FAIRFIELD TWP. — TJ Selvie is holding on to the moment as long as he can.
The Cincinnati Christian Schools senior catcher has worked hard enough to get to this point, so he figured why not make it last.
Selvie and the Cougars face Brookville (20-9) in a Division III regional semifinal at 2 p.m. on Thursday at Wright State’s Nischwitz Stadium.
“We’re hungry,” said Selvie, the Miami Valley Conference’s Scarlet Division Player of the Year. “This is the furthest we’ve ever been with us seniors, and we’re just eager to get up there and play.”
It’s the third trip to regionals in school history for Cincinnati Christian and the first in Division III.
The Cougars (23-5) have tied the school record for most wins in a season. They went 23-5 in 2013 when they lost to Tri-County North 5-4 in 10 innings in the Division IV district finals.
“This senior group is so tight,” Selvie said. “After this season, a couple guys are done. They’re not playing after this, and we’ve been talking about how great of a year it’s been.
“From here on out, we are holding on to each other until we have to hang the jersey up.”
It’s been a rollercoaster ride throughout Selvie’s career, which makes this season a special one from his perspective.
“All I’ve wanted to do is just get bigger, faster and stronger,” Selvie said. “I’ve busted my butt in the weight room.”
It was in the weight room after his freshman season where Selvie discovered that something wasn’t right with his back.
“I was feeling great before then,” said Selvie, who hit a team-best .549 in his first year at CCS. “I was super excited for my sophomore year.
“It wasn’t until the offseason during my sophomore year when I discovered I had a fracture in my L5 vertebrae. We didn’t know what it was at first. An MRI revealed it.”
Selvie did what he needed to do to get back into the best shape possible for his sophomore season. He said he “had to play.”
His brother Titan was a senior, and TJ looked forward to playing one final season with him.
“I made sure I was out there,” said TJ Selvie, who caught his sophomore season while having someone designated hit for him after he recovered. “I was able to hit in the district finals that year and went 1 for 3.”
Selvie went on to bat .323 as a junior and is currently taking a .484 average into Thursday’s regional semifinal. Sophomore Nick Birch, senior Timmy Nagel and junior Kael Starks are each hitting above .400 for the Cougars.
CCS senior ace Jackson Raby is 5-0 and has 43 strikeouts with a 1.87 ERA.
“This year has been a huge sigh of relief,” Selvie said. “Everybody’s hard work is paying off. We’re not wanting to see this one end. Not right now.”
IN THE KNOW
Brookville beat Carlisle 5-1 in 10 innings to reach the regional semifinal game against CCS. … Brookville has won six of its last seven, while Cincinnati Christian has won five of its last six. … Blue Devils junior pitcher leads the Southwestern Buckeye League with seven wins. Senior Jace Wood bats a team-best .347 for Brookville.
