Sunday, April 08, 2001
High School Insider
Harrison turns commitment into victories
By Dave Schutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A losing record in baseball hasn't been an option at Harrison. But last season the Wildcats went 12-15, breaking a 19-season streak of winning records, including 16 league championships.
“We (the coaches) had questions in the back of our minds about keeping the seniors around or going with some younger players this season,” said Dave Bader, coach for 23 years.
“There were a lot of things they had to do differently. The kids needed to make more of a commitment, get in the weight room and change their attitude.”
Although the threat of cutting veterans wasn't issued directly to the players, senior pitcher Brad Bachman sensed that a change had to be made.
“Before the season, the seniors got together and decided that we needed to grow up,” said Bachman, who's 2-0 with a 2.10 ERA.
“We set goals last year, but no one took them seriously. This year it's different. When we walked onto the field last year, we hoped
to win. This year we expect to win.”
And they're doing just that. The Wildcats have won six of seven games and have brought Bader within one victory of 400 for his career (399-163) after a 19-9 win over Withrow Saturday.
When conditioning started in January, Bader saw the difference in his players, not only in attitude but also in dedication.
“Everyone showed up every day, and there was no messing around,” Bachman said. “The last thing Coach Bader asked us after the (2000) season was did we have fun losing. That stuck with us.”
Said Bader: “Harrison is baseball and has always been baseball. The summer programs are strong, with over 800 players and lots of volunteers. These are the ingredients that usually lead to success.”
READING SOFTBALL: The Blue Devils have changed their strategy.
“We call it "bat on the ball,'” coach Mike Day said. “The girls have found when they put the bat on the ball, it goes out.”
After four years finishing as an also-ran in the Cincinnati Hills League, Day decided to take a different approach, which has led to an 8-2 record (6-0 in the CHL).
“What we've done is cut down on the number of two-strike swings,” Day said. “If there's less than two strikes, the girls swing away. If there's two strikes, they choke up and cut back on the swing.”
The Blue Devils have won three games when they trailed going into the final inning.
Junior Cara Peace explained the difference.
“We're a lot more disciplined,” Peace said. “We get a strike zone and focus on it. We wait for a pitch in the zone and go after it.”
That has cut the number of strikeouts from five per game to two and has more than doubled the run output. The Blue Devils also hit for power, already having set a single-season school record for triples with 17. The previous record was 12.
AMOS TO HARVARD: Mariemont's Matt Amos, a four-time Enquirer first-team Divisions II-III all-star in golf, received academic aid from Harvard and will play golf there.
Amos' younger brother, Sam, will be a freshman at Mariemont next season and should be one of the leading golfers for the Warriors.
COMMITMENTS: Four of Cincinnati's best girls soccer players have chosen colleges.
Robyn Withers, a defensive specialist at Seton, will play for coach Bob Sheehan at Northern Kentucky University, the national runner-up in NCAA Division II last season.
The other three players are from Loveland. Jill Barre committed to Ball State, Shannon Sinclair to Findlay and Caitlin Holmes to Duquesne.
McAuley diver Christine Lachmann has committed to the University of Nevada-Reno, and softball standout Stephanie Salas has accepted a grant-in-aid from Wright State. CLASSIFIEDS: Winton Woods is looking for a boys varsity soccer coach. Call Herb Woeste at 825-7696.
• McNicholas is looking for assistant football coaches. Call John Rodenberg at 231-3500, Ext. 152. The school also needs freshmen soccer coaches. Call Dave Boettger at 231-3500, Ext. 141.
• Deer Park needs a boys basketball coach. Call Mike Morgan at 892-0010 or fax a resume to 891-3845 before April 20.
• Harrison is looking for a boys soccer coach, preferably with a math or social studies teaching background. Call Mike Schiering at 367-4169.
• Amelia is looking for a varsity boys basketball coach. Call Mike Rapp at 753-5120, Ext. 18.
XU CAMPS: Xavier's summer baseball camps will be June 4-8, 11-15 and 18-22 at Hayden Field. Call 745-2891.
CALL IN STATS: The Enquirer will accept baseball and softball statistics today from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please call 768-8444 or 768-8452.
Also, nominations for Performers of the Week will be accepted at the same telephone numbers between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Track coaches are reminded to send nominations for the track honor roll to Brian Crumbo via e-mail (trackhonorroll@aol.com) or call 939-1793 between noon and 6 p.m. today.
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High School Insider
