Olentangy Orange’s Reid Hemrick goes the distance on the mound, buoyed by a five-run fifth inning, as the Pioneers hand the Patriots their first lost of the season. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
Orange relied on a relentless barrage of small-ball and the sensational pitching of Reid Hemrick to knock off intra-district rival Liberty in the first of three OCC Central matchups.
Lewis Center, OH – When played flawlessly, baseball is certainly worthy of the moniker “America’s National Pastime.” Few things are more aesthetically pleasing than a crisply-turned double play, a timely sacrifice bunt, a well-executed cutoff throw and a pitcher who has overpowering stuff.
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But veteran coaches Ty Brenning of Olentangy Liberty and Tom Marker of Olentangy Orange have been around dusty diamonds long enough to know that baseball can be – and often is – an exasperatingly imperfect game.
A matchup Monday at Liberty between fierce Ohio Capital Conference Central Division rivals offered a perfect example of the latter.
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Liberty came in a with a flawless 14-0 record, having outscored its opponents 113 runs to 27, earning a No. 1 state ranking in the MaxPreps power ratings and by the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association. Moreover, first-team All-Ohio right-hander Parker Van Engelenhoven – a Louisville signee and potential Major League draft candidate – was on the hill for the Patriots.
While Orange’s 6-2 upset of Liberty is sure to raise some eyebrows around the state, it also reinforces the notion that any team can beat another team on any given day.
“We knew how good Parker was, but we could tell he was struggling with his location and we tried to do anything we could to move the baseball,” Marker said. “I mean, those guys (the Patriots) are drilling everybody but the beauty of baseball is that every game plays out differently.”
The Pioneers (9-4, 7-2) managed just four hits off three Liberty pitchers, but mastered the small-ball approach with some timely squeeze and sacrifice bunts and aggressive base running.
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For whatever reason, Van Engelenhoven – who sported a 4-0 record and a microscopic ERA – just did not have it on this day that began brightly but evolved into a dreary day with light rain. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound fireballer, whose fastball has been clocked at around 94 mph, just couldn’t find the plate. He walked three batters, hit five others and tossed four wild pitches. Although his defense prevented three runs with terrific plays, two errors also contributed to his woes.
The velocity appeared to be there, but the accuracy was not, as Parker Van Engelenhoven and the Patriots suffered their first loss of the season.
“We are way more talented than we showed tonight,” Brenning said. “We’ve had great pitching and great defense (nine errors) and have been very fundamentally sound all year along. It was a case of two good teams playing each other. Give them credit for showing up, but I feel like we beat ourselves. We just didn’t throw strikes.”
Orange got on the board in the top of the first when a Van Engelenhoven strikeout pitch eluded catcher Knox Brenning and Griffin Zavislak scored from third. The Liberty battery mates saved a second run when Van Engelenhoven deftly fielded a squeeze bunt with his bare hand and flipped it to Brenning for an out.
In the bottom of the second, Zavlisak dropped a wind-blown fly ball in left center field, opening the door for Liberty. Drew Hauenstein hit an infield single. AJ Clymer executed a squeeze bunt to bring home a run and Greer Galbreath delivered an RBI single to make it 2-1.
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Thanks to run-saving defensive gems by Clymer, who threw out a base runner at the plate from right field, and a diving stop by shortstop Ryan Stickel, the Patriots’ lead held until the pivotal – and chaotic – fifth inning.
It was all about small-ball, such as this textbook bunt by Nick Vicars that helped deal a crushing blow to the Liberty’s undefeated season. The teams will meet again on Wednesday at Orange.
The parade began when Zavislak was hit by a pitch and took second on a wild pitch. An infield single by Jake Luling advanced Zavislak, then he proceeded to steal second. Cleanup hitter Xavier Aguila brought home the tying run on a squeeze bunt, aided by a throwing error. Nick Vicars was hit by a pitch. Colby Luling laced an RBI single. Jackson Hoyt was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, ending Van Engelenhoven’s day. A squeeze bunt by Jaxen Miller off reliever Evan Thacker scored another run. And adding insult to injury, Zavislak was hit by a pitch for the second time of the inning with the bases loaded, making it 6-2.
While Orange came in ranked 15th in the coaches poll and 18th by MaxPreps, the Pioneers have been better than their record might suggest. All of their losses came by one run.
Colby Luling said since Orange and Liberty (14-1, 8-1) play three times a season in conference play and often meet in the district tournament, Van Engelenhoven was no mystery to the Pioneers.
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Liberty catcher Knox Brenning slaps the tag on Jake Luling after a one-handed flip by pitcher Parker Van Engelenhoven on a squeeze play to prevent a score.
“Parker’s slider is borderline unhittable and his secondary stuff is really good, too,” he said. “We just had to stay the course, not chase his outside pitches and try to find fastballs to hit. Parker wasn’t as dialed in today as a he normally is for whatever reason and we were able to string together some hits, bunts, walks … whatever. We work on small-ball in practice a lot and it came in handy today.”
Jackson Hoyt arrives way too late as shortstop Ryan Stickel pivots and and fires to first to complete a double play.
Not lost was the superb complete-game pitching performance by Orange senior Reid Hemrick, an Eastern Michigan signee, who improved to 3-0. He allowed just three hits while striking out 11 and walking just one. Liberty came in scoring 8.1 runs per game with a team batting average of .360.
“Reid’s a special kid,” Marker said. “He’s really, really good at changing speeds and locating pitches.”
Hemrick said he knew the Patriots feasted on fastballs and often swung early in the count.
“I was just trying to be myself and attack hitters with a lot of off-speed stuff and breaking balls like I always do,” he said.
Perennial state powers, Orange (23-6) and Liberty (27-7) shared the OCC Central title in 2025 and both were ousted in Division I regional semifinals.
With Liberty’s run of near-flawless baseball foiled by Orange, Ty Brenning was asked if his team could take something meaningful away from the defeat.
“The positive is we get to play against them Wednesday at their place,” he said. “I guarantee we’ll be ready for them.”
Right fielder AJ Clymer threw a dart to catcher Knox Brenning, easily cutting down Orange’s Xavier Aguila trying to score on a fly out.