Div. IV Regional Semifinal Preview: Whiteoak returns to regionals
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
For the second time in program history and the second time in the past five seasons, the Whiteoak Wildcats will be playing at Beavers Field in Lancaster in the Division IV Regional Semifinals, as they will be facing the Toronto Red Knights this Thursday.
Whiteoak has set their program mark this season with the most wins in team history, as they are currently 26-2 overall, including three postseason wins thus far. In their first tournament game in the sectional finals, the Wildcats defeated Southern Hills Athletic Conference rival Peebles (a No. 8 seed) by a 10-0 score in five innings. Next came two consecutive wins at VA Memorial Stadium in the district round.
In the district semifinals, the Wildcats took down No. 5 seeded Belpre by a 12-3 score, followed by a win in the district finals by defeating the No. 2 seeded Waterford Wildcats by a 10-0 score in five innings.
After winning the district championship last Wednesday in Chillicothe, Whiteoak head coach Chris Veidt spoke about playing in the regional finals and how his team has played this entire season.
“We’re just going to stick with the process, like we’ve been talking about all year. We have our acronyms, we call them ‘strike three rope:’ have each other’s back, embrace the positive and flush the negative, and just play the game one pitch at a time,” Veidt said. “We’ve thrown four kids who’ve looked sharp on the mound. We’re going to be fine no matter who we play, where we play.
“Ultimately, it’s not who you play, it’s not where you play, it’s not when you play – it’s how you play. We talked about that tonight as well. These guys are very teachable kids. They’re a joy and a pleasure. I get to stick around them and be around them another couple weeks now, so I can’t wait.”
The East District journey to the regionals for Toronto (20-4-1 overall) mirrored Whiteoak’s path, as they too are 3-0 this postseason, winning all three of their games in convincing fashion. In the sectional finals, as the No. 1 seeded team in the East District, Toronto won by a 16-0 score over No. 14 seeded Newcomerstown. Next, in the district semifinals, the Red Knights won against No. 4 seeded Central Catholic, 9-1, and then in the district finals this past Wednesday, the Red Knights defeated No. 7 seeded Strasburg-Franklin by a 6-0 score.
Another factor for this game is they’ve both earned the respect of their counterparts in Division IV, as Whiteoak is ranked the No. 1 team in the state in the coaches poll for Division IV, while the Red Knights are the No. 4 ranked team in the state by the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association.
Whiteoak is led at the plate by Mason Lehr and Evan Brill, who both have a .429 batting average, with Lehr having an on-base percentage of .573 and a .657 slugging percentage in 70 at-bats. Brill, also with 70 at-bats, has a .548 OBP and a .600 SLG. Traeten Hamilton is near those two with a .402 BA, along with a .545 OBP and .598 SLG. Hamilton also is tied for the Wildcats’ lead in stolen bases with 41.
Having near .400 batting averages are Caleb West with a .397 BA , along with a .519 OBP and team-best .615 SLG. West also leads WHS with 38 RBI, being one of three players on the roster to have 30-plus RBI.
Chase Carraher follows with a .386 BA, along with a .486 OBP and .455 SLG. Carraher also has 41 stolen bases to his credit, tied for the team lead, along with 32 RBI.
Trever Yeager is batting .306 on the season for the Wildcats, as he also has built a .450 OBP and .424 SLG. Yeager also has collected 30 RBI and 20 stolen bases.
The Wildcats’ pitching thus far in 2018 has seen them throw 170 innings for a team ERA of 1.48, with 157 strikeouts and just 36 earned runs allowed. Brill leads WHS with an 8-0 record with a 0.44 ERA in eight starts. Brill in 47.1 innings has amassed 62 strikeouts.
Chase Butler is 6-0 on the year with a 2.61 ERA in 45.2 IP. Hamilton has pitched 33 innings for WHS this season with a 1.48 ERA for a 5-2 record on the mound. Hamilton has struck out 43 batters. Yeager has pitched 11 innings for the Wildcats, leading the team in saves with six, as he’s allowed no earned runs and just six hits in seven games.
In a look at the Red Knights — who play in the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference — they were the conference champions of the 2A Division with a conference record of 11-1. In 2017, Toronto reached the Division IV State Final Four, where they lost to the eventual state champion Minster by a 3-0 score.
According to the Dylan Hefflinger of Prep Baseball Report, the Red Knights have eight starters on this year’s roster who were on the state semifinal team from a year ago, a team that went 27-4 overall.
Two of those players are Nolan Clegg and Nate Karaffa, both of whom have committed to play for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Clegg (Class of 2018) is a RHP and outfielder, and Karaffa (Class of 2019) is a pitcher and shortstop.
According to Prep Baseball Report, Clegg has a max fastball of 81 MPH, along with a curveball of 70-71 MPH and a changeup of 72-73 MPH.
Also for the Red Knights — who have won three straight district championships — their district championship win was the 300th career win for their head coach Brian Perkins.
The Division IV Regional Semifinals will take place Thursday, May 24 at Beavers Field in Lancaster with a 5 p.m. first-pitch. The first regional semifinal game that day will be between Centerburg and Eastern Meigs (Reedsville) at 2 p.m. The regional finals will be Friday, May 25 at 5 p.m. at Beavers Field.
Whiteoak has set their program mark this season with the most wins in team history, as they are currently 26-2 overall, including three postseason wins thus far. In their first tournament game in the sectional finals, the Wildcats defeated Southern Hills Athletic Conference rival Peebles (a No. 8 seed) by a 10-0 score in five innings. Next came two consecutive wins at VA Memorial Stadium in the district round.
In the district semifinals, the Wildcats took down No. 5 seeded Belpre by a 12-3 score, followed by a win in the district finals by defeating the No. 2 seeded Waterford Wildcats by a 10-0 score in five innings.
After winning the district championship last Wednesday in Chillicothe, Whiteoak head coach Chris Veidt spoke about playing in the regional finals and how his team has played this entire season.
“We’re just going to stick with the process, like we’ve been talking about all year. We have our acronyms, we call them ‘strike three rope:’ have each other’s back, embrace the positive and flush the negative, and just play the game one pitch at a time,” Veidt said. “We’ve thrown four kids who’ve looked sharp on the mound. We’re going to be fine no matter who we play, where we play.
“Ultimately, it’s not who you play, it’s not where you play, it’s not when you play – it’s how you play. We talked about that tonight as well. These guys are very teachable kids. They’re a joy and a pleasure. I get to stick around them and be around them another couple weeks now, so I can’t wait.”
The East District journey to the regionals for Toronto (20-4-1 overall) mirrored Whiteoak’s path, as they too are 3-0 this postseason, winning all three of their games in convincing fashion. In the sectional finals, as the No. 1 seeded team in the East District, Toronto won by a 16-0 score over No. 14 seeded Newcomerstown. Next, in the district semifinals, the Red Knights won against No. 4 seeded Central Catholic, 9-1, and then in the district finals this past Wednesday, the Red Knights defeated No. 7 seeded Strasburg-Franklin by a 6-0 score.
Another factor for this game is they’ve both earned the respect of their counterparts in Division IV, as Whiteoak is ranked the No. 1 team in the state in the coaches poll for Division IV, while the Red Knights are the No. 4 ranked team in the state by the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association.
Whiteoak is led at the plate by Mason Lehr and Evan Brill, who both have a .429 batting average, with Lehr having an on-base percentage of .573 and a .657 slugging percentage in 70 at-bats. Brill, also with 70 at-bats, has a .548 OBP and a .600 SLG. Traeten Hamilton is near those two with a .402 BA, along with a .545 OBP and .598 SLG. Hamilton also is tied for the Wildcats’ lead in stolen bases with 41.
Having near .400 batting averages are Caleb West with a .397 BA , along with a .519 OBP and team-best .615 SLG. West also leads WHS with 38 RBI, being one of three players on the roster to have 30-plus RBI.
Chase Carraher follows with a .386 BA, along with a .486 OBP and .455 SLG. Carraher also has 41 stolen bases to his credit, tied for the team lead, along with 32 RBI.
Trever Yeager is batting .306 on the season for the Wildcats, as he also has built a .450 OBP and .424 SLG. Yeager also has collected 30 RBI and 20 stolen bases.
The Wildcats’ pitching thus far in 2018 has seen them throw 170 innings for a team ERA of 1.48, with 157 strikeouts and just 36 earned runs allowed. Brill leads WHS with an 8-0 record with a 0.44 ERA in eight starts. Brill in 47.1 innings has amassed 62 strikeouts.
Chase Butler is 6-0 on the year with a 2.61 ERA in 45.2 IP. Hamilton has pitched 33 innings for WHS this season with a 1.48 ERA for a 5-2 record on the mound. Hamilton has struck out 43 batters. Yeager has pitched 11 innings for the Wildcats, leading the team in saves with six, as he’s allowed no earned runs and just six hits in seven games.
In a look at the Red Knights — who play in the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference — they were the conference champions of the 2A Division with a conference record of 11-1. In 2017, Toronto reached the Division IV State Final Four, where they lost to the eventual state champion Minster by a 3-0 score.
According to the Dylan Hefflinger of Prep Baseball Report, the Red Knights have eight starters on this year’s roster who were on the state semifinal team from a year ago, a team that went 27-4 overall.
Two of those players are Nolan Clegg and Nate Karaffa, both of whom have committed to play for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Clegg (Class of 2018) is a RHP and outfielder, and Karaffa (Class of 2019) is a pitcher and shortstop.
According to Prep Baseball Report, Clegg has a max fastball of 81 MPH, along with a curveball of 70-71 MPH and a changeup of 72-73 MPH.
Also for the Red Knights — who have won three straight district championships — their district championship win was the 300th career win for their head coach Brian Perkins.
The Division IV Regional Semifinals will take place Thursday, May 24 at Beavers Field in Lancaster with a 5 p.m. first-pitch. The first regional semifinal game that day will be between Centerburg and Eastern Meigs (Reedsville) at 2 p.m. The regional finals will be Friday, May 25 at 5 p.m. at Beavers Field.