By Eddie Dwyer
Ohio City - Led by highly successful veteran Head Coach Brad Ganor, the 2018 Varsity Baseball Wildcats will face another demanding spring versus a schedule that ranks right up there with the best in Saint Ignatius' rich diamond history.
Under Coach Ganor, the Baseball Cats have made six trips to the OHSAA final four, including a school-record three consecutive appearances in 2007, '08 and '09. Coach Ganor's 2008 and 2013 Wildcats finished as state Runners-Up. Brad was also the top Assistant Coach/Pitching Coach on Saint Ignatius' 2000 State Runner-Up Team and 2002 OHSAA Division I State Championship Team.
As for the 2018 Wildcats, they start off their season with what has become an early spring tradition - the annual trip to Massillon Jackson to face the always baseball-rich Polar Bears. This year the Baseball Cats will board the bus for Jackson's impressvie facility on Tuesday, March 27th.
Massillon Jackson’s baseball program won its second State Championship last spring, defeating the Strongsville Mustangs, 8-2, in the Division I Title Game. The Polar Bears also made their fourth consecutive Regional appearance in 2017. Their first Baseball State Championship came in 2014.
In 2017, Jackson became just the eighth OHSAA school to win both basketball and baseball state championships in the same calendar/school year. That second State Baseball Championship last spring saw the Polar Bears outscore their two Regional and two State Tournament opponents by a combined score of 28-5.
We will tell you more about Jackson in next week's (March 22nd) season preview on Coach Ganor's Wildcats.
After the always highly anticipated and competitive matchup with the Polar Bears, Saint Ignatius will host two area schools with solid baseball traditions, the Mayfield Wildcats on March 28th and the Bears from North Royalton on March 29th. Coach Ganor's 'Cats will again play their home games at one of the finest college facilities in the nation, Baldwin Wallace University's turfed and atmosphere-rich Fisher Field, which is named after legendary Yellow Jacket Head Coach and alumnus Bob Fisher '63. Coach Fisher was the leader of the BW baseball program for an amazing 42 years and won 700 games.
After its Good Friday of Prayer and Celebration of Easter, Saint Ignatius will head to Hartsville, South Carolina for a week at one of the finest High School Baseball Tournaments the nation has to offer. The Wildcats will face Latta High School at 4:15 PM on April 3rd, Paul VI at 1:45 PM on April 4th, Sumter at 11 AM on April 5th and a team to be determined on April 6th before heading back to Cleveland.
After returning home, Saint Ignatius will embark on a week that will include a road game at Massillon Washington to face the Tigers on April 11th and home games versus Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin on April 12th, Strongsville on April 13th and Brunswick on April 14th.
There is no need for Coach Ganor's team to star the Strongsville matchup on Friday, April 13th. After losing to the 2017 State Runner-Up Mustangs in the District Final at Strongsville last year, the Wildcats have April 13th secured in the back of their minds.
As for the Saturday, April 14th game with the Brunswick Blue Devils on Fisher Field, the 2 PM Varsity matchup will be preceded by a Junior Varsity Game at high noon.
The big games just keep rolling with April 16th and 17th matchups on Fisher Field versus Canton McKinley and St. Edward, respectively, and the tradition-rich Cleveland Indians Charities High School Hardball Classic on Friday, April 20th at Progressive Field. This year, Saint Ignatius will take on the Kenston Bombers at 5:30 PM at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.
This season's annual Senior Day versus Archbishop Hoban will take place on May 12th at Fisher Field. The Varsity game versus the Knights is listed for high noon, followed by the Junior Varsity Game at 2 PM.
For a look at the Wildcats' complete 2018 Varsity Baseball Schedule, go to Saint Ignatius Athletics, click on Teams and click on Varsity Baseball.
Just a reminder again that this old catcher will be coming out of the corner's bullpen for the Wildcats' Varsity Preview on March 22nd.
Have a safe and enjoyable week and weekend, and Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of my Irish Family, Relatives and Friends. I know along with these old Irish Eyes there are some young Irishmen connected to Wildcats Baseball. I consider Saint Ignatius Assistant Coach John Whelan young since I covered John as a player and a coach at St. Edward for The Plain Dealer and now cover his son, Jack, for Saint Ignatius.
"Night like a river, beginning to flow
I felt the beat of my mind go
drifting into time passages." - From the great Al Stewart's Hit Song "Time Passages"