MADISON TOWNSHIP — The view from atop the Ohio Cardinal Conference standings is nice, but Blake Lampert preferred his vantage point Tuesday afternoon.
I was at the dead bottom of the dog pile,” said Lampert, the Richland Source Athlete of the Week, “and I was happy to be there.”
A senior left-hander, Lampert found himself in the heart of the celebration after pitching the Rams to their first Ohio Cardinal Conference championship since 2007 with a weather-delayed 8-5 win over Wooster. Madison (20-6) improved to 12-1 in OCC action while the Generals (17-7) dipped to 10-3 in the conference with one game remaining.
“It felt fantastic to win a conference championship, especially the way we won it” said Lampert, who scattered seven hits in the complete game victory. “We were down by three runs and came back.”
For Lampert and fellow four-year starter Bo Curvin, Tuesday’s win was a fitting way to conclude their Ohio Cardinal Conference careers. The two were Madison’s top two pitchers as freshman, when the Rams won 25 games but finished behind Wooster in the OCC standings.
“And the following year, they were on a team that won four baseball games,” Madison coach Doug Rickert said. “Then last year, when those guys were juniors, we started to get better. We only had three seniors last year, but they showed us how to do things the right way and we were able to finish second in the league. Those seniors showed us how to work and (this year’s seniors) became very hungry. Nobody likes to get beat up and they took some serious butt-whippings when they were sophomores.”
A new-found dedication to the game has resulted in a big year for Lampert, who is 6-2 on the season and 17-6 in his career. For the first time, he is an everyday starter in the outfield when he’s not pitching. He’s batting .280 on the year.
“He’s worked his butt off this year,” Rickert said. “He didn’t play basketball this year and he really worked hard in the weight room and came out and got after it every day. He’s more involved.”
Lampert agreed.
“I’m more dedicated this year,” he said. “Not playing basketball made a huge difference. I was able to get into the weight room and really work on some things. I didn’t work as hard as I should have as a sophomore and a junior and that had affected the team.”
Lampert and his fellow seniors take their leadership roles seriously.
“If one of the younger guys makes an error, we’re not yelling at him or anything like that,” Lampert said. “Instead, we are all very encouraging. It’s a lot healthier than yelling at guys.”
One of Lampert’s projects this spring is to mentor pitcher Michael Penney. The sophomore is 6-0 and will get the start Thursday when the Rams meet Bowling Green in the Division I district semifinal at Bowling Green’s Carter Park.
“I’ve tried to take him under my wing this year,” Lampert said. “I tried to stress to him the importance of sticking to the routine, no matter how big the game is. We all have our routines and if you continue to do what has worked, it will help keep you calm.”
The Rams are back in the district for a second straight season. Madison lost to Perrysburg in the district semifinal last year.
If Lampert has his way, today’s district semifinal will launch an extended tournament run. The Rams haven’t reached the regional tournament since 2002.
“It would be nice to put together a run,” he said. “Every time we break out of our huddle, we say, “OCC, state.’ We’ve won the OCC title and now we have some other goals we’re shooting for.”
Follow Curt Conrad on Twitter @CurtJConrad. If you have nomination for athlete of the week, email us at news@richlandsource.com
