Heintzman fired a four-hitter and struck out 12 as the Rams earned a Division II sectional baseball championship by knocking off Greater Catholic League Coed Division rival Fenwick 5-0 at Edgewood.
RELATED: Photo gallery from the game
Badin coach Brion Treadway has grown accustomed to seeing that kind of effort from Heintzman, a Campbell University signee.
“Quite honestly, he’s been on all year,” Treadway said. “He’s owned what he is. He’s a senior, a very good pitcher headed to a Division I college, and he’s had a target on his back every outing. He’s going to keep working harder and getting better because I don’t think he’s reached anywhere near his potential yet.”
The fifth-seeded Rams erupted for five runs in the second inning and cruised from there, pushing their record to 18-11.
Badin will face Cincinnati Hills League co-champion Reading (21-4) for a district title at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Mason.
“We’re not looking too far ahead. We’re getting ready for Saturday,” Rams senior first baseman Zach Larkin said. “But if we put together a solid game like we did today, I think we can go pretty far.”
Larkin equaled the Falcons’ hit total by himself, collecting four singles in a 4-for-4 performance. Ross Mulcare added a pair of hits for Badin.
“I was just feeling good up at the plate today. I saw the ball well and luckily my hits fell for me,” said Larkin, headed to Indiana State University to play football. “We just played a solid game today. We had that big inning, and Logan took over from there.”
The Rams’ second inning was extra painful for No. 2 seed Fenwick (21-8) because all five runs came with two outs.
“What we really preach is just hitting the ball hard, and in that inning with two outs, they hit the ball hard,” Treadway said. “I saw a lot of good at-bats where they were just simply trying to put the ball in play, but put it in play hard. They didn’t try to do too much. Not one guy tried to carry this team.”
Cole Heflin’s two-run single broke the ice against Falcon ace Drew O’Brien. Cody Boxrucker added a run-scoring single, and Larkin’s two-run single made it 5-0.
“We talk with our pitchers about how we want to pitch,” Fenwick coach Pete Maus said. “The centerpiece is that very rarely are we going to see anybody string together four or five hits and put up three or four runs in an inning, and they did that.
“They beat us. We didn’t give anything away. That’s how we’ve played all year long. We just didn’t swing it well enough, but that’s on Logan. He threw very well. He did a nice job of pitching backwards, locating his curveball after the second inning or so and getting ahead in the count. He was making us hit in 0-1 and 0-2 counts, and that livens up his fastball a little bit.”
O’Brien pitched six innings and Jon Snyder finished for the Falcons. O’Brien struck out one, walked two and allowed nine hits.
“I thought Drew competed,” Maus said. “He didn’t give up a lot of hard-hit balls. They were just kind of soft little liners over our infield and shallow to our outfielders. When he’s given up runs this year, that’s kind of the way it’s happened. I think he threw some pitches away and let them get their bats extended as opposed to getting in on hitters.
“Our name of the game is putting the ball in play and putting pressure on defenses, and when we don’t do that, it limits us. And when we get behind 5-0, that really takes away anything we can do on the bases.”
Heintzman notched at least one strikeout in every inning. The right-hander issued a pair of walks.
“It’s finally hitting me that any game could be my last game, so I’ve played every pitch and every out like it could be my last,” Heintzman said. “I was a little nervous earlier today, but I was just really excited to get out here and get working. I felt good as soon as I got here, just taking my time on the mound, doing my thing, throwing my stuff and just doing what I can to get this team a win. It’s an exciting time to be playing baseball.”
Treadway was especially happy to see Heflin get a big hit. The senior center fielder has been dealing with a shoulder problem since football season and has been a sub-.200 hitter this spring.
“I think a weaker-minded kid would’ve given up,” Treadway said. “For him to stay locked in and focused and motivated, I’m very proud of him. He’s been really getting after it the last couple weeks. I’m trusting a senior that has put a lot of work and dedication into this program.”
This hasn’t been a typical Badin season. The Rams failed to win a GCL title for the first time since starting league play in 1992. They also lost their tournament opener in 2015.
“I think last year made our coaching staff better coaches,” Treadway said. “Every day you get to show up to the field and practice with your team in the postseason is a blessing. These guys have been bringing a lot of energy to practice every day. They seem to have a lot of motivation to get better each and every day. They’ve got a look in their eye like they’re in tournament mode and they know it, so it’s fun.”
Fenwick, which split with Badin during the regular season, captured its fourth straight GCLC North Division crown this year.
The Falcons are losing 10 seniors: Mitch Powers, Andrew Maier, Matt Davenport, Jimmy Gephart, Cameron Gallo, Alec Appel, Zach Duco, Joe Sora, Bryson Dowers and O’Brien.
“I’m proud of what they were able to do,” said Maus, finishing his third season at the Fenwick helm. “This is the first class we’ve been around for three years on the varsity. They got 60 wins over the course of three years and four straight league titles. This is going to sting for a while, but hopefully when they look back on it, they’re going to have good thoughts of what we were able to accomplish.”
Badin 050-000-0—5-10-0
Fenwick 000-000-0—0-4-0
WP — Logan Heintzman (6-2); LP — Drew O’Brien (8-1). Records: B 18-11, F 21-8
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