FAIRFIELD — Bill Lanphier is more pleased than surprised about this championship season.

The Cincinnati Christian High School baseball coach only had four returning varsity players this year, yet the Cougars are 13-5 and have clinched the Miami Valley Conference Gray Division title.

"They've bought into doing a lot of little things right, and that goes a long way," Lanphier said. "That's mental discipline. Our kids worked a lot in the offseason on their own. If everybody gets a little better and puts it together as a team, you can do a lot of good things. Then it's a lot of fun."

Cincinnati Christian was victorious for the 13th time Tuesday, April 29, defeating Summit Country Day 13-4 at Waterworks Park.

The Cougars also beat the Silver Knights 16-11 earlier this season. Their second meeting didn't count in the conference standings.

"We don't take it for granted, but we expect to win every single day," Cincinnati Christian junior shortstop Brian Kirschbaum said. "I really think we can make some noise in the (Division IV) tournament. We're deep. We've got a lot of pitching."

Kirschbaum described his squad as a winning combination of talent and dedication.

"I'd say it's a team of personalities that's come together real well," he said. "We have a lot of interesting people who could be players by themselves, but they chose to play as a team."

Kirschbaum had a huge day Tuesday in the leadoff spot, going 4-for-4 with a walk and three RBIs. He scored four times and stole four bases.

Matt Thomas drove in three runs for the Cougars. Chris Gortner added a double, a single and an RBI, Steve Perry collected two hits and plated a run, and Ben Snyder was 2-for-4 with a double.

"We didn't play real spectacular, but we took what they gave us," Lanphier said. "We might have been a little flat to start out. When you play night after night after night, you're eating late, you're doing homework late ... it's all part of the maturing process."

Southpaw Matt Fleenor pitched the first five innings to get the victory, allowing four hits and three runs. He struck out five and walked five.

"Fleenor came in and did what he needed to do — throw the ball over the plate and let them swing the bat," Lanphier said.

Perry completed the five-hitter for Cincinnati Christian. Henry Meininger and Scott Mays each had two hits and an RBI for Summit (7-13).

The Cougars will face two more MVC foes this week, traveling to St. Bernard today and Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy on Thursday.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2194 or rcassano@coxohio.com.

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