Friday, May 25, 2001
Pitching pushes CCD
By Mark Schmetzer
Enquirer contributor
Cincinnati Country Day baseball coach Tim Dunn can't say this year's Indians are the best he's had in his 15-year tenure, but he does know one thing — the pitching staff is No. 1.
“Top-to-bottom, absolutely,” Dunn said. “Our No. 5 pitcher is better than the No. 2s on some of the other good teams we've had.”
CCD's pitching is the primary reason the 26-3 Indians have qualified for their third consecutive Division IV regional tournament. They face 17-8 Convoy Crestview at 2 p.m. today at Huber Heights Wayne. The winner will meet the winner of the 5 p.m. Ft. Loramie-Botkins game Saturday at 1 p.m.
CCD is one of nine Cincinnati-area teams scheduled to open play today for regional championships in four divisions.
Today's schedule includes Fairfield (23-4) vs. Lakota West (23-7) at 2 p.m. and Elder (22-6) vs. Hamilton (24-7) at 5 p.m. in Division I at Wright State University. The Ross Rams (19-12) meet Kettering Alter (22-6) at 2 p.m. with Taylor (25-4) and Columbus Watterson (25-4) meeting at 5 p.m. in the Division II regional at Hardman Field in Piqua. Watterson is ranked fourth in the state in the Associated Press Division II coaches' poll.
The Division III tournament at Dick Shaffer Field in Hillsboro includes surprising Fenwick (15-16) vs. Marion Pleasant (24-5) at 2 p.m. and Mariemont (17-4) vs. Versailles (15-8) at 5 p.m.
All four regional championship games are scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday. The champions qualify for next weekend's state tournaments in Columbus.
Dunn expects to give CCD's semifinal starting assignment to senior right-hander Brett Smith, who is 7-2 with a 1.69 earned-run average and 90 strikeouts in 52 innings. But Dunn could not go wrong with any member of the rest of his staff. Senior right-hander Noah Allen (7-1, 1.96 ERA, 48 strikeouts), sophomore left-hander Asif Shah (5-0, 0.98 ERA, 52 strikeouts), junior right-hander Ted Appleton (3-09, 1.00 ERA) and Roman Duty (4-0, 0.00) combine with Smith for a 1.43 ERA.
"They are different types of pitchers, too,” Dunn said. "Smith is overpowering. He throws 90-plus (miles per hour) and has a good curve. He's a real athlete on the mound. He was the second-team all-state quarterback in football. He's going to (Xavier University) as a shortstop.
“Allen is tall (6-foot-4) and lanky. He has a good curve. Shah is a short, hard-throwing left-hander.
"Smith got the tougher assignments, but we have a very deep staff. That's why our record is so good. We have lots of pitchers that we can use. We won't be too hesitant to take somebody out if he's struggling a little bit.”
The Indians, who are on a 19-game winning streak, are one win shy of tying the school record, which was set by the 1989 27-2 team. The 1993 team went 21-5 on its way to the state championship.
Allen believes CCD's record, which includes a 16-0 Miami Valley Conference mark, gives the team an edge over its regional opponents, even though Ft. Loramie is ranked third in the state in the AP Division IV poll.
“I think other teams figure we have to be good, because we're coming out of Cincinnati,” said Allen, who plans to continue his baseball and basketball careers at Williams College, an NCAA Division III school in Massachusetts. "They know we play good baseball here.”
Allen also believes he and his classmates have a motivation edge after losing last year in the regional semifinals and the year before by 1-0 in the regional championship game.
“We're more focused this year,” Allen said. “I guess it's because we're all seniors. We've told the younger guys that this is our last chance. We lost the last two years, and we lost in basketball in the districts this year. We definitely want to get to the final four. We feel like we're ready.”
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