WEST CHESTER TWP. — Brad Gschwind has been in this kind of situation before.
As for his Lakota West Firebirds?
It’s all new to them.
“This is a group of seniors that have been with us for three years, and in some cases, a handful of guys have been with us for four years,” Gschwind said. “It’s been some ups and downs along the way, but the success is paying off.
“All the hard work is paying off, and they’re seeing some success with everything.”
Lakota West will take that success into its Division I state semifinal against Lewis Center Olentangy at 4 p.m. Saturday at Akron’s Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium. The winner faces Springboro or Perrysburg in the state final at 4 p.m. Sunday at Canal Park in Akron.
It’s the first state berth since 2017 for the No. 13-ranked Firebirds (24-7), who have won eight of their last nine.
“What’s really cool is there’s something special at Lakota West,” Gschwind said. “We have a lot of multi-sport kids that have had successful years.”
Gschwind, a Lakota Athletic Hall of Famer and former shortstop, was a member of the 2007 state championship team at Lakota West and still holds several of the program’s batting records.
Now, the seventh-year coach gets to watch his Firebirds go after a state title.
“It’s one thing to go through it as a player and have had that type of experience as a player, but nothing tops getting a front-row seat for this,” Gschwind said. “Watching the kids celebrate, that’s what it’s all about. The fun these kids are having, nothing gets better than that. It really doesn’t.
“The excitement around it. The excitement around the program. The excitement at the school and the support from our awesome administration. The excitement with everything. These kids have earned it, and it’s awfully fun to watch them earn it while having fun.”
‘Keep going, keep winning, keep focusing’
The senior-driven Firebirds are, indeed, having fun. But they’re also zoned in.
And they’re winning, too.
“The cool thing about this group is that they’ve found ways to win, in a few different ways,” Gschwind said. “They’ve kind of done it by swinging it, they’ve done it by smallball.”
Gschwind tipped his cap to “back-to-back outstanding games of pitching. The pitching has been unbelievable all year, but certainly those last two games.”
The senior trio of Chandler Wright, Tucker Wilburn and Keegan Campbell tossed a two-hitter in Lakota West’s 1-0 regional semifinal win over Olentangy Liberty.
On the offensive side, it was senior Landon Holt’s base knock that brought home junior Noah Bramble in the first inning which ultimately decided the game.
A day later, the Firebirds beat top-ranked Moeller 3-2 thanks to a complete-game two-hitter by senior pitcher Adrian Smith.
“What Adrian did the other night is just fantastic,” Gschwind said.
Lakota West is led at the plate by junior Braydon Johnson, who has a team-best 37 hits and 34 runs scored. He’s also the defensive leader at catcher.
Johnson tied Gschwind’s school single-season record with six triples.
“I wish he has all the records with the year he’s put together,” Gschwind said. “It’s just been unbelievable. I looked at him and said, ‘I thought you had more than six triples.’ Just what he’s done offensively for us has been unbelievable.
“In high school, everyone focuses on offense. But I tell you what, defensively, the kid is just phenomenal,” Gschwind added. “If you watch us over the course of an inning, he steals strikes as good as he is receiving. But he shuts down running games.
“Offense gets all the praise, but what he’s done defensively, I’d put him up against anybody around. Obviously, I’m biased, but I think he’s one of the best, if not the best, around right now.”
Holt and Bramble have more than 20 hits, 20 runs scored and 20 RBIs. Holt leads the team with 27 RBIs.
Lakota West’s pitching staff is senior-heavy. Campbell, Wilburn, Wright, Drake Elrod and LJ Green have accumulated a 19-3 record on the mound. Wilburn (38.1) and Smith (37) have the most innings pitched with a combined 101 strikeouts.
“It’s great that we’ve made it this far, but we tell them to keep going, keep winning, keep focusing,” Gschwind said. “We’re finding different ways to do that. I think it’s a good group. They have a lot of fun, but when it’s time to focus and pay attention, they’ve been able to do it.”
The field
Olentangy (22-7) was ranked 11th in the final regular season Division I coaches poll and has won 15 of its last 16.
Springboro (24-7) was ranked 13th with Lakota West and has won six in a row. The Panthers have won the Greater Western Conference two years in a row. Springboro’s last loss was against Lakota West in a 7-2 contest on May 21.
Perrysburg (23-8) comes in ranked 18th and has won seven straight. The Yellowjackets lost to Mason 1-0 in last year’s state semifinal. Perrysburg lost to Lakota West 10-9 during the regular season.
“This is just the fun time,” Gschwind said. “The tournament time is just a whole lot of fun, and when you’re playing like the way our kids are playing right now, it just makes it even better.”
