2023 Highland County Baseball Preview

Spring is in the air, and that means high school baseball is set to return in Highland County, as the five high schools who compete in the OHSAA will be back running the buses, dominating on the mound and taking control of the batter’s box as they set their sights on achieving their team goals and aspirations for the 2023 spring season. 

WHITEOAK WILDCATS
Southern Hills Athletic Conference (SHAC)
Head Coach: Chris Veidt 
2022 Overall Record: 21-10
Last Conference Championship: 2022 (Division II SHAC)

The Whiteoak Wildcats lost one senior from their 2022 district champion team, and though it is hard to replace Connor Butler, the Wildcats are in an excellent spot to battle in their defense of their Southern Hills Athletic Conference Division II championship — as they were 12-1 in SHAC games — from a season ago, plus battle to add another district championship trophy to their trophy case of accolades.

Back at the helm of the Wildcats is head coach Chris Veidt (32nd year), the current longest tenured baseball coach in Highland County.

Last season, WHS finished 21-10 overall, and the district title they won a season ago was their first one since ’18. The Wildcats are also coming off a season where they were ranked 13th in the Division IV state coaches poll, as they outscored their opponents 266-112 in 31 games.

Even though WHS struggled in the regional semifinals in ’22, they gained experience playing on a big stage and playing in important high-profile games. WHS finished 3-1 in the postseason last year with wins over Waterford (8-1), Huntington (7-6) and South Webster (7-3), and their loss was to Berlin Hiland (10-0).
 
Last season, Whiteoak had two players earn All-Ohio honors in Division IV, those players being Carson Emery and Nate Price, as both achieved the honor their junior season in ’22.

As a center fielder and pitcher, Emery ended the ’22 season batting .376, while scoring 33 runs, collecting 32 hits (including 12 doubles), tallying 37 RBI, forcing 25 walks and stealing 42 bases in 31 games with 85 at-bats. 

Emery also made four appearances on the mound (three starts) in ’22, pitching 14 innings, having an ERA of 0.50 with one earned run and five walks. Emery struck out 15 batters and had a 2-0 record with a WHIP of 1.214 during his junior season where he earned second-team All-Ohio honors.

Whiteoak’s catcher Price in 31 games last season had 78 at-bats, totaling 30 hits (10 doubles), 27 runs, 36 RBI, 26 walks with a batting average of .385. Price was an All-Ohio honorable mention player, as he also had four sacrifices,and  he was hit by a pitch four times. Price also gained 23 steals and had a .536 OBP and .513 SLG.

The roster of the Wildcats includes seniors Landon Barnett (P/INF), Luken Roades (P/INF), Emery (P/OF/INF), Price (C/INF), David Donohoo (P/1B) and Ian Griffith (P/OF).

Juniors are Kaden Moon-Stone (P/OF), Eli Roberts (P/INF) and Dakota Clift (C/OF). Sophomores for the ’23 season are: Camron Storms (C/OF), Wyatt Ruark (INF/P), Zander Roades (C/INF), Jaden Applegate (1B/P) and Solomon Combs (OF/P).

In 12 games last season, Roades batted .379 with 11 hits, 18 runs, seven RBI, six steals and two doubles. 

Barnett finished with 31 runs, 30 hits, four doubles, one triple, 23 RBI and 28 steals in 31 games last season, and he batted .333 in ’22.

Griffith finished the ’22 season totaled 16 runs, 21 hits, one double, 23 RBI, eight steals and had a batting average of .292.

On the mound in ’22, Barnett pitched 10 games (44 innings) where he had a 3-3 record with 51 strikeouts, a 1.32 WHIP and a 2.23 ERA. Roades last season pitched in nine games with a 4-3 record finishing with 41 strikeouts, one save, one shutout, a 1.13 WHIP and a 2.58 ERA.

Moon-Stone in ’22 finished with 12 games pitched, with a win-loss record of 2-1 in 23.2 innings pitched. He also finished  with two saves, 24 strikeouts, a 1.44 WHIP and 2.96 ERA. Roberts also pitched for WHS in ’22, and in 13.2 innings he was 2-1 overall with 15 strikeouts.

Returning All-SHAC selections for WHS are Barnett, Emery and Price.

Whiteoak opens the ’23 season on Saturday, at home against South Webster in a non-conference doubleheader starting at noon.



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FAIRFIELD LIONS
Southern Hills Athletic Conference (SHAC)
Head Coach: Kyle Zimmerman (2nd year)
2022 Overall Record: 17-5
Last Conference Championship: 2022 (Division I, SHAC)

Coming off a season where the Fairfield Lions won the Division I Southern Hills Athletic Conference championship in 2022 (11-2 in SHAC play), plus earned a Division IV district runner-up finish, the Lions are looking to add to their success from last season when they finished 17-5 overall.

The roster of the Lions includes returning players Cade Miller (.420BA, 29 hits, 5 doubles, 5 triples, 17 RBI, 19 R, 11 walks), Dow Moon (.414BA, 24 hits, 14 RBI, 19 runs, 17 walks) and Elijah Humphreys (.278BA, 5 hits, 4 RBI, 5 runs). 

Also on the roster from last season are Owen Larrick (.268BA, 15 hits, 9 RBI, 15 runs, 8 walks), Gabe Fouch (.371BA, 26 hits, 10 doubles, 1 triple, 12 RBI, 20 runs, 8 walks) and Landry Hattan (.254BA, 16 hits, 2 doubles, 12 RBI, 11 runs, 6 walks). 

Other players also back are Noah Allering (.323BA, 21 hits, 1 double, 8 RBI 20 runs, 11 walks) and Wyatt Collins (.263BA, 15 hit, 1 triple, 11 RBI, 14 runs, 5 walks). 

New to the varsity roster are Blaine Fauber, Brandon Ludwick, Carson Chandler, Corbin Willey, Wyatt Wiley and Zane Matthews.

Returning All-SHAC selections are Fouch and Miller.

In ’22, the Lions won the SHAC Division I championship with an 11-2 conference record, and they finished ranked No. 19 in the Division IV state poll. 

Last regular season with Fairfield as a sophomore, Fouch had seven starts, pitching five complete games, equaling 42 innings on the mound, with a 0.50 ERA and a WHIP of 0.738. Fouch had a 5-1 win-loss record and struck out 70 batters in 2022.

Fouch also allowed just 10 runs last season, with just three being earned.

Also on the mound in ’22 for the Lions was Miller, who in six appearances (19 innings) struck out 28 batters, had one shutout, two saves, a .037 ERA and was 2-0 overall.

Allering in ’22 pitched in eight games, where in 22.1 innings he finished with a 3-0 record, 26 strikeouts, one shutout and a 0.63 ERA. Moon pitched in three games (6.1 IP) and totaled 10 strikeouts and had one save.

The Lions are scheduled to open the 2023 season Saturday, March 25 at home against Waverly at 1 p.m.



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LYNCHBURG-CLAY MUSTANGS
Southern Hills Athletic Conference (SHAC)
Head Coach: Vince Pitzer
2022 Overall Record: 12-9
Last Conference Championship: 2019 (SHAC, Div. I)

The Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs enter the 2023 season coming off a 12-win season a year ago. 

This year’s team consists of three seniors, eight sophomores and one freshman. The three seniors are Jacob Allen (1B), Kaydon Fyffe (OF/P) and Luke Smith (IF).

The sophomores are Austin Bell (OF), Cody Bell (OF), Josiah Burns (OF/ P), Isaac Eyre (IF/P), Asher Faust (IF/OF), Christian Flowers (OF/P), Cole Wells (IF/P) and Braedon West (C/P). The lone freshman is Brayden Oberrecht (IF/P). 

In ’22, the Mustangs finished tied for second with Eastern in the SHAC Division I standings with a conference record of 9-4. 

Burns — an All-SHAC selection in ’22 – last season for LCHS (21 games) had a .356 BA with an OBP of .480. In 59 at-bats, he collected 21 hits, 20 runs, four doubles, one triple, one home run and 13 RBI, along with 13 steals. 

Allen in nine games in ’22 batted .300 with an OBP of .533 while collecting three runs, three hits and one double. 

West made seven appearances on the mound in ’22, and in 20 innings he finished 2-0 with 29 strikeouts, a 1.30 WHIP and a 1.05 ERA.

Also on the mound, Wells made seven pitching appearances (30.2 IP), totaling 35 strikeouts.

The Mustangs start the ’23 season on Saturday,  March 25 at home in a three-team doubleheader against Blanchester and Goshen, with the first game for LCHS starting at 11 a.m.



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MCCLAIN TIGERS
Frontier Athletic Conference (FAC)
Head Coach: Kenny Branscom
2022 Overall Record: 12-14
Last Conference Championship: 2010 (SCOL)

The McClain Tigers are looking to add to their improvement from the ’22 season as they are coming of a 12-win season and will do so with Kenny Branscom returning as the head coach of the Tigers for his third on-field season with the program.

Last season, the Tigers had one player selected to the All-FAC team, that being Kaden Penwell. 

For the ’23 season, the Tigers have four seniors, four juniors, four sophomores and two freshmen. The seniors this season are Haydon Hice (P/2B/SS), SJ Adkins (P/3B/1B), Tanner Dalton (2B) and Gavin Warren (OF/C).

Juniors for McClain are Kaden Penwell (P/SS), Andrew Potts (P/3B), Jayden Allison (C/OF) and Seth Weller (OF/IF). McClain’s sophomores consist of Cohen Six (1B/P), Owen Sykes (OF), Connor McCune (OF/C) and Alex Petrie (1B). 

The freshman class has Eli Douglas (IF/OF/P) and Easton Ary (OF/IF/C).

McClain begins their 2023 season on Saturday, March 25 at home in a non-conference game against the Adena Warriors.



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HILLSBORO INDIANS
Frontier Athletic Conference (FAC)
Head Coach: Matt Garman
2022 Overall Record: 9-15
Last Conference Championship: 2019 (FAC)

Seniors for the Indians are a class of nine players, and they are Evan Fender, Garet Thompson, Gavin Thompson, Will Hart, Bryce Parsons, Brogen Priest, Korbin Adams, Ovid Wilson and Travis Ross. 

The juniors for 2023 are Peyton Aber, Carson Scott, Gavin Miller and Ashton Clemons. The Indians have one sophomore, Nic Burns, and the freshmen are Jackson Cornele, Ben Miller, and Brady Juillerat.

In ’22, Adams finished with 23 games played as he had 73 at-bats, a .233 BA, 17 hits, 15 singles, two doubles, 15 RBI, seven runs and five walks. 

Parsons in ’22 finished with 22 games played, and he had a .318 BA, with 21 hits, three doubles, one triple, 12 RBI, 13 runs and 10 walks. 

Last season, the Indians had two players selected to the All-FAC team, as those players were Quintin Captain and Spencer Wyckoff, both of whom have since graduated. 

The Indians will open their ’23 season on Saturday, March 25 at home against Bethel-Tate at 1 p.m.