Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Clay’s Bryce Besgrove, Genoa’s Elijah Welling and Gibsonburg’s Chuy Rodriguez were each named First Team All-Ohio among the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association (OHSBCA) postseason awards.
Besgrove, a sophomore pitcher for Division II Clay, went 8-1 with a 0.77 ERA over 13 appearances on the mound. He added 100 strikeouts over 54.2 innings while leading the Eagles to a regional semifinal appearance.
Welling, a junior first baseman for Division V Genoa, batted .481 for the season, finishing top five in school history for doubles with 13, while adding 19 RBIs, 32 runs and a .983 fielding percentage.
Rodriguez, a senior utility selection for Division VII Gibsonburg, produced a 2.33 ERA for the Golden Bears, finishing 7-4 with 91 strikeouts over 48 innings. He also batted .521 with seven doubles, three triples, 18 RBIs, 18 runs and three stolen bases. He will play for Heidelberg University next year.
Six student-athletes also earned Second Team All-Ohio recognition, including Clay’s Landon Echelberry, a Division II selection as a utility player; pitcher Jack Sobczak and catcher Gavin Kohlhofer from Division IV Lake; pitcher Nolan Bickelhaupt and outfielder Cooper Schultz from Division V Oak Harbor and Gibsonburg shortstop Reece Walby from Division VII Gibsonburg.
Sobczak and Kohlhofer are both moving on to play for Bluffton University next year, while Schultz will compete at Tiffin University. Echelberry is entering his junior year, and Bickelhaupt and Walby will be seniors.
The final Press-area All-Ohio selection was Genoa’s Evan Millner, who earned an honorable mention designation in Division V.
SOFTBALL
The trio of Lake’s Parker Dart, Oak Harbor’s Karder Haas and Eastwood’s Kenzie Hady earned First Team All-Ohio honors from the Ohio High School Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association (OHSFSCA).
Dart, a sophomore pitcher for Division IV Lake, went 12-4 with a 1.74 ERA in 22 appearances inside the circle, ultimately striking out 100 batters over 104.1 innings. She helped lead the Flyers to a regional final appearance, pitching every inning of the postseason. She also spent time at first base but was named All-Ohio as a pitcher.
Haas, a senior infielder for Division IV Oak Harbor, batted .400 while producing three doubles, seven triples, seven home runs, 36 RBIs and 34 runs in leading the Rockets to a Northern Buckeye Conference title. The shortstop, who guided her team to a pair of state semifinal appearances in her prep era, will continue her playing career at Walsh University next year.
Hady, a senior pitcher for Division V Eastwood, was dominant inside the circle while leading her team to a regional semifinal appearance. She went 18-4 over 23 appearances for the Eagles, finishing with a 0.99 ERA and striking out 266 batters over 141.1 innings. She will compete for Heidelberg University next season.
Other area selections include catcher Maddie Franke, a Division II Second Team All-Ohio honoree for Clay; third baseman Norah Demory, a Division IV Honorable Mention All-Ohio selection for Lake; and pitcher Morgan Lalonde, who was tabbed as a Division IV Honorable Mention All-Ohio member.
Franke will compete for BGSU in the fall, while Demory and Lalonde will return for their senior seasons.
