Zach Meyer appears to be celebrating with his own version of “Riverdance” after he scored during the District Final. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
After a tumultuous start to the season, Olentangy Liberty has caught fire at the right time. Sophomore pitcher Parker Van Engelenhoven allowed just two hits and got all the support he needed in the form of a five-run fourth inning.
Grove City, OH – While its 18-12 record and No. 13 seed in the Division I Central District tournament might seem to suggest that Olentangy Liberty’s baseball team has embarked on a somewhat surprising postseason run, those in the know would scoff at the notion.
After being edged by intra-district rival and eventual state runner-up Olentangy Orange 7-6 in a regional semifinal last May, the Patriots entered 2024 with many talented returners and their usual lofty expectations.
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But a season-opening spring break trip to Georgia resulted in numerous players being suspended for alcohol and recreational drug use, with veteran coach Ty Brenning coming under scrutiny for an alleged lack of supervision.
While the Olentangy Local School District released no information on how many players were suspended or for how long, one could point to a seven-game losing streak in April and make an educated conclusion.
Veteran central Ohio columnist Steve Blackledge writes the OCC and sports at large for Press Pros.
Winner of eight straight and 13 of its past 14 games, Liberty is now a force to be reckoned with. The Patriots blanked 12th-seeded Dublin Scioto 7-0 Thursday to capture the program’s sixth district title.
Parker Van Engelenhoven was stellar on the night, tossing a 7-0 shutout against Dublin Scioto to claim the District Title.
Third-seeded Olentangy Orange will face top-seeded Olentangy Berlin in a 2 p.m. semifinal May 30 at Grove City, followed by Liberty against 22nd-seeded Hilliard Bradley at 5. The winners will square off the following day for a berth in the state tournament June 7-9 at Akron’s Canal Park.
Clearly miffed by media coverage of the spring break fiasco, Brenning refused to speak with reporters and said his players were off limits for interviews as well. Athletic director Darin Meeker said the team would keep things “low key” the remainder of the season.
The story of this game was Liberty’s relentless aggressiveness on the bases, coupled with outstanding pitching by Parker Van Engelenhoven. The Louisville commit, rated as the top sophomore pitcher in Ohio, allowed just two hits with seven strikeouts.
The Patriots sent 11 hitters to the plate in a five-run fourth inning that blew the game wide open. Aydin Deen, Van Engelenhoven and Zach Meyer delivered RBI hits and they took advantage of five Scioto walks.
On the day, Scioto walked seven and hit two others by pitch.
All but one of Liberty’s starters reached base at least once. Leadoff hitter and second baseman Andrew Leonard collected three hits, including a pure hustle double to open the game. He stole third and scored the first run. Leonard and right fielder AJ Clymer both reached four times.
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“At this level, if you make a few mistakes, it can cause a ripple effect and that happened in their big inning today,” Scioto coach Longbrake said.
Liberty’s Nick Vittorini gets in safely at 2nd base after Scioto’s Aydin Thum loses the ball on the attempted tag.
Longbrake said he was impressed by Engelenhoven’s slider, which teamed with his fastball makes him tough to hit.
“Parker is a great young pitcher who’s going to be a force for years to come,” he said. “He could throw about what he wanted today.”
Brooks Marple singled and doubled to account for all of the Irish’s offense. This marked the first district title game appearance by Scioto (21-8) since 2008.
Of note, this marked the first meeting between Liberty and Scioto – which are separated by just 6.4 miles on Sawmill Parkway – since 2012.
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