Catcher Jate Hoovler, third baseman Grady Bush and pitcher Grant Thunberg begin the celebration as New Albany blanks Big Walnut 6-0 to advance to the final four. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Lorrie Gardner)
Pitcher Grant Thunberg tossed a 2-hit shutout to lead New Albany to a 6-0 victory in a Division II regional championship game.
Grove City, OH – As is the case with his team, New Albany junior pitcher Grant Thunberg appears to have hit his stride at just the right time.
The Eagles had their 2024 season end with a loss in their postseason opener, but the OHSAA’s expansion from four to seven divisions dropped them from the big-school bracket to Division II this spring.
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Performances like the two-hit shutout produced by Thunberg as New Albany beat Big Walnut 6-0 to win a regional baseball championship Thursday at Grove City has the program riding a wave of momentum into the state tournament.
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At 10 a.m. June 13, the Eagles will travel to Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium in Canton to face Amherst Steele in a state semifinal.
“I’m so proud of our guys,” coach Michael Sandman said. “They’ve been resilient all year and have gone through a lot of adversity. They’re playing their best baseball at the right time. I think we saw Grant Thunberg emerge as a top-line pitcher in central Ohio today. He’s been good, but he took another step today.”
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Thunberg had a no-hitter through 4 1/3 innings and induced three double plays to preserve a shutout, allowing just two hits, two walks, and one hit batsman while striking out two as New Albany improved to 19-10.
It’s been a long road to get to this point for Thunberg, who battled injuries early on this spring.
Big Walnut’s Evan Couser is out at second as New Albany’s Jacob Richardson throws to first to complete a double play.
“This was probably my first high school complete game shutout,” Thunberg said. “At the start of the season, I was facing a little bit of arm issues and couldn’t really throw the ball, but I’ve been working towards it. I didn’t start much early on but I came back, and honestly everything just feels better. I was just not thinking much and just going after them. I want to thank my defense, too, producing a lot of good double plays tonight.
“It’s awesome. I’m so excited, and we’re going to go all the way. Coach had it on our minds to make state, and hard work pays off.”
The Eagles made it 1-0 in the third when junior center fielder Van Routhier opened with a single. After the next two batters were retired, senior second baseman Jacob Richardson singled, junior shortstop Caden Kistner was hit by a pitch, and senior third baseman and cleanup hitter Grady Bush singled in Routhier.
Then in the fifth, the Eagles broke it open.
Senior left fielder Quinn Blaney doubled and scored on a single by Richardson to make it 2-0. After a poor throw in, Richardson moved to third. Kistner then walked. Bush followed by hitting a bouncer to the pitcher who threw poorly to first base, scoring Richardson, moving Kistner to third and Bush to second. An infield single by junior catcher Jate Hoovler loaded the bases. A grounder by senior right fielder Cam Simmons that was misplayed scored Kistner for a 4-0 lead.
“I felt like we didn’t really play like we normally do,” Big Walnut coach Mike Stafford said. “We had (five) errors, and that’s uncharacteristic of our team. Credit to their team and their pitcher. He shut us down and got us off balance so we couldn’t get anything going on him. They didn’t give us much to rally around.
New Albany’s Van Routhier celebrates with teammates after scoring the Eagles’ first run on a hit by Grady Bush during the Division II regional finals against Big Walnut. New Albany won 6-0.
“It’s disappointing because we haven’t played like that all year. I’m so proud of the kids on how they got to this point. Two years ago, when I took this job, I don’t think they even had double-digit wins. For us to go to a regional final in my second year is a credit to the kids. I’m not going to define the season on one game.”
While Big Walnut (20-7) was trying to make state for just the second time in program history, with the other coming in 2015, New Albany won state titles during both of its previous state appearances in 2004 and 2021.
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“This group is special,” Richardson said. “If we continue to hit the ball, we can do anything we want. Our pitchers are doing great. They’re throwing strikes. I’m loving it, the team’s loving it, and if we continue with the bats, we’ll continue to be OK. We definitely knew an inning was coming where we’d get a lot of hits and continue to get runs on the board. It worked out.
New Albany’s Jacob Richardson celebrates on third as the Eagles take a 2-0 lead.
“Our pitcher did a great job pounding the zone. That’s all we really needed. Our defense backed him up when we really needed it. That was big props to our pitcher making them hit ground balls, and we just made plays up the middle.”
New Albany tacked on two runs in the seventh when Hoovler and Simmons singled, senior first baseman Joe Sokol walked, and senior designated hitter Brayden Pettigrew singled in Hoovler and Simmons.
The Eagles finished with 10 hits in support of Thunberg, who needed just 76 pitches to complete his standout start.
“That’s an unbelievable program, and coach Stafford does an unbelievable job,” Sandman said. “For (Thunberg) to shut down that lineup, he was particularly sharp with his control and remained poised at all points. In years past, if a guy gets on via walk with him, that would be a turning point in the wrong way. Now he’s taken that next step and it doesn’t faze him. We were able to get a few double plays when we needed them.
“This is my third year, and I got emotional when we got the final out. The first two years, we worked so, so hard, and we had so much bad luck happen. I’m just so happy for these guys that stuck with it. Last year, we got bounced in (our tournament opener), so for them to bounce back and play their tails off in the tournament, I’m so happy for these guys, the school, and the community. I can’t wait to see them next week.”
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