Zak Sigman pitches a gem and helps himself at the plate as Grove City advances to the regional final

By Aaron Blankenship | Photo by Gabe Haferman

Zak Sigman was under a lot of pressure when he stepped on the mound to pitch for Grove City against Hilliard Darby on Friday in a Division I regional semifinal.

Not only was this the biggest game of the junior pitcher’s young life, but he didn’t have a lot of room for error, as the Greyhounds’ normally potent lineup struggled to drive in runs.

But instead of melting under the pressure of pitching in the warm sun in front of a large, boisterous crowd Friday at Dublin Coffman, Sigman calmly used an overpowering fastball and gnarly slider to keep the Panthers’ hitters off balance and lead the Greyhounds to a 2-0 victory.

Grove City improved to 23-5 and advanced to the regional final to face defending state champion New Albany on Saturday at Coffman. Darby finished 17-13.

“This was definitely the most important game I’ve ever pitched in, but I felt a lot more adrenaline than nerves,” Sigman said. “The game was close the entire way, so I had to stay calm and focus on every pitch. I just stepped on the mound, took a deep breath, blocked out the crowd and did my best.”

Sigman’s best proved to be good enough to advance the Greyhounds to a regional final for the first time since 2012, when they made it to the state final four.

In 6 2/3 innings of work, Sigman struck out six batters, while giving up just three hits and four walks.

“Our pitchers have been amazing all year, and Zak did a great job for us today, pitching under pressure with a very small lead the entire game,” Grove City coach Ryan Alexander said. “Our defense was amazing, too. Our infielders made some big plays when Hilliard Darby hit the ball on the screws a couple of times.”

Sigman finally put Grove City on the scoreboard in the top of the third inning by ripping a two-out single up the middle that drove in Jackson Ware.

“I was just thinking that we needed that run.” Sigman said. “I fought and fought during that at-bat, and I finally found my pitch, which was a fastball, and I tagged it.”

That was a huge relief for the Greyhounds, who stranded runners on base in all seven innings, including eight in scoring position.

Grove City stranded runners at second and third in the top of the fourth, and they left the bases loaded in the top of the fifth.

“We could have busted the game open on several occasions, but we just couldn’t get that one extra hit,” Alexander said. “But we found a way to win, and that’s the bottom line.”

The Greyhounds scored their second run in the top of the seventh, when Braxton Bryant bunted the ball and then ran into Darby’s first baseman, knocking the ball out of his glove as he tried to tag out Bryant.

That play allowed Ware to score with two outs.

“I bunted it straight to their pitcher, but he had a bad toss to their first baseman and he got in my way as I was running to first, so I hit him on the hand with my left arm and he dropped it,” Bryant said. “I didn’t know if they were going to give us the call because it was iffy.”

The Panthers had two prime scoring chances that were stifled by great defensive plays by the Greyhounds.

In the bottom of the third inning, Luke Manche, Brody Van Dyke and Casey Maruniak each drew walks to load the bases. With two outs, Jameson O’Flynn hit the ball into shallow right field, just beyond the reach of Grove City’s infielders.

But outfielder Jackson Ware made a sliding catch to end the inning and preserve Grove City’s 1-0 lead.

“The ball was hit right in front of me, so I went into a dead sprint to get there, and it hung in the air long enough for me to get my glove under it,” Ware said. “I live for these pressure situations, because I believe in myself.

“Zak was dealing, throwing hard and getting them with his wipeout slider. When they did hit the ball, we were ready to make a play.”

Darby also started a two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth, when Van Dyke drew a walk and Travis Yankovich followed with a bunt single.

Maruniak then lined a single into left field, and Van Dyke came all the way around to slide home. But it was ruled that Yankovich was tagged out running to third base before Van Dyke scored, which led the a heated exchange between Darby coach Mike Weer and the umpire.

The loss squandered a strong pitching effort by Cam Gilkerson, who struck out four batters, gave up seven hits and issued four walks in seven innings of work.

“Hilliard Darby gave us their best shot, and a couple of big plays went our way,” Alexander said. “Gilkerson is a great high school pitcher, and he had a gutsy performance. We left runners on base all day, but we were able to get a couple home.

“Overall, we’re happy to win this game and to move on in the tournament.”