Brock Netter, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
LANCASTER — It’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish.
Look no further than Amanda-Clearcreek’s baseball program this spring.
The Aces started the year at 3-9, flatlining, free-falling and searching for anything that could possibly turn their season around.
“Almost all of our losses early were very close and happened because we were still finding ourselves as a team,” Amanda-Clearcreek coach Travis Stone said. “Guys were playing new positions, playing varsity for the first time and coming back from injury. The hardest part at that point was making sure morale stayed up and you don’t want to lose faith as a team, and we never did … we kept believing in each other and what we were capable of.”
Since their ninth loss back on April 22, a 9-2 defeat at the hands of Fairfield Union, the Aces (13-11) have caught lightning in a bottle.
Thursday produced the ultimate thunderbolt.
The biggest win of their season, a 5-0 shutout victory over Fredericktown (13-14), not only marked their 10th victory in their last 12 games but more importantly, it claimed the program’s first district title since 1983.
“Seeing the final out was kind of surreal,” Stone said. “We had come so close a couple times in 2021 and 2022 and had it pulled away. Our guys have been very committed to slaying the dragon of our district championship drought and I was beyond happy seeing them finally get over that hump.”
Andrew Miller threw a gem, earning the win in five innings while allowing just one hit and striking out three batters. Gary Kemmerling tossed the final two frames, allowing one hit.
“Andrew Miller set the tone on the mound. He has a really nice three-pitch mix that threw off the Freddies,” Stone said. “He locates all three pitches so well and it really makes squaring a baseball up difficult for opposing hitters. Fredericktown is a really well-coached team and they put a lot of balls in play. Our defense was very efficient.”
Nick Holland set the tone for the Aces with a leadoff triple to right field before later scoring on an RBI single from Breece Stone to make it a 1-0 lead early.
“Taking the early lead with the bats was very big,” Stone said. “Nick Holland hit a moonshot to the warning track for a triple to lead off the game and then the first pitch to Breece Stone was a line drive up the middle for an RBI single. We were a minute into the game and already up by a run. Very good for the mojo to come out swinging like that.”
The Aces had two runners on base in the next inning and scored off a passed ball before Kemmerling notched a sacrifice fly, extending the advantage to 3-0.
Amanda-Clearcreek was in complete control, making defensive plays when needed to ease pressure off Miller on the bump.
However, his team gave him a little extra insurance in the fifth.
Miller roped a two-out double to center field and scored off an RBI single from Cole Schiff, who proceeded to cross the dish with an RBI double from Collin Thomas to cap the championship victory.
“Gary Kemmerling and Noah Chambers are our two seniors. Those guys have been the foundation of this program for the past four years. They came in as freshmen right on the heels of our back-to-back losses in the district championship in ’21 and ’22,” Stone said. “Noah’s brother, Ryan, was actually on those teams. We had to really rebuild with a lot of youth after that and they have been pivotal in that. Definitely special for them to get back to this game and even moreso to finally get over the hump and move on to the next level.”
“For the program this is a big moment,” Stone added. “I got so many texts yesterday from former players and coaches who were cheering the team on and they all share in celebrating something like this. Sure it’s the 2026 team that will get the credit, but it’s only because of all the guys before them that laid the foundation and have been pushing them to finally get to that next level. It’s also big for the younger kids who were there at the game — and there were a lot of them — to see what our baseball program can be capable of.”
Schiff finished 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Thomas and Stone added a hit and an RBI each.
Amanda-Clearcreek advances to a Division V regional semifinal at 2 p.m. on Wednesday against either Coldwater or Margaretta.
That game will be played at Elida High School.
“Our motto this season has been TCB, Take Care of Business. If you apply that to the simplest of things, it will allow you to accomplish the big things,” Stone said. “That has really kept us grounded, focused, in the moment, and that’s all we need to do as we head into regionals and look to advance even farther.”
SPONSORS
HOMELAND CREDIT UNION
PERFECTION ONE COLLISION CENTER
