SOUTH BEND ― Descending the four sets of stairs from the right-field patio area early Saturday afternoon, Goshen High School junior pitcher Ryen Diaz took one big drink of Four Winds Field and felt something he hasn’t felt this postseason.
Nerves. Butterflies down there in the old belly. More than a few.
This wasn’t just another game. He knew it. He felt it.
Diaz knew all week during practice, during quiet times with no more school to worry about, that he would start and he would have the ball. He would help decide the outcome in what would be the biggest game the Goshen baseball program has played since 1981. That was the last time the RedHawks appeared in a semistate semifinal, the last time they were that close to the ultimate payoff of a Class 4A state championship.
Diaz has pitched and pitched well this postseason. He dispatched Northridge in the sectional and stunned top-ranked Penn in the regional. He played other sports at Goshen ― hoops, for one ― and has experienced a few big-time, big-pressure moments.
Diaz had experienced nothing like he experienced when the Goshen traveling party arrived early Saturday afternoon for its date with Westfield (22-10). Walking into that big park, walking into the Class A affiliate home of the Chicago Cubs, seeing all there was to see, was a bit intimidating. A bit nerve-wracking. Diaz admitted it.
He looked it as well, allowing two runs in the first two innings. After that, Diaz settled in. The RedHawks settled in. He did what he’s done this postseason. The Redhawks did what they’ve done this postseason.
Win. Goshen 5, Westfield 2. For at least one more game, the best baseball story in the state wrote another improbable chapter.
“It feels amazing,” Diaz said. “We belong in this spot. No one believed in us, but we believed in ourselves.”
Diaz’s complete game gem pushed Goshen (13-13) to within one win of its first semistate championship in school history and a date in next week’s 4A final at Victory Field in Indianapolis. Goshen faced Valparaiso, which blanked Fort Wayne Snider, 7-0, in the opener, in Saturday’s championship.
Don’t tell Diaz he doesn’t belong here. Don’t tell the RedHawks they don’t belong. On second thought, maybe do tell them. They’ll absorb the opinion and then keep proving you and them and everyone around Indiana High School baseball wrong.
They did it in the sectionals and hauled home a trophy. They did it in the regional and hauled home a trophy. It’s supposed to get tougher the deeper you get in postseason, but this group has made it look easy.
As Goshen prepared to hit in the home half of the bottom of the sixth ― three Westfield outs away from a spot in Saturday’s second game ― Diaz popped to the top step of the dugout and banged his left (non-pitching) hand on the padded railing along to the song bouncing out of the stadium speakers.
The song was “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor. That 1970s disco song was a hit long before anyone on the Goshen roster was around, but it was fitting. These RedHawks will survive.
How dominant was Diaz after those first two innings? He allowed one hit over the final five, struck out five, went 1-2-3 twice and never faced more than four hitters in an inning. He was in control once he found his control. Subtract those two early innings, and Diaz owned the game. Owned the moment.
Afterward, he could only smile that shy smile he first offered the previous Saturday with the upset of Penn as to asked how and the why this magical run would continue for at least another seven innings after a game that was played in a snappy hour and 36 minutes.
He didn’t know, and maybe didn’t want to know. Just play. That’s worked pretty well.
With no reference point to rely on, Diaz simply went out and pitched. He doesn’t throw all that hard ― the coaching staff almost fell over in the first-base dugout when one of Diaz’s pitches in the fourth registered 81 on the scoreboard (“He got 80!”) ― but what he does do is throw well. He’s smart. He’s savvy. He’s the guy who knows how to respond to the moment.
“He’s the definition of a guy who knows how to pitch,” said Goshen head coach JJ DuBois. “He knows how to attack each batter.”
He responded.
“I was confident,” Diaz said. “Everything was working today. Literally. Changeup, slider, fastball, all working.”
Down 2-0 after two, Goshen responded to its first deficit all postseason with a four-run bottom of the third. Eight went to the plate and chased starter Sam Flicklinger. The big knock came courtesy of junior shortstop Braxton Cline ― a cousin of Diaz. His triple down the right field line scored two and gave Goshen a lead (3-2) it would never relinquish.
“I know he’s going to keep them on their toes and those off-speed pitches are going to roll right to me and I’m going to make the play,” said Cline, who has played baseball with Diaz since they were 8.
Playing the semistate at Four Winds worked out well for the RedHawks. How well? All you had to do was look at the contrast of the crowd in the stands. The first-base side was nearly full and nearly all red. The third-base side, Westfield’s side, looked like Four Winds on a brutal night for baseball in April. Not many fans. Not much to cheer. Not a lot of life.
“It did feel like a home game,” Diaz said. “It made us relax and do our jobs.”
Meanwhile. Goshen continued to live its best life. Minutes after this one went final, as the RedHawks gathered in the dugout before heading for the First Source Performance Center in right field for some rest and some food, they were reminded that the job wasn’t done.
One more, somebody said.
One more indeed.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at tnoie@sbtinfo.com
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Goshen baseball couldn’t go and do THAT again in the high school semistate, could it?
Reporting by Tom Noie, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
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