Columbus, Ohio – As he addressed his team following Friday’s loss to Archbishop Moeller in the Division I state semifinals, Saint Ignatius baseball coach Brad Ganor told his players not to be embarrassed by their emotions, that the sting of the 6-0 setback in Huntington Park will linger for awhile.

“It’s going to hurt, and there is no reason it shouldn’t,’’ Coach Ganor said after the 2009 Wildcats closed their memorable spring at 25-8. “But you shouldn’t be embarrassed by what you accomplished this year. Because there are nearly 200 other Division I schools in Ohio that I guarantee you would give anything to be down here.

“For you seniors, you left a mark on this program that is going to be very difficult to live up to. The younger guys will look up to you with respect. I just want you to know that you wore your jersey proud, day in and day out.’’

Coach Ganor’s seniors, who will join their classmates at the Allen Theatre on Sunday for Saint Ignatius’ 3 p.m. graduation ceremony, will turn in their uniforms after helping set a school record of three consecutive appearances in the big-school state final four. They also helped establish a “Base Cats’’ best for victories in a season with 28 during the state runner-up finish in 2008.

Maybe gritty junior left fielder Kevin Hopkins said it best after his big day against Anthony Wayne in last weekend’s regional finals.

“I'm a hard-nosed player that just tries to follow what the seniors have taught me,’’ Hopkins said. “They are great role models.’’

In what was their 10th overall appearance in baseball’s final four, the Wildcats ran into a gutsy pitcher in Crusaders senior right-hander Brett Cisper and failed to do something they had done throughout the tournament and most of the regular season – come up with the timely hit. Coach Ganor’s ‘Cats stranded nine base runners, including five in scoring position.

After Cisper and Saint Ignatius’ bulldog right-hander Neil Butara battled through three scoreless innings, Moeller took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth on a one-out home run by designated hitter Tyler Hutchinson. Hutchinson’s 380-foot effort to left-center field made him the first high school player to say goodbye to Mr. Rawlings in the new and impressive Huntington Park.

After Butara set the Crusaders down in order for the third time, the Wildcats made their biggest threat in the bottom of the fifth.

Junior right fielder Jesse Franklin led off with a single to right. With one out, senior shortstop Frank DeSico executed the hit-and-run by lining a single to left-center. Franklin advanced to third and DeSico alertly took second base when the relay throw went to third.

It was at that point Cisper (8-1) showed everyone in Huntington Park why he was the Player of the Year in Cincinnati’s Greater Catholic League.

With Mr. Momentum about to take a seat in Saint Ignatius’ dugout, Cisper retired the third and fourth batters in the Wildcats’ order on a strikeout and a 4-3 grounder. He also set down the third and fourth hitters on a strikeout and a 1-3 ground-out with a runner on second and one out in the bottom of the third.

“We were racking up some hits, we just weren’t racking them up at the right time,’’ said Ganor, whose team was out-hit by Moeller, 8-7. “Neil was battling and the difference in the game was the one inning (bottom of the fifth). You have to find a way to produce and frankly we did produce in those situations pretty much all year.

“You have to tip your cap to the kid from Moeller, because he made good pitches when he had to. What are you going to do when the kid gets your three and four hitters out twice in crucial situations? He beat us. They were better today than we were.’’

The Wildcats, who captured the Division I state baseball championship in 2002, watched Cisper help his cause by belting a two-out solo home run in the top of the sixth and the Crusaders take command by scoring four times after there were two outs in the top of the seventh. Ian Hundley’s RBI triple and a run-scoring double by Robby Sunderman were the big blows in the seventh.

Moeller (25-5), which is now 2-2 in state-semifinal games against Saint Ignatius, brought home its fifth big-school state baseball championship by defeating Pickerington North in Saturday night's title game at Huntington Park. The game matched the second (Pickerington North) - and sixth-ranked teams in the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association state poll.

STATE TRACK MEET: Congratulations go out to the Wildcats' 4x400 and 4x100 relay teams for finishing fourth and eighth, respectively, during this weekend's Division I state track meet at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the campus of The Ohio State Univeristy.

A tip of the cap also goes out to Declan Murray for finishing sixth in the 800 meter run and to Mike Minjock for placing eighth in the long jump.