AKRON, Ohio — After dedicating their season to their late coach, Jeff Luca, the Twinsburg baseball team has made school history, advancing to the Ohio High School Athletic Association state final for the first time ever.
Luca, a coach with the team since 2006 and head coach since 2018, was killed in a tragic work accident on Dec. 5. Now, six months later, his team has made it their mission to play their best baseball for him.
The Tigers players and coaches entered the OHSAA semifinal matchup against Olentangy Berlin, all wearing shirts that read "Coach Luca."
"I've said it from the beginning, we know we have someone up there helping us out," said head coach Jim Lipinski, who took over the program in January after Luca's passing.
The Tigers got on the board first in the second inning. After Lane Conway was walked and advanced to third thanks to a sac bunt by Aiden Taneja and a ground out to the pitcher by Jason Cox, Kyler Hoon's single drove him home.
While the Bears were able to answer back with a run of their own in the top of the sixth, that same inning would see the Tigers battle back in a big way.
A single from Kris Kimmel, a Berlin error, a bunt by Conway and a walk for Taneja saw bases loaded with just one out. Berlin's pitcher lost control, walking in Cox for a go-ahead run for the Tigers. Hoon then hit a single to left field, bringing in Conway for a 3-1 Twinsburg lead. Then Jaden Dye hit a sac fly that brought in Taneja.
The 4-1 lead would be held in the final inning, the Tigers making their final out on a pop-up and instantly rushing in to celebrate the first time going to the state final.
"They just broke that huddle and all I heard was 15 kids say 'I love you all.' It's fantastic," Lipinski said. "Coach Luca is their coach. He taught these kids so much from growing up and I've talked about this—he's been their coach from 8U up. He's been in all of their camps, he's been in all of the things they've done and everybody knows Coach Luca and they're playing for him and you saw what they do on the field and it's absolutely fantastic."
Pitcher Josh Stalnaker, who threw a complete game giving up just one run and four hits with seven strikeouts and two walks, said he knew he and his teammates were going to give it their all—for each other, for Lipinski and, of course, for Luca.
"Amazing. The team had my back all day today and I knew that we were just going to compete our butts off no matter what. Berlin's an outstanding team, talented and coached very well," Stalnaker said. "We came out ready to play and we came out and had each other's backs and to play for something bigger than was just us. We played for more than that."
As the Tigers gear up for one last game—the state final, eyeing what would be the program's first-ever baseball championship—they're calm, cool and collected, as Lipinski said.
There's just one message within the team as they look to win a trophy in Luca's honor:
"Let's go get one more."
The Twinsburg Tigers will play in the Division I State Championship game Sunday at Canal Park in Akron. First pitch is at 1 p.m. against Mason.
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