The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Chagrin Falls is team to watch in baseball
Tigers’ goal is a trip to Columbus
Chagrin Falls has all the pieces it needs to make a run at the state tournament. Plus, Nate Barnes looks at the rest of the area with the Top of the Crop, watch list and rosters for area teams.
Mike Sweeney likens his Chagrin Falls Tigers’ trajectory to its local Major League club’s.
Two years ago, an improbable postseason run fell one game shy of an ultimate goal. The next regular season brought more accomplishment, including a No. 1 ranking in the state coaches’ poll, but postseason success fell steps shy of expectations.
After the Indians played within an inning of a World Series title, then won 102 games but were eliminated in the 2017 Division Series round, Sweeney draws comparison to Chagrin Falls’ run to a 2016 regional final then its elimination in a 2017 regional semifinal.
Similar to the residents of Progressive Field, the Tigers enter the 2018 season with expectations bolstered by a returning core of talent that’s won a high volume of games together.
Three-year starters Erik Wilson, Cole Newbauer and Adam Bencko captain Chagrin Falls, which eyes a state berth.
“We have all the right pieces in place,” Bencko said. “We’ve just got to do it now.”
The Tigers’ 24-win 2017 campaign ended a step shy of its 2016 season. Canfield eliminated Chagrin Falls in a Hudson Regional semifinal as the Cardinals carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning of their 2-0 win over the Tigers.
A stinging defeat sent Chagrin Falls into the summer with redemption on its agenda — especially for a senior class in its final season.
“We all kind of have talked about it,” Sweeney said. “We’re not sweeping it under the rug. We know it’s out there and what we can achieve.”
The Tigers collected a significant amount of individual hardware last year, led by Wilson’s selection to All-Ohio’s first team. The Chagrin Valley Conference MVP, Wilson went 10-1 with a 0.50 ERA in one of the state’s most dominant seasons on the mound.
Newbauer, his batterymate at catcher, was a second team All-Ohio choice after he was hit by a staterecord 26 pitches. As a sophomore, center fielder Jack Amendola hits .326, stole 50 bases and scored 43 runs. Freshman Kyle Zaluski was a second team alldistrict choice after he hit .384 and drove in 30 runs.
But individual accomplishments, even a No. 1 poll ranking, didn’t help the Tigers draw closer to their state goal.
“If you do what you need to do for the team,” Newbauer said, “other things can follow with team accolades, individual accolades. If you have the teamfirst mentality then other things will follow.”
An attitude focused on the collective is a byproduct of the extensive time the Tigers have played with one another. Seniors Jack Reboul and Colin Kennedy have been mainstays in the Tigers lineup next to Wilson, Newbauer and Bencko for the past three seasons.
The junior class features returning starters in Amendola, who’s played since he was a freshman, designated hitter Max Faulds and left fielder Sam Dolan. Sweeney identifies Zaluski’s growth in his sophomore season as a potential tipping point for Chagrin Falls’ fortunes.
“I think we’re better as a team,” Sweeney said. “I think everybody’s gotten a little bit better and then I think those young guys have improved quite a bit.”
The Tigers’ goals begin with winning the Chagrin Valley Conference Chagrin Division. From there, it’s one round at a time as Chagrin Falls tries to surmount the regional level.
A wealth of experience and leadership to match the Tigers’ plentiful talent is why Chagrin Falls thinks this season can deliver desired results.
“We know what it kind of takes to get back to a spot like that,” Wilson said. “In postseason baseball, it’s like, all bets are off. You never know how it’s going to go but this year, having all the experience that we’ve had and been there before, it gives us the best opportunity we’ve had.”