Johnson, a junior center fielder, and Martin, a senior left fielder, recently found out they were voted onto the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association’s Division I second team as the Firebirds prepared for this week’s trip to the state tournament.
“We were just talking about that yesterday,” a smiling Johnson said Tuesday after practice. “Two-thirds of our outfield is all-state … I guess it’s one of the best outfields in the state if you put it that way.”
Martin said he sets his personal bar pretty high, so individual awards are nice. But as an outgoing senior, he’s been consumed with a desire to finish with a flourish.
“It’s a little bit hard to think about my high school career being over, but it’s been a great ride,” said Martin, who will play for Lincoln Trail Community College in Illinois next year. “We obviously still have something in our minds. We’re still looking for one more dogpile.”
West (25-5) will meet top-ranked Massillon Jackson (28-2) in a 4 p.m. state semifinal Friday at Huntington Park in Columbus. Strongsville (24-8) and Olentangy Orange (22-8) will play at 7 p.m., and the state title will be decided Saturday at 7 p.m.
Martin said the Firebirds aren’t concerned about the hype surrounding Jackson.
“They’re the ones with all the pressure,” Martin said. “We’re a scrappy team. We’re not going to go out and just obliterate every team. We don’t strike out too much. We just put the ball in play, force teams to make mistakes and find ways to win.”
He’s the top hitter for West with a .407 average and is tied for the team lead in doubles (five) and RBIs (27). Martin paces the Firebirds with four triples.
“Brennen’s been solid,” West coach Greg Leurck said. “Early on, he was really, really hot. He cooled off a little bit in the middle, and now he’s starting to hit again towards the end of the season. He’s doing a great job in the 3-hole for us.”
The Firebirds lost some players in the preseason and lost junior Michael Medley to a season-ending injury last week. Medley was hitting .320 with 17 RBIs as a third baseman and designater hitter, and he was also the mound closer (3-0, one save, 1.40 earned run average).
Yet West keeps churning right along and is now a three-time state qualifier. The Firebirds were state champions in 2007 and state semifinalists in 2008.
“Getting here is something that us seniors have talked about since our freshman year,” Martin said. “We knew we had a pretty good group and that we were going to be able to develop with the great coaches we always have. We’ve had to deal with injuries, but we got together as seniors and knew we really had to battle together, and that’s what we’ve done.”
Johnson pointed to an April sweep of Mason as a springboard for West.
“That’s when I really thought we had something going,” he said. “I personally didn’t think we’d be anywhere near here at the beginning of the year. It’s a credit to our guys. We’ve got a lot of fight in us.”
Johnson hits at the top of the Firebirds’ lineup and has a .379 average with 25 RBIs and 28 stolen bases. The single-season school record for steals is 30 by Jimmy Brenneman in 2008.
“I’ve probably exceeded expectations a little, but I’ve always got high expectations for myself,” Johnson said. “Speed’s part of my game. I like to set the table, use my ability to get on base and let guys like Brennen drive me in. I’ve always played that way.
“I used to be that guy who just bunted and slapped the ball over to third base and used my speed. I’ve learned to actually hit the ball now.”
Said Leurck, “He sets the tone for us and puts pressure on the other team. When Bryce is going well, we are really going well too.”
The West coach would have preferred for the All-Ohio teams to be announced after the tournament ends. But he’s proud of his honored trio (senior pitcher Jacob Kates is a first-teamer).
“I knew it before they did, but I wasn’t going to tell them until after the tournament,” Leurck said. “But with social media the way it is, they found out. So I called the three guys to congratulate them and try to do it the right way. But I’m not putting anything out on Twitter until next week because I want our focus to be on Jackson and the state tournament.”
About the Author