Photo by Andrew Grimm Steubenville’s JT Thompson fires to the plate during Friday’s postseason baseball action.

ASHVILLE — Led by its three seniors, the Big Red baseball team went on a memorable tournament run this spring after battling a lot of adversity throughout the season.

That run, however, came to an end in Friday’s Division II, Region 7 Championship as Bishop Hartley prevailed, 5-0, at Teays Valley High School and advanced to next week’s state tournament.

Despite coming a couple wins shy of the ultimate goal, veteran Big Red head coach Fred Heatherington was quick to point out how proud he was of what his relatively young group accomplished, claiming sectional and district titles and winning four tournament games after hovering around the .500 mark around the midpoint of the season.

“There are only four teams that have the ending they want, but like I’ve been saying, we’ve been through a lot of adversity this year … I’m proud of the way they played,” Heatherington said. “Halfway through the season we could have folded up, but we didn’t fold up and had a great tournament run. Only four teams celebrate (at the end).

“People forget we played a freshman, four sophomores, three juniors and three seniors. This was great experience (for the young guys).

“They’ve got to be ready to get after it and get back here again next year. That is what we work for, that’s why we start in December and go to June.”

In Friday’s game, the Hawks (19-9) plated runs in the first and second inning, which proved to be more than enough for pitcher Dimitri Boumis, who went the distance, fanning five without a walk for the shutout.

Hartley struck first in the top of the first when a run scored on a double steal, then added another an inning later when a fly ball was dropped for a multi-base error.

“We didn’t have things go our way early in the game and it kind of got to us mentally,” Heatherington said. “We fought and we battled and that’s all we can ask our kids to do. Like I told them, it’s wasn’t our day (Friday), but hopefully one day it will be.”

The Steubenville (17-12) defense turned a double play to keep the deficit at two, and had its own golden opportunity to tie the game at the least when it loaded the bases in the bottom of the third with its first three hits of the game, singles from Bubby Reese, Zach Smith and J.T. Thompson.

Boumis, though, escaped the jam unscathed with a strikeout, then put Big Red down in order the next two innings.

His offense gave him a little more help in the top of the fifth, sixth and seventh, Boumis himself driving in a run with an RBI single in the fifth, before an Emmett Gillies sac fly in the sixth and a run scoring on an error in the seventh, before another 1-2-3 inning by Boumis to seal the deal in the bottom half.

“We talked to team about putting pressure on them every inning, getting one run in five innings instead of one, five-run inning is kind of what we’ve built ourselves on the whole year,” Hartley coach Tim Heinmiller said. “The whole lineup putting the pressure on and finding ways to get on base has been our goal and that’s the way it went (Friday). It wasn’t always pretty, but we found ways to get it done.”

Thompson, went 5 1/3 innings, striking out four. Aydan Manning fired the last 1 2/3 with a punchout. Each were saddled with an unearned run.

“(Thompson) was a really good pitcher, they both were good pitchers,” Heinmiller said. “I don’t think we hit too many balls too hard, but we found ways to get on base.

“(Big Red) played really hard, and that is one thing I had heard from guys that know the program. Coach Heatherington has been there for 33 years and everyone I talked to said his teams play really hard, and they did, they battled.

“I didn’t feel safe even at 5-0 until we got the final out because I knew they were going to play really hard, care a lot and fight to the end, and that’s what they did.”

SPECIAL SENIORS

The game was the last in Crimson and Black for Big Red’s three seniors, Thompson, J.D. Ellis and Kye Fleming, each of whom played integral roles in Steubenville’s success this spring and leave with the respect of their veteran skipper.

“Our seniors gave us everything they had for four years, they set the bar high for us,” Heatherington said. “They were real special. They were all three here for four years. J.T. was a four-year (starter), Kye was a two-year (starter), this was J.D.’s first year (playing regularly) but he was here for four years and had a great season.

“Our seniors did a great job of holding us together and we had some other guys holding us together, too. Our young guys really came through throughout the season.”