Notebook: Pickerington North Panthers baseball team endures roller-coaster season

Dave Purpura, ThisWeek
·6 min read
Senior infielder and pitcher Kyle Koehler delivered a standout season, leading North in batting average (.493), hits (36), RBI (27), doubles (8) and home runs (8). His home-run total set the single-season program record.
Senior infielder and pitcher Kyle Koehler delivered a standout season, leading North in batting average (.493), hits (36), RBI (27), doubles (8) and home runs (8). His home-run total set the single-season program record.

Pickerington North baseball coach Tim Thomas considered the season’s final game a microcosm of the Panthers’ up-and-down spring, one that included two shutouts of the defending Division I state champions and a third-place finish in the competitive OCC-Ohio Division.

Seeded ninth in the 47-team district tournament, North took an early 2-1 lead against visiting and 19th-seeded Central Crossing before the Comets’ Raymond White hit a grand slam in the third inning to put the Panthers behind in a 6-4 loss.

“It was typical of our season. We had some really good days, really bad days and days in the middle, but we could never get consistent play from multiple guys,” Thomas said. “We never could get together and get everybody rolling at the same time.

“We were hoping that would straighten itself out and it never did. We kept thinking it would. Little things make a difference.”

North finished 14-10 overall and 9-6 in the league, including two 5-0 wins over New Albany on May 5 and 9. That was part of a four-game winning streak, but the Panthers lost four of their final five games.

Senior infielder and pitcher Kyle Koehler led the team in batting average (.493), hits (36), RBI (27), doubles (8) and home runs (8). His home runs set a single-season program record, and his 10 career homers tied the mark set by Alex Beyer from 2007-09.

Also leading the offense were senior Troy Cruse (.310, 22 hits, 12 RBI), sophomore Baylee Becker (.295, 18 hits), senior Kirby Shaffery (.292, 21 hits) and senior Ethan Yurko (.262, 21 hits, 4 home runs).

Sophomore Brett Madison was 3-2 with a 4.12 ERA, 21 strikeouts and 14 walks in 17 innings. Junior Adam Sadler was 1-2 with a 2.83 ERA, 37 strikeouts and 16 walks in 29 2/3 innings, and Shaffery was 2-3 with a 3.53 ERA, 28 strikeouts and 11 walks in 39 2/3 innings.

•The Central girls lacrosse team will be tasked with a reload after graduating 12 players, eight of whom will play in college.

Senior midfielder and Seton Hill recruit Brooklyn Miller led the Tigers in goals (62), assists (26), draw controls (66), ground balls (71) and caused turnovers (26) as they went 11-7-1 overall and 3-1 in the OCC-Ohio, losing 14-12 at Hilliard Darby on May 16 in the second round of Division I, Region 3 tournament.

Senior midfielder Brenna Todd, a University of the Cumberlands recruit, had 36 goals, 14 assists, 59 draw controls, 66 ground balls and 19 caused turnovers. Classmate Heather Stoner, a Siena Heights recruit, scored 40 goals out of the midfield, 34 more than last season.

“Several individual players had tremendous improvement over the course of the season.  The best example was Heather,” coach Brian Walton said. “Coming into this season we were encouraging her to be more aggressive and take shots, but even in our scrimmages she wouldn't shoot. We had to give her goals or quotas — at first, we told her she had to take at least three shots a game. Then we kept increasing the amount. She ended up being one of our top offensive players.”

The Tigers’ other college-bound players are Abigail Arnold (defender, Ohio Northern), Kayla Godwin (attacker, Marietta), Cadence Jobe (goalie, Ohio Northern), Megan Liston (goalie, Charleston), Senaa Muhammad (attacker, Wittenberg) and Holly Stoner (defender/midfielder, Siena Heights).

Liston stopped 111 of 269 shots (41.3 percent).

Freshman Leela Henry should be a key returnee after recording 30 goals, 27 draw controls and 37 ground balls. Sophomore Landyn Dayton is expected to take over at goalie, while junior Sophia Washington and sophomores Brooke Burgess and Aryanna Rykard also are eligible to return.

Sophomores Nick Sauline (4) and Dominic Shaw are among the top players expected to return for Central, which went 10-6 overall and 4-1 in the OCC-Ohio.
Sophomores Nick Sauline (4) and Dominic Shaw are among the top players expected to return for Central, which went 10-6 overall and 4-1 in the OCC-Ohio.

•The Central boys lacrosse team expects to return almost all of its top players after going 10-6 overall and 4-1 in the OCC-Ohio, having won nine consecutive games in a 31-day span from April 9 to May 10.

The Tigers lose three seniors in defenders Jeremiah Hatch and Ethan Tressler, who missed much of the season because of an injury, and attacker Ben Hayes.

Among several starters eligible to return are junior goalie Luke Arnold, a Clarkson commit, and sophomores Elijah Buggs (defender/midfielder), Charlie Hayes (attacker), Nick Sauline (midfielder), Dominic Shaw (attacker), Isaiah Wallace (midfielder) and Kedar Wash (defender).

Ben Hayes had a team-leading 58 goals as well as 17 assists. Shaw had 45 goals and 45 assists, and Charlie Hayes added 31 goals and 12 assists.

“(The seniors) were key parts on the team and played key roles all season ... and as much as it stinks now, everybody else will be back,” coach Brent Walton said after a 14-4 loss to visiting and eighth-seeded Worthington Kilbourne in the first round of the Division I, Region 3 tournament May 16. “Now they know the gap we have to close and we can learn from this. Even guys who were rotating into depth roles and not just starting were important. That sophomore class is the biggest on the team.

“I can’t be any more proud of those guys who stepped up and played the way we did. Sometimes they looked like seniors and sometimes they looked like sophomores. I think they’ll be ready to carry the load.”

Central was seeded seventh in the region. Its only loss in league play came to eventual champion North, 15-8 on April 5, and dropped the Tigers to 1-4 before their winning streak.

dpurpura@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekDave

CENTRAL BOYS LACROSSE

•Record: 10-6 overall

•OCC-Ohio standings: Pickerington North (5-0), Pickerington Central (4-1), New Albany (3-2), Westerville Central (2-3), Gahanna (1-4), Newark (0-5)

•Seniors lost: Jeremiah Hatch, Ben Hayes and Ethan Tressler

•Key returnees: Luke Arnold, E.J. Buggs, Charlie Hayes, Dominic Shaw and Isaiah Wallace

•Postseason: Lost to Worthington Kilbourne 14-4 in second round of Division I, Region 3 tournament

CENTRAL GIRLS LACROSSE

•Record: 11-7-1 overall

•OCC-Ohio standings: New Albany (4-0), Pickerington Central (3-1), Gahanna (2-2), Pickerington North (1-3), Westerville Central (0-4)

•Seniors lost: Kaelyn Bauer, Jada Easler, Elaina Glauer, Kayla Godwin, Cadence Jobe, Megan Liston, Brooklyn Miller, Senaa Muhammad, Viv Shafer, Heather Stoner, Holly Stoner and Brenna Todd

•Key returnees: Brooke Burgess, Landyn Dayton, Leela Henry, Aryanna Rykard and Sophia Washington

•Postseason: Lost to Hilliard Darby 14-12 in second round of Division I, Region 3 tournament

NORTH BASEBALL

•Record: 14-10 overall

•OCC-Ohio standings: Grove City (12-3), New Albany (12-3), Pickerington North (9-6), Gahanna (6-9), Westerville Central (6-9), Westland (0-15)

•Seniors lost: Eli Coppess, Troy Cruse, Reid Fleming, Kyle Koehler, Zach Petrusky, Kirby Shaffery and Ethan Yurko

•Key returnees: Baylee Becker, Riley Jenkins, Brett Madison and Adam Sadler

•Postseason: Lost to Central Crossing 6-4 in second round of Division I district tournament

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Pickerington North baseball team endures roller-coaster season