Cary Gray liked the trajectory.
No, it wasn’t like a moon-shot home run, but it wasn’t like a bloop-single, either.
Maybe somewhere in between?
The Ripley-Union-Lewis-Huntington baseball team’s ascension had been steady in Gray’s first three seasons as coach of the Blue Jays, which gave him hope entering this season.
In 2022, the Blue Jays won their first tournament game in seven years, Gray said, and the team looked to build on that in 2023.
“We return all but one starter from a season ago and many of the players have three years of varsity experience. We have improved steadily every season and expect to continue on an upward trajectory,” he said before the season.
But after a difficult start in 2023, Gray needed to convince his players that they could turn the season around, and at a time when it mattered the most.
And they did just that, putting together a season-high three-game winning streak in early May, at the end of the regular season, then continued to build on that en route to the school’s first section baseball championship since 1978.
In Southwest Division IV South section play, Ripley received a first-round bye, then defeated St. Bernard, 3-1, May 17 to secure its championship. That victory sent the Blue Jays to a district semifinal matchup May 22 against Miami Valley Christian, where they fell, 8-3.
Also in Division IV South action, fellow area Brown County team Fayetteville-Perry High School also won a sectional championship before also falling in a district semifinal May 22, 4-0 to Felicity-Franklin. The Rockets advanced to the district semis after a bye and a forfeit in the sectional.
“We’ve had a solid year,” Fayetteville-Perry coach Chris Snider said. “We’ve been a little inconsistent at times, but we’ve improved throughout the year. We only won four games last year and finished fourth in Division 2 of the SHAC (Southern Hills Athletic Conference). This year we’ve won 11 games and finished tied for second in Division 2 of the SHAC. I’m really proud of our Seniors and how they led by example and put in the work to make us better.”
In Southeast Division III, Eastern Brown received a bye and then defeated Wellston, 4-2, on May 18 to garner a section championship. The Warriors played Fairland in the district semis May 23, after this issue went to press.
In Ripley’s championship-winning game against St. Bernard, senior Spencer Gray led the way, allowing only two hits and the one run while striking out 12 and walking just two. He also had a hit – an RBI double – and scored a run. Junior Daniel Rayhawk also had a run-scoring double and scored a run, and junior Alex Applegate had the team’s other RBI.
“He (Gray) took a no-hitter into the sixth, and struck out 12 with one earned run,” Ripley coach Cary Gray said in lauding Gray’s pitching performance against St. Bernard. “I was proud of our mental toughness. We made mistakes but never let them get to us. I preached all year of continuous improvement and that we would play our best baseball at the end. I feel like winning the sectional validated their commitment.”
Junior Wyatt Haupt led Eastern against Wellston, allowing two hits and two runs while striking out eight with no walks. Offensively, he also had two hits and an RBI. Sophomore Pryce Murphy had a two-run double and also scored a run, and senior Garett Moran had a hit and scored two runs for the Warriors.
Also in sectional action involving an area Brown County team, Western Brown High School lost in extra innings in the first round in Division I South play, falling 3-2 to Talawanda High School in eight innings on May 16.
The Broncos trailed 2-0 before scoring their two runs in the sixth and ultimately forcing the extra inning. Senior Blake Herrmann led Western Brown, collecting two of the team’s three hits and knocking in the team’s only earned run.