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Ohio Diamond Notes: April 14-20

Anthony Wayne right-hander Owen Graf faced the minimum number of batters in an impressive performance to highlight the week for high school baseball in the Buckeye state.

The Ohio State commit struck out a dozen and did not walk a batter in a one-hit win over Division I Findlay, which is 5-3 on the season after play last week. The lone hit off the eighth-ranked senior RHP in Ohio was an infield single in the first inning, but Graf promptly picked off the runner. In the second, a Findlay batter was hit by a pitch but then erased on a double play.

In facing 21 batters for the game, the hard-throwing Graf was sitting 89-92 with his fastball, topping out at 93, one mile an hour away from his PR.  

There were plenty of other big performances for the week, just read on… 

HOT STICKS

What a phenomenal week for Clear Fork shortstop Jay Jackson. The uncommitted senior was an astounding 13-16 at the plate for the week, driving in 12 runs and scoring nine.

Jackson finished with a home run, three triples and a pair of doubles while also stealing four bases for the 7-3 squad, which won all four games this past week. 

There were other standouts with the bat worth mentioning as well…

- Another shortstop, Jacob Roth of Portsmouth, had a big week going 9-11 at the plate. The junior scored four runs and stole four bases while driving in two and also reaching base on a walk and HBP. Roth, who has won two games on the mound this year, has now scored 13 runs and had nine steals on the season for Portsmouth, which won all three games last week.

- Johnny DiBlasio pounded out 11 hits on the week for Hilliard Davidson and is now 15-30 on the season. The senior outfielder finished 11-19 with two doubles, a triple and a home run, driving home 10 and scoring eight times while also reaching base on four walks and a HBP. DiBlasio also had three stolen bases.

- The top-ranked junior outfielder in Ohio, Chandler Taylor, brought in eight runs on the week going 5-10 with two home runs and a double to go along with three walks, three stolen bases, a sacrifice fly and four runs scored. The Alabama commit, the 27th-rated 2026 OF in the country, plays center field for Badin, the No. 3 Division III team in the state which won four games this past week by a combined score of 40-3.

- Drew Golowin of Upper Arlington was 4-8 with two RBIs and two runs, reaching base twice on a HBP while belting a home run and stealing a base. An Ashland commit, Golowin is the 16th-ranked senior third baseman in Ohio.

- Luke Healan of North Olmsted was also 4-8 on the week, hitting a home run and double while scoring five runs and driving in five to go along with three free passes. The junior shortstop is now batting .533 for the year.

- Another .500 hitter on the week was North Ridgeville center fielder Gannon Padgett. The 30th-rated 2026 outfielder in Ohio hit a home run in his first two at-bats against Elyria and ended the week with seven runs scored, three walks and a double.

- Derek Fleming, the 14th-rated 2025 first baseman in the state, drove in six runs on a 5-9 week for Loveland, the ninth-ranked Division II team in Ohio. Fleming hit a home run, his second of the season, and scored three runs while pushing his batting average to .481.

- Abner Edgell hit .500 on the week at 9-18, bringing in a dozen runs with two home runs and a pair of doubles, scoring five runs and reaching once on a walk. The junior plays first base for Division VI 12th-rated Cardington-Lincoln.

- Montpelier’s Tyler Plourde had seven RBIs and scored six runs going 6-10 on the week. The senior outfielder had a pair of home runs and a walk, finishing with a 1.200 slugging percentage.

- Speaking of slugging percentages, Danny Briggs is now at .912 on the season after going 8-11 with two home runs, a triple and double this past week for Dublin Coffman. The Ohio University signee, the seventh-ranked senior shortstop in the state, also drove in four and scored eight times, pushing his season total to 16 runs scored. Briggs added three stolen bases for the week.

- Olentangy Berlin outfielder Braylen Jehnzen was 6-10 with two singles, two doubles and two triples while driving in four. Jehnzen is the 12th-rated junior left-handed pitcher in Ohio.

- Nordonia won its first game of the season after five losses, with center fielder Justin Smigel going 6-9 with three runs and two RBIs. The senior center fielder had at least one hit in all four games.

- Isaiah Lantz reached base 11 times, was 9-9 stealing bases and scored eight runs for Lakeview. The junior center fielder was 5-11 with four walks, two HBP, two RBIs and a double.

- Henry Cimperman was 9-11 on the week with two triples, two RBIs, six runs and four stolen bases. The Chagrin Falls junior center fielder now carries a .525 average with a dozen RBIs and a dozen runs scored to go along with nine stolen bases.

- Bryce Eckert had a walk-off single to power Tippecanoe past Greenville. For the week, the 17th-rated junior left-handed pitcher in Ohio went 5-11 at the plate with a triple, two stolen bases and five RBIs. Eckert is now batting .485 for the campaign with 14 RBIs and 14 runs.

TWO-WAY STANDOUTS

Nathan Bryant is doing a little bit of everything for the second-rated Division VI team in Ohio.

The Lake Center Christian junior drove in six runs with two homers and a double, scoring four runs while going 7-14 at the plate.

The fifth-rated junior right-handed pitcher in Ohio also took a no-hitter into the sixth inning of his lone appearance on the mound this week against Division IV Streetsboro, eventually allowing two hits while fanning six in 5-plus frames.

The Ohio State commit is 2-1 pitching this season with wins over Tallmadge and Streetsboro. The 12th-ranked 2026 in the state is also batting .442 while scoring 20 runs.  

There were other players also worth noting that came up big as two-way performers for this week.

- What a week it was for the 327th-rated senior in the state. Indian Lake’s Madden Lillard needed just 64 pitches in a six-hit shutout of North Union, striking out five and not walking a batter in improving to 3-0 on the year. The senior SS/RHP also went 6-10 at the plate with two RBIs, two runs and a double, moving his batting average to .542 on the season.

- D-IV No. 8 Galion moved into the Lower Division Power 25 at 23rd with Maxwell Albert a big reason why. The 20th-rated 2025 shortstop in Ohio reached base 13 out of 15 plate appearances with five walks, two HBP, a double and triple, going 6-8 with nine runs, five RBIs and seven stolen bases. The Ashland commit also struck out nine in four innings of a 13-2 win over Ontario.

- Jayden Buth of Chardon batted .500 with a .636 OBP and 1.136 OPS, driving in five and scoring four runs. The 62nd-ranked junior outfielder in Ohio also came in to close out a game fanning two of three batters for the save against Eastlake North. The left fielder for Chardon, Buth played shortstop for three games during the week due to an injury to a teammate.

- Jaekyn Ridout threw a no-hitter with 10 strikeouts in a win over Eastern Sardinia with the Lucasville Valley senior also going 4-8 with four runs and two steals on offense.

- Kraz Curtis threw a one-hitter with six Ks and three walks in a win over Cory-Rawson. The senior 3B/RHP was also 6-12 at the dish with three RBIs, three walks, two doubles and two runs scored for Hardin Northern, the No. 19 team in Division VII.

- Kyler Sapp went 5-9 with a double, run and stolen base in three games, including contests with state-ranked Tinora and Montpelier. The Edon senior SS/RHP fanned seven and gave up four hits and three earned runs in 6.2 innings on the mound, and now has 17 strikeouts in 14.2 innings while batting .533.

- Mentor’s Patrick Collins surrendered just one earned run in five innings to beat Cleveland Heights, improving to 2-0 on the year with a 1.23 ERA. The senior, who now carries a .583 average, also stayed hot at the plate going 8-15 with eight RBIs, two doubles and two stolen bases.

- Kayden Packard was 6-12 with three doubles and a home run, while also throwing 10 innings, winning once and losing once for an improving 6-5 Mount Vernon squad.

- Fairmont improved to 4-1 in the GWOC thanks in part to Tyler Mastro who was 6-10 with two RBIs and a double. The 23rd-rated senior third baseman in Ohio, a Muskingum recruit, also gave up just two hits with six Ks in 6.1 innings against Division I No. 18 Springboro.

- Jake Ralph fanned his only batter faced for the save in his first outing on the mound of the season for Canal Winchester. The 23rd-rated senior shortstop went 9-15 at the plate with six runs, a triple, three walks and a stolen base.

- Mohawk won all four games this week with Hunter Haynes going 9-11 with nine runs, six RBIs, six stolen bases and two doubles. The senior shortstop also threw a complete game win over New Riegel.

- Ethan New gave up just one earned run in 6.1 innings to improve to 2-1 on the mound with a 0.53 ERA. The Sidney senior also scored four runs with two doubles and a pair of runs batted in during a 6-14 week, going 3-3 versus Troy.

- Carson Fields did not allow a run in four two-hit innings, fanning six in a win over Southeastern while also going 9-16 on the week with four RBIs and three stolen bases. The Greenon junior, a left-handed hitting first baseman and pitcher, now has a .509 OBP and .900 OPS.

- No earned runs in six innings with eight strikeouts helped Jake Huffman pick up a win over Lawrence School. The Andrews Osborne Academy senior went 3-4 with a double and home run, driving in four and scoring three runs.

- Holy Name junior center fielder Nick Nemeth had an 8-16 week with three doubles, five runs and four RBIs while stealing a base. Nemeth also tossed 4.2 scoreless two-hit innings with four Ks in a win.

- Carter Wheeldin picked up a save with two innings of one-hit shutout pitching, striking out three. The senior shortstop for Caldwell also drove in seven runs and scored four in a 5-9 week at the plate, hitting a double and triple and stealing four bases for the unbeaten seventh-rated team in the state in Division VI.

- Turner Lachey is now 3-0 after not permitting an earned run in a six-hit performance. The Lehman Catholic junior had five stolen bases and four RBIs, going 4-6 at the plate for the week with two doubles and a pair of triples. 

- Brody Mann tossed a shutout at Newark with eight Ks and two walks, while also hitting a two-run double against Worthington Kilbourne. The 116th-ranked senior RHP in the state is an Ohio Dominican commit.

STRONG PITCHING

Defiance’s Brez Zipfel and Cambridge’s Dawson Geese both threw one-hit masterpieces, with each losing no-hit bids in the final inning of the game. 

Zipfel faced just two batters above the limit in his six-inning stellar performance for the second-ranked Division III team in Ohio. The Defiance College commit, the 56th-ranked senior right-handed pitcher in the state, fanned a dozen and walked one for the Bulldogs in a 10-0 victory over league foe St. Marys, which entered the game with a 6-1 record.

Geese was also dominant for Cambridge, taking a no-hitter into the seventh before the leadoff hitter of the frame reached on a single. The junior RHP went on to complete a one-hit shutout of Barnesville in an 8-0 victory, striking out 10 and walking one.

Geese is now 3-0 on the year with 45 Ks, six walks and a 1.07 ERA.

There were more good outings reported by pitchers in the state this week …

- Licking Valley is getting strong pitching from the senior duo of Evan Lichtenauer and Evan Roberts. Lichtenauer, an Ohio University signee rated 17th in the state among left-handers, has yet to give up an earned run this season after striking out 10 and not walking a batter in a two-hit shutout of Zanesville to move to 3-0 with 31 Ks in 21 innings. Roberts, a senior right-hander, had 11 strikeouts while giving up one run on three hits and one walk in beating Heath to improve to 3-1 on the year with 32 Ks in 17.1 innings and a 0.98 ERA. 

- Mack Hieber will soon be the all-time strikeout leader at Patrick Henry, a school that has been to state three times, winning it all in 2008 and 2009. The seventh-rated junior right-handed pitcher in Ohio, an Ohio State commit, fanned 13 in a game this past week to push his career total to 187, tying the all-time school record.

- Marengo Highland is ranked seventh in Division IV with Jayden Collins doing his part with two wins and two saves. The 97th-rated junior in Ohio picked up a win over Gahanna Lincoln and a save against Shelby this week, giving up two earned runs in eight five-hit innings with five Ks and one free pass.

- Westerville North is closing in on the top 20 in Division II with Ethan Robinson aiding the cause. The senior southpaw beat Delaware Hayes this week allowing one run on two hits and two walks with 13 strikeouts to improve to 2-0 with a 0.583 ERA.

- Isaac Sullivan has been dominant this season for Chaminade-Julienne. This past week the Dayton commit fired a one-hitter with 12 strikeouts and no walks in a 2-1 win over McNicholas. For the season the 19th-ranked junior in Ohio has 40 Ks in 24 innings with a 0.88 ERA and 0.83 WHIP pitching against four teams that are a combined 32-9.

YOUTH SHINES

The 27th-ranked sophomore in Ohio is playing big for the No. 1 Division III team in the state. Koby Dues drove in four runs with two doubles, a triple and a home run in a 7-18 week at the plate. Dues, who has a 3-0 record on the season, also closed out games against Troy and Springboro, topping out at 89. The sixth-rated 2027 SS in the state has 24 assists on the season at third base. 

There were other freshmen and sophomores that came up big this week…

- Gabe Cooch of Aurora picked up his first varsity win allowing four hits and four walks with eight strikeouts. The sophomore also scored five runs, drove in four and stole two bases, hitting a double and home run in a 5-8 week.

- Ryan Younglas, the fourth-ranked sophomore third baseman in Ohio, belted two home runs, five doubles and a triple, driving home 15 runs while going 9-15 at the plate for Keystone, winners of four games during the week. Younglas, who is 3-0 on the mound this season, also fanned nine in three innings of shutout pitching.

- Quentin Kapp of Crestline did his damage at the plate. The sophomore SS/RHP was 7-18 with three doubles, a home run and a walk, scoring nine runs, bringing in four and stealing two bases.

- Brody Baughman of Strasburg-Franklin was a two-way standout during the week. A catcher and pitcher, Baughman was 6-14 with eight runs, three RBIs, a double and two stolen bases. The freshman also tossed a three-hit shutout at Ridgewood with nine strikeouts and is now 2-1 with 33 Ks in 22 innings.

- Freshman center fielder Kason McGhee upped his season average to .440 with an 89-16 week, scoring eight runs and stealing three bases for Canal Winchester.

THE TEAMS

- Unbeaten Butler has been impressive in moving to the top of the ratings in Division III. The 11-0 record after last week included two wins over Troy and one over Springboro. Butler has not played any Division IV or smaller schools to date.

- Teays Valley turned a triple play while leading Kilbourne in the bottom of the sixth this past week. The home plate umpire then overturned the play and Teays Valley lost, the only defeat in three games last week.

- Lucasville Valley finished the week with a 7-1 record, the only loss coming to South Webster, which came out on top despite just one hit.

- Galion has won seven in a row after a 1-2 start that included a walkoff loss to Clear Fork.

A Look Back At The 2024 Season:

To view the 2024 Team Previews, click here.

To view the 2024 Ohio Spring HS Report, click here.

To view the OHSAA Baseball Tournament Roundup, click below.

• State Final Four Roundup
• 10th Annual OHSAA Final Four All-Tournament Team

To View the 2024 Prep Baseball All-State Teams, click here.

To view the 2024 Preseason All-State Teams, click below.

To view the Weekly Team Rankings, click below:

• Final Rankings | Update 6 | Update 5 | Update 4 | Update 3 | Update 2 | Update 1 | Preseason

To view the 2024 Ohio Spring Scout Blog, click here.

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