Baseball wins follow three coaches in OCC
Monday, March 27, 2023
By Scott Hennen
shennen@cbussports.com
Hilliard Darby baseball coach Chris Fugitt looks over practice March 24 at the school. Photos: John Hulkenberg
Nearly 1,500 combined victories will be brought into three programs by familiar faces in the high school baseball community.
Chris Fugitt returns as head coach of Hilliard Darby after a four-year absence, bringing his 348 career victories. He will be playing in the OCC-Cardinal Division against new Dublin Jerome coach Tim Saunders, who left Dublin Coffman after the 2020 COVID season with 589 wins.
After coaching New Albany to a fourth consecutive Division I district title and finishing 24-7 overall and tying for an OCC-Ohio title at 12-3 last season, Dave Starling was not rehired by the Eagles. He took his 531 career wins to Hilliard Bradley.
“It’s awesome (having Starling leading the Jaguars),” said Bradley’s Andrew Miller, a shortstop and pitcher. “He’s a really laid back guy but obviously when it comes to the game he lets us know what we need to get done. He doesn’t mess around but we have a good time.”
Fugitt and the Panthers won their opener 11-0 against Canal Winchester on March 25 on the all-turf field at V.A. Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe.
Senior Cam Gilkerson, a first baseman and left-handed pitcher, knew of Fugitt from when his father, Darby assistant Matt Gilkerson, was head coach at Bradley from 2010-17.
“I thought it would be great for the program, and I knew (Fugitt) would be juiced up and ready to play,” said Cam, a Wright State signee. “He is an intense head coach which is good because it gets us locked in more. Always being on our toes and being ready are good things.”
Saunders, who became the first OHSAA coach to be inducted in the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame early this year, took the job at Jerome in late September. He expects to lead the Celtics for just this season, giving the program more time to find its ideal candidate.
“The big difference is that I’m putting in stuff that I teach from 9-12 with the players normally learning as freshmen and sophomores and coming to varsity as a junior,” said Saunders, whose team is coming off spring break and is scheduled to open March 28 against Bellefontaine. “Now it’s about getting kids and coaches ready for what we do.
“Everything we’re teaching isn’t different from what they have been learning. It’s not a new system but it’s different terminology. Baseball is baseball, They hit and run the same and run bases the same, but we’re making sure we’re all on the same page.”
Fugitt has a 348-243 record in 21 seasons with the Panthers. His teams won six OCC championships (2007, ’08, ’15, ’16, ’17 and ’18) and four district titles (2007, ’08, ’13 and ’17). Darby has had 13 winning seasons, including seven in which it had at least 20 wins.
He spent the last four years watching his son Justin Fugitt play at Purdue and now at Bowling Green. Fugitt just had the itch to get back.
“I just missed the competitiveness of designing practices, playing games and being around new kids,” said Fugitt, whose team was to play at home March 28 against Westerville South. “I enjoy trying to fit three teams into a gym schedule. It’s like putting a big puzzle together. I missed things like that and the year-round aspect of it.”
Starling is just tickled to be able to continue leading a program in the game he loves. At New Albany, he coached Reynoldsburg from 1983-2009 and New Albany from 2016 through last season. In 2021, the Eagles defeated Cincinnati Elder 6-5 in the state final to win its first state title since 2004 when they were in Division III.
“I’m extremely happy to be here (at Bradley),” said Starling who coached future major league catchers Eric Fryer and Mike Matheny at Reynoldsburg. “The athletic department and the administration have been so supportive. We hopefully are set up to be good now as well as in the future.
“I really like my varsity roster. I’m very pleased with how the young men are performing and how they are buying in. We’re showing improvement each time out, and we’re handling all aspects of the game really well.”
Carter Hanson, a Wofford signee, plays corner infield and pitches for the Jaguars. He said Starling is laying the foundation for success.
“One of the biggest things he has stressed is an acronym we call HEART,” said Hanson, whose team is salted to open March 29 at home against Northridge. “That’s Humility, Effort, Attitude, Respect and Trust. That all comes with trusting and respecting each other and always giving 100 percent. It’s about building that team chemistry to help us win games.”
Kyle Kesel, a right-handed pitcher at Darby, said he knew Fugitt as a strength coach at the school.
“I knew (Fugitt) and talked to him in the school,” said Kesel, another Wright State signee. “I was excited to get after it with him as a coach.
“He is bringing energy every day and has us working hard. I think we’re just focusing on the little things.”
Saunders enters the season 11 wins away from 600 victories, a mark he likely would have reached if games would have been played in 2020.
“We have good athleticism, our hitting is decent and have a pretty good pitching staff,” Saunders said of the Celtics. “Now 80 percent of the players have hitting instructors, catching instructors and pitching instructors. But it’s not about hitting long balls but putting pressure on the defense, and you don’t have to throw hard all of the time.
“Now it’s time to put all the stuff together. It’s a marathon not a sprint. We don’t have to be our best coming out of the box but just keep getting better.”