The lone senior: Coleman cherishes another chance at a state title

"People are going to remember you for the person you are, not the player that you were."A profound statement from the lone senior and one of the captains of the Calvert baseball team Blake Coleman. The University of Findlay commit has the remainder of this week left before he moves onto his future, studying Special Education. On Thursday, he and the remaining No. 1 seeded Senecas (27-3) will be headed to Canal Park in Akron for the Division VII state semifinal game against No. 6 seeded Newark Catholic (21-9). It will mark the third time in four years for the senior, and this time, he knows it's the last of high school career."For as long as Calvert has been around," Blake Coleman said, "I think 2022 was our first-ever state appearance and I have been fortunate and lucky enough to be a part of three teams that have made it to state. It's definitely something I don't take for granted when I step onto that field at Canal Park. It's a lot to take in: the big lights, the big stage because truthfully, not everyone gets to experience it or even accomplish getting there. We hope that we can cash in, but don't take it for granted, the opportunities to have the moments and memories to be on that big stage."For Coleman, baseball runs in his veins. Ever since he can remember, he has been around baseball."Probably since I came out of the womb," joked Coleman in terms of how long he has been playing. "Honestly, probably since I was one or two years old. I remember playing ball in the yard with my dad and my brother growing up."Coach Matt Coleman, Blake and Tucker Coleman's dad, agrees that he started really young."He's always enjoyed it," coach Coleman said. "It brings back memories. We took him to a Tribe game when he was one month old. The first game he came to, I believe was the MAL championship game, which I left early to be with my wife when he came into the world, so it's ironic he said that. He came to the regional semifinal game when he was two or three weeks old."Blake fell in love with the sport when he saw the passion for the sport coming from his dad, his uncle (Brian Coleman) and his grandfather. He grew up watching the Cleveland Indians games as well, studying it meticulously, and even attending the games in person. He grew up playing t-ball and at the YMCA, which his dad was right by his side as coach.The senior was named to the first team infield for the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division, as well as All-Ohio Division VII first team for second base. Blake knew when he came to Calvert High School that he would be following in the footsteps of his grandfather, and his father.Coach Coleman makes the joke that both Blake and Tucker got their pitching arm from their mom, Jamie (Long) Coleman, who played travel ball and softball in Troy back in the day.Blake is currently 5-0 on the mound, giving up just 5 runs on 15 hits, and 41 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched. His ERA is 0.26. Offensively, he has 38 runs scored, 32 hits, 22 RBIs and he's stolen 20 bases. He's hitting .356."I love being able to control the game pace," Blake Coleman said. "Being able to control the movement of the ball. There is an edge and opportunity to be dominant and be a part of every single play. You are probably the only person that can have the ball the entire play."What makes the family tie much more special? His brother Tucker Coleman is on the team, along with his cousin Branyan Coleman, and third base coach Brian Coleman, who is Blake's uncle.For Blake, it's a dream that he has had since seventh or eighth grade as far as having as many family members on the same team."It's awesome when dreams become reality. Obviously, we don't take these moments for granted," Blake Coleman said.Blake admits that there has been times where he has had to have a kick from his teammates to go from being result-oriented to looking and growing in the process. While he hasn't pitched as many innings, doesn't have a high batting average as he would like, and other things, he gets worked up."Sure we won games 10-0 in five innings," Blake said. "But I got frustrated because I went 0-4 and felt like I didn't contribute anything. The guys then kick me in the butt and say, 'Hey you did your job on the defensive end,' or something like that."He also has had games this season where the loss taught him more than the wins have.One of the most recent for him was in the McDonald game where he was 0 for 1 at the plate, but he walked three times and scored two runs.One such game that came to his mind: Edison. While Calvert fell 6-4 on March 29th, it wasn't for the lack of trying."We heard the mumblings," Blake Coleman said. "We were told, you are going to come up against a possible MLB draft pick that can throw low 90's. We took that and had a hard fought game."The loss at Lakota hit the Senecas hard, especially Blake. The Senecas fell April 9th, 6-5."We were up 5-1 and then kicked ourselves in the butt," he said. "Those are the games that you remember the most. Hiland game sticks out to me, along with the JFK loss from last year. You figure out who you are as a team."Another game that came to his mind was when Calvert went to Bishop-Watterson and he heard the chatter from people saying "Oh, they are a bigger school than you. They are consistently a better program than you." The Senecas didn't let that bother them; they took the words they heard and used it as fuel to the fire within, and wanted to show them what Calvert baseball was all about. It was a game that didn't finish due to weather, but it was a challenge that the Senecas needed to get ready for a tournament run, as BW was a Division III school."This is senior year, you don't want to lose; you want to end on a high note and I know that we have a team that can do it," he said. "Just those dreams I had before. You don't like to think about the bigger picture. I know here, we only think one day at a time but still being able to have that dream become reality later this week. Being able to throw my glove up, give my dad a hug, my brother, my cousin, my uncle a big hug and hoist that state championship trophy in the air is what I keep in the back of the mind. An awesome dream that I hope becomes a reality soon."So, what growth has he made with going three times to state?"I think the struggles and the adversity I have faced has shaped my career," Blake Coleman said. "Freshman year was rough. I couldn't get over the Mendoza line .200, and had four losses. Absolutely abysmal outing against Hillsdale at the regional final. I think that motivated me to do better and it has culminated into the success I have had."Fueling the fire additionally for Blake Coleman to win a state championship is not only to hoist the trophy, but to bring the hardware back to Tiffin as well as to Calvert. He knows it's his last chance at doing so, and he wants to bring it back as well for the guys on his team. There is also one special person he thinks deserves it, and that's his dad."My dad has done so much for the community and for Calvert," Blake Coleman said. "Winning it would be me giving something back to him, and for coaching us, he deserves it."For coach Coleman, who is the co-coach of the year in D-VII, separating coaching from parenting is something that he is still mastering, even with his oldest graduating. There is one thing though that he wants Blake to remember."It's exciting to think about winning state," coach Coleman said. "One of the things that my wife and I have been cognizant about with him is that anything he does on the baseball field doesn't define him as a person. Win, lose, or draw, he will be judged by other things in life, and we want to see him compete. Competition is a big part of what we do, but it is special to be a part of this. Probably once this is all said and done, I'll probably sit down and reflect on it and think about these last four years. It's probably one of the toughest parts about being a parent and coach. Having that separation is hard; we had to rush through senior day this year and that. I just want him to realize that we love him no matter what, on or off the field."