MIDNIGHT MADNESS
Conley ‘phenomenal’ in New Albany’s late-night state title win
Brady Conley hadn't let his teammates dogpile him yet this year.
After breaking his left wrist in the first practice of the year, the senior right-hander wasn't sure he'd be able to play for the New Albany baseball team this season.
Once he returned in May, he wasn't taking any chances with his wrist.
The Eagles turned to Conley as their closer in the regional semifinal, the regional final, the state semifinal and the state championship game. In each win, as his teammates mobbed him to celebrate, Conley didn't allow them to pull him to the ground.
But as Sunday night ticked into Monday morning at Canal Park in Akron, Conley had no more reasons to protect his wrist. After pitching 12⁄3 perfect innings to earn his second save of the season and win New Albany its first state championship since 2004, Conley dropped to his knees and welcomed the celebration.
“I haven't been dogpiled yet because my wrist is still messed up, but today it was worth it,” Conley said. “I just dropped to my knees and let them jump on me. I'm still in shock.”
Without Conley's efforts in the final two innings, the celebratory pile most likely would've been wearing purple and black instead of maroon and gold.
New Albany jumped out to a 3-0 lead over Cincinnati Elder in the top of the first inning and led 6-1 through five innings. With just six outs remaining, they appeared to be poised for a straightforward state title win.
New Albany coach Dave Starling inserted junior Caden Robinson on the mound to start the sixth inning, despite the fact that Robinson hadn't pitched all season. Robinson, a Memphis commit, was cleared to pitch Sunday morning after battling elbow issues throughout the season, and Starling decided to give him a chance.
Robinson got the first batter he faced to fly out to left field, but a single and back-to-back walks loaded the bases and led Starling to make a pitching change.
Andrew Trybus didn't fare any better than Robinson. A single, a passed ball and two more singles allowed Elder to plate four runs, and what looked like a comfortable win for New Albany suddenly became a one-run game.
That's when Starling turned to Conley. The message was simple.
“Win the ball game for us,” Starling said.
With two runners on base and one out, the pressure was on. A swinging strikeout of Jackson Grimmelsman brought the Eagles' dugout back to life,
and Conley induced a flyout from the next batter to end the inning.
New Albany didn't score in the top half of the seventh, which brought Conley back to the mound to close out the game with just a one-run cushion. He didn't need anything more.
Conley retired the Panthers in order, capping his outing — and the state championship — with a swinging strikeout.
“I love the pressure,” Conley said. “I love it. I feel like it makes me do better, and having the team behind me helps as well. … It was nerve-wracking, but it felt familiar. I just knew I had one job to do and that was throw strikes. That's what I did.”
Seventeen of the 22 pitches Conley threw were strikes. Starling told him to pound the strike zone and keep the ball in play, and he did.
“Brady Conley was nothing short of phenomenal,” Starling said.