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Division IV Team Of The Week: New Middletown Springfield

NEW MIDDLETOWN - A victory over defending Division III state champion South Range was more than a normal win for New Middletown Springfield.

The Tigers trailed 8-0 after one inning before coming back to prevail 9-8 in 10 innings and with it the honor of being the Ohio Prep Baseball Report Division IV Team of the Week.

“It’s a good healthy rivalry,” Springfield coach Terry Dobson said of playing South Range, which used to be in the same conference with the Tigers before enrollment growth brought on a change. “To be down that much and to come back and win is great for the team.”

New Middletown Springfield tied the game with four runs in the bottom of the seventh, and then scored the game-winning run in the 10th with two outs.

“I believe our guys have bought into what we’re trying to teach,” the fourth-year head coach said. “We have some good athletes that have played multiple sports. They’ve been through the war with other athletics and stayed the course.”

Dobson sees the benefit of one major addition to the program this year.

“We’ve really worked more mental this year than in the past and they’ve bought into it,” Dobson explained. “I have found through experience that you have to teach the game every year, don’t take anything for granted. Kids don’t watch and understand the game like they did in the past, there’s a lot more now for kids to focus on. So not only are we playing the physical part of the game now, you have to teach the mental part. You can’t just show them what to do, you have to explain and show why to do it.”

It has worked well for the fifth-ranked D-IV team in the state, winners of 21 out of 24 games heading into this week’s action.

“We lost three seniors from last year including our number one pitcher and a four-year catcher,” Dobson noted. “But our pitching has moved forward. I can throw four guys out on the mound that can give us a solid game. We’ve done catcher by committee, but they’ve all done a standout job.”

Senior Shane Eynon and junior Chris Thompson are both 6-0 on the hill with sophomore Mitch Seymour providing solid relief pitching.

“He’s the real deal,” Dobson said of Seymour, a right fielder when not pitching. “He may be the best ballplayer in the whole area that people don’t know about. He runs like a deer and he might have the strongest arm around. I’d put it up against anybody.”

Seymour leads the team in batting while Thompson, a clean-up hitter with more doubles than singles, is second in average.

Lead-off batter Brannon Brundgard, a left-handed hitting four-year starter in center field, is another strong bat in the lineup. A Grove City College football recruit, Brundgard is helped in the outfield by sophomore left fielder Clayton Nezbeth, who drove in the tying run in the seventh inning against South Range and scored the winning run in the 10th.

Perhaps the unsung hero of Springfield is senior Jarrett Orbin, the 426th-ranked 2019 player in the state. The 6-0 150-pound Geneva College commit pitches, plays third base and catches for the Tigers.

“He’s sacrificed a lot by me moving him around to make our team better,” Dobson said of Orbin.

Junior Drew Clark anchors the infield at shortstop with John and Nick Slike providing versatility. John Slike, a junior, plays catcher and second base while Nick, a freshman, has seen time at second, third, catcher and pitcher.

“We try to preach to learn to play the game correctly,” Dobson explained. “When that becomes more important than wins and losses, you win more.”

After three trips to state in a five-year period from 2009-13, Springfield is looking at making another run with the tournament starting this week.

“We want to get better each game and stay focused to the task at hand,” Dobson said. “Stay away from the outside influences and control what you can control.”