Andrew Elwer shut out Newton 3-0 in a regional final victory for Delphos St. John’s Wednesday, in Cedarville. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Logan Howard)
Delphos St. John’s won its second regional title thanks to contributions from do-it-all stars and defensive specialists, alike, not surprising…named Elwer!
By Marcus Hartman for Press Pros
Cedarville, OH — Four MAC teams have won 16 state championships in baseball.
Could Delphos St. John’s be the next to get its first?
Minster Bank proudly sponsors the best in area sports stories on Press Pros Magazine.com.
With pitching like the Blue Jays have, it’s hard to bet against them next week in Canton.
Veteran columnist Marcus Hartman writes the Buckeyes and sports at large for Press Pros Magazine.com.
Andrew Elwer was the man in the middle of the diamond Wednesday in a Division VII regional final against Newton, a team looking for its first trip to state after slaying its Russia boogeyman one day earlier on this same field at Cedarville University.
He was more than up to the task, shutting out the Indians over seven innings with seven strikeouts and two walks.
En route to a 3-0 win, the junior gave up six hits but scattered them efficiently throughout the game while also getting some help from his defense.
The only time Newton had more than one hit in an inning was the first, and that only ended in disappointment for the Indians.
Rhett Koffer singled with one out then went to second on a ball in the dirt.
Westrich Furniture proudly sponsors the best MAC sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.
After Austin Tippie struck out, Will Bowser looked like he was going to play hero by hitting a ball into shallow centerfield, but Brayden Klaus had other ideas.
A 6-1 senior who only plays the field most games, Klaus charged the ball, picked it up and fired home. The throw beat Koffer, but he went into evasive maneuvers and nearly found the plate anyway. That’s where DSJ catcher Drake Fittro came in, receiving the ball and applying the tag in a bang-bang play that left everyone hanging on the call.
St. John’s catcher Drake Fittro applies the tag to erase Newton’s Rhett Koffer at the plate in the 1st inning.
“OUT!” Shouted the home plate umpire, sending the Blue Jays into cheers in the first base dugout and ending the inning for the Indians.
Huffer Chiropractic can help your athlete perform at their best – with offices in Osgood, Jackson Center, Marysville, and Dublin, Ohio.
“I knew coming into that where I wanted to go with the ball if it came in front of me,” Klaus said. “So as soon as I saw it come, I was going for it.”
Fittro was happy to do his part, of course.
“I saw Brayden coming up pretty hard, and we’ve got a lot of chemistry. We go back a long way,” the catcher said. “We played together forever, as long as I can remember. I saw him fire it, I received it. I saw the swim move start coming in (with the slide) so I had to lay out, extend for it, put the tag down, and we got it because of his great throw.”
Elwer allowed a leadoff hit in the second, but that was erased by a 4-6-3 double play started by Tyce McClain at second base. He flipped it to shortstop Cam Elwer, who stepped on second and fired to first baseman Logan Duncan to finish the job.
Meanwhile, Cole Alexander was impressive on the mound for Newton, mixing a stiff fastball with an effective curve that had more than one Blue Jay backing out of the box on called strikes.
But Delphos got to him in a flash in the fourth when the Blue Jays started being more aggressive.
McClain, who was the only Blue Jay without a hit against Fort Loramie in the regional semifinal, started the decisive rally by legging out an infield single.
Cam Elwer doubles home a run in the seventh inning for St. John’s against Newton.
He came around to score on a triple by Cam Elwer, who scored on the next at-bat when his brother hit one by the Newton centerfielder and ended up on third himself.
Alexander bowed his back and stranded the younger Elwer 90 feet away with a pair of strikeouts sandwiched around a liner to the pitcher, but the damage was done after he faced the minimum nine batters in the first three innings.
“We wanted to get aggressive early the second time around just because of when he got ahead in the count, he owned us,” St. John’s coach Jerry Jackson said. “We wanted something to hit early so we could put the ball in play and put the pressure on. It worked.”
St. John’s added another run in the seventh when nine-hole hitter Braden Lindeman was hit by a pitch, moved up on a walk to McClain and scored on a Cam Elwer double to left field.
Dorsten Contracting proudly supports MAC and Shelby County League sports on Press Pros.
Then the biggest question left was if Andrew Elwer could complete the shutout.
He gave up a single to start the inning, and the runner advanced on a fielder’s choice to McClain at second. After a groundout to third, the final out fittingly found its way to shortstop, where Cam Elwer vacuumed it up and threw to Duncan at first to set off a raucous celebration.
Blue Jays raise their Division VII regional trophy at Cedarville University.
“Hopefully this is our year to go out and bring home a state championship,” Jackson said. “But just proud of the guys, proud of the way they’re playing and competing. And it’s fun to win.”
Did we mention there were two pitchers for the Blue Jays?
Cam Elwer, a senior, toed the rubber Tuesday and allowed just one run — with the aid of two errors — in an 8-1 win over Fort Loramie.
The elder Elwer typically hogs the accolades on the diamond and the basketball court, but for these two days Andrew can claim bragging rights.
He not only turned in a slightly better pitching line but had the more potent bat.
He was 2 for 3 Wednesday with an RBI triple after going 2 for 3 with a walk and scoring three times against Fort Loramie.
Minster Dental is proud to sponsor the best in area sports stories on Press Pros Magazine.com.
Cam was 3 for 4 Wednesday — a home run short of the cycle — but only managed a single on Tuesday while he was striking out five, walking two and yielding five Redskin hits.
“I don’t think I did that on purpose,” Andrew said of one-upping his brother on the mound, “but it does feel good to do that. It does feel good.
“I don’t think I’ve thrown a better curveball all year. When I start throwing first-pitch curveballs, I’m feeling it.”
Jackson appreciates having both, and he noted how they make each other better no matter the sport.
“They’re only a year apart, but those two just feed a feed off each other,” Jackson said. “A lot of times, you’ll see Cam in the middle of an inning just kind of be in his ear, toughen him up a little bit, just just letting him know, ‘Hey, be tough, be strong.’
“Glad we have them.”
The Blue Jays are set to play again at 10 a.m. next Friday in Canton against an opponent yet to be determined.
It will be the second trip to state for St. John’s baseball, which lost in a state semifinal in 2011, and the players are looking forward to the opportunity not only to make program history but match the basketball team’s state title won in March.
Eight of the baseball players were on that team — including both Elwers, McClain and Klaus — so it’s fair to say this team has guys who know how to win.
Delphos St. John’s beat Newton 3-0 in a Division VII regional baseball final at Cedarville University.
It also has others like Fittro who want to share that feeling from the run to UD Arena two-plus months ago.
“Well, that makes the whole baseball team hungry,” the catcher said. “We saw it done. We want to do it too. Why not? That’s how we came into the season. They got one. Let’s get two state trophies in a row. So that’s our goal now. That was just another team in the way. Now we’re on to bigger. Got to focus up.”
Of course, magical runs require magical moments like the play at the plate in the first inning.
And beyond stars like the Elwer brothers, championship teams need everyone playing their role and ready for the moment like Klaus, the defensive specialist, was when he came up with the perfect time for the first outfield assist of his career.
“Coach said after the game it was a big moment,” Klaus said. “It set the tone for us, and to make that play, and to have all our guys hype us up, it put a spark under us to go get the win today.
“It’s amazing to be able to do something for this school and for this community who’s done a lot for us. It’s amazing. So I couldn’t ask for a better community and better teammates and a better coaching staff, and I have full trust in them. I know they have full trust in me, and we’re hoping to get the job done.”
Precision Strip, in Minster, Ohio, is proud to be the presenting sponsor of the OHSAA state finals on Press Pros Magazine.com.