klare to knot the game at four.
Middletown pulled their Joe Kirby, then St. Xavier's Joe Kirby nearly won the game with a screeching liner, but it was picked off by shortstop Braylon Bailey.
Kirby then took the bump for St. Xavier keeping Middletown off the plate with help from backup shortstop Tommy Googins who gunned a Middie at the plate. Justin Bailes singled in the ninth for the Bombers with Simeon Graves Jr. pinch-running. Graves stole second, Kirby walked, setting up Gavin Vogelgesang. The GCL-South's top hitter delivered a single with Graves scoring despite tumbling around third base.
"I wanted to end it there," Vogelgesang said. "I just wanted to hit it hard somewhere and drive in a run. That was a punch in the face. They came ready to play; we didn't come ready to play. They had the momentum. We kept high spirits and never gave up. I think that's what this team is all about this year."
The St. Xavier team and fans were appreciative of the win but praised Middletown for their effort.
"The state baseball tournament is the hardest tournament to win, no doubt, hands down," Sherlock said. "You've got to have a game like that and things like that happen to scratch out a win and keep advancing. Middletown played a whale of a game. They're a very talented team, well-coached. They did a great job."
All fans - Bombers and Middies - applauded Middletown starter Joe Kirby after exiting the mound in the seventh inning. The Middies felt the love as evidenced in coach Wes Mercer's tweet as his team headed back home.
"Your coaches, players, and fans were classy.," Mercer posted on Twitter. "The standing O that was given to our Joe Kirby when he came off the mound gave me chills. The applause from fans as we walked to the bus brought tears to my eyes."
Despite the close call, St. Xavier shouldn't be underestimated considering how they fared in a league that contains Moeller, Elder and La Salle. To beat a GCL-South team, an opponent must usually be prepared for a relentless comeback at the very end. That was certainly the case Wednesday evening with the Bombers an out away from having their season end.
"You have to take advantage of the opportunities that you have," Sherlock said. "If you don't, you can find yourself in a battle and it's not where you want to be tournament time. We were lucky to get a win. We'll take it. We have to go back and work on some things, but we're very happy we were able to scratch one out."
Senior Gavin Vogelgesang tops the GCL-South in hitting (.477), while junior Max Klare, also a top football recruit, leads in homers (4) and RBI (26). Seniors Nathan Albrinck and Jackson Hauck have four wins each on the mound and senior William Jaun, the league strikeout leader, is committed to Cornell.
St. Xavier senior Joe Kirby went from hitting clutch threes on the hardwood for Bombers basketball to nailing down clutch saves like Wednesday's white-knuckler against Middletown. He's thinking of walking on for Ohio State basketball but might consider slinging more fastballs.
"It's definitely a high-pressure situation and I've been in a lot of those this year," Kirby said. "My team just trusts me to be in there. We all get it done. It's a little nerve-wracking out there. I'm used to it by now. I like being in those situations."
Sherlock is hoping to guide the Bombers to their third state tournament appearance. St. Xavier advanced to the state semifinals in 1994 and were state champions in 2003. He's has been with the Bombers since 2014 and has won two GCL-South Coach of the Year honors and now three league titles (2019's was shared).
St. Xavier is slated to play the winner of Walnut Hills next Tuesday at Princeton High School. The Eagles defeated Kings 7-1 Thursday night.
"I know these guys want to keep going," Sherlock said. "It would have been very sad to end it here in the first game of the tournament. We're very fortunate. We just have to keep going and hopefully, we will."
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