HAMILTON — Cooper Ollis has been chomping at the bit to get back in this position.
And if the senior shortstop is, the entire Badin High School baseball team is, too.
“It’s definitely a journey with this crew,” Ollis said. “A lot of funny and happy people all the time.
“After last year, we all put that aside. We’ve focused a lot on the mental performance training, and when last year happened, it all hurt us obviously.
“But we’ve talked about leaving that in the past … just focus on the present.”
Ollis implied that this season for the Rams has been a redemption tour — a bounce-back from last year’s heartbreaking, final-inning 3-2 loss to Beloit West Branch in the Division II state final.
The tour bus is driving Badin back to the big stage.
The third-ranked Rams (25-6) face Newark Licking Valley in a Division III state semifinal at 10 a.m. Friday at Akron’s Canal Park.
“I just think it’s being locked in the whole time,” Ollis said of what has carried the Rams to their fourth trip to the state tournament in the last five seasons and 16th appearance overall.
Badin won the state title in 1991 and 1996 and has seven runner-up finishes.
“We’ve had a lot of practices that didn’t go the way we wanted it to go — people messing around, getting in trouble,” Ollis said. “But coaches talk to us every day, and it’s just staying focused and locked in.
“Because at the end of the day, we all want to be state champions — especially the seniors in their last year.
“I can’t think of a better way to go out of high school than with a state championship.”
‘It helps when you’re having success’
Brion Treadway has helped continue Badin’s rich tradition of reaching the state tournament since he became the head coach in 2012.
That’s because he’s been there before.
“Day one things are so important that we cover on day one, and we hope to understand and learn on day one and not have to revisit those things,” Treadway said.
“We’ve challenged our defense on day one to make the routine plays. Those are the plays that win baseball games, and if our pitchers can be in the strike zone and allow our defense to make routine plays, I think that gives us the best chance of success.”
Treadway was a huge part of Badin’s last state championship in 1996. He pitched the final out of both wins — a two-hit complete game in the semifinals and 1 2/3 innings of relief work in the title game.
“It helps when you’re having success. You want to continue to have success,” Treadway continued. “You want to continue to do the things that allow you to be successful. These guys are pushing each other. We compete. Every day there is a competition, and loser has got to pay up.”
The Rams’ junior-heavy pitching staff has a 1.379 collective earned run average. Electric right-hander Caleb Driessen is 8-1 with 55 strikeouts and a 0.264 ERA.
Junior hurlers Brooks Treadway and Max Kraemer are a combined 9-0 with 39 strikeouts.
Offensively, Badin puts up just over eight runs a game.
Senior Kade Bowling leads the Rams and the Greater Catholic League Coed with a .465 batting average and 32 RBIs. Junior Cade Cummins hits .431, junior James Brink leads with five home runs, and junior Chandler Taylor has four homers and 27 RBIs.
“The guys want to win. We preach all the time, winning matters — in life and in baseball,” Treadway said. “We feel like if we have competition every day, and something is on the line and their focus is very intentional, they’ll want to win.”
Celebrating an anniversary
This weekend turns out to be a full-circle moment for Badin.
It’s not necessarily because the Rams are back at state. It’s because they were in this same spot exactly 50 years ago.
Before their final game of the regular season, the Rams gave tribute to the 1975 baseball team that made the program’s first-ever trip to the state championship.
Badin went 31-8 that year under the leadership of Bill Hogan — his only season coaching the team — and fell to Bryan 5-4 in the Class AA title game.
“You know what’s funny about good teams is that they all have their own characters,” said Marty Mayer, who played on the 1975 team. “We had all kinds of goofy guys — and then we had plenty of serious guys.
“All those guys had tremendous families — tremendous baseball families. The rare thing about that team is that you had guys playing different sports.
“We had those kinds of guys then, and I can see that this team has them now.”
Pat Kreke, who also played on Badin’s first state tournament team, said he can see resemblances in the current squad.
“We respected the knowledge that each person had,” Kreke said. “We respected that they knew how to handle their position. They knew how to be great teammates, and that’s what made us. It made us really good as we went through.
“But just like every tournament team, they’ll go through a tough couple games. But you always trusted the person next to you that they could do it. It flowed — it really did.”
Since celebrating the 1975 team on May 9 — which included a 7-2 victory over La Salle — the Rams have won nine of their last 11.
They’ve outscored postseason opponents 47-4.
“We really haven’t had that close of a game so far,” Ollis said. “I feel like if we can keep putting the bats together the way we do, keep making the routine plays, pitchers throw strikes, I just think we’re going to win every game we play.
“That’s the plan right now — to keep doing the simple things.”
The field
Licking Valley (21-6) is making its first trip to state in program history. The Panthers finished first in the Licking County Conference with a 12-2 record.
No. 9 University School (28-6) plays No. 7 Wapakoneta (21-4) in the other Division III state semifinal at 1 p.m. Friday at Canal Park.
The state championship game is set for 1 p.m. Saturday in Akron.
“This is not something we take for granted,” Treadway said. “It is enjoyable to have been there four out of the last five years. You know what to expect, and you know what’s worked in the past and what hasn’t.
“You’re just trying to put the best plan together — put your players in the best position to have success.”
