Div. IV Regional Semifinal Baseball Preview: Whiteoak Wildcats returning to Beavers Field to face Seneca East Tigers

MOWRYSTOWN — On Thursday, the Whiteoak Wildcats return to the Division IV Regional Semifinals, as they are scheduled to face the Seneca East Tigers at Beavers Field in Lancaster.

Whiteoak enters the game at 26-3 overall, while the Tigers are 16-13-1 overall. Both teams have also played in regular-season games since winning their respective district championships, with WHS falling to Cincinnati Country Day on May 27 by a walkoff score of 7-6, while the Tigers — who are located in Attica — faced Edison on May 30, finishing with a tied score of 6-6.

This postseason for Seneca East, they defeated Plymouth in the sectional finals by a 2-1 score, and followed that with another 2-1 win in a district semifinal game against Lucas. In their district final game, the Tigers defeated Colonel Crawford by a 9-3 score.

Seneca East has scored 158 runs this season, while allowing 113 runs. WHS has scored 294 runs in 2023.

According to MaxPreps.com, the Tigers have four players on their roster with at least 70 at-bats who are batting at least .250. Those players include Aiden Hines, a junior, who has 97 plate appearances (with 78 at-bats) with a .346 batting average, 25 runs, 27 hits, nine RBI, four doubles, one triple and two home runs in 24 games.

Caden Fritz of Seneca East in 24 games is batting .395 with 90 plate appearances and 76 at-bats. The junior has scored 20 runs and has collected 30 hits, 18 RBI, four doubles, two triples and has hit two home runs.

Senior Cooper Skeel in 24 games is batting .250 with 88 plate appearances (76 at-bats), and he’s collected 15 runs, 19 hits, 12 RBI and three doubles.

Seneca East also has Jake Bowerman, a senior, and his numbers for ’23 include 23 games played, 83 plate appearances, 72 at-bats, 18 runs, 20 hits, 11 RBI and eight doubles.

Senior Graham Gibbs in 22 games for the Tigers is batting .250 with 52 plate appearances (44 at-bats). Gibbs also has four runs, 11 hits and four RBI.

Tiger senior Brandon Hines in 24 games (83 plate appearances) collected 64 at-bats, and in those at-bats he is batting .234 with seven runs, 15 hits and 11 RBI.

Others who have played in at least 20 games with a .200 BA for Seneca East are: Cody Heibertshausen (21 games, .200 BA, 55 at-bats, nine runs, 11 hits, eight RBI, one double), Nicolas Parks (20 games, .231 BA, 52 at-bats, seven runs, 12 hits, seven RBI, one double), Blake Foos (24 games, .210 BA, 62 at-bats, 10 runs, 13 hits, five RBI, one double). Also for the Tigers, Nathan Sauers in 22 games is batting .186 with 59 at-bats, four runs, 11 hits, 11 RBI and a double.

As a team, the Tigers are batting .265 with 92 walks and have been hit by a pitch 19 times. They also have an on-base percentage of .370 and a slugging percentage of .328. Seneca East has 86 steals as a team (Hines leads with 19 steals), and they have an .885 fielding percentage.

On the mound, Seneca East has a team ERA of 2.44, with Fritz in nine appearances earning an ERA of 0.74 with a 3-2 record. Cooper Skeel in nine appearances has a 1.16 ERA with a 3-1 record, while Aiden Hines has a 3.96 ERA in five appearances. Brandon Hines in eight appearances has an ERA of 2.74.

Looking at Whiteoak, the Wildcats this season have scored 300 runs, collected 254 hits (51 doubles, 15 triples), hit eight home runs and have 249 RBI. They’ve also stolen 223 bases, with a team batting average of .352.

Senior Landon Barnett is batting .469 with 98 at-bats in 29 games, scoring 47 runs with 46 hits (11 doubles, seven triples, one home run), along with 37 RBI and he has 34 steals.

Ian Griffith, a senior, this season for WHS in 29 games has 82 at-bats, and in those at-bats he’s collected 38 runs, 35 hits (five doubles, three triples), 31 RBI, 21 steals and his batting average is .427.

Luken Roades, a senior, has played in 28 games, and in that time frame he has 80 at-bats, where he’s collected 41 runs, 34 hits (eight doubles, three triples), two home runs, 20 RBI and 38 steals.

Zander Roades, a sophomore, is also batting over .400 in 58 at-bats this season, with a BA of .414 in 29 games, as his numbers also consist of 30 runs, 24 hits (two doubles), 26 RBI and 26 steals.

Eli Roberts, a junior, in 29 games this season had 78 at-bats, 29 runs, 31 hits (eight doubles), three home runs, 38 RBI and 20 steals.

Nate Price is currently batting .364 his senior season, as the catcher has 77 at-bats with 36 runs, 28 hits (nine doubles, one triple), two home runs, 28 RBI and 23 steals.

David Donohoo, a senior, in ’23 has 68 at-bats in 27 games, as he’s collected a batting average of .250 with 19 runs, 17 hits, 15 RBI and 11 steals.

Senior Carson Emery this season has 85 at-bats in 29 games, with current numbers that include 28 runs, 25 hits (five doubles), 33 RBI and 37 steals as his batting average sits at .294 for the season.

Pitching this season, WHS has 236 strikeouts combined among seven pitchers. Barnett is 7-1 this season with 58 innings on the mound. The senior has 78 strikeouts, three shutouts and an 0.966 ERA.

Luken Roades has pitched 44 innings in ’23, and in that time on the mound he’s struck out 68 batters and is 7-0 on the season (nine games pitched). His ERA for the season is 0.795.

Junior Kaden Moon-Stone in ’23 has pitched in 11 games and has been the pitcher to close out games. He is also 4-1 this year, with one save, plus he has 29 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.636.

Emery in ’23 is 3-0 in five games (21 innings), where his numbers include 24 strikeouts, one shutout and a 2.66 ERA.

Jacen Applegate, a sophomore, has been on the mound five times in ’23, where in 20.2 innings, he’s struck out 30 batters with a 1.355 ERA to go with a 4-0 record.

Whiteoak and Seneca East are scheduled to play in the regional semifinals Thursday, June 1 at 5 p.m. at Beavers Field in Lancaster.