Arcanum righthander Regan Christ limited Versailles to just 1 run on three hits through five innings to earn an opening day win over the Tigers. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
A superior starting pitching performance by Arcanum’s Regan Christ spoiled the Versailles coaching debut of Bill Sturwold as the Trojans closed out the Tigers, 4-1.
Versailles, OH – With Friday’s opening of the high school baseball season it’s not likely that any other game locally showed better pitching than Arcanum’s Regan Christ and Versailles’ Ian Bergman.
Christ, a 6’2″, 205 pound Ohio University commit powered through five innings against an aggressive Versailles lineup, scattering three hits, while striking out seven, including all three outs in the fifth when the Tigers had runners on second and third with two outs and a chance to tie the score at 2-2.
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And for Versailles, senior Ian Bergman pitched through the first five innings, allowing 2 runs in the top of the first before settling in to limit the Trojans just those two runs on five hits, striking out four.
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It was opening day of the OHSAA baseball season, yes…and, opening day for the Bill Sturwold coaching era at Versailles, the former Fort Loramie coach and two-time state champion who guided the Redskins to titles in 2007 and 2010.
Sturwold, who had also coached briefly at Bradford, was hired by Versailles during the off-season to replace Brad Koopman, and his reputation for competitive baseball has sparked a pre-season anticipation for the Tigers after they made an early exit from the post-season tournament last May.
“I’m looking forward to being back,” said Sturwold Friday. “I really like our kids, I’m enjoying coaching them, and I look forward to the competition.”
That was before he ran into Arcanum’s Christ (pronounced Krist) on a breezy, 37-degree day with 12 to 15 mile-per-hour winds, throwing in the upper 80s and simply overpowering Versailles hitters in his first trip through the batting order.
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Bergman was equally effective, despite giving up a pair of runs in the top of the first when with two on and two out, Regan Christ turned offensive and sliced a two-run double to right to stake himself to a 2-0 lead.
It stayed that way until the bottom of the second, when Sturwold began reminding Versailles hitters to become more selective at the plate and more contact-focused when they swung the bats. Christ helped them out by hitting the leadoff batter with a pitch. One out later a base hit put Versailles runners at first and third. Senior Sam Deland came to the plate intent with just making contact and hit the ball in the air to right field, and far enough to score trhe runner from the third, cutting the Arcanum lead to 2-1.
“We need to play. We’re going to be pretty competitive and today was the kind of game that we’re going to have quite a few times this year.” – Bill Sturwold
And those three runs would be all that either Christ or Bergman would allow until Versailles threatened again in the bottom of the fifth.
Versailles mounted a rally by putting runners on first and second with one out, then both runners moved to second and third via a wild pitch.
But Christ, needing a strikeout to at least move his infielders back, struck out the remaining two outs – and struck out three in the inning – to kill the rally and effectively Versailles’ last opportunity to score in the game.
Bergman was gone after five innings, relieved by Sam Deland, who retired the Arcanum order with no trouble in the top of the sixth.
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Christ’s day was also done after five innings, replaced in the bottom of the sixth by reliever Bishop Cartwright, and Cartwright, throwing bullseyes, had no issues with retiring the Tigers in order.
But in the top of the seventh, still with the 2-1 lead, Arcanum put the first two batters on base against Deland, eventually loaded the bases when Christ was intentionally walked, and then with two outs first baseman Luke Stephens stroked a two-strike single to right field to score a pair of insurance runs, staking Cartwright to a 4-1 lead as he came out for the bottom of the seventh.
Versailles threatened, but could not score, and the final out of the game came on a fly ball to center field to conclude the 4-1 win for Christ and the Trojans.
Arcanum’s veteran coach Randy Baker was delighted with the win, because the better Trojans teams over his long tenure as coach have been built around small ball and good pitching.
“He threw it well today,” Baker said of Christ’s five-inning effort. “And Cartwright is another good arm. We’ve got some good pitching and we showed that today, even on a tough day to pitch. The cold didn’t bother us.”
Christ, despite the run allowed in the third, was happy with his season debut.
Versailles’ Ian Bergman nearly matched Regan Christ thorough the first five innings of Friday’s opener at Versailles.
“It was cold out there to begin with,” he smiled. “But after I got going I felt good.”
On the radar gun he consistently hit 87 and 88, and once at 89, which translates to at east a couple of miles per hour better on a warm day when the ball carries better.
“I was happy to face Versailles because they’re a good team, they had good at bats, and I wanted to pitch against them. “They were a good first team to face.”
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And every pitcher likes to talk about a base hit, especially one that drove in what would become his own winning run.”
“Of course,” Christ smiled. “I had a good day. It felt good, and the base hit was good, too. Good way to start the season.”
Arcanum’s Luke Stephens drives a single to right that accounted for the Trojans’ two insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning.
Bill Sturwold, after saying all the right complimentary things about Regan Christ, was already preparing for Saturday and a redemptive opportunity to even his record at the expense of the Brookville Blue Devils.
“He pitched a great game,” said Sturwold of Christ. “And he had three pretty solid at bats. That’s an Arcanum team that hopefully we can run into again down the road in the tournament. Today was cold, but we needed to play and we’re better for having played a team like Arcanum.
“Our kids played pretty well. We put together some good at bats, and we have to cut down on the strikeouts, but we’ll learn from this.”
Versailles, despite the weather and the challenges of playing spring baseball in Ohio weather, is talented, if not young.
“We had three sophomores in the lineup today,” said Sturwold. “And we need to play. But we’re going to be pretty competitive and today was the kind of game that we’re going to have quite a few times this year.”
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It’s obvious that Sturwold feels good about his team, and that he enjoys the experience of coaching relevant baseball again against at a high level of competition. As he said…Friday’s was a game he’s going to see over and over in the MAC Conference this spring.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “It’s great to be back out here, but let’s make it about the kids. I don’t want it to be about me.”
Insurance runs in the top of the seventh….Arcanum won the opener over Versailles, 4-1.
Which is noble, but the absence of Sturwold from coaching against the likes of Minster, St. Henry, Coldwater, and other southwest district standouts since his departure from Fort Loramie has been a conspicuous void in area high school baseball. The kids that we spoke with are excited about playing for him, about his reputation as a winner, and he admits…he’s excited to be back. The timing of things is impeccable.
His habits, his terminologies, and priorities are familiar.
“Let’s get back in the dugout,” he says constantly, his oft-repeated reference to doing damage with the bats, rather than defending the other team from doing damage. It’s a control thing.
And always, his immediate pivot to the next day, the next game, and the next opportunity to win.
“We need a win tomorrow against Brookville,” he concluded his post-game tolerance to be questioned over a loss. “We need to go down there and win a game. We need one.”
No worries about weather, about another Regan Christ, or the bus breaking down. You just find a way.
“I hated playing those Fort Loramie teams,” said the late Newark Catholic coach John Canizzaro, whose. teams lost twice to Sturwold in the Division IV State Finals. “You never felt comfortable, even with a lead.”
What people who know baseball will be saying…about the return of Bill Sturwold, now coaching Versailles.
Soon!
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