Tuesday, May 29, 2001
CCD advances to state baseball semifinals
Indians beat Fort Loramie 11-1 for regional title
By Dave Schutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Payback was rewarding and enjoyable for the Cincinnati Country Day baseball team. Embarrassed by Fort Loramie 11-1 in last year's regional semifinals, the Indians returned the favor Monday, defeating the Redskins 5-1 to claim the Division IV regional championship at Wayne High School in Huber Heights.
The victory put the Indians (28-3) into the state semifinals against Windham (16-6) at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Cooper Stadium in Columbus.
Toledo Ottawa Hills (20-8) plays Lancaster Fisher Catholic (24-7) 10 a.m. Friday in the other semifinal. The championship game is 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Senior pitcher Noah Allen played a major role in CCD's drive to the Final Four. He was the winning pitcher in relief against Botkins in the regional semifinals and went the distance in the final, scattering five hits while striking out seven.
“The scouting reports said that Fort Loramie was a fastball-hitting team,” Allen said. “I've had a good curve all season and today I went to it. But the fastball and change were also working.”
Allen's job was made easier by a CCD offense that generated two runs in the first inning, one in the second and two in the third. Asif Shah and pinch hitter Brad Keiser each drive in two runs with singles.
“It felt good. That was the biggest hit of my career,” a jubilant Keiser said. “I was looking for a fastball, and I choked up on the bat to make contact.”
Keiser's single came in the third inning while Shah, the No.4 batter, came through in the first inning with what proved to be the winning run.
“The two runs in the first inning were huge,” Allen said. “But the cutoff play in the third inning was just as big.”
Allen was referring to left fielder Andrew Chahrour's throw to shortstop Brett Smith who threw to Tyler Wright at third, cutting down Fort Loramie's Clint Aselage, who was attempting to tag up after a sacrifice fly.
“Going into this year, I felt that the best chance to go to state was baseball,” said Smith, who also played football and basketball. “We would all like to go out winners.”
The victory was CCD's 28th of the year, a single-season school record.
The Indians won the state championship in 1993, their last appearance in the Final Four.
Fort Loramie ....... 001 000 0—1 5 2
CCD ....... 212 000 x—5 8 1
WP-Allen (7 Ks). LP-Rathman. Hitting Leaders: CCD-Smith 2-3, 2B; Ellison 2-3; Kaiser 2 RBI. FL-Aselage 2B. Records: CCD 28-3, FL 17-3.
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