'They know what is at stake'

CAREY – There have been some great moments for the Carey baseball team this season. One moment that will be remembered is when the Blue Devils clinched the Northern 10 Athletic Conference title outright for the first time in program history. Two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning is all it took against Colonel Crawford for that to happen May 9. With Tyler Rossel at bat, he drove a single out to center field. Rossel plated in Louis Watkins and Carter Bame. "It's an honor to have that," Carey coach Trey Bame said. "I knew the talent that we have here and they really embraced it and have come a long way. They put a lot of work in preseason and we really hammered into them that they are capable." Coach Bame himself was a player in 2018 when the Blue Devils (19-3, 12-1) had a share of the N10 title with Seneca East. He wanted to give his players, especially his seniors, a piece of history to end their seasons on. He was Player of the Year in 2018. "Knowing that we don't have to share this with anyone is amazing," Bame said. "It was our goal this season, and even though we clinched a share prior to the game with CC three games ahead, we hammered home that the expectation was still the same: win every game." The Blue Devils earned their first ever league title back in 1973. Carey shared that title with Riverdale, Buckeye Central, Pleasant, and River Valley. All five schools had a 6-3 record at the time in the North Central Conference. The next one was in 2001. Carey shared the Midland Athletic Conference crown. Coach Bame said sharing the crown in 2018 was great. But not getting the outright crown still hurt "My senior year, we won a lot of games, and we were just playing baseball with our friends," coach Bame said. "The chemistry with our team at that time was really tight. We played together for our lives,and that chemistry allowed us to be able to push each other comfortably while still trusting each other. It burned and stung when we lost and had to share." Carter Bame, a senior who has played all over the diamond for the Blue Devils and who is distantly related to coach Bame, was there in 2018. "I was the batboy for the 2018 season when they had to share it," Carter Bame said. "It's really cool to be a part of the team that actually got it done." Coach Bame sees that with the current team. Seniors Bostyn Ritter, Carter, and Landon Tarris have all played together since little league. Dash Puckett started playing baseball in sixth grade, but has always been in other sports with the other three. He was brought into the fold after being drawn away from track. "I knew this season we had a very good shot at (the league title)," Puckett said. "I knew who we had and who we had lost. I wanted it really badly since I didn't get it in another sport, so it feels good to get it." Puckett is in center field, and leads the N10 with 24 RBIs. Tarris is in right field but leads and has scored the most runs in the league with 27. Ritter is the Blue Devils shortstop and Carter is the primary catcher. "I knew we had a great group of guys coming into this season," Ritter said. " It's honestly an honor to be a part of this team and I'm pretty stoked. I'm really looking forward to the tournament run. The league title is great, but I want to be like coach Bame and go after the wins." For the seniors, each of them have a different moment that stands out for them. Tarris standout moment for the season was a scrimmage against Edison and playing the game of hacky sack with the guys. "They have a pitcher (Bryson Wittmer) that is going to Louisville and we knew he would be a solid pitcher," Tarris said. "We overcame that and we knew that there would be teams scared to face him but we overcame it and had five runs on him." In Puckett's mind, it wasn't so much a moment, but a change in mindset from previous years in the mentality shift of the team "I think it's just how we stick to games," Puckett said. "(In past seasons) I would see our team be scoreless for a few innings and then we would shut down and there would be no possibility of us coming back. This year,everyone is all in, all the time." A game that stood out to Carter was against Tiffin Calvert. It was the second loss for the team."It showed us that we could play with anyone and it drove us to not want to lose another game," Carter said. "It hurt us badly, and we didn't get over it very well." One thing that coach Bame wanted to instill in his team was that culture of helping each other be better every day. "They do a great job taking the younger guys under their wing and getting them to trust them," coach Bame said. "These guys are more than willing to help out the younger guys on both JV and varsity." As the regular season closes out, the postseason and the road to Akron and Canton start. Carey is the No. 1 seed in its Division VI district. They will open postseason play by hosting Riverdale at 2 p.m. Saturday. "I think we are prepared for it," coach Bame said. "The last two to three weeks of conference we have had that mentality of every game is a championship game because we knew that every single game anyone can beat anyone. In the N10."We have had that approach of do or die this season. Now that we clinched the title outright, we are chasing more history and preparing for the tournament. They know what is at stake." The seniors have advice of their own for the team, but as they step into tournament play for the last time, Carter had the best advice."Win every single pitch, and keep your focus," Carter said. "Do everything you are going to do with complete confidence within yourself. That is what is going to drive you to do your best and that if you win every pitch, you will win the game."