After taking a tough loss to Wittenberg University on April 14, Sinclair Community College baseball coach Steve Dintaman said the defeat was a much-needed alarm.
“That was the lowest point in the season,” he said. “As we wind down the season, I think we kind of needed that loss. There are too many good players in this program not go out and win a conference championship.”
On April 20, Sinclair clinched its second consecutive Ohio Community College Athletic Conference regular season championship after sweeping Lakeland Community College in a doubleheader. The Tartan Pride finished 10-2 in conference play and 38-8 overall, as of April 22.
With the OCCAC tournament looming, the Tartan Pride are preparing to take the four-team, double elimination bracket held between April 30 and May 2. Sinclair, ranked No. 5 in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II national poll, is hosting the three-day event at Athletes in Action in Xenia. The No. 5 ranking is the highest in Sinclair’s history. Dintaman expects the Tartan Pride to have the edge over the competition with home field advantage.
“It’s always better to be at home because we always play better,” he said. “We’re very comfortable with our surrounding and guys get to sleep in their own beds.”
Dintaman believes the top-two teams that come out of the OCCAC tournament will advance to the regional tournament.
Sinclair rolled through last year’s postseason by winning all three contests in the conference tournament and sealing a spot in the NJCAA Regional Tournament. The Tartan Pride eventually fell one game short of the Division II World Series.
The Tartan Pride have put up impressive team stats throughout the season — both offensively and on the mound — that Dintaman believes will help Sinclair reach its preseason goal: the D-II World Series.
Going into the final two games of the season, the Tartan Pride boast three everyday position players hitting over .400. Catcher Justin Marrero led the team in home runs (10 and runs batted it (56). Sinclair batted .364 as a team.
Starting pitcher and captain Erik Lamka led the team in wins (6) and strikeouts (37) as Sinclair’s pitching staff accumulated a 3.67 team earned run average.
“We have a lot of depth and we have a lot of guys who can throw some shutdown innings for us,” Dintaman said. “I think we’re the favorites … Hopefully, we’ll be hoisting some trophies this year.”