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Ohio Diamond Notes: April 6-12

April 14, 2026
Bruce Hefflinger
Prep Baseball Ohio Senior Writer

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Ohio Diamond Notes: April 6-12

Grady Hesson is having a season to remember in helping Division VI 14th-rated Fort Frye get off to a 7-2 start to the 2026 campaign.

A week ago the junior went 9-13 with 11 RBIs while picking up a pair of wins pitching with 11 innings of four-hit baseball, fanning 21 and not allowing an earned run.

But Hesson may have topped that performance this past week. The 2027 right-handed pitcher garnered two more victories with 13 Ks in 13.2 innings, The highlight came against Caldwell when Hesson threw nine innings before personally ending the game by hitting a walk-off three-run home run for a 3-0 victory.

For the week, the right-handed hitter went 5-14 batting with three walks and two stolen bases.

On the season, Hesson, who plays second base when not pitching, is carrying a .519 average with five extra-base hits including two home runs, 14 RBIs and 10 runs scored. On the mound, the 5-10 165-pounder is not only 5-0, but has yet to give up an earned run in 24.2 innings, striking out 34 and walking five.

BIG NUMBERS AT THE PLATE

Two juniors - Louie Santangelo and Gavin Burns - were perfect this week at the plate.

Santangelo, the 41st-rated 2027 in Ohio, had a double and home run in an 8-8 week, reaching base all 12 at-bats. The Olentangy Liberty outfielder had five RBIs and five runs scored, walked four times and stole a base for the No. 3 Division I team in the state. The left-handed hitting 17-year-old had a 2.798 OPS, 1.875 slugging percentage and .923 OBP for the week.

Through eight games this season, all wins by Liberty, Santangelo is 15-20 for a .750 average, pounding out four doubles, one triple and two home runs with 12 base on balls, 11 RBIs, 11 runs and three steals. The uncommitted junior has a .750 batting average, .818 OBP, 2.168 OPS and 1.35 SLG.

Like Santangelo, Burns continues to put up huge numbers at the plate for Ross High School.

The junior catcher, who began the season with a 7-12 week featuring seven RBIs, followed it up this past week with a perfect 9-9 performance at the dish in three games. Burns drove in seven runs and scored four, with eight singles and a double.

For the year, the 2027 standout is batting .762 with three doubles, seven runs and 14 RBIs.

- Drew Langenkamp is producing with the bat and also getting it done behind the plate for D-VI sixth-ranked St. Henry. The 38th-rated 2027 catcher in Ohio, who has allowed just one stolen base in 47 innings of action, picked off two base runners this week. At the plate the 6-1 190-pound junior scored eight runs and drove in five, going 6-13 with three doubles and two walks while also swiping four bases. 

- A 7-11 week at the plate pushed the season batting average of Van Routhier to .423 and OBP to .516. The senior center fielder for D-II No. 8 New Albany scored six runs, drove in three and walked three times with three doubles among his seven base knocks.

- Teays Valley senior shortstop Westin Woodrum had two doubles and a triple in a 6-12 week. The Marietta College commit had a .647 OBP with four walks and a HBP, scoring seven runs, stealing three bases and adding a pair of RBIs.

- Senior catcher Jeff Maslar now has a .750 OBP, 2.107 OPS and 1.357 slugging percentage on the season after going 7-10 with two home runs and three doubles for D-III No. 18 Rocky River. The St. Olaf College signee drove in seven runs, scored four, walked twice and stole a base.

- Auston Henson is now hitting .526 on the year following a 6-10 week with the stick. The senior corner infielder for Crestline had eight RBIs and three doubles to go along with a run, walk and stolen base.

- Connor Barbara went 7-9 with seven runs scored during a 3-0 week for D-V No. 21 Liberty-Benton. The 31st-rated junior outfielder in Ohio hit a triple and walked, drove in three and swiped four bases in wins over Arcadia, Tiffin Columbian and Lima Bath.

- Grady Schroeder not only threw out a pair of base runners, but the McComb catcher went 9-16 at the dish with five runs and five RBIs. The senior also had three doubles, four walks, two sac flys and two stolen bases.

- It was a second consecutive 6-12 week at the plate for Braylon Meuhlen. The Claymont senior, who plays first, second and center field, belted two home runs, walked four times, stole four bases and touched home six times in continuing to bat .500 on the season.

- Eli Donawa went 4-5 with a walk and sacrifice and the D-II No. 6 Anthony Wayne senior outfielder is now hitting .550 for the season at 11-20. Three was a big number for Donawa, who had three RBIs, three runs scored and three stolen bases.

- Power numbers remain strong for Medina senior Joe Johnson, who has a .667 batting average, .722 OBP and 1.167 slugging percentage this year after going 7-11 this past week. The fourth-ranked 2026 outfielder in Ohio, a Northern Kentucky commit, produced a double and triple with two walks, three RBIs, five runs and three steals for the fifth-rated D-I Battling Bees.

TWO-WAY PRODUCERS

Drew Jones and Riley Verderber continue to produce as two-way standouts for D-II fourth-ranked Lakewood this year.

Jones reached base nine times in 10 plate appearances for the week. The Bowling Green commit was 3-4 with six walks, hitting a home run while scoring five runs, driving in two and stealing three bases. The third-rated 2026 third baseman in Ohio has a .615 batting average for the year with a 1.773 OPS.

The senior right-hander also got on the mound for four innings to pick up a win, giving up one earned run on two hits with a .0.750 WHIP for the week.

Meanwhile, Verderber tossed a two-hit shutout while equaling the school record of 16 strikeouts in a game. For the season the 11th-ranked junior RHP in the state has yet to give up an earned run, with the opposition batting just .080.

At the dish the left-handed hitting corner infielder was 4-9 with a home run and five RBIs, touching home three times, walking twice and stealing a base. For the year, Verderber has a .438 average with a 1.524 OPS, scoring 11 runs.

- A grand slam is just one of the many things that Ethan Sedivec did for D-IV No. 25 Bay over the past week. The 28th-ranked junior in Ohio scored nine runs, brought in six, hit three doubles, walked three times and was hit by a pitch three times while stealing two bases. It added up to a 2.311 OPS and .867 OBP along with a 1.445 slugging percentage. For the year the center fielder for Bay is hitting ..625 with a 1.739 OPS. Not enough? The right-hander also had a two-inning save, giving up no hits with two Ks.

- Nathan Bryant, the Prep Baseball Division 6 Preseason Co-Player of the Year, is living up to those high expectations. The eighth-ranked 2026 right-handed pitcher in the state has given up one hit in six innings on the mound, but the Lake Center Christian senior is also getting it done at the plate. The Ohio State commit went 8-11, including 3-4 versus Walsh Jesuit. Bryant had two doubles, three runs, four RBIs, two stolen bases and a walk for the No. 2 team in D-VI.

- A dozen innings on the hill with 24 strikeouts and only one walk is just part of what Conner Eyink did this week for Mechanicsburg. The senior earned a pair of wins while not allowing an earned run to improve to 3-0 while keeping his ERA at 0.00. Eyink has 32 Ks in 17 innings for the year. At the plate, he was 5-7 with a double and home run this week while also producing five RBIs, three runs and a stolen base for the No. 10 team in the state in Division VI.

- Jonathan Knapp had 13 Ks and one walk in a two-hit win, moving to 3-0 on the year for D-VII No. 2 Franklin Furnace Green. The Rio Grande signee now has 42 strikeouts in 21 innings surrendering just four hits and one walk. The No. 97 senior RHP in Ohio is also getting it done with the bat, going 6-12 with a home run and double, scoring six runs and bringing home four.

- Grady Monigold is carrying a .591 batting average on the season after going 5-9 with two home runs. The third-ranked senior first baseman in the state, who has four homers and 15 RBIs on the year, scored four runs, walked twice and had a double for Hiland. The Malone commit also threw 3.1 innings before rain brought a game suspension. Monigold struck out four, walked one and gave up one hit with no earned runs for the top-rated D-VI squad in the state.  

- West Liberty signee Brady Haught hit .400 with six RBIs on the week and is now batting at a .430 clip for the season. The senior for Division IV 15th-ranked Richmond Edison also picked up a win on the mound going five innings with six strikeouts.

- Bishop Hartley’s Derek Hernandez drove in five runs in a 4-9 week at the plate, hitting a home run, scoring twice and swiping a pair of bases. The 106th-ranked junior in the state, who is now batting .450 on the year with 11 RBIs, also picked up a save with three Ks in one no-hit, no-walk inning for the 19th-rated D-III Hawks.  

- Dylan Blon shut out Cambridge with seven Ks and two walks in seven innings. The senior for D-V No. 18 Barnesville was also 4-8 for the week with five runs, four stolen bases and two RBIs.

- Nolan Lum did not surrender an earned run in a complete game win over Holy Name, striking out six and allowing five hits. The junior also hit .555 with five RBIs in a 5-0 week for D-IV No. 7 CHCA.

- Senior OF/P Jackson Cabot gave up one earned run in seven innings on the mound to pick up a win for Ridgewood and also went 9-16 with three runs and a walk.

NO-HITTER AND MORE

Revere’s Chase Clifford fired a no-hitter in a 2-0 win over previously unbeaten Medina Highland.

The 70th-ranked senior right-handed pitcher in the state struck out eight and walked four against the 13th-rated D-II team in Ohio.

A Baldwin Wallace recruit, Clifford has a 0.583 ERA on the season, striking out a dozen in 12 innings of work for Revere

- Ike Webb tossed 10 shutout innings for Defiance against Western Buckeye League foe Celina, allowing just six hits and two walks while striking out 11, throwing 76 of 109 pitches for strikes. On the season the 23rd-rated junior right-handed pitcher in Ohio is 2-0 with 23 strikeouts in 16 innings, surrendering 12 hits, two earned runs and just two free passes for the fourth-rated Division III Bulldogs.

- Through 11 innings on the hill Olentangy Orange’s Reid Hemrick has not given up an earned run, striking out 19 while allowing just one hit. This past week the 18th-ranked senior RHP in the state, an Eastern Michigan signee, threw six no-hit shutout innings with 14 Ks for the 10th-rated D-I team.

- It was a nice beginning to the 2026 season for Caleb Panteck of Orange. The right-handed senior pitched 6.2 innings of two-hit shutout baseball, walking three while striking out 14 in his first outing of the year.

- McComb won two Blanchard Valley Conference games to start the year with Brayden Welty earning victories in both games. The senior fanned 13 in 9-1 innings to defeat Van Buren and previously unbeaten Ada.

- Logan Minamyer earned another win for Hilliard Bradley with a four-hitter in a 2-1 victory over Hilliard Davidson. The 25th-rated 2026 RHP in Ohio had five Ks while walking one. The uncommitted senior is now 2-0 with a 1.105 ERA, fanning 17 in 12.2 frames.

- Badin’s Elliot Davis has now earned wins this season over Massillon Jackson and Northside Christian, Fla, the latter a five-inning four-hit performance with nine Ks and two walks. The No. 55 senior RHP in Ohio, a Thomas More signee, has 16 strikeouts in 9.2 innings for the year with a 1.49 ERA for the second-rated Division III squad. 

SOPHOMORES SHINE

A host of sophomores had big weeks with Landon Huffman of Sylvania Northview leading the way with a no-hitter in an 8-1 win over Springfield. The 6-1 165-pounder did not give up an earned run while striking out six and walking one in the Northern Lakes League victory for the 10th-rated Division II Wildcats.

The Northview sophomore has given up just one hit and no earned runs in nine innings this season.

- A big impression has been made by Teddy Porter of Olentangy Berlin, who has wins over Dublin Coffman and Anthony Wayne. The 20th-rated 2028 right-handed pitcher in Ohio fanned 11 in a four-hit shutout of Coffman this week. The sophomore is now 2-0 after the 1-0 victory, with 13 Ks in 12 innings and a 0.583 ERA for D-I ninth-rated Berlin.

- Brody Baughman was double trouble for D-VII No. 20 Strasburg-Franklin opponents this week. The 28th-ranked sophomore catcher in Ohio went 6-9 with a double, scoring five runs to go with  three RBIs and two stolen bases. The 14st-rated 2028 in the state also picked up two wins with 14 strikeouts in eight innings, giving up one earned run, two hits and three base on balls.

- Luke Kern had four hits and three RBIs in a win over Ada to highlight a 9-20 week. The sophomore outfielder/LHP for McComb scored nine runs, stole six bases and drove in four runs.

TEAM NOTES

- D-III No. 18 Rocky River improved to 6-0 with four wins over out-of-state foes, beating Lewisville, S.C. 8-0, Haverling, N.Y. 14-4, Ridge View, S.C. 11-1 and Wellsville, N.Y. 13-11.

- Franklin Furnace Green is 8-0 after big victories over New Boston Glenwood 19-2, Portsmouth Clay 1-0 and Willow Wood Symmes Valley 9-0.

- St. Henry also stands at 8-0 after four impressive victories. The Redskins defeated D-V Arcanum 14-4, D-VI New Bremen 7-2, D-VI Marion Local 8-1, and D-VII Russia 10-3.

- Amherst Steele continues to show why it is the top-ranked team in Division II. Now 6-0 on the season, Steele rolled past Elyria Catholic 19-0 and Solon 9-0 this week.

- Six is the magic number for Bishop Hartley, which improved to 6-0 on the year with 6-0 wins over Johnstown and Worthington Kilbourne. Hartley also topped Marengo Highland 8-6.

- Olentangy Berlin was involved in three 1-0 games during a 1-3 for the week. Berlin lost a pair of 1-0 games to Darby to go along with a 1-0 win over Coffman and now stands at 5-3.

- CHCA picked up five wins during the week, three over Purcell Marion along with victories over New Richmond and Holy Name.

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