Over the years, the Defiance High School baseball team has been known for its pitching, and for good reason. Of the 10 players from DHS that have drafted since 1988, nine of them have been pitchers. In fact, three of them, Scott Taylor, Chad Billingsley and Jon Niese, made it to the majors.
However, that doesn't mean that the Bulldogs haven't been good offensively during that time span. In fact, Defiance has put together some very good offensive clubs in making its way on long tournament runs, including trips to the state tournament in 1992, 2002 and 2010.
In 2013, the DHS coaching staff added another tool to help its players become better hitters when it purchased the "Steve Springer Quality At-Bats Mental Side of Hitting" DVD. So far, the Bulldogs have turned when they've learned into a .335 team average, a 7.6 runs per game average and into the school's fourth trip to state after earning a Division II regional championship on Saturday at Tiffin.
"In the past we worked very hard on the mental side of hitting, but this year we've taken it even further," stated Defiance mentor Tom Held. "One thing we do is not talk about batting average, all we focus on is hitting the ball hard and not worrying about results.
"We purchased the Steve Springer DVD (Springer is the Toronto Blue Jays mental hitting coach) and we also purchased a Stalker radar gun," continued Held. "The radar gun measures the exit speed of the ball off the bat, giving us instant results of how hard a ball has been hit. That has given us great information to help our hitters get better."
Associate head coach Rick Weaver, Defiance's hitting coach, has seen how this year's players have taken those lessons to heart. Weaver has also spent a lot of extra time working with players who call him to open the batting cage in Fred J. Brown Stadium, so they can get in extra batting practice.
"A lot of times the players will go up (to the stadium) after practice, or I'll get a call on the weekends from the guys asking me to open up the stadium so they can go up there to hit," said Weaver. "I'll stay and throw to them ... this group just really has a love for hitting.
"One thing I've talked to the kids about over and over is having a passion for hitting," added Weaver. "Right now we're known as a 'pitching school,' and for good reason, but we've always had good hitters. But, if we could match our passion for hitting like we have for pitching, then we could go to the next level. This group has really bought into that and the results are showing."
Currently the Bulldogs have five players hitting over .300, with three more hitting .260 or better.
Rob Zeigler leads the team with a .457 batting average, eight doubles, five home runs and 36 RBIs. Dom Gentile is hitting .398 with eight doubles, Adam Schaffer is batting .380 with four doubles, red-hot Austin Hancock has raised his average to .375 with eight doubles and four triples, and Austin Yant is hitting .306 with four doubles and a pair of home runs.
After falling one game short of state a season ago, Weaver believes that has helped to fuel the 2013 team to get better in all phases of the game, especially hitting. Now, Defiance is two wins away from winning a D-II state championship.
"Last year's loss was tough, but right before our winter workouts, Robbie (Zeigler) asked if he could put up signs up that reminded everyone about that loss," said Weaver. "These guys thought about that all year and they put in the work to get us to Columbus. At regionals, when Robbie hit the two-run homer against Holy Name, everyone settled in after that and we hit all weekend long."
Held knows that pitching has once again gotten the spotlight thanks to his pair of aces in Zeigler (9-0, 0.50 ERA) and Weston Rivers (9-0, 0.23 ERA), but he also knows that if his team didn't swing the bats the way it's capable of swinging them, they wouldn't be headed back to state.
"People always talk about our pitching, and for good reason, but it has definitely overshadowed our hitting," Held said. "What our guys have done at the plate this year is a testament to their hard work, our approach, and all the hard work coach Weaver has put in. He deserves a lot of credit."
Weaver also credits Springer's DVD for helping to take the Bulldogs to new heights.
"That DVD has been a big help, no question," concluded Weaver. "All the DVD talks about is hitting the ball hard and no worrying about the results. It explains why hitters shouldn't get caught up in batting average and all the stats, and our guys have just really bought into that concept. In the past our guys would get down when they went through a slump, but now we don't talk about averages. To me, it's been a very big reason for our success."