Next game
Who: Division III state semifinal, Badin vs. Wheelersburg
When: 4 p.m. Thursday, June 3
Where: Huntington Park, Columbus
Radio: WMOH-AM (1450)
COLUMBUS — The numbers are gaudy, perhaps even intimidating. But don’t look for Wheelersburg High School baseball coach Michael Estep to play the stat card.
The Pirates have the best record (30-1) in the Division III state tournament and will take a .410 team batting average into their semifinal against Badin (22-9) on Thursday, June 3, at Huntington Park.
“I’m not one to pay attention to those types of things too much,” Estep said Tuesday at the Ohio High School Athletic Association meeting for state qualifiers. “I try to downplay statistical stuff with our guys. We don’t even look at it too much unless I think something needs to be a learning issue.”
This is the third trip to state for Wheelersburg, a champion in 1996 and a 7-2 semifinal loser against Badin in 2008.
Estep, a 1992 Portsmouth High School graduate and an All-Big Ten player at Ohio State University, is in his ninth season as Pirates coach.
In Wheelersburg, 10 minutes east of Portsmouth on the Ohio River, athletic success has become a way of life.
“It’s really just an expectation of excellence in everything we do,” Estep said. “Our school has been rated academically as excellent for the past several years, and it just kind of rolls right over into our athletics.
“Kids come up to our Little League fields on a Sunday, and most of the people around our area are pretty jealous,” he continued. “It’s usually not called practices. It’s usually moms and dads up there hitting ground balls and doing things with their kids. We’re very fortunate to have the support and enthusiasm for athletics that we have in the community. Obviously, it’s pretty tight-knit. Every one of the guys that coach with me are former Wheelersburg baseball players. Our guys know that they bleed black and orange.”
The Pirates’ lone loss this season came at the hands of Southern Ohio Conference II foe Minford, which pulled off a 3-2 upset nearly two months ago.
It’s the only career defeat for Wheelersburg senior right-hander Andrew Elliott, who will be on the mound Thursday. He’s also hitting .509 and headed for Wright State University as a shortstop. He and classmate Nick Kemper saw significant action against the Rams in the ’08 contest.
“I don’t think revenge is necessarily a factor,” Estep said of facing Badin again. “It’s a baseball game, and it’s a matter of finding a way to harness all the emotions that go along with playing in a final four game.”
The Rams and Wheelersburg have met in football once, with the host Pirates winning 30-7 in a 1999 playoff game. Estep likes the fact that many of his players play football, “probably the No. 1 deal in our community.
“I like the toughness it brings,” Estep said. “And we have tough kids.”
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