“I would like to think that our program has a rich history that people respect,” Badin coach Brion Treadway said. “Whether we’re Division I or Division III, I think people know we’re going to give them a good game.”
Bumped up a division by the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s implementation of competitive balance, the Rams have the smallest base enrollment of any Division I program in the state.
They’re used to playing D-I schools, though. It’s been part of Badin’s nonconference mentality for years and perhaps the biggest reason for the Rams’ success in D-II and D-III.
So playing Moeller, ranked No. 1 in the Prep Baseball Report preseason state poll, wasn’t a source of consternation.
“I was fortunate enough to come through the program at a time where we beat Moeller, so they’re just another game on the schedule,” Treadway said. “We should’ve won that game, but there were a lot of positives to take away from it. I think Badin baseball fans would be proud of the way our team played tonight. We just failed to deliver the dagger.
“I’m really happy with the energy these guys are bringing every day. They’re a lot of fun to coach. They’re hungry and look at every day as an opportunity to make a statement.”
Senior catcher Zac Wilson said the players have no problem with playing in D-I and relish the thought of maybe facing the Crusaders again in the postseason.
“I love it,” Wilson said. “Nobody from our team will back down from it at all. We love the opportunity. We embrace it. We’ve got a great program. We’ll compete with anybody.”
He was the only Ram with two hits Monday. Wilson, Kaden Kimbrell and Tyler Hargrove delivered RBI singles in the first inning off Moeller starter Justin Hornschemeier.
The Crusaders rarely back down from a challenge themselves and rallied with a run in the third inning and two in the fifth. And then junior left fielder Ryan Galanie connected for a one-out solo home run in the seventh.
“It went the way all season openers go … you don’t know what’s going to happen,” Moeller coach Tim Held said. “We had a lot of veterans in the lineup, and you could tell they weren’t rattled. We just had to kind of get our feet under us. But it doesn’t matter if it’s the first game of the season or the end of May. It’s always a battle playing this Badin team.”
Seth Logue pitched the last three innings in relief of Hornschemeier to get the win. They combined on a seven-hitter with seven strikeouts and no walks.
Badin managed only three hits over the last six innings.
“We just kind of fell off a little bit,” Wilson said. “We let a lot of fastballs go by we shouldn’t have let go. We should’ve stayed in there and been a little bit more gritty.”
Andrew Noelker, Spencer Giesting and Devon Valentino did the pitching in the Rams’ seven-hitter with eight strikeouts. Noelker went the first three innings, Giesting followed with 3.1 frames of work, and Valentino retired the only two batters he faced.
It was Giesting, a sophomore left-hander, who gave up the game-winning homer to Galanie. It was his first varsity hit.
Galanie suffered a back injury last year and had one at-bat (a strikeout) in the tournament. He flew out twice and grounded out before coming to the plate in the seventh against Giesting.
“I squared the ball up most of my at-bats today, and I felt good going into that at-bat,” Galanie said. “My first swing, I was trying a little too hard. I swung before the ball even left his hand. I didn’t get all of it on the home run, but it felt good.”
Hargrove looked like he might be able to catch the ball at the left-field wall, but a leaping attempt went for naught.
“When I hit it, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s got a chance,’ ” said Galanie, the Crusaders’ No. 3 hitter. “When I was running to first, the left fielder started to creep a little bit at the wall. I got kind of scared that he was going to rob it or it was just going to stay warning track. But when I heard everyone cheering, I felt kind of at ease with it.”
Cameron Swanger had two hits for Moeller. Taylor Hopkins, Mo Schaffer and Swanger added RBIs.
The Crusaders are eight-time state champions, and their last title came in 2015. Moeller’s basketball team earned a state crown in Columbus over the weekend.
“With our basketball team this year, they called Jaxson (Hayes) and Jeremiah (Davenport) ‘Showtime,’ and that’s kind of what I like to think about us,” Galanie said. “Everyone’s going to put the target on our back. We just have to perform every day.”
Held, whose squad will meet Defiance on Tuesday at the University of Cincinnati, said high expectations are part of the deal when it comes to Crusader athletics.
“That’s what I told the kids. Whether we like it or not, that’s where we’re at,” Held said of the No. 1 ranking. “A lot of articles are going to start off with, ‘Preseason No. 1 Moeller did this or didn’t do this,’ so it’s up to you about being ready to play. Do you want to defend it? Do you want to stay No. 1 all year? Or do you want to drop a little bit? The bull’s-eye is on us, and we’re going to play with it.”
Badin returns a lot of players who filled significant roles last season, even if they all didn’t start every game.
First baseman Kimbrell, second baseman Drew Holderbach, shortstop Daunte DeCello, Wilson, Hargrove, center fielder Warren Clarke, right fielder Mitchell Ahr and designated hitter Valentino are among those players. The only true newcomer to the lineup is freshman third baseman Sergio DeCello.
The pitching staff is missing two injured college commits, Seth Klaiber (Xavier) and Blake Smith (Kent State). Klaiber could miss the first couple weeks of the season, while Smith won’t play at all this spring.
Treadway still feels good about his mound corps, with Noelker, Valentino and Giesting leading the way.
“I feel really proud of all the names I can run off,” Treadway said. “It’s just a lot of good arms.”
The Rams will host Roger Bacon on Wednesday.
Moeller 001-020-1—4-7-2
Badin 300-000-0—3-7-1
WP – Seth Logue (1-0); LP – Spencer Giesting (0-1); HR – M: Ryan Galanie. Records: M 1-0, B 0-1
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