Comment: ODA shows class in rivalry loss

Out-of-Door Academy coach Billy Dietrich has reminded his players to keep one value in the forefront: Play the game the right way.

With a district championship on the line against a team that has become one of its biggest rivals, the Thunder could have tossed their coach’s advice. Instead, ODA focused on what it could control — its bats and its gloves.

The Thunder appeared poised and in control throughout most of last Friday’s district championship game versus Cardinal Mooney — despite the discussion generating from the visiting dugout.

Chants for the Thunder to pack its bags had already begun circulating across the field well before the Cougars mounted a comeback in the top of the sixth inning; but no matter how intense it got, ODA refused to let the incessant trash talking get the best of them.

A little trash talking or jawing is to be expected in some ways, as what was once an ordinary game between two crosstown private schools is developing into a rivalry.

But it’s rare for a team not only to have the will-power to sit back and listen to its opponent swear for an entire game but also to resist retaliation, as their opponents rush their field in celebration.

It’s a testament to their character, and if all goes according to plan, the Thunder will have another opportunity to let its bats and its gloves do the talking in the regional semifinals.