Columbus, Ohio - Displaying the same class and character he brought to his team in victory, Saint Ignatius' senior captain/third baseman Dennis Grosel pointed to the lasting impact the past four years have left on him and his teammates.
"A great group of seniors, we've battled together since freshman year," said Grosel, as he was packing up his equipment in the first base dugout at Huntington Park following the Wildcats' 5-3, eight-inning loss to Pickerington North in Thursday night's Division I State Baseball Semifinal.
Grosel, who closed out an outstanding athletic career at Cleveland's Jesuit Preparatory School, said he will especially cherish the spring of 2016, when the Wildcats overcame the adversity of a 1-6 start and convinced their coaches and their fans that they would turn it around and make it a season to recall.
"What I will take most from this year was our attitude to fight back and the trust and faith that the seniors and the rest of the team, the juniors and sophomores, had in each other," Grosel said. "Honestly, if we didn't have that, we wouldn't have made it through the Districts."
Head Coach Brad Ganor's Wildcats, seeded third at the Strongsville Sectional/District, not only brought home that District title by defeating second-seeded Strongsville and top-seeded St. Edward, but went on to capture another Regional Championship at Bowling Green State University and advance to the big-school State final four for the sixth time in Coach Ganor's 12 seasons as the head man of Saint Ignatius' Baseball Program and the 13th time overall.
Saint Ignatius brought home the Division I State Baseball Championship in 2002 under former Wildcats baseball and basketball mainstay Brian Morgan and was a state runner-up in 2000, 2008 and 2013. Coach Ganor, who was an assistant coach/pitching coach for the 2002 state championship team, set a school record by guiding his Cats to three consecutive state final fours in 2007, '08 and '09.
In what was its second consecutive trip to the state semifinals, Saint Ignatius faced one of the OHSAA tournament's surprises on Thursday night, Coach Tim Thomas' Panthers from Pickerington North.
Pickerington North, which returned to baseball's final four after finishing as a state runner-up to perennial power Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller in 2009, was seeded eighth in its sectional/district.
While Saint Ignatius was founded in 1886, Pickerington North opened its doors on August 24th, 2003.
Playing with a confidence level in the postseason that Coach Thomas described as being off the chart, the Panthers trailed the Wildcats, 1-0, after two innings.
Saint Ignatius, which closed its resilient season at 22-11, took that early lead in the bottom of the first on a two-out, bases-empty line drive single to right-center field by Grosel, a walk to senior designated hitter George Asadorian and an RBI single to left field off the bat of senior shortstop Kevin Mingus.
Pickerington North, which was eliminated in a regional semifinal each of the past two years, grabbed a 2-1 lead in the top of third inning after there were two outs and the bases empty. The big blows were a base hit off an 0-1 pitch by Panthers third baseman Connor Ayers and an RBI triple to deep center field by center fielder Dillan Smith.
Saint Ignatius knotted the score at 2 in the bottom of the fourth off an authoritative leadoff double down the left-field line by Asadorian, a sacrifice bunt by Mingus and an RBI single to left by junior left fielder Ryan Jacobs.
The Panthers had their faithful roaring again in the top of the fifth after first baseman Justin Grubb delivered an RBI single with two outs that made it a 3-2 game in favor of North.
It stayed that way until the bottom of the seventh, when Wildcats senior pinch hitter John Robinson, battling back from an 0-2 count, drove a 2-2 pitch into right-center field for a lead-off single. A sacrifice bunt by senior right fielder Nick Freund moved junior pinch runner Joe Gutbrod to second, and Grosel, a first-team All-Ohio quarterback this past fall, tied the score with a first-pitch swinging, two-out single to center field.
In the decisive eighth inning, Pickerington North, with two outs and runners on second and third, took a 5-3 lead off a sharply hit fly ball off the bat of Ayers that was slicing a bit and was misplayed by Saint Ignatius for a two-run error.
With two outs and the bases empty in the bottom of the eighth, the Wildcats came up with base hits from sophomore first baseman Tommy Grosel, Dennis' brother, and sophomore catcher Drew Asadorian, George's brother.
Keeping its composure, Pickerington North ended the game with a 4-3 groundout and will take a record of 22-9 into Saturday's 1 PM Division I State Championship Game versus Cincinnati La Salle (25-7) in Huntington Park. The Lancers from La Salle advanced to the title game by defeating the Solon Comets, 5-4, in Thursday afternoon's semifinal.
Solon closed its season at 25-5.
"This game wasn't lost on one play," said Coach Ganor. "They're (the Panthers) a very good team and their pitcher (starter Koebe Rush) did a very nice job settling in. To be a part of it, to be able to coach at Saint Ignatius, is a dream come true and a chance of a lifetime. It's a chance of a lifetime, because I'm able to be around guys like this."
"A great group of seniors, we've battled together since freshman year," said Grosel, as he was packing up his equipment in the first base dugout at Huntington Park following the Wildcats' 5-3, eight-inning loss to Pickerington North in Thursday night's Division I State Baseball Semifinal.
Grosel, who closed out an outstanding athletic career at Cleveland's Jesuit Preparatory School, said he will especially cherish the spring of 2016, when the Wildcats overcame the adversity of a 1-6 start and convinced their coaches and their fans that they would turn it around and make it a season to recall.
"What I will take most from this year was our attitude to fight back and the trust and faith that the seniors and the rest of the team, the juniors and sophomores, had in each other," Grosel said. "Honestly, if we didn't have that, we wouldn't have made it through the Districts."
Head Coach Brad Ganor's Wildcats, seeded third at the Strongsville Sectional/District, not only brought home that District title by defeating second-seeded Strongsville and top-seeded St. Edward, but went on to capture another Regional Championship at Bowling Green State University and advance to the big-school State final four for the sixth time in Coach Ganor's 12 seasons as the head man of Saint Ignatius' Baseball Program and the 13th time overall.
Saint Ignatius brought home the Division I State Baseball Championship in 2002 under former Wildcats baseball and basketball mainstay Brian Morgan and was a state runner-up in 2000, 2008 and 2013. Coach Ganor, who was an assistant coach/pitching coach for the 2002 state championship team, set a school record by guiding his Cats to three consecutive state final fours in 2007, '08 and '09.
In what was its second consecutive trip to the state semifinals, Saint Ignatius faced one of the OHSAA tournament's surprises on Thursday night, Coach Tim Thomas' Panthers from Pickerington North.
Pickerington North, which returned to baseball's final four after finishing as a state runner-up to perennial power Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller in 2009, was seeded eighth in its sectional/district.
While Saint Ignatius was founded in 1886, Pickerington North opened its doors on August 24th, 2003.
Playing with a confidence level in the postseason that Coach Thomas described as being off the chart, the Panthers trailed the Wildcats, 1-0, after two innings.
Saint Ignatius, which closed its resilient season at 22-11, took that early lead in the bottom of the first on a two-out, bases-empty line drive single to right-center field by Grosel, a walk to senior designated hitter George Asadorian and an RBI single to left field off the bat of senior shortstop Kevin Mingus.
Pickerington North, which was eliminated in a regional semifinal each of the past two years, grabbed a 2-1 lead in the top of third inning after there were two outs and the bases empty. The big blows were a base hit off an 0-1 pitch by Panthers third baseman Connor Ayers and an RBI triple to deep center field by center fielder Dillan Smith.
Saint Ignatius knotted the score at 2 in the bottom of the fourth off an authoritative leadoff double down the left-field line by Asadorian, a sacrifice bunt by Mingus and an RBI single to left by junior left fielder Ryan Jacobs.
The Panthers had their faithful roaring again in the top of the fifth after first baseman Justin Grubb delivered an RBI single with two outs that made it a 3-2 game in favor of North.
It stayed that way until the bottom of the seventh, when Wildcats senior pinch hitter John Robinson, battling back from an 0-2 count, drove a 2-2 pitch into right-center field for a lead-off single. A sacrifice bunt by senior right fielder Nick Freund moved junior pinch runner Joe Gutbrod to second, and Grosel, a first-team All-Ohio quarterback this past fall, tied the score with a first-pitch swinging, two-out single to center field.
In the decisive eighth inning, Pickerington North, with two outs and runners on second and third, took a 5-3 lead off a sharply hit fly ball off the bat of Ayers that was slicing a bit and was misplayed by Saint Ignatius for a two-run error.
With two outs and the bases empty in the bottom of the eighth, the Wildcats came up with base hits from sophomore first baseman Tommy Grosel, Dennis' brother, and sophomore catcher Drew Asadorian, George's brother.
Keeping its composure, Pickerington North ended the game with a 4-3 groundout and will take a record of 22-9 into Saturday's 1 PM Division I State Championship Game versus Cincinnati La Salle (25-7) in Huntington Park. The Lancers from La Salle advanced to the title game by defeating the Solon Comets, 5-4, in Thursday afternoon's semifinal.
Solon closed its season at 25-5.
"This game wasn't lost on one play," said Coach Ganor. "They're (the Panthers) a very good team and their pitcher (starter Koebe Rush) did a very nice job settling in. To be a part of it, to be able to coach at Saint Ignatius, is a dream come true and a chance of a lifetime. It's a chance of a lifetime, because I'm able to be around guys like this."