MASSILLON — Before he even got to the postgame huddle, Glenn Galang was saying it.
“We’ll be back.”
Amid Chardon cheers and Aurora tears, the first-year head coach made clear this is just the beginning for the Greenmen.
“We got a lot of juniors coming back, they’re seniors next year, and we will be back,” Galang said shortly after the Greenmen’s extra-inning loss to the Hilltoppers in a May 28 Division III district final. “We will be back, and I truly believe in that. I’m glad they got a taste of this, especially the younger kids, but there’s a lot of talent on this team.”
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Galang’s optimism is understandable.
Six regulars hit .300 or better this season for Aurora. Four of those six are expected back in 2027.
All four of the Greenmen’s leaders in innings pitched — sophomore Noah Bolbach and juniors Gabe Cooch, Drew Scott and Johnny Slisz — are also expected back.
If Aurora’s run this season — with 16 straight wins leading to Suburban American and district runner-up honors — surprised some people given the team’s 7-20 record in 2025, it didn’t surprise the Greenmen.
“We all saw it coming,” senior Max Anzells said. “A lot of people just [had] low expectations because [of] last year, so this year [we] just knew what to expect and work for it.”
And while the end was painful — most tournament losses are, but especially when Aurora had three chances to walk it off — Galang didn’t want his players to focus on that.
“Don’t think about this game,” Galang said. “Think about the overall big picture of what they’ve accomplished as a team.”
What they accomplished went beyond pennant chases and title games. They created a bond and a culture.
“Everyone is connected,” Greenmen junior Ryan Ziegler said. “Everyone honestly just loves each other. We can just talk to each other about anything, honestly, and when we’re at practice, we’re always laughing, giggling, having fun and it actually is a family. It’s not like when people say, ‘Oh, this team is a family.’ It actually is a family. We are connected, and it’s the chemistry that’s brought us this far.”
Aurora impressed with its approach
The highlight of the Greenmen’s trip to Carl “Ducky” Schroeder Field in Massillon was obvious. With Aurora down 2-0 in the sixth inning of its district title game, Anzells pounced on the second pitch of his at-bat for a game-tying home run to left. It was the kind of moment — with Galang jumping around like a madman and the third-base dugout mirroring his excitement — every player dreams about.
“It felt great,” Anzells said. “I just knew I got my pitch, just kind of blacked out and took a swing on it and kind of knew it was going out off the bat.”
Even more impressive, he didn’t get pull-happy in his ensuing at-bats. Rather than chase another homer, Anzells twice lofted 0-1 pitches to the opposite field for singles.
“I just had to be disciplined at the plate after something like that happens and just trying to work everything all back again,” he said. “Just get my hits so I can get on base.”
That’s Aurora baseball to a T.
Anzells’ game-tying homer was only Aurora’s fourth of the year. Anzells ended up leading the 2026 Greenmen with two. Galang’s Greenmen have instead built their success on putting the ball in play. In their district semifinal win over Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin, they struck out just three times. Even in their season-ending loss, they struck out a respectable five times in nine innings.
“That’s what I keep telling the guys — just keep putting the ball in play,” Galang said. “Keep battling. It takes one at-bat sometimes. One inning.”
Senior Ryan Slisz personified that approach. In Aurora’s two district games, Slisz reached base five times in seven plate appearances.
“I like to clear my mind, think about nothing,” Slisz said. “Personally, I don’t like to swing too hard before, maybe get one hard swing before an AB, but then after that, just kind of keep your mind calm [and] see the ball through.”
Slisz, the nine hitter, fulfilled the double leadoff concept beautifully alongside Ziegler, who pieced together three straight productive at-bats against NDCL, with two walks and a sacrifice fly. While Ziegler hit under .200, he was among the team’s leaders in walks (18) and hit-by-pitches (seven) to finish with an impressive .404 on-base rate.
“Obviously, batting first, you really want to get on, especially to start the game,” Ziegler said. “So, really, all I’m thinking at my at-bat is to see as many pitches as I can, try to let the team know how the pitcher is feeling today and stuff like that. And I really just want to get on base and just be aggressive as well to just try to be a danger on the basepaths for the other team.”
Aurora’s commitment to fundamentals was impressive. It was a major reason the Greenmen were able to triple their win total from the year prior. Sixteen straight wins is hard to achieve at any level of baseball. That’s part of the legacy Aurora’s seven seniors — Drew Botos, Brennen Scope, Joey Scope, Mason VanRaepenbusch, Rocco Zembala, Anzells and Slisz — leave behind.
”This game and this entire season was for these kids right here,” said Cooch, gesturing to the seniors by his side. “These are my brothers. Like, I love them. Every moment of playing with them has been a joy, even with the ups and downs. But I don’t think next year happens without what we did this year, so we owe it to all these guys who are here.”
Contact Jonah L. Rosenblum at jrosenblum@recordpub.com and follow him on Twitter at @JLRSports.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Aurora High School baseball leaves legacy despite district final loss
Reporting by Jonah Rosenblum, Ravenna Record-Courier / Record-Courier
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