When there is an opportunity to dog pile, the Sinclair Community College baseball team makes the most of it.
In a dominating tournament performance, the Sinclair Tartan Pride captured its second consecutive Ohio Community College Athletic Conference title at Athletes in Action in Xenia.
“It was the best dog pile we’ve ever had,” Sinclair coach Steve Dintaman said about the post-game ceremony. “It was hardcore … it was just madness on top of each other.”
Sinclair, ranked No. 6 in the country, finished the tournament weekend sweeping through opponents with three wins to seal the double-elimination bracket. The Tartan Pride knocked off Owens Community College in the conference championship, 9-1 on May 1.
Dintaman said the athletic department plans to host a pep rally on Thursday, May 13 before the team leaves for Michigan.
Next up for the Tartan Pride is a trip to the National Junior College Athletic Association Regional Tournament in Battle Creek, Mich. where Sinclair (42-8) looks to clinch a trip to its first World Series in school history. The Tartan Pride finished one game short of winning the regional tournament last season.
Outfielder Zach Stewart stood out over the weekend as he handled conference pitching with ease going 5-for-10 with 3 home runs and 9 RBIs.
Sinclair 15, Cuyahoga 4
In the opening game of the OCCAC conference tournament, Sinclair laid the foundation with a run-rule victory over Cuyahoga Community College, 15-4.
“Once we put those early runs on the board, we put them away fairly easy,” Dintaman said.
The Tartan Pride jumped to a quick 5-0 lead after the opening inning and never stopped pounding the ball. Stewart and Arthur Dockery each collected two hits, two runs and 3 RBIs. Pitcher Justin Schultheiss threw five innings, allowing four hits and four earned runs.
Sinclair 11, Owens 6
It’s not often that a team collects three hits and wins, but the Tartan Pride did it in a big victory over their rivals.
Sinclair jumped to a quick 7-0 lead, but Owens Community College refused to go without a fight.
Still a five-run game, OCC struck for four runs in the fifth to trim Sinclair’s lead to one. Sinclair, though, answered with three runs in the top-half of the sixth to seal a spot in the conference title game. Sinclair put together 11 runs on three hits and 10 walks.
Dintaman said the team concentrated through the coming weeks on trying to get runs back as soon as possible. The Tartan Pride showed the ability to strike at any moment during the tournament.
“We’ve continued to find ways to get it done,” Dintaman said.
Sinclair 9, Owens 1
Needing to knock off Owens in consecutive games to lock up the conference title, Sinclair starting pitcher Jeremiah Kerns brought the heat. Kerns shut down the Owens offense in five innings, allowing two hits and one unearned run.
With a 4-1 lead through four innings, Stewart launched a grand slam to all but wrap up Sinclair’s title. Dockery collected two RBIs and the Tartan Pride saw seven walks.
“It was huge,” Dintaman said of the grand slam. “The place went absolutely nuts. (Stewart) threw his bat down and started screaming as he was running around the bases.”
In two games against Owens, Sinclair earned 17 free passes.
Pitcher Austin Pressely tossed two perfect innings to cap off the impressive and memorable weekend for the Tartan Pride.
On deck for the Pride
Sinclair is heading to the regional tournament for the fourth straight year and is expected to own the No. 3 seed in the bracket.
Dintaman showed a bit of concern with the production from the middle of his lineup, though. Batting in the three, four and five spots, Justin Marrero, Corey Throckmorton and Byron Johann combined to hit just 1-for-18 in the two games against Owens.
“If we found a way to win (the OCCAC) tournament without our three, four and five guys clicking, that’s a good sign because it means everybody else is doing their job,” Dintaman said.
Dintaman feels Sinclair’s pitching staff has the depth and talent to carry the team through the double elimination tournament in Battle Creek.
“The regional tournament kind of favors us because our pitching is as deep as any,” he said. “If we can go up there and win the first two games, we’ll be in the driver’s seat and I think we can definitely win it.”