WEST CHESTER TWP. — Brad Gschwind appreciates the confidence his Lakota West High School baseball team has shown the last couple of weeks.
It’s the primary reason why the Firebirds recently reeled off eight straight wins — their longest winning streak since 2017 when they reached the state semifinals before losing to Massillon Jackson.
Gschwind said the timing is right as postseason play lies ahead.
“I think having confidence is a good thing,” said Lakota West’s sixth-year head coach who was on the Firebirds’ 2007 state championship team. “It’s a great thing, and it can be contagious. One guy doesn’t get it done, the next guy does. That’s how you find yourself in a little bit of a streak.
“It took a couple games,” Gschwind added. “We kind of got into a little bit of a rhythm, and the kids played well. They found throughout the little stretch ways to win. It was kind of different every other day sometimes.
“It was hitting, and it was kind of contagious. Our pitching has been there all year, and we started playing well defensively. Then the bats started coming around. Found ways to win. Found ways to get a couple big hits. They got on a roll.”
Lakota West has only lost to two teams in the last four weeks — at Oak Hills (2-0) on April 9, at Mason (4-1) on April 15 and Mason (9-3) at home on Tuesday.
“I think the group that we have has been here before,” Gschwind said. “A lot of these guys have been with us for mostly two years. So, they know the grind of the conference. They know to bring it every day. They know what type of conference this is, the arms we face and teams we’ll face.”
The Firebirds are currently 12-8 (10-6 Greater Miami Conference) after going 11-3 in the month of April and have an opportunity to finish with their best record since that 2017 season (25-6).
“At the beginning, we started off a little slow,” junior third baseman Adrian Smith said. “Pitching was a little down. Bats weren’t there. But we picked it up about midway through the season — rattled off eight straight.
“Everything was kind of rolling. We knew what we had from the start. We just needed to start executing. We got a win. Then got two in a row. Then I think it we just knew we could do it. We just had to get on the field and execute.”
Smith leads the GMC in RBIs with 23 and sits in second with three home runs. Junior LJ Green is right behind him with 19 runs batted in and two homers.
“It was all a confidence thing for us,” Smith said. “We knew we had it. Once we started to get on the field and winning, it was just kind of streaky.”
Junior Chandler Wright (3-0), Smith (3-1) and Green (3-1) have led the way on the mound, while junior Tucker Wilburn has a team-best 35 strikeouts.
“Our pitchers have done great. Our seniors have been here, but our juniors have been here, too,” Gschwind said. “If you’re a sophomore playing now, you’re not a sophomore anymore. We’re 20 something games in at this point. They’ve seen it before, and they know the expectations. So, hopefully they continue to build off of it.”
Junior leftfielder Landon Holt hits a team-best .359 at the plate, and Braydon Johnson leads the team with 20 runs scored.
“They’ve just put together good, quality at-bats,” Gschwind said. “That’s all you can ask for when you’re in my shoes.”
Lakota West wraps up its GMC schedule at home against Lakota East on Wednesday and then at East on Friday. The Firebirds have a string of four nonconference games to finish out the season, including the finale against Centerville on May 11 at Great American Ball Park as part of the Reds Showcase.
“We always say, ‘Keep it present,’” Smith said. “We have the three P’s — keep it present, keep it professional and keep it poised.
“When we started winning, you can chirp all you want, but as long as we take care of it on the field, that’s kind of all we need to do.”
