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Rebels seizing the opportunity

Members of the Crestview Div. III district tournament championship baseball team are (front, from left) coach Corey Hill, Chuck Lindsay, Jordan VanPelt, Devin Turvey, Dylan Dickey, Kaden Davis, Stephan Barr, Dylan Ball, Tyler Hurd; (back) coach Todd Kibby, coach Kory Whitacre, James Fitzgerald, Isaac Ricketts, Jude Riffle, Jeff Feo, Dylan Huff, Peyton Wolfe, Ty Fitzsimmons, Caleb Hill, Jake Crawford, Dale McGoogan, Brandon Chuey, coach Kyle Gruzsecki and coach Dan Hill. The Rebels (15-12) are set to take on Doylestown Chippewa (18-6) at 2 p.m. on Thursday at Massillon Washington High School in the regional semifinal. (Photo by Wayne Maris)

COLUMBIANA — It took a long and winding road to get there, but ultimately the Crestview baseball team was right where it expected to be as the Rebels prepared for their Division III regional semifinal on Tuesday.

Crestview (15-12) will play in its first regional semifinal in school history when the Rebels take on Doylestown Chippewa (18-6) at 2 p.m. Thursday at Massillon Washington High School.

“We had some good experience coming back from last years team (which lost in the district semifinals) so we thought we could make a run at the beginning of the year,” Crestview coach Dan Hill said. “But did I think we’d be 15-12? No. Did we lose some games in the regular season that we should have won? Absolutely. I did not see us taking this kind of a path to get here.”

The Rebels made an effort to beef up their schedule this season and endured their fair share of bumps in the road. They finished the regular season with a .500 record and were seeded seventh in the Struthers district.

However, the Rebels pointed to a late season upset loss to United (which cost Crestview the league title) as a turning point when everything started to come together.

“That was a big moment in our season,” Crestview senior pitcher Dylan Dickey said. “That was a team that we thought we could just walk on the field and beat, and they gave us a wake-up call. That showed us we have to bring our full focus to every game.”

Hill noted that since that game, the accountability from the players has taken off to a new level.

“After that game, we told the kids that we’ve gotten them this far as coaches and that they were going to have to take responsibility for the season going forward,” Hill said. “That’s what (assistant coaches) Todd Kibby and Corey Hill have stressed. At some point, the kids had to take ownership of the game themselves because we can’t play for them and we can’t give instructions to nine kids on every pitch. They’ve really responded to that message.”

Crestview displayed its momentum by taking out the two, three and four seeds to become the first non-parochial school in several years to take the Struthers Div. III district title.

The Rebels said the regular season struggles established a collective toughness that enabled them to deal with adversity.

In the district final against Cardinal Mooney, they were down to their last three outs before exploding for eight seventh-inning runs. They were also on the ropes against Columbiana in the sectional final before tying the game in the sixth and winning in extra innings.

“I think our overall chemistry has defined this team,” senior second baseman Peyton Wolfe said. “When we got down early against Mooney, I had no doubt we were going to come back and win. When we face adversity we really come together as a team. Nobody tries to do things individually.”

“We’re closer as a team this year,” senior outfielder Tyler Fitzsimmons said. “I also think we’ve hit the ball a little better in timely situations. Last year, when we needed a big hit, we didn’t always get it and that killed us in the long run.”

Coming into the season, the Rebels were faced with replacing their ace pitcher Mike McDonough (now at Ohio State) as well as their number-two Andy Gorby.

Dickey (7-1, 2.65 ERA) has stepped up to lead a solid core that includes sophomore Tyler Hurd (4-2, 1.97) senior Jake Crawford and sophomore Devin Turvey–with help also coming from Jeff Feo and Caleb Hill.

The staff does not have overpowering stuff, but puts a premium on pounding the strike zone. During the postseason, Crestview pitching has limited opponents to a total of nine runs.

“We have maybe 10 strikeouts during the tournament, but everyone is just trying to throw strikes and get groundballs,” Dickey said. “We’ve all stepped up and filled a role this year.”

“We don’t have that one guy that can go out there and blow away the other team, but at the same time, we have three or four guys that a lot of teams would love to have,” Hill said.

Some newcomers have also played key roles. Sophomore center fielder Dylan Huff and junior right fielder Dylan Ball have (along with Fitzsimmons and Jeff Feo) helped form an athletic outfield that has taken away several base hits.

“I would point to those two (Huff and Ball) as guys who have stepped in as starters and really helped us out,” Hill said. “You could throw Jeff Feo in there too. In the sectional game against Columbiana, those guys were incredible.”

“At the start of the season, we let quite a few fly balls drop, but we haven’t let that happen lately,” Fitzsimmons said. “I especially didn’t see Dylan Huff coming this far. I knew he had potential, but I didn’t see him playing like he has.”

Wolfe–who didn’t see a ton of time last year while recovering from a basketball injury–has also stepped forward at second. He came through in one of the biggest moments of the season last week with the game-tying hit against Mooney.

“I’m just happy to be able to step in and help the team this year,” Wolfe said. “The coaches really pushed me to get better in the offseason and it’s shown.

Hill said Crestview’s knowledge of Chippewa is limited, but he likes his chances if the Rebels show up with the same mentality that’s carried them through the closing stretch of the season.

“From what I’ve heard, they are a very fundamental team and they don’t beat themselves. You aren’t going to find teams with a lot of weakness at this stage,” Hill said. “But I think we have a lot of confidence coming out of our district, which has been historically strong. All season, we’ve been focusing on what we do well regardless of who the opponent is. I don’t expect that to change.”

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