By pitch, by bat and by glove, sophomore captain Rocco Bucci and the Braves sent the Bears home with a decisive 10-0 victory in the regional semifinal. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
Sophomore left-hander Rocco Bucci scattered three hits in a splendid complete-game effort and he led a small army of hitters powering red-hot Olentangy to its 14th win in 15 games and a ticket to the regional final.
Lancaster, OH – Except for folks in certain parts of southern Delaware County, it was irritatingly difficult to differentiate between Division I regional semifinal combatants Olentangy and Olentangy Berlin. Both teams wore uniforms with blue shirts, white pants and white caps.
But by the time the dust had settled and the sun had set on Beavers Field Tuesday evening, it was clear which team best distinguished itself in a high-stakes game. Olentangy, often proudly referred to as The Olentangy by partisans, emerged as the school district’s lone team out of four able to advance to the state’s Elite Eight.
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While Olentangy’s 10-0 rout of Berlin far from qualified as a shocking upset, it underscored just how well the Braves are clicking on the mound, at the plate and in the field. Berlin had won two of the three head-to-head matchups on the way to its third Ohio Capital Conference Cardinal Division title and was reigning regional champ, but had no answer in the matchup that mattered most.
“We kind of feel like all of the other Olentangy teams kind of disrespect us … and think we’re the worst program of the four,” Braves sophomore pitcher Rocci Bucci said. “We’re super pumped about winning today, but we know the job’s not done.”
Cameron Birch celebrates the second of two, deep, extra-base shots that helped power Olentangy over Berlin in regional semifinal play.
Bucci, a left-hander with an impressive array of pitches and command over them, was brilliant in allowing the Bears just three hits in a complete-game effort. After yielding back-to-back singles to open the first inning, he allowed only one hit while striking out seven and walking two in a complete-game effort. He had hurled the Braves to their seventh district title last week.
Bucci also went 3 for 4 with a walk and three RBI to aid his cause. Buoyed by a four-run fourth inning and a five-run seventh, Olentangy pounded out 10 hits off three Berlin pitchers. Nine of them came in those innings when the Braves batted around.
“Rocco has been a stud all year long, and he just keeps getting better – especially as the game goes deeper,” Olentangy coach Ryan Lucas said.
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Just 10-15 a year ago, Olentangy has won 14 of its past 15 games dating to April 28 when it lost to Berlin 11-1.
Catcher Kaleb Rice watches a ball, and the Bears’ chance to advance, fly out of the stadium late in the game against Olentangy.
“That’s just how we’ve been playing,” Lucas said. “We’ve been so balanced with our pitching, hitting, defense and run game. Offensively, we’re really swinging it. Our chemistry is unreal. To get this far is really rewarding for our kids, especially after last year when I did a bad job.”
When the Braves (21-7) face Grove City (21-9) for the regional title at 2 p.m. Thursday, it will be trying to reach the final four for the first (and only) time since 2006 when it took home the state runner-up trophy. But since then, its three intra-district sister schools have ruled the roost in central Ohio and made a mark on the state stage.
“We kind of have a chip on our shoulder about that perception, but we outlasted all the Olentangys this year,” senior shortstop Carter Hire said, referring to Orange’s 7-6 defeat to Grove City and Liberty’s 1-0 loss to West Chester Lakota West on Tuesday.
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“We had seen their pitcher (Carter Elliott) twice already this year, and it sort of helped us know what he throws and howe we should attack him. “We were getting ahead early in the count and seeing pitches we wanted to hit as a result. We were rolling today in all phases today. It was really an ease off our minds to see how dialed in Bucci was.”
Hire went 3 for 4 with a walk and two stolen bases, Cameron Birch doubled twice, Luke Chilicki drove in two runs and Kaden Gebhardt made a jaw-dropping highlight reel running catch in right center field that showed off the speed that made him a Clemson commit at defensive back.
Berlin coach Mike Weaver was complimentary of Olentangy and felt his team exceeded the expectations of many after graduating nine seniors from its state qualifying team.
“Olentangy has everything going for it right now,” he said. “Give all the credit to them. We just couldn’t get outs. You can’t issue leadoff walks, make throwing errors and other mental mistakes and expect to get away with it against a team of this caliber. Things just snowballed on us.”
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