Dublin Jerome defeats Dublin Coffman 2-0 as coach Tim Saunders returns to face his former team

DUBLIN, Ohio – Brayden Krenzel had plenty of reasons to feel exceptionally motivated heading into Tuesday’s game at Dublin Coffman.

Not only did the Dublin Jerome junior pitcher want to win the game to give his team bragging rights against its crosstown rival, but he also was inspired to perform well in honor of Jerome coach Tim Saunders.

Saunders coached the Shamrocks for 33 seasons, leading Coffman to 10 league titles, a Division I state semifinal appearance in 2000 and the state championship in 2001, before coming out of retirement to guide the Celtics this spring.

“This is a big game and I always want to do my best every time I’m on the mound,” said Krenzel, whose squad improved to 6-9 overall. “But my biggest motivation was giving back to coach Saunders. This is something that we never talked about, but I know coming back to play here means a lot to him.”

As it turned out, Krenzel was able to rise the challenge, as he pitched a one-hitter and drove in two runs to lead Jerome to a 2-0 victory on Coffman’s Tim Saunders Field.

“This is definitely up there with the best games I’ve had so far,” Krenzel said. “I’m just really happy that my teammates played well behind my back and that we were able to pull out the win for coach.”

The University of Tennessee recruit was dominant on the mound, striking out 10 batters while issuing just one walk.

“This is the first complete game we’ve had from one of our pitchers all year,” Saunders said. “In fact, we haven’t had anyone go a full five innings before this game. We need this kind of pitching and defense to beat good teams. We’re trying to get our record to the .500 level and playing this way consistently is the way to do it.”

The Shamrocks rarely were able to hit the ball past the infield.

Carson Wilcox drew a walk in the bottom of the third inning and had an infield single in the fifth, but was stranded at first base both times.

Justin Harper also reached first base on an infield error in the fourth inning and Brady Broskie was hit by a pitch in the sixth, but neither player was able to advance to second.

“Outside of league play, this is one of the top games on our schedule,” said Coffman junior third baseman Carson Cox, whose squad dropped to 6-10 overall. “Most of us know each other from growing up in the same community, and I personally would have liked to have won this game, because Brayden’s been one of my best friends for a long time.

“We’ve been struggling to put together all of the phases of our game. Sometimes it’s been our defense. Sometimes it’s been our pitching. We couldn’t find it at the plate today.”

Krenzel ended the game with consecutive strikeouts of Ethan Wendt and Jake Rakich.

“My catcher, Alex Mazza, called a fantastic game, and framed my pitches to get me strikes, and our defense played great,” Krenzel said. “My two-seam fastball worked well in this game, and it’s a pitch I like to throw to get ahead in the count. I threw it to the outside of the plate and it broke back in for strikes.”

With the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the fifth inning, Krenzel laced a single into left field, driving in Grant Sargel and Max Swift to account for the game’s scoring.

Coffman pitcher Drew Monahan went the distance, striking out two batters, giving up seven hits, hitting two batters with pitches and issuing one walk.

“I was looking for a good pitch to drive,” Krenzel said. “(Monahan) started a lot of us with a fastball, and when I saw that pitch, I drove it to the left side.”

Caden Lockwood went 2-for-3 with two singles to lead Jerome at the plate, while Reid Birkholz (walk, hit by pitch), Nicky Leonard (single, hit by pitch) and Swift (single, reached first on throwing error) each made it to the base paths twice as well, in a game that zoomed by in just 1 hour, 12 minutes.

“This was a quick game between two teams that had good pitching and played good defense,” Saunders said. “It’s the way that baseball should be played.”

It was a triumphant return to Coffman for Saunders, whose final season coaching the Shamrocks in 2020 was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Before the game, I didn’t think that much about playing here on the visitor’s side for the first time,” said Saunders, who has a career record of 595-402. “I just prepared for it and treated it like any other game.”

However, Saunders teared up and his voice broke with emotion after he posed for pictures with his team outside of the stadium afterwards.

As he walked off the field, that he spent 33 years of his life building and grooming, Saunders was greeted by several former Coffman players and their families.

“I always had great support here and just being back here and seeing this whole facility is very meaningful,” Saunders said. “Me and so many other people put in a lot of time and effort to make all of this happen, raising over $600,000 to build this stadium and maintain it.

“When you’re about done coaching, any win’s special. To win on this field, in possibly my last game coaching here, is something I’ll never forget.”

Photo Gallery (photos by Gabe Haferman)