SPORTS

Utica star Robberts wins Home Run Derby on final swing

Dave Weidig
Reporter
  • Newark’s Zach Dickson — the smallest player by far out of the 10 — hit four in the first round.
  • Robberts channeled his inner Todd Frazier, homering to left-center on his final swing.

HEATH – Garett Robberts called for an outside pitch, and his dad Brian knew exactly where to put it.

The Utica senior-to-be deposited the ball well beyond the right field fence at Dave Klontz Field Friday, setting the tone for his Licking County Home Run Derby championship.

“He’s been pitching to me since I started playing baseball, when I was 6 or 7,” Robberts said. “He likes to throw me knuckleballs, but he didn’t tonight. I was trying to hit it out to my family in right field. They were sitting on the hill.”

The opposite-field blast shot him into the finals, where he channeled his inner Todd Frazier, homering to left-center on his final swing against Watkins Memorial’s Doug Connor. Connor figured from the start Robberts would be the one to beat.

“He hit two against us, one off Chandler Day,” he said. “I’ve seen his swing, and knew it could be a rough show for the rest of us. He even did it with a BB Core bat, which has less pop than the bats we were using.”

However, Robberts nearly didn’t make it out of the first round. He only managed one, while Newark’s Zach Dickson — the smallest player by far out of the 10 — was belting four. However, those two along with Connor, Heath’s Zak Witzberger and Rob Engle from Newark Catholic advanced. Engle had to beat Licking Valley’s Colt Caughenbaugh twice in swing-offs just to make it.

“I was just trying to save up a little energy for later,” Robberts joked. “I thought coming in I had a good shot, even though last year I didn’t even hit one and didn’t make it out of the first round. Actually, it’s kind of nerve-wracking, doing it with all those people watching.”

While Robberts cruised into the final with five in the second round, Connor had to win a swing-off with Dickson. He was hitting off Day, headed to Vanderbilt. Why did he choose him?

“Well, he wasn’t throwing 93,” said Connor, who didn’t hit any home runs during the spring. “I just thought it would be fun bringing in one of the premier pitchers in America, someone everyone knows. It was a blast. I just wanted to show up and have a little fun before I head off to college” (at Capital University).

To top things off, Robberts then defeated defending champion Hunter Nance in an exhibition. The Newark Catholic product is now at Motlow University in Tennessee.

Also competing Friday, in the third such event, were Zac Morris from Heath, Granville’s Graham Parsley, Greg Wilson of Northridge and Lakewood’s Zach Cozad. All proceeds went to the Licking County Foundation.

“I thought it would come down to Garett, Doug and Colt,” event organizer Andrew Chacey said. “I think we even out-did our first-year crowd, when a lot of people came out to see Ronnie (Dawson).

“We relied on the players to kind of spread the word about this, and they did a good job. It’s good to see people excited about this, so we can keep bringing it back. We raised around $250 for a good cause.”

dweidig@newarkadvocate.com

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Twitter: @noz75