ELYRIA — Kevin Brubaker doesn’t wear the team cap.
While the rest of Elyria’s Big League team sports brand new caps in royal blue with the red script E on the front, Brubaker prefers one that has surely seen better days. It was once red but has since faded to orange. The reason he wears it, it’s rumored, is that it brings good luck.
The cap’s magic, and the Elyria bats, didn’t kick in until the seventh inning Monday. That was when Elyria scored five times on six hits to post a 6-2 win over Englewood in the state tournament championship game at George Day Field.
“Sometimes you have to rub (the cap) a little harder,” Brubaker said.  “You also have to have patience and confidence. That’s what this summer has been all about — the coaches having patience in these kids and confidence in their hitting.”
The patience never wavered but the confidence must have taken a beating as Ryan West, the Englewood pitcher, was having his way with Elyria.
The big right-hander limited the host club to five hits through six innings, with three of the hits coming in the third, before Elyria unloaded on West and reliever Dylan Walker at the latest possible time.
The win gave Elyria a repeat of the state Big League championship. Just as in 2007, Elyria, representing District 3, defeated the District 8 champion in a thriller. Last year’s title game ended in extra-innings on a walk-off home run.
Elyria will again move on to the Central regional tournament in Grand Rapids, Mich., starting Friday. Schedules are pending.
D.J. Hallauer, the No. 9 batter, had the winning hit with a two-run triple with nobody out that gave Elyria a 3-2 lead. An error opened the door for Elyria as Tory Stewart took first when his slow roller was bobbled. Gus Long, trying to advance pinch runner Jake Suetta, bunted over the head of West, who was charging to the plate to field any bunt in front of the pitcher’s mound. The ball landed in unoccupied territory between the hill and second base. A wild pitch moved the runners to third before Hallauer sent Englewood left fielder Kurt Kessler to the fence.
“I didn’t know where it was going,” Hallauer said. “I was just running my fastest to try to get as much as I could.”
Hallauer scored Elyria’s first run after a leadoff double in the third inning. Jon Koepf got Hallauer home with a single to tie the score at 1.
“They (opponents) don’t expect his bat,” Brubaker said of Hallauer. “He’s batting in that spot because of all the talent we have. Few expect a No. 9 hitter to be good, but he has been our most consistent hitter all summer.”
But Elyria was nowhere near finished. Nolan Neuschaefer followed Hallauer’s triple with one of his own. Koepf doubled but was tagged out when he overslid the base. Eddie Cruz singled and went to third on Dan Poskocil’s single. When the ball was mishandled in right, Cruz hopped on the opportunity and galloped to the plate to score the final run of the inning.
Brian Hart, meanwhile, pitched effectively enough to keep Elyria’s hopes alive. Despite a few tense moments, Hart and the rest of the team kept Englewood away from big innings.
Englewood scored a run in the first as the first three batters reached base. Hart struck out three in a row to keep the score 1-0.
Three straight hits to lead off the fourth inning gave Englewood a 2-1 lead, but Hart got a strikeout and two fly balls to prevent further damage. He also gave up hits to the first two batters of the sixth, but escaped following a strikeout and a double play.
“I tried to stay cool and not let the runners get to me,” Hart said. “The beginning was a bit shaky, but coaches cooled me down and told me I had a defense with me and to let them hit the ball. My teammates would handle it.”
“Brian knew for two weeks that if the tournament got to this point he would pitch,” Brubaker said. “He told me he couldn’t wait for the opportunity. His name is Hart and he has the heart of a lion.”
Had Elyria not rallied to win it would have forced a tiebreaker game later on Monday. As it was, Elyria won all three games by a combined score of 26-4.

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