For much of the postseason, the Hilliard Darby baseball team’s top two-way player, Cam Gilkerson, could be found holding a stuffed quokka named “Ding, Ding, Ding” in his left hand and wearing a bandage and brace on his right hand.

The stuffed quokka, which the team gave a gold chain, became the Panthers’ mascot after it was won at after-prom at Dave & Buster’s.

Gilkerson, a junior left-handed pitcher and first baseman, suffered an injury to his right hand while mountain-biking just before the postseason.

“I was going on jumps and stuff and just fell off my bike,” he said. “I think I cut my hand on a rock or something.”

He had surgery for an infection about a week later and thought his season was over.

“That’s when I thought, ‘Well, this kind of sucks,’ ” he said. “I literally have a 5-inch cut across my palm. I don’t think I’m going to be able to pitch.”

The Panthers, seeded 11th in the Division I district tournament, were hindered by rain during their postseason run. Two of their first three games were suspended, including a 6-1 win over fifth-seeded Olentangy Liberty in the district final.

Rain the morning of the regional semifinal against Grove City moved the game back a day to June 3. But that ended up being a good thing for Gilkerson, who had a doctor’s appointment that morning.

“I didn’t really know what the doctor was going to say,” Gilkerson said. “When (the game) got pushed back, I thought, ‘Maybe the baseball gods brought the rain. Maybe I’ll be able to pitch.’ ”

The baseball gods came through and Gilkerson took the mound with his right hand wrapped under his glove.

“I was just trying to help the team win,” he said. “As long as it wasn’t going to get (worse), I decided to do it.”

He hadn’t pitched since May 11, going the distance in a 5-0 win over Dublin Jerome.

“I was just worried about him,” coach Michael Weer said. “That was a really gnarly injury.”

Gilkerson did everything he could to help the Panthers beat the Greyhounds, but they fell 2-0 to finish 17-13. He went seven innings, allowing two runs – one earned – on seven hits, three walks and two hit batters and struck out four.

Gilkerson was the latest in a line of teammates who sacrificed to play. Senior Casey Maruniak (OF) played last season with a shoulder injury and senior Nate Burdick (OF) played late in the season after suffering a broken foot during football.

“There’s been a change going on in baseball with guys that are looking at playing at the next level – a lot of those looks are during the summer,” Weer said. “It’s getting much more difficult to get kids to buy into the community and the school. To have players like Casey and Cam, who are all about the team and all about representing the high school, is just very humbling and gratifying. It makes all the things you do as a coach and the time you put in well worth it.”

Gilkerson finished 5-2 with a 1.13 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innings.

His younger brother, freshman Cooper Gilkerson (P/INF), went 5-3 with a 2.27 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 49 1/3 innings.

Maruniak set single-season program records with a .461 batting average and 16 doubles, and tied Chris Ramsey’s 2011 program record with five triples. His 41 hits and 36 RBI came within one of tying the program records. He also broke the program record for career batting average at .447, and had two home runs and scored 29 runs this spring.

“He is the best hitter to go through our program,” Weer said. “The numbers back it up.”

Cam Gilkerson broke the program record with four home runs this season and is two shy of the career mark. He batted .433 with 20 RBI and nine doubles and scored 32 runs.

Maruniak and Cam Gilkerson were first-team all-district and all-league, junior Travis Yankovich (P/utility) was honorable mention all-district and second-team all-league, senior Jameson O’Flynn (INF) was second-team all-league, junior Brody Van Dyke (utility) was special mention all-league and senior Ryan Hance (C) was honorable mention all-league.

“High school is about pitching and we return four of our main arms (in Cam and Cooper Gilkerson and juniors Kyle Kesel and Max Mullen),” Weer said. “All those guys have the potential to be really, really good high school pitchers. Just on that, (we) feel pretty good.”

•OCC-Cardinal standings: Olentangy (14-1), Darby (10-5), Olentangy Berlin (7-8), Dublin Jerome (6-9), Marysville (4-11), Thomas Worthington (4-11)

•Seniors lost: Nate Burdick, Ryan Hance, Luke Manche, Casey Maruniak, Tyler Montebon, Jameson O’Flynn, Riley Sims and Matt Spencer

•Key returnees: Cam Gilkerson, Cooper Gilkerson, Kyle Kesel, Max Mullen, Brody Van Dyke and Travis Yankovich

•Postseason: Def. Delaware 12-2 (6 innings); def. Olentangy 4-1; def. Olentangy Liberty 6-1; lost to Grove City 2-0 in Division I regional semifinal