By Eddie Dwyer, fresh off the always memorable Ohio Jesuit Tournament.
From the best location in the nation - Coming off Sunday's outstanding victory at Toledo St. John's Jesuit in the talent-rich Ohio Jesuit Tournament, Coach Brad Ganor's Varsity Baseball Wildcats are gearing up for the OHSAA Division I Strongsville Sectional/District where, as we reported on the corner Sunday afternoon, the 'Cats are the No. 1 seed.
For those who inquired, please note that after writing a bulletin story on the 6-0 victory at St. John's Jesuit during our bus ride home from Toledo on Sunday, a bulletin that featured the masterful one-hitter by gifted senior southpaw Tommy Grosel, this corner wrote a full game story on Sunday evening. That full game story appears under the original headline on the corner.
Now let's get on to kicking up some Diamond Dust.
The Wildcats are scheduled to play three consecutive home games this week, Tuesdayversus Normandy, Wednesday versus Uniontown Lake and Thursday versus longtime West Side rival St. Edward. All three of those games are slated for a 5 PM first pitch on one of the finest facilities in the nation, Baldwin Wallace University's Fisher Field.
Saturday, the now 9-6 'Cats will travel to Center Street in Mentor to face the always capable Cardinals at high noon.
Here is a corner's glance at this week's opponents, as we say goodbye to April and welcome in May, when the pretenders are separated from the contenders in high school baseball.
Tuesday versus the Normandy Invaders: The Invaders recently put together a stretch were they won five of nine games, including a doubleheader sweep of Padua Franciscan. Normandy totaled 20 hits off Bruins pitching.
Veteran Wildcats Baseball Fans will recall the springs of 2013 and 2014, when Saint Ignatius and Normandy had two tension-packed postseason encounters.
In 2013, Normandy defeated rival Valley Forge for a Sectional Championship, "upset" Brecksville-Broadview Heights in the District Semifinals and then gave Saint Ignatius all it wanted in a District Final before the 'Cats prevailed, 2-1.
The very next season, Saint Ignatius and Normandy met in the District Semifinals and the Wildcats had their hands full again in turning back the Invaders, 5-4.
Wednesday versus the Uniontown Lake Blue Streaks: The "all-in" Blue Streaks from Lake Township in Stark County appear to be bouncing back nicely from an 8-20 finish in 2017.
Uniontown Lake stood 10-5 entering tonight's (Monday) game at 14-4 Louisville. The Blue Streaks' record includes an impressive 1-0 victory over the storied baseball program from Canton Central Catholic.
Lake's Kyle Aten yielded just three hits to the Canton Central Catholic Crusaders in going the distance and the Blue Streaks' offense featured a double by Jacob Schulz and an RBI single from Brandon Fisher.
Thursday versus St. Edward: The Eagles of former Saint Ignatius and Miami of Ohio standout pitcher Matt Rosinski experienced an array of emotions over the weekend.
St. Edward was defeated by their neighborhood rival, the Lakewood Rangers of Head Coach Mike Ribar, 8-6 on Friday night and then rebounded with a 7-1 victory over Amherst Steele on Saturday. Amherst is ranked third in the latest Division I State Poll by the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association.
Helping key the Eagles' victory over Amherst was pitcher Derek Tackett, who throw five innings, did not yield an earned run and struck out five.
Zach Maxey gave Coach Rosinski two strong innings in which he totaled four Ks.
Joey Horoszko with two hits, including a double, and two runs batted in, and Jordan Stevens with two RBI fueled St. Edward's offense.
The Eagles, who are seeded second to Amherst at the OHSAA Lorain Division I Sectional/District, carry a 14-5 record.
Saturday versus the Mentor Cardinals: Last season, Mentor advanced to the Division I Canton Regional Final where the Cardinals were defeated by eventual state champion Massillon Jackson.
Much like Coach Ganor, Cardinals Head Coach Jeff Haase points his Cardinals in the direction of the postseason. The regular season is all about developing and improving to the point where another strong tournament run is never out of the question.
Mentor is a member of the Greater Cleveland Conference, which along with the Cardinals' impressive run last year produced state runner-up Strongsville, regional runner-up Medina and district runners-up Solon and Brunswick.
Have a great week and we will see you at Fisher Field.