ORWELL —
Grand Valley students waved goodbye to their heroes Thursday morning, sending the Mustangs off to the Division III state semifinal in Columbus with cheers ringing in their ears and high-fives stinging their hands.
“The players, they are on cloud nine right now,” said GV director of athletics Kurtis Fisher. “They have really worked hard for this and they have been playing together since elementary school. To go this far together is really amazing for them.”
After a successful season on the baseball diamond, the varsity Mustangs need just two more wins — one over Lima Central Catholic today in the state semifinals, and with that win, against either Wheelersburg High School or Fredericktown High School in the finals.
The boys didn’t leave Ashtabula County quietly Thursday morning, Fisher said, as the district had every student outside to see them off with all the spirit of a herd of Mustangs.
Cheerleader Shawna Fogarty, 17, said the campus has been “jumping” with school spirit as the baseball team took down their opponents one by one.
“We have a lot of school spirit all the time,” she said, “but right now it is off the charts. We see this kind of excitement with football, and now we have it with baseball, too.”
Junior Annie Pierce, 16, said the team has some loyal fans.
“People started going to the games to see them win,” she said. “Today was amazing. We made these sort of tunnels of people and the team ran through and high-fived everyone. Everyone is pretty amped up.”
Tim Prax, 14, plays on the high school’s junior varsity team. He said he is inspired by the resilience and discipline of the varsity team.
“I have to say that (teammates) Jeromy Rockafellow and Mitchell Lake are definitely showing the freshmen and future players the way to play the game,” Prax said. “Seeing the team go to state is a great way to start of my high school baseball career. Seeing your teammates on the news is like a dream come true.”
The day will be bittersweet for some, high school secretary Kathy Mikus said, as seven of the baseball players will miss graduation for the championship game.
“They will get their diplomas on the field after the game,” she said. “Board of Education President Dave Hendershott and Principal Doug Hitchcock will be there to give them their diplomas.”
Fisher said the boys are focused on the tasks before them and are taking the semifinals and finals “one game at a time.”
“Our goal right now is to beat Lima,” he said. “Then we will worry about the next game. But I know the team left with smiles on their faces today — with everyone out there lined up to cheer them on and everyone so excited.”
Fisher said it is important for the team to remember that the job isn’t done yet.
“We have two more games,” he said. “The goal isn’t just to get to the state finals. The goal is to win the state finals.”
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ARLEEN KOVATS GRAND VALLEY students show their support for the Mustangs baseball team as it takes off to the Division III state semifinal in Columbus on Thursday morning.
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