ELYRIA — After this week, Curt Karpinski will need just one more induction for a Hall of Fame grand slam.
Seems fitting for Elyria High’s former baseball coach.
Karpinski, who made a lot of friends on and off the diamond, will be inducted into the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Friday at noon at the Columbus Hyatt Regency Ballroom.
It will be the third Hall of Fame to honor Karpinski, who was inducted into the Baldwin-Wallace Hall of Fame in 1992 and was a member of Keystone High School’s inaugural Hall of Fame class in 1997.
Karpinski’s teams won 236 games and lost 148 in his 17 years as Elyria’s head coach, while earning six conference titles, five sectional championships, three district titles and one state Final Four appearance along the way.
If one thing stands out about “Karp,” as he’s affectionately known to friends and associates, it was his ability — with the help of his players — to get George Day Field ready to play no matter the weather conditions. There were a number of times when the only game in the county was played at the Ely Stadium diamond.
Obviously, Karpinski has many fond memories of his coaching days, but one game he still thinks about today is a 2002 sectional tournament game against Brunswick. The Pioneers lost 11-10 that day — in 21 innings.
“They won, we didn’t,” Karpinski said, “but I don’t think there’s ever been a more exciting high school baseball game. I guess I made (Brunswick coach) Bill Frye famous and myself infamous.”
On the flip side, a nine-run outburst in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Southview in a tournament game during his final season in 2004 and a come-from-behind win over Amherst that kept Elyria’s state tournament bid alive in 1992 are just a couple of the extraordinary wins on his resume.
“The thing I remember most about that (Amherst) game was when I walked over to our bench to start the inning,” Karp said. “Five guys all had batting helmets on expecting to bat and didn’t say a word. They just nodded their heads in agreement as if to say, ‘Yep, we’re going to get the job done.’ And, by golly, they did.”
Elyria’s opponents could always expect a battle when Karpinski was in the dugout. The former pitcher, who had a stint in the Cleveland Indians farm system, never coached by the book, forcing opponents to stay on their toes when facing the Pioneers.
“One thing about any of my teams,” Karpinski said, “they never knew when they were beat. They always felt they could come back, and so many times they did. That 21-inning game, we scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie it up and take it to 21 innings. Against Amherst, we were never winning the whole game until we tied it up in the bottom of the seventh and, after giving up three runs in the top of the eighth, we scored four runs without making an out in the bottom of the eighth.
“A lot of it is knowing your personnel and knowing what they’re capable of doing. Against Avon Lake one time with the bases loaded — you do have to keep your eyes open. They were laying back. Jack Sito was a heck of a bunter — probably the best bunter I had on the team but he also had consistent power so he was batting fourth. You look — the third baseman’s back. The first baseman’s back. You’ve got speed on the base paths. It was time to score a run. We had to make something happen.”
Sito’s bunt sparked an Elyria uprising and a victory.
Karpinski was well-respected by many coaches in the area, including Elyria High graduates Cliff Zunis at Avon Lake, Dan Ternes at Southview and Dan Ransom at Admiral King.
Many of Karpinski’s former players came back to assist with the program, including Ransom, Kris Koepp, Phil Kuchta, Troy Kurtz and Dave Thompson. Many others returned to help with scouting or fundraisers.
“He built the program to the status it has today,” Ransom said. “I’m very happy for him. It’s a great recognition and well-deserved.”
“He was able to teach life lessons on and off the baseball field,” Koepp said. “I didn’t always see eye to eye with him when he was my coach, but I came to appreciate what he taught me. I congratulate him.”
Karpinski credits his late father, Alfred, and his college coach at Baldwin-Wallace — Bob Fisher — for helping him in his playing and coaching careers.
But his influence extends beyond the playing field. Karpinski helped form the Lorain County Coaches Association and helped create the Northeast Ohio Baseball Coaches Association. In 1993, Karpinski joined the OHSBCA board of directors as the Northeast Ohio Representative and in 1997 became the State Poll Director, a position he still holds. He was also honored by the Elyria Umpires Association for numerous Sportsmanship Awards.
Behind the scenes, Karpinski’s “Friends of Baseball” chapter of the Elyria Pioneer Club helped raise money that paid for the permanent fence at George Day Field at Ely Stadium and the temporary fence used on the junior varsity field, as well as mats for the wrestling team and fencing for the soccer field.
The Field House next to the varsity diamond that serves as the baseball team’s locker room, was a project built from funds from both the baseball and football “friends” committee and Karpinski literally helped with the construction. Elyria’s baseball facility remains one of the best in the county and hosts the Ohio High School Division I District tournament as well as the Division IV regional.
Karpinski resides in LaGrange with his wife Becky. He has two sons — Chris and Dave — and two stepsons —Tim and Andy Dicken.
Contact Tim Gebhardt at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

THE CURT KARPINSKI FILE

YEARS AS ELYRIA HEAD COACH: 17
RECORD: 236-148
CONFERENCE TITLES: 6
SECTIONAL TITLES: 5
DISTRICT TITLES: 3
STATE TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES: 1
RESIDES: LaGrange

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.
You must be registered and logged in to post a comment. If you aren't already registered, click here.
If you are registered, click here to log in.
Need help? Email Us.