ALL-AREA BASEBALL: AHS’ Cimo named Coach of the Year

Auburn High’s state championship run was a special one for coach Matt Cimo.

Not only did the coach get to take his first water cooler bath after 17 years in the Tigers’ dugout, but he got to share the moment with his son, Tanner, Auburn’s starting sophomore second baseman.

“That’s like a father’s dream come true,” Cimo said. “I’m just glad I got to share those times with him, because 10 years from now, 15 years, him and I, we’ll grow closer because of being able to compete together.

“Ten years from now, people won’t know who won the state championship or what the scores were. They’ll just know that we were a group of kids where our friendships will last forever.”

Cimo helped guide this wave of team unity — and a fair bit of talent — to Auburn’s first baseball championship in 23 years.

And it was never much in doubt.

Auburn High’s state championship run was a special one for coach Matt Cimo.After sweeping through the first three rounds of the playoffs, the Tigers blew out Mary Montgomery on the road in Game 3 of the semifinals, the only Game 3 they would face all postseason.

Then, after a nail-biter of a 4-1 win in Game 1 of the championship series against Oxford, Auburn never let the Yellow Jackets up for air in Game 2, taking a 13-3 win in six innings for the title.

All in all, Auburn finished the season with a 36-8 record.

And a bunch of gaudy rings for their fingers.

“That’s the ultimate goal, as a coach,” Cimo said. “But to me, coaching’s not about winning or losing, it’s about trying to help the kids play the game right and teaching kids the game itself.”

The Tigers had plenty of contributors that played the game right this year.

Seniors Reid Carter and Scott Norrell, and junior Drew Eiland, combined to go 24-3 with a 1.57 ERA on the mound. The Tigers hit .327 as a team, with sophomore third baseman Grant Massey hitting .403 and three others (junior first baseman Trey Gregg, Tanner Cimo and junior outfielder James Ponder) hitting above .340.

And, despite the relative youth of his squad, Matt Cimo said his players’ highs were never too high, their lows never too low, and envy over playing time or batting position was not a part of the equation.

“There was no jealousy,” Cimo said. “They were like one group, and they were fighting for the common goal, and that was to win a state championship.

“I guess they call that ‘team chemistry.’”

While the losses of Carter, Norrell, pitcher R.C. Trussell and catcher Chace Mitchell will be big, Cimo can also look forward to having a class of nine battle-tested rising seniors ready to go next year.

And embracing that bull’s-eye.

“I’m just glad we got the opportunity where maybe we get a chance to repeat,” Cimo said. “You don’t get that very often.”

| 737-2568