Baseball team caps off a roller coaster season by capturing its first district title in 28 years with 11-10 win over East Knox
If you had told Worthington Christian baseball coach Michael Kraynak (WC ’06) at the beginning of the season that the fate of the Warriors would come down to a one-run game in the Division V tournament, he might have winced. After a 2-4-1 start to the season, if you told him the one-run game would be in the district championship, Kraynak may not have believed you.
After having not won a one-run game for most of Kraynak’s two-year tenure, Worthington Christian defeated East Knox 11-10 in a Division V district final on May 29. The title marked the school’s first district championship in baseball since 1997.
“(The district final) was probably the best baseball game I’ve ever been a part of,” said Kraynak, whose team finished 17-12 overall after losing to Ottawa Hills 11-4 in a regional semifinal on June 4. “It’s hard to describe the feeling of seeing the guys believe in themselves, get the big hits when we needed them, and then ultimately walk off with the win.”
The district final seemed to be played on a teeter-totter. The Bulldogs took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but the Warriors came back to tie it in the bottom of the inning, thanks in part to a two-run triple by senior Jameson Colley. East Knox took a 4-3 lead, but Worthington Christian tied the game up again and then cruised to a 9-4 advantage. The Bulldogs, however, chipped away at that lead, tying the game at 9 in the top of the sixth and taking a 10-9 advantage in the top of the seventh. After Worthington Christian loaded the bases with one out, junior Chase Crawford hit a two-run, walk-off single to right field to clinch the title.
“Right before the bottom of the seventh inning started, our coach said, ‘You guys can do this. You have it in you,” Colley said.
Kraynak’s confidence came after his team pulled out a 6-5 victory over Madison Plains on May 15 when sophomore Curtis Crager hit a two-out, 2 two-RBI single in the bottom of the seventh. That began a six-game win streak with victories over Hartley, Hamilton Township, and Reynoldsburg. Top-seeded Worthington Christian then defeated Grove City Christian 12-4 in a district semifinal.
“Madison Plains is not a game most people circle on their calendar, but that was our first one-run win in over two years,” Kraynak said. “We talked about how we needed a come-from-behind, one-run win (in the regular season) because in the tournament, you’re going to be faced with that situation.
“After the district title game, all the emotions came out. We’ve been chasing that goal for a long time. Most of these players weren’t even born the last time we won a district title (in baseball).”
Not only had the players not been born yet, but in some cases, their parents hadn’t even met. Steve Stanley (WC ’98), however, had a link to both district title teams. Stanley was a junior on the 1997 team that defeated Fisher Catholic 5-2 for the Division IV district title and an assistant coach on this year’s squad.
Stanley said it was much harder to coach in a district final than to play in one.
“As an assistant coach, there’s nothing you can do to control the outcome of the game, other than cheering for the guys,” Stanley said. “When we won in ’97, I remember that sense of euphoria because it was the first time we had won a district title. As an assistant coach, it’s an incredible feeling when you know how hard everybody’s worked and how much they’ve improved throughout the season.
“Some teams are good throughout the whole year and stay at the top of the rankings. This team wasn’t expected to do this. If you told us (at the beginning of the season) this team would be here now, all of us would’ve been surprised. We continued to grind, and grind, and grind.”
The regional semifinal loss marked the end of the road for the team’s five seniors, Colley, Hunter Doran, Cyrus Nip, Jackson Ressler, and Michael Watson. Kraynak was proud of the way his usually reserved seniors became vocal leaders this season.
“In the past, I tried to be a leader by example,” Colley said. “I thought if I didn’t talk that much, people would listen to what I said. This year, I knew I needed to be one of the guys to step up and be one of the (vocal) leaders on the team.”
The Warriors came into the tournament having tied Bishop Ready for fifth place in the Central Buckeye League with identical 6-8 records. Worthington Christian finished behind champion Buckeye Valley (12-2), Columbus Academy (11-3), Bexley (9-5), and Grandview (9-5). Colley and Crawford earned first-team all-conference honors. Doran and sophomore Caden Demmer made the second team, and junior Austin Wrobbel and freshman Nolan Schoonover were honorable mentions. Colley, Crawford, and Doran were first-team all-Central District selections, while Demmer was second team and Wrobbel was honorable mention.
Perhaps one of the most poignant moments after clinching the district title was Kraynak receiving his district championship medal from his older brother, Tim Kraynak (WC ’94), the retiring Worthington Christian principal and the former WC baseball coach.
“Tim was my coach (from 2003-2006) and we coached together for 12 years before I took over as head coach,” Michael Kraynak said. “Every year, winning the district championship was our goal, and we had never been able to do it.
“Tim’s the one who built the culture and set the foundation for us to get to this point. To have him be a part of it with us is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”