CHILLICOTHE — As the Unioto baseball team prepared for a full-game scrimmage against Lynchburg-Clay in preparation of their June 13 state semifinal game, the players and coaches had a lot of words to describe this season and their tournament run.
They talked of grit, of playing small ball, their defense and a host of other things that have brought them to the state final four.
One word you didn’t hear often, though, was simply — “I.”
Yes, each of the players knows what this would mean to them personally, but the one thing that stood out is when they used the word “I” it was always in the context of the team.
It was “I want to win for these guys,” or “I want this for my team,” that were common refrains.
And that, more than anything, solidified what this team is all about.
“That is the great thing about this team, everyone puts the team before themselves,” said catcher Keegan Snyder.
Preparing for state
No. 7 Unioto will take on No. 9 Mentor Lake Catholic at 4 p.m. on June 13, at Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium in a Division IV semifinal.
To tune up for it, Unioto invited Lynchburg-Clay in for a game on June 11.
“At this time of the year, the kids don’t want to practice anymore, they want to play to ball, so we had eight days off since our last game, so it is great to get a game in and sharpen up a little bit,” said coach Tony Taylor.
The Mustangs are also in the state tournament as they are in Division V and will face St. Paris Graham at 7 p.m. June 13 at Canal Park.
By playing against the Mustangs, it allowed Unioto to get their pitchers some work in against batters other than their own teammates.
The important thing, Taylor said, is that he wants the boys to have fun.
“Not everyone can get this far, so I just hope they fun out there,” he said.
The pitching
Senior KB Perkins is expected to take the mound against Mentor Lake Catholic.
“Our mentality is to take it one play at a time,” said Perkins, the Scioto Valley Conference Player of the Year. “As we face adversity, I think the biggest thing is just to take it play by play.”
They faced some adversity in this tournament run, as they have faced high levels of competition, and they aren’t scoring as much.
“I think we just trusted our coaches in those moments,” Perkins said. “Whether it’s laying down a bunt or getting a hit, it’s obviously huge but now that we are in the tournaments, you aren’t going to have games that are 10 to 5 or anything like that. All of them will probably be under four runs.”
It’s also where he comes in, as the lead pitcher, he is often called upon to be the shutdown pitcher. But Blake Sanders has also proven to be someone the team can rely on. His curveball is his best hit, and he said he trusts that Snyder is going to call a good game.
For him, though, when he does give up a hit, it’s the defense that he relies on.
“Defense wins championships, and I will always have trust in this defense,” said Sanders.
True Grit
Snyder is one of the other seniors on the team who isn’t taking a possible state title berth for granted.
“It’s a great way to go out. We haven’t made it past the district semis my entire career until this year,” Snyder said. “Especially this year, this team worked hard. At the beginning of the year, no one thought we would go this far or even win a Gold Ball in the league. It just feels good right now.”
In his opinion, he said this team cares more than in years past based on his experience.
“We put a lot of grit into it. The last few years, there wasn’t much grit in it. But this year, these guys show up every day and they work hard,” Snyder said.
One of the focuses for the team this year has been playing small ball. Snyder said the team doesn’t have the power-hitting they may have had in the past, so the coaches had them pivot this season into getting quality and timely hits.
The team isn’t overlooking how special this run is.
“Last year we had a really talented team that got knocked out as a No. 1 seed,” said Jaxon Zickafoose. “Even this year, in our first game, we played a team (McClain) that we smoked the week before and then we barely beat them, so we knew we had to lock in. We haven’t been hitting very well, but we’ve been playing with our hearts out.”
David Long said even when they aren’t hitting well, they aren’t getting down on themselves. He said the senior leadership, including Perkins and Snyder, have taught them they need to play hard and give it all they can.
“I just find it really special because I have never made a tournament run like this in any sport,” said David Long. “I feel like we are all connected, we are all playing our best ball. I feel like game after game we are playing really well.”
With a Gold Ball, a district and regional championship, Snyder said this year is the one he will always look back on as he grows older. Even when he was the SVC Player of the Year two years ago — a recognition he will always cherish — it’s being around this team that he will remember the most.
And his career isn’t over yet. Snyder is attending the University of Findlay to play baseball, along with Perkins.
A final run
For Caden Cutright, the chance to be on this team is something he could have easily missed out on. After all, he hadn’t played baseball since he was in the sixth grade, but decided to play as a senior.
A standout in football, he had spent his high school spring seasons on the track.
He had been throwing the ball with Perkins last year as the other was recovering from an injury, and that is when he decided it was time to take a chance. He has cemented himself as one of the team’s outfielders.
“I knew I would be able to track the ball,” said Cutright, who plays defensive back in football.
He admits that hitting the ball and getting his timing down at the plate was difficult at the beginning of the season, but he has developed with the help of coaches.
“I wouldn’t trade it,” he said, shaking his head slightly. “Just being able to be out with guys like KB and Keegan.”
He plans to play football at the University of Rio Grande in the fall.
The future
Last season, Unioto graduated eight seniors; this year, they have three on the team, so the future is looking bright.
Brayden White is a freshman on the team who has been the designated hitter and is learning to be a catcher, a replacement for Snyder as he graduates.
This has already been a special year for him. When they placed the district championship on Ohio University’s baseball field, he was playing in the footsteps of his father, Brian White, who played right field for the Bobcats.
“From the seniors, I have learned leadership, how to lead a team, and how to teach players steps to move forward in their progress,” he said.
Already, he has progessed in his hitting, he said, and has been learning better footwork as a catcher.
And who knows, next year in this space, it might be a story on yet another Unioto state semifinal team.
“Honestly, I hope they go back to state next year,” Snyder said. “They will have a good team coming back. They aren’t losing many seniors. Hopefully, they take this year —the compassion, the hard work on to next year’s team.”
This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: It’s cliche, but there is no I in this Unioto baseball team
Reporting by Tonya Shipley, Chillicothe Gazette / Chillicothe Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
