Olentangy’s Cooper Tracy struck out four of the final seven outs to preserve the Braves first state title in baseball. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
After starting the season 8-6, Olentangy proved it was a team of destiny down the stretch, capping its incredible run with a 2-1 state championship win over high-powered Springboro. It was especially emotional for Columbus Clippers manager Andy Tracy, who was granted leave to watch his son’s final game.
Akron, OH – Forget the cheesy greeting card or a garish tie he will never wear.
Olentangy senior second baseman/pitcher Cooper Tracy gave his dad the ultimate Father’s Day gift, closing out the final two innings of the Division I state championship game with pizzazz, setting off a massive dogpile next to the mound.
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Tracy, who wears his emotions on his sleeve, struck out four of the seven batters he faced as Olentangy preserved a 2-1 win over Springboro Sunday, giving the Braves their first state title in baseball. The least decorated team in their own four-high school district, the Braves closed with a flourish, winning 17 of their final 18 games.
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What made this especially enjoyable for Tracy was that his father, Andy – manager of the Class AAA Columbus Clippers – was granted permission by the Cleveland Guardians organization to leave the team’s series in Buffalo and return to Canton/Akron to watch his son play in the final four.
‘Obviously, Dad didn’t get to go to make many of my games, so he got really emotional today,” said Cooper Tracy, who signed to play at Adrian College.
Andy Tracy said the Cleveland organization puts a large priority on family and “probably would have fired me if I hadn’t gone.”
“I didn’t get to as many of Cooper’s games as I would have liked but I came to the ones that were really special,” he added. “I get more nervous watching him pitch than anything else. But as for the emotional side of him, he definitely gets it from his Mom, not me.”
Olentangy 13th-year coach Ryan Lucas said he was thrilled to see Tracy in the stands this weekend.
“He’s been so supportive of Cooper and our team,” he said. “It was a class act for Cleveland to let him come here and watch one of the biggest moments of his son’s life.”
Despite pushing his pitch count to the brink, starter Cameron Birch (5-3) powered through five innings, allowing just one run and three hits with seven strikes and two walks against a Springboro team scoring 7.4 runs per game and carrying a .341 team batting average. He set down the last seven batters in his 120-pitch outing.
“When I was up in the pitch count, I knew I was coming out soon so I made it count,” Birch said. “Getting the lead early was very helpful and the defensive support I got was super important.”
Birch fought out of a bases-loaded jam in the third in which he allowed three hits and a walk, yielding just one run and preserving a 2-1 lead.
“That was absolutely huge getting out of that jam with minimum damage,” Lucas said. “Cam pitched a really good game. We were watching his pitch count closely. Our goal was for him to get us through five innings to get to Cooper and he really grinded it out for us.”
Olentangy (24-7) got all the offense it needed in the first inning. Rocci Bucci singled. Birch reached on a two-out infield single. Then Dominic Pirrone and Luke Chilicki each delivered RBI singles.
In fact, neither team managed another hit after the third inning.
“Coach told us before the game that he wanted us to score five runs, but that didn’t happen,” Chilicki said. “It was pretty exciting to get a couple runs in the first inning and support Cameron.”
Springboro (25-8) got some fine pitching of its own from Dylan Brabston and reliever Jacob Rhinehart, but was unable to break through after squandering its one opportunity.
The defeat left 32nd-year Springboro coach Mark Pelfrey at 599 career wins.
“There were definitely some calls that I didn’t agree with that (third) inning,” Pelfrey said, “but we still had opportunities, and we didn’t get it done. Their pitching did a great job. The kid was good at combinations as we’ve seen all year.”
Jacob Cane drove in the only run for the Panthers, who were playing in their first title game and second final four.
Olentangy also was playing in only its second state tournament, having finished runner-up in 2006.
Ohio High School Athletic Association media relations director Tim Stried pointed out during the trophy presentation that this marks the first time that three different schools from the same district have won state titles in a school year.
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Olentangy Liberty was the big-school football champion and Orange the boys basketball champ. In fact, Orange also won a state girls wrestling crown.
The original Olentangy school had previously won state championships in Class AA girls cross country (1982), Division III boys lacrosse (1998) and Division II girls lacrosse (2005).
“Our pitching and team defense have been elite and that carried us today,” Lucas said.
“I knew coming into the season we had a lot of talent but it took us a while to wake up and play the way I thought we could.”
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