HARVEST PREP BASEBALL WINS THEIR FIRST GAME IN 9 YEARS!!!!!!
Zach Ullom took over the Harvest Preparatory School's baseball team knowing the tall task of taking over a team has not won a game in 9 seasons. Many might think he was crazy to leave coaching in the college ranks to take over a team that has been a team opponents look forward to padding their stats against. After every game coach Ullom and his assistant coach Jacob Hymrod is told by their opposition's coaches how improved the team is. Today, the proof was in the pudding.
In 2013, Harvest Prep made national news by losing to Licking Heights 65-0. And the game ended after just three innings due to a lack of sunlight.
The baseball team takes second fiddle to the basketball and football teams, as these two other major sports teams that Harvest Prep offers are elite programs in Ohio, consistently earning spots deep into the playoffs or winning championships.
Harvest Prep's first win in 9 years was led by Michael Dilgard, striking out 11 batters, giving up 4 hits and 3 runs, walking only 2 batters. HPS won 7-3. propelled by RBI"s by Marcel Fouche, Dilgard, including the winning RBI from David Cooper. Jaycob Graniela, Quantrell Anderson, and Dillon Hayes also contributed with hits. Cooper, Keaton Webb, and Anderson each earned 2 walks.
The defeat was West's second loss, now 5-2 for the season.
Jacob Hymrod is Zach's assistant coach that graduated from Muskingum last year, where Zach was the assistant coach. Zach speaks glowingly about how much his assistant means to he and the team. Senior Dillon Hayes has effectively been the player-coach, according to coach Ullom. Dillon has held his own preseason practices before the current coach was officially started.
Zach Ullom has been a graduate assistant at Salem University, in West Virginia and "Ullom graduated with a degree in sports administration from Muskingum University. He played third base for the Muskies and also helped the baseball program with camp planning.
Ullom's additional baseball experience includes serving as president of Mid-Ohio Bombers and five years of coaching at TNT Baseball Academy." (Salemu.edu)
Coach Ullom had this to say after ending the 9 game losing streak:
"Taking over the team at the beginning was daunting to say the least. Knowing that I would have to change a culture that's been so used to turmoil, and constant stress was a fun challenge that I took head on.
I took over the team because no one has given these kids a chance to be successful. I just wanted to make sure they knew that I would give them everything to be successful and watch them use that to grow.
We have been working nonstop to become competitive with teams that in the past wasn't possible. Just learning to catch, throw etc was something that we needed to be better at. But, with time has come immense progression in those areas.
I'm so proud of how resilient they are when it comes to taking hard coaching or having difficult situations in games or practices. Them taking it head on is a blessing in of itself, because it's hard to be coached when you have never had it.
I'm blessed to be in this spot, and even more blessed to have a group that respects the way I go about my business. Couldn't have been done without them, they're the reason we won today, not me."
Through the first 6 games HPS scored 7 runs, more than all of last season. Freshman Mike Dilgard @MDilgard2027 2nd in the conference in Slugging percentage at .727. and 7th in batting average. Dilgard's is the now and later driving the HPS team.
Nate Franklin, @Nfranklin77_ overcame health issues to earn the 8th best on-base percentage (.556) in the conference.
The team on-base percentage is now a respectable .435. Four players are hitting above .300.
One of coach Ullom's specialties is teaching hitting, proven by several players on day 1 of practice with their new coach. Several players claimed, " He (coach Ullom) has already corrected my swing and now I am hitting better."
The HPS coaches have found a way to instill belief in a team that was used to losing. One player, Keaton Webb told the coach helped his confidence when coach Ullom told him, "Keaton, you could play college ball you just fix your mechanics on defense a little." Since coach Ullom has coached at the college level, the players believe what he tells them.
What you see after home games are players cleaning up the field and preparing the field for the next game. The players know if they miss practice (even though the numbers of players are low) they will not play in the game. Disciplining a team with low numbers is a difficult task knowing it might leave the team without enough players to have a game, and canceling a season would not be a first for HPS.
Harvest Prep is a Christian school that seems to have a coaching staff that were Godsent. What a future the HPS team has to look forward to!
HPS's baseball team hopes to have make winning the new norm.
Great article, thank you for the excellent insight.
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