Losing in the Division VII state championship game was a disappointment, but Newark Catholic baseball coach Ron Graves views the defeat as a building block for next year.
“We’re losing two seniors who were outstanding players, but everyone else is coming back,” he said. “Now that they’ve reached this point and gotten so close to a state championship, they know what’s it’s like to get here and won’t want to feel the same disappointment next year.”
Minster’s 8-0 victory over Newark Catholic on Saturday, June 14 at Canal Park in Akron ended a remarkable turnaround in which the Green Wave won 12 straight games after a 9-9 start to finish 21-10 (7-9 for seventh place in the Licking County League).
The winning streak included playoff victories over Pataskala Liberty Christian, Millersport, Danville, Franklin Furnace Green and South Webster and a come-from-behind decision over Tiffin Calvert in the state semifinals on June 12 at Canal Park.
The turnaround started May 10 with an 8-1 nonconference victory at Cadiz Harrison Central over Toronto, which was 18-2 going into the game and finished with a 22-5 mark. That was followed by wins over Utica, Licking Heights, West Lafayette Ridgewood, Willard and Cardington before the state playoffs began.
“We started a sophomore, Max Moore, against Toronto and he pitched a three-hitter against a strong team,” Graves said. “We had no idea what to expect starting Max in that game, but we began scoring and everyone’s confidence went up. A few games earlier against Heath, we had lost our starting shortstop, Kane Stephey, who also was a pitcher, and we weren’t sure how things were going to go, so beating Toronto was a real morale booster.
“I knew at the beginning of the season that we had the right mix of experience and youth. Our problem was a confidence thing. After the Toronto game, it seemed like everyone got the idea ‘Oh, we’re allowed to win’ and picked up on that.”
Both of the team’s seniors, outfielder-pitcher Miller Hutchison and Mikey Hess, who played right field, center field, second base and pitcher at various times, were selected as second team All-Ohio players by the state high school baseball coaches association. Junior pitcher Owen Przymierski was on the first team. Hutchison and Hess also are football players who plan to play that sport at the University of Dayton in the fall – Hess on a scholarship and Hutchison attempting to make the team as a walk-on.
Przymierski was 7-2 with an 0.92 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 68 1/3 innings. Hess was 4-1 with a 2.47 ERA and a .376 batting average, and Hutchison hit .372, had a team-leading 30 RBI and was 5-4 with a 2.12 ERA.
Przymierski had problems in the state semifinal game against Tiffin Calvert and was relieved with one out in the fourth inning by Hutchison, who struck out a Calvert player with the bases loaded. He pitched 3 2/3 innings of one-hit relief, went 3-for-4 at the plate and scored twice, and the Green Wave tallied three times in the fifth to take the lead for good.
Using Przymierski and Hutchison against Calvert meant they couldn’t pitch against Minster two days later because of state high school rules that set a pitch count limit and require recovery time. Hutchison’s 39 pitches against Calvert in relief were eight over the amount that would have let him pitch in the championship game.
Moore got the start against Minster, which took a 5-0 lead in the second inning by capitalizing on a bases-loaded walk, two errors and a bunt single. Referring to Moore’s victory over Toronto, Graves said, “We started our winning streak with Max, so maybe it was fitting that we ended it with Max.”
Hess pitched the final 5 2/3 innings of the title game in relief, allowing three runs and seven hits, striking out four and walking three. The Green Wave had an opportunity to come back in their half of the second but left the bases loaded, then left a runner on third in the next inning.
“We got behind the 8-ball early and couldn’t string together the hits and the runners we needed at the right time. It happens,” Graves said. “But I’m extremely proud of this team. I told my daughter at the beginning of the season that I wasn’t going anywhere until June 15 and that’s what happened. Six of our starters are sophomores and gained tremendous experience and they’ll learn from this loss.”
This year’s success continues a tradition of athletic excellence at Newark Catholic that includes nine state championships, the most recent in 2016, plus five runner-up finishes in baseball and 28 state team titles altogether, including nine in football.
Seven of the baseball championship teams were coached by John Cannizzaro, who died in January 2024 after coaching at Newark Catholic from 1985 to 1992 and from 2004 until his death, winning a state-record 577 games. Graves assisted him for six years and was the school’s softball coach for 12 years. Cannizzaro’s brother, Rick, has continued as an assistant under Graves.
“There’s no question John’s presence is still here,” Graves said. “Some of our players were the last ones he coached. Our coaching styles are different, but that’s because kids have changed a lot, with travel ball in the summer becoming more important. I’m sure he couldn’t be happier with how we’ve continued to accomplish things.
“As Rick puts it, the standard here is what should be the standard everywhere – to excel and to be good people. All of that was built by John and we want to live up to it.”