Family affair for Gilkersons at Darby
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
By Scott Hennen
shennen@cbussports.com
Hilliard Darby’s Cam Gilkerson pitching against Olentangy April 18 at Darby. Photo: Kevin Rouch
It’s imperative that Jody Gilkerson loves the game of baseball with three ardent devotees to the game under the same roof. However, she knew where to draw the line.
“I remember Cam was probably 10 or so and I would sit on a bucket in the backyard,” she said. “He hit the bucket. I decided that either I was retiring from catching him, or I would need some catcher’s equipment.”
Senior Cam Gilkerson and his sophomore brother Cooper Gilkerson are two of the top arms on a talented pitching staff for the Hilliard Darby baseball team, and two of its top hitters. Their father, Matt Gilkerson, is an assistant with the Panthers and a former head coach at Hilliard Bradley, Jonathan Alder and his alma mater, Northland. The sport has become more than a way of life in the Gilkerson household, it has become life.
“We just always grew up around baseball and my dad would always have a Red Sox game on whenever he could,” Cam said. “He was the coach at Bradley, and being around that program and the older guys really helped me see what I needed to do to play baseball at the next level.
“I like that whether playing high school ball or playing wiffle-ball in the back yard. I want to do what I can to help my team and make it better. You only have 30 years of your life to do this and I’m doing it now with all of my friends. I pretty much hang out with these guys all of the time when we’re not at school. It’s great to come out after school and see these guys every day and hang out with the people I love.”
Matt has watched his sons grow over the years, helping Darby build a 12-4 overall record before playing Westerville North on April 25 and 6-2 in the OCC-Cardinal Division before playing Dublin Jerome on April 26.
“Baseball is about everything we do,” he said. “We probably spend at least 75 percent of the summer as well as the spring with baseball. It probably has been since Cam was 8 years old that it’s the biggest thing we have done in our life. Not only the high school team and the travel teams they play on but also wiffle-ball in the backyard. It’s how many wiffle bats and wiffle balls we eat through. It’s how many times I had to reseed the batting area at home plate at home every fall because we would wear it out just playing around all summer.
“Everything we have done has been around (baseball). Obviously they take some time off in the winter for basketball. They played golf in middle school but played travel baseball in the fall instead when they got to high school. Last fall, they both played on the same team out of Cincinnati called Alpha. That was nice to have them both playing together and doing that as well.”
Cam, 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, is a left-handed pitcher and first baseman who has signed to play at Wright State. Cooper (6-1, 185) is a right-handed pitcher who plays third base. Despite the size difference, Cooper has been clocked at 88 mph on his fastball and Cam at 86.
“(Cam) is a bigger guy. He’s a tank,” Cooper said. “All 180 of me and 230 of him. I always make fun of him. I’m the younger kid, and I’m the more dominant pitcher. I always strike him out. Well, ‘always’ might be a stretch.”
Hilliard Darby third baseman Cooper Gilkerson singles against Olentangy April 18 at Darby. Photo: Kevin Rouch
Cooper may be getting Cam out, but opponents have been finding that difficult in the Panthers’ first 16 contests. He led the team in RBI (16) and doubles (8) as well as having a .333 batting average, one home run and drawing 11 walks in 48 at-bats.
Though not going to Wright State to pitch, Cam had thrown two no-hitters this season through 16 games. On April 10, he had eight strikeouts in a six-inning perfect game in an 10-0 win over host Marysville in league play. He then no-hit host Thomas Worthington 1-0 on April 24 in league play with 15 strikeouts and two walks, and he drove in the game’s only run with a first-inning sacrifice fly. Though he didn’t score, Cooper doubled for the game’s only hit.
Statistically, Cam was 4-1 with 0.98 ERA, 46 strikeouts and 11 walks in 28 2/3 innings. He held opponents to a .074 batting average.
“Cooper has always been good,” Cam said. “When we were younger we fought a lot. We would always fight each other in WWE and stuff but as we got older it’s more of a respect for each other. It’s trying to get each other better no matter what. Whether he strikes me out or I hit a home run off of him, we want to keep getting better.”
Cooper was batting .333 with one homer, 11 RBI, six doubles and eight walks in 48 at-bats. On the mound, he was 3-0 with a 2.55 ERA with 26 strikeouts, eight walks and one save in 22 innings. Opponents are batting .229 against the lefty.
“Cooper is behind size-wise but there’s not much difference between the two because they are competitors,” Matt said. “They both fill up the (strike) zone really well. Cooper throws the ball harder, but they can both throw the ball hard. Other than being from different sides, they are both pretty similar.”
Darby head coach Chris Fugitt originally led the Darby program when the school opened in fall of 1997. He took a four-year absence to watch his son Justin Fugitt play at Purdue and now at Bowling Green. The Gilkersons have always been on his radar.
“I have known Matt for more than 25 years when he started teaching here and helping me coach before he went on to be a head coach,” Fugitt said. “I have known the kids since they were born.
“They play big parts for us, and not just on the pitching staff but on the team.
“Matt is a baseball junkie, and he knows the game in and out. Jody — you can’t leave her out — she keeps everything going and kind of runs the household. I think (baseball) is a sport that when the parents have a passion for it and the kids grow up with it, they fall in love with it. I have a kid who is like that. We fell in love with the game, and (the kids) went that way.”
However, achieving that love comes with balance. Matt makes sure not to burn out his children with baseball 24-7.
“I don’t know if baseball is ever done but we don’t sit at the dinner table and obsess on the game or their at-bats or how they threw that day or what happened here or there,” he said. “There might be a little bit of a conversation about it if they have a question. ‘What do you think? Do you think I should have done this?’
“When we get (to the diamond) is when we try to dive into things. Occasionally there will be times when we talk about some things but once we leave here. I try to be a ‘dad,’ and talk about things other than the game or the sport you are playing at that time.”
Hilliard Darby’s Cooper Gilkerson at first base after singling against Olentangy April 18, talking with first base coach and father, Matt. Photo: Kevin Rouch
One thing that may help the Gilkersons recharge the batteries is taking the winter off to play basketball for the Panthers, who finished 7-16 overall.
“I think it helps a lot in terms of getting their mind away from this game,” Matt said “I think it makes them better athletes and better mentally to be focused on things. They are not focused on the same thing every day.
“Cooper has a role in basketball that’s different from baseball. He’s on the mound and he’s kind of the center of attention as every pitcher is. In basketball, he doesn’t get to shoot the ball much, and he’s fine with that. He’s got a different role where he defends and works his tail off there, and if the shots come that’s fine. They get to learn some of those different roles.”
Cam played wing and led the team in scoring (14.6 points per game) and rebounding (5.3). He also is the program’s career leader in points (997), rebounds (484) and field goals made (351). Cooper played guard and was more of a role player, averaging 2.5 points and 1.6 rebounds.
“Basketball for sure helps me,” Cam said. “It helps me get more athletic and to do different movements instead of doing the same movement over and over. I think it helps me with my speed and to get in shape and it makes me that much more competitive. It makes me want to go out there and win.”
A baseball life isn’t easy. Matt and Jody split attending summer travel games with one going to see Cam one weekend and the other heading to see Cooper. Then they switch the next weekend.
“I actually asked the boys once if they thought they would look back and wish they had taken a summer vacation,” Jody said. “They said there was nothing I would rather be doing.
“I kind of married into it. Matt loved baseball long before I knew him. He coached at Bradley and Alder and they were bat boys. They have just always been around it and loved it whether it was baseball or wiffle-ball.”
Jody married into the life and the bruises that come along the way.
“We have some videos of mom pitching a wiffle-ball to me in the backyard, and I’m hitting line drives back at her,” said Cam, who has a 3.5 GPA and wants to major in business. “She stopped catching me when I started to hit the bucket she was sitting on and it broke. That was pretty funny.
“It’s a great experience (playing the last two years with Cooper). That’s something a lot of kids don’t get to have. I get two years of playing baseball with him and a year of basketball. I think my parents enjoy that a lot.”
The experience isn’t lost on Cooper.
“It’s great because we used to play together back in the day, and being able to have my parents come see us is meaningful to me,” he said. “It’s (Cam’s) last season of playing Darby baseball and my second. It’s good for us in the long run. It’s beautiful because we both love the game. and it’s so meaningful for my parents.”