NEWARK – After winning four consecutive conference championships, it almost felt like a rite of passage for the Lancaster baseball team.
From 2018 to 2022 — minus the COVID year — the Golden Gales took home league title after league title. Then the heartbreak of coming so close year after year began to set in. The Gales were on the cusp of winning but failed to finish the job.
On Monday, May 11, Lancaster had another shot, and it came against none other than the Gales’ rival Newark on the road. It wasn’t easy, but this time the Gales were not about to squander away another golden opportunity.
Thanks to outstanding pitching from junior Brody Broeckel, a stout defense that made every play, and flawless execution at the plate. Lancaster was able to scratch a pair of runs and made it stand in a 2-0 victory to give the Gales the Ohio Capital Conference-Buckeye Division championship.
Lancaster avenged its only league loss against the Wildcats. Monday’s match-up was a winner-take-all game with both teams entering with 12-1 league records.
“I am extremely proud of these guys for finally breaking through,” Lancaster coach Corey Conn said. “We have been right there the last three years, and we had a couple of bounces that didn’t go our way, but this group came out and made things go our way. We were able to execute. These guys have worked so hard, and I am so proud of them for the work they have put into this the whole offseason and preseason, so for them to get the reward at the end is incredible.”
Neither team was able to score until the Gales finally broke through in the top of the fifth inning. Ben Thimmes hit a one-out double, and Donovan McFarland pinch-ran for him. He was able to move to third on a wild pitch, and Broeckel then laid down a perfect squeeze bunt. McFarland dove headfirst into home plate to barely beat the throw.
Lancaster added an insurance run in the sixth inning when Kam Griffith hit a two-out RBI double to score Ross, who had walked earlier in the inning.
Lancaster’s defense made several outstanding plays, including junior centerfielder Jack Pompey, who tracked down several well-hit balls, as well as senior infielders Levi Greiner and Coleson Ross. Lancaster’s small ball game was on point, but at the end of the day, everything began and started with Broeckel.
He was able to get out of a big-time jam in the second inning when Newark had runners at second and third with one out, but he made the pitches he needed to get out of it.
Broeckel went the distance in throwing the shutout, giving up six hits, striking out one, and walking one.
“Winning this means everything because you write your goals down at the beginning of the season, winning a league title is the first one we write down,” Broeckel said. “After coming up just short last year, this is all we have been thinking about, and we know it means a lot to coach Conn and all the coaches because we had fallen short. Today, it was right there in our grasp for the taking, and we knew we had to get it.”
Broeckel has a business-like attitude on the mound and never gets too high or too low. He doesn’t show much emotion, but he competes at an elite level.
“Staying consistent and staying within myself is the key for me,” Broeckel said. “A lot of people try to make it a one-on-one game, the pitcher against the hitter, but you have eight other guys behind you, and that makes your confidence that much higher. I’m not that guy who is going to show a lot of emotion, too high or too low, and especially being a quarterback, you have to stay even keel, but on the mound when you get a big out, it doesn’t matter, there’s always the next inning, if something bad happens, it doesn’t matter. You move on. If you stay in the middle, you are always going to come on the right side of things.”
Broeckel, who improved to 8-0, retired nine of the last 10 batters he faced, including seven straight batters to end the game.
“Brody has competed this way all year, and it doesn’t matter the situation or the opponent, you are getting the same guy,” Conn said. “You just know he is the ultimate competitor, and that’s the guy you want out there.”
The Gales, who improved to 17-5 overall, have three regular-season games remaining, before tournament play begins. They travel to Granville on May 13, Berne Union on May 14, and are at home on May 16 against Bloom-Carroll.
Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on X at twil2323.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Lancaster baseball claims OCC-Buckeye Division title with shutout win
Reporting by Tom Wilson, Lancaster Eagle-Gazette / Lancaster Eagle-Gazette
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