Another season, another shot at history, redemption for Senecas

While the fourth trip to state in the last five years was certainly expected, nothing was taken for granted. That has been the mindset from No. 1 Calvert all season and it showed on the baseball diamond. The Senecas have been ranked No. 1 all year, they've won 28 games to this point and the two losses are to Division III state semifinalist Bishop Watterson and a 20-win Hopewell-Loudon team.Through Calvert's tournament run, the 'focused' Senecas have rampaged their way to another state semifinal outscoring opponents 63-6.Even though the way back to state isn't a surprise, it's something that was earned, navigating countless postponements and some injuries."There have been some highs and lows this season and you go back to football season and there were three major injuries that affected our team," Calvert coach Matt Coleman said. "Those guys have fought their butts off to get back to where we're at. It's special to see them fight through that and all the things people don't see, which is all the work and sacrifice put in by these guys to get to this point."Here at Calvert, fortitude, discipline and attitude are the areas that we're really focused on, having that persistence and consistently showing up and doing the work when no one is watching and having a positive attitude when adversity hits. We've been able to do a lot of that this season and we have now found ourselves with a chance to represent our community on the big stage again."Other than the Senecas being loaded with talent this season, a big reason they're two wins away from their first state title is the senior class. It's a class that won four straight SBC River titles, four straight district titles and has made it to state in three of four years. It's already a historic senior class, but to add a state title to their resume it would certainly put them up as one of, if not the best, class of all time in Calvert baseball history.It's also a class that has experience in these kinds of games where success has evaded them to this point."Yeah, it's been fun just being around all the guys I've played with and just unless you're not accomplishing what we wanted to accomplish. That really sparked us going into this year and we've had a chip on our shoulder all year to be able to make it back to state and get it done," senior Logan Ritzler said. "We're at that level now. We just need to play how we know how to play and get it done this year."Us five seniors have been talking about this since the beginning of the year that we want to get it done and we've put in a lot of work, each one of us has put in work on our own and with each other, so we've really stepped it up this year because we really want to win with it being our last time playing together."The 0-3 state semifinal record is there for Calvert. It's acknowledged, but not dwelled on. It's certainly used for motivation.As the school's all-time hits leader AJ Shoemaker mentioned – 'It's never about the other team, it's about how we play.'"This week is all about playing up to where we can play. We just have to play our game," Shoemaker said. "Play to our strengths, try to exploit their weaknesses and get the job done playing together. We just need to get over that first hurdle and then bring it all home Saturday. That's what I'm most excited for, playing with my team one last time."The team has leadership, experience and talent, but it also has a slew of younger players who have accepted their roles and exceeded expectations.Especially at the plate this season, the Senecas' 1-9 batting lineup doesn't have an easy out, which includes the SBC River player of the year batting in the 9-hole. All nine of them are hitting above .300.Calvert has a team batting average of .369, scoring 308 runs in 32 games with 68 doubles and 12 homers.Sophomore Charlie Palm, who now has the school record for most doubles (15) in a season and stolen bases (30), is batting a team-leading .460 with 42 RBIs. Leadoff hitter Vincenzo Lyons is hitting .455 with seven doubles, 45 runs scored and 21 RBIs, Shoemaker is at .425 with 10 doubles, four triples, 35 runs scored and 27 RBIs, Connor Moyer is at .391 with 29 RBIs, Ritzler is hitting .366 with 34 runs scored and 24 RBIs and the two sophomore Colemans have stepped up this season. Tucker is batting .361 with seven doubles, 23 runs scored and 27 RBIs, while Branyan is at .354 with seven doubles, 28 runs scored and 18 RBIs. "We've made some tweaks throughout the course of the season, but yeah it's been fun to see the team come together this year," coach Coleman said. "I think it was good experience for Tucker to be out there on the mound (at state) … I'm sure he would've loved a little more than 14 at-bats, but he's put a little more focus throughout the year of developing his bat. "Branyan is a guy that put a ton of time in in the offseason, especially from a strength perspective. You know, I couldn't keep him out of the lineup because he kept hitting whether he's playing second base, center field, left field or shortstop during some scrimmages. I mean him and Parker Ranieri-Moyer would be starting on most other teams, but they've handled things really well. I've seen a maturity in Parker this season and he's become our glue guy. It's great to see the individuals become a team accepting their roles and to play for more than themselves. This week, that's what it's all about."Just like how dominant the Senecas' tournament run has been, Delphos St. John's (19-7) has outscored opponents 60-4 with a team ERA of .677. The Elwer brothers are some of the household names on the basketball court, but also have exceeded on the diamond as well. This is the second state appearance for the Blue Jays.Cam Elwer will likely be the starter for Friday's 10 a.m. clash with the Senecas as Thurman Munson Stadium in Canton. He brings a 1.13 ERA in 43.1 innings pitched. He has 53 strikeouts and 15 walks. Andrew Elwer has a 0.83 ERA in 42 innings pitched. He has 36 Ks and 16 walks. No other pitcher has more than 10 innings on the mound this season.Cam leads the Blue Jays at the plate as well with a .447 average with 10 doubles, four triples, 32 runs scored and 23 RBIs. Tyce McClain is hitting .348 with 31 runs scored, 14 RBIs and 14 stolen bases and Andrew Elwer is batting .346 with six doubles and 24 RBIs."We gotta keep the leadoff guy McClain off the bases because he's got some wheels and then you have a couple good bats behind him that can drive in a lot of runs," coach Coleman said of the challenge Friday. "For Elwer, his strikeout to walk ratio is really good, so we gotta be ready to hit and put the ball in play and realize he can pitch backwards a little bit. We're hunting fastballs and pitches we can do some damage to. We just have to trust the guy behind us and we'll be alright."