Power-packed Heath baseball primed for postseason
HEATH — Jaiden Dansby’s home run to left-center Monday set off a dance party at home plate for Heath baseball.
The Bulldogs (19-2, 13-1) earned the right to celebrate. Already the Licking County League-Cardinal Division champions, they put a stamp on their regular season with a 13-2 victory against visiting Licking Valley (17-4, 11-3) at Dave Klontz Field.
“Last year, we went to their field, and it was a pretty good ball game, but we took the loss,” Dansby said. “We came back this year hungry. We were ready to eat.”
Heath has been steadily climbing in the Division III Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association state poll. The Bulldogs were ranked No. 4 in the latest poll released just hours before Monday’s victory, and they showed they are ready to attempt another run to the state tournament when the postseason begins next week.
Two-out, two-run singles from seniors Dansby and Kaden Green helped Heath to a 4-1 lead after two innings. The Bulldogs put it away with a nine-run outburst in the fourth.
“We have been in these situations all year long,” Heath coach Tom Warren said. “If we are going to win big games, we have to get big hits when there are guys in scoring position with two outs. We took advantage of our opportunities tonight.”
Heath ace right-hander Hayden Woodward stranded two runners in the top of the first inning. Valley junior right-hander Carter Sopher nearly escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the inning, but Dansby hit an opposite-field single through the right side to score the game’s first two runs.
“I got first-pitch fastball, and I didn’t really like it,” Dansby said. “I was expecting it again, and there it was. I just hit it where it was placed.”
Green delivered in the bottom of the second when a diving Hayden Rodgers was ruled to have trapped Green’s sinking liner in right field.
Dansby’s three-run home run cleared the bases during the fourth inning. The Bulldogs reloaded them for Woodward, who lined a three-run double into right-center.
“(Dansby) put together some good at-bats. Even the one he popped up he put a good swing on,” Warren said. “I know he was really excited to play first base because we started all of our seniors. That gave him an opportunity to play the field. (The home run) was a huge hit. To cut through this heavy air, that ball was struck well.”
In addition to a strong offensive performance, Heath got another steady showing on the mound from Woodward and the defense behind him.
Senior third baseman Wyatt Binckley made a diving stop to save a double and a second run from scoring on Brody Rodgers’ RBI single. He later made an off-balance throw from foul territory to retire a batter at first.
“It’s definitely the mindset when (Woodward) is on because I am getting the majority of ground balls,” said Binckley, who moved from Valley to Heath after last season.
Aidan Harrold added an RBI single for Valley, which clinched an outright LCL-Buckeye championship last week and is ranked No. 9 in Division II in this week’s state poll. The Panthers will spend the week fine-tuning before a challenging postseason run as it's possible they would have to beat the state’s Nos. 1 and 2 teams – Jonathan Alder and Bishop Watterson – to win a district title.
If Heath wins a district championship, the Bulldogs will follow the same path they did a year ago, heading to the regional at Wright State. Expectations are high as Binckley, who recently threw a six-inning one-hitter against Licking Heights, was added to what already was a loaded roster, and the Bulldogs showed Monday they have reason to be confident they can meet them.
“These guys have treated me like nothing but family since Day 1,” Binckley said. “They are all my brothers, and we work as one.”
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Power-packed Heath Bulldogs baseball primed for postseason
