The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Competitive nature carries Kirtland in first regional
The beginning of Kirtland’s first district championship victory began similarly to the Hornets’ loss in the same game a year earlier.
Before Kirtland’s 10-run fourth, five-run fifth and 15-7 win over Elyria Catholic on May 17 to claim the Lakewood District title, the Hornets trailed, 5-0, coming to bat in the fourth.
At Lakewood i n 2017, the Hornets received what coach Luke Smrdel called a “beatdown” from Lutheran West in a 22-0, run-rule loss.
Senior center fielder Mike Zeuli was due up to lead off the fourth against Elyria Catholic, and looked toward his classmate, Ryan Lipps, as they warmed up in the on-deck circle.
“We’ve got to do this right now,” Zeuli told Lipps, “or we’re not going to be able to do it.”
Zeuli, Kirtland’s leading hitter at .487, led off with a single. One hit was the spark needed to ignite the Hornets’ offense.
Fifteen batters, seven hits, six walks and 10 runs later, Kirtland seized control from the Panthers.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these guys,” Smrdel said. “How it played out that day, I couldn’t imagine it. Before the game and after the game I was like, that just happened.”
Despite a wealth of inexperience at the beginning of the spring, Smrdel says the Hornets are now where he thought they would be.
Junior Seann McGill emerged as the team’s starting first baseman. He bats .333 out of the second spot in Smrdel’s lineup and his 19 RBI are second on the team behind Zeuli’s 35.
Behind McCrory, senior Tyler Bratton became the team’s No. 2 pitcher and went 2-0 with a 3.36 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings. Junior Vince Liuzzo also went 3-1 in four starts.
Contributions from new faces accentuated the excellent play of Smrdel’s returning starters. Zeuli leads the team with a .487 average and 35 RBI. Lipps, the cleanup man, bats .380. McCrory went 3-2 with a 3.32 ERA and struck out 59 hitters in 50 2/3 innings. Torok hits .437, stole 39 bases in 40 tries and scored a teamhigh 31 runs out of his leadoff position.
As variables became constants to support the Hornets’ core, Kirtland found another mental gear for the postseason.
“Our intensity level has just raised above and beyond how it has ever been,” Zeuli said. “Sometimes we were a little l ackadaisical in a couple games we should’ve won, most likely. We just brought it because now we know it’s now or never.”
As a result, the Hornets will compete at the regional level for the first time.
Deep playoff runs are nothing new to the folks on Chillicothe Road. Football season lasts until December at Kirtland, where the Hornets are a near-lock to play for a state title. The girls basketball team is one of the area’s winningest in recent years.
To consider the Hornets’ first district baseball title is to recognize the attitude that permeates Kirtland’s students.
“They’re competitive in all sports,” Smrdel said. “You see that in football, you see that in other sports. These kids, they’re competitors, they want to compete and they want to win. It’s just a reflection of how tough of kids they are.”