NWOAL baseball preview: Archbold the team to beat

Mar. 30—If there has been a hard-luck team in Ohio high school baseball tournament play in recent years, it has been the Archbold Blue Streaks of 12th-year coach Dick Selgo.

Maybe a year away from the game because of the coronavirus can break whatever hex it is that pinned one-run regional losses on the Streaks for four consecutive seasons from 2016-19.

Archbold was Ohio's top-ranked Division III baseball team in 2019, when it finished the season 26-4 overall and as Northwest Ohio Athletic League champion at 7-0.

The Blue Streaks are favored by a small margin to win the title again this season, receiving four of the eight first-place votes and 58 of a possible 64 voting points in a preseason poll of NWOAL coaches.

Wauseon (13-14, 3-4 in 2019) received three first-place votes and was second in the voting with 55 points, followed by perennial league-power Bryan (17-11, 5-2), which had one first-place vote and 53 points.

Rounding out the vote, in order, were Evergreen, Liberty Center, Patrick Henry, Swanton and Delta.

ARCHBOLD

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Selgo, who has a 246-105 record at Archbold, might not have the same firepower on his roster to produce the excellence of two years ago, but it would be hard to discount a team that enters 2021 on a run of five straight 20-win seasons.

The tournament trail has been tough to bear, however.

In 2019, the Blue Streaks lost to Coldwater, 5-4, in the regional final at Elida. In 2018, Archbold lost 4-3 to Gahanna Columbus Academy in a regional semifinal there. In 2017, it was a 5-4 loss to Eastwood in the regional semis at Elida, and in 2016, the Streaks fell 4-3 against Bellville Clear Fork in a regional final there.

This season, Archbold is minus 2020 grad Kade Kern, an outfielder who was last year's Ohio Gatorade player of the year honoree. He is excelling in his freshman season at Ohio State University.

The 2019 team had one other first team All-Ohioan (pitcher Rigo Ramos) and two second team All-Ohioans (catcher Holden Galvan and outfielder Corey Erbskorn).

Leading the Blue Streaks this year will be seniors Caleb Hogrefe (catcher), Brandon Taylor (infielder-pitcher) and juniors D.J. Newman (third base-pitcher), Jaybe Burkle (P-IF) and Zane Behnfeldt (3B-P). Newman is the only one with any significant varsity experience from 2019.

Selgo likes his team's pitching potential and their desire to improve, but knows this group must prove itself.

"They are hungry to show they can continue the tradition of Archbold baseball," Selgo said. "We have a strong nonleague schedule including Defiance, Perrysburg, Anthony Wayne, Bowling Green, and Central Catholic, plus many teams in our immediate area and league, so it will be quite challenging.

"It is very difficult to win a strong league, especially when you only play a single round of seven league games."

WAUSEON

Wauseon aims at winning its first NWOAL title since 2014, when the Indians finished 21-6 overall (8-0 league).

Trent Thomas, in his 14th year as coach, will rely heavily on his five returning letter winners — seniors Connar Penrod (IF-P), Sam Krasula (catcher), Brady Thomas (IF-P), Kolton DeGroff (IF-P), and Easton Delgado (OF-P).

Coach Thomas views the senior leadership and overall depth as team strengths, and sees the year lost to the pandemic as creating many question marks for his team.

'We look to build off of our Division II tournament run to the district finals in 2019," Thomas said. "Our five returning letter winners all played a major role on that team. We have three of our top five pitchers back from that team.

"Connar Penrod is one of the best pitchers in the state, and our pitching is very deep with 12 players capable of logging innings. Our defense should be solid, with speed at many positions. Our hitters without varsity experience will need to grow up fast and adjust to the speed."

Wauseon lost to third-ranked Bowling Green, 8-2, in the 2019 D-II district finals.

BRYAN

Bryan has won more NWOAL titles than any other league member, winning or sharing 30 crowns dating back to 1955. Twenty-one of those have come since 1987, including eight in the previous 12 seasons not counting 2020.

With that kind of tradition, the Golden Bears of 10th-year coach Jeff Inselmann are always viewed as league championship contenders.

This year's roster will be highlighted by five returning letter winners, including seniors Breven Deckrosh (OF-P), Nolan Kidston (SS-P), Clayton Rupp (SS-P), and Keith Huard (1B), and junior Quinn Brown (OF-P).

Inselmann sees team chemistry and defense as strengths, but he is concerned about the Golden Bears' overall hitting throughout the lineup.

"We look to replace six seniors who graduated from a team last year that had huge expectations before COVID-19," Inselmann said. "The expectations this year are to compete for the NWOAL title and get back to districts. Our nonleague schedule is extremely difficult, and this team will be battle-tested by the time the sectional tournament is here. Our season will depend on our ability to stay healthy as a team and for our players to execute in the clutch."

Bryan lost to Bowling Green, 5-1, in the 2019 D-II district semifinals. The Golden Bears' last NWOAL title came a year earlier in 2018, when they ended 19-5 overall (7-0 league). They also took championships in 2015 and 2016.

EVERGREEN

Evergreen (10-13, 4-3) opens with its third head coach, Mark Cymbolin, in three years. Last year, Tim McCarthy was to succeed longtime Vikings coach Brian Nagy, who was 332-330 in 27 seasons. McCarthy has since taken the head coaching post at Southview, while Nagy is also now in the Northern Lakes League as Maumee's first-year head coach.

The Vikings are still seeking their first NWOAL title, and will do so with just three returning letter winners from the 2019 season — juniors Brock Hudik (OF-P-SS), Landen Vance (SS-P), and R.J. Shunck (1B-P).

Cymbolin, who also expects significant contributions from juniors Payton Boucher (3B-P), Zach Laver (2B-P), and Nick Smithmyer (3B-P-1B), likes his team's pitching depth and defense. He sees hitting and an overall lack of team speed as possible trouble areas.

"We are hoping our pitching and defense will keep us in games early on," said Cymbolin, who was previously an Evergreen assistant coach for seven years. "The hitting will come along as the kids see more varsity pitching. We want to compete, and be a part of the top group [in NWOAL] at the end."

Evergreen lost to Fairview, 6-3, in a 2019 D-III sectional final.

LIBERTY CENTER

Liberty Center (12-10, 4-3) has not won an NWOAL baseball title since 1967, but the Tigers placed fourth in 2018 and tied for third in 2019. So, seventh-year coach Ryan Zeiter is hoping to continue that upward climb.

He has seven seniors on the roster, but only one starter returning who played in 2019.

Leading the Tigers will be seniors Camden Krugh (IF-P) and Riley Weaver (P), and juniors Jesse Noll (IF) and Jake Spieth (IF). Pitching should be a strength for Liberty Center, which must overcome its inexperience, like most other teams in the state.

"Time will tell how competitive we will be," Zeiter said. "Many of our kids have limited experience. We graduated nearly our whole starting lineup in 2019. But our coaching staff is still optimistic. It all rests on how soon we can get comfortable and find the right fit for each player."

The Tigers lost to Archbold, 6-0, in the 2019 D-III sectional finals.

PATRICK HENRY

Patrick Henry (8-15, 2-5) begins the 2021 season under third-year head coach Ray Greene hoping to improve its place in the NWOAL standings.

The Patriots have six seniors on the roster, and six letter winners return.

At the forefront for PH will be seniors Clayton Feehan (IF) and Caleb Rosengarten (P-IF), and sophomores Logan Hudson (catcher), Braden Hall (P-OF), and Daniel Schmeltz (P-1B).

Greene sees the Patriots' depth as a plus, but is a bit uneasy with the inexperience after a lost season.

"I am very pleased with the way our kids have been practicing and preparing for this season," Greene said. "I expect us to be very competitive in a strong NWOAL."

SWANTON

Swanton (16-10, 3-4), after a year's delay, will begin play under new head coach Josh Siewert, whose rookie season guiding the Bulldogs was lost to the pandemic in 2020.

The Bulldogs are young, with just three seniors on the roster, and inexperienced, with only one letter winner back.

Swanton will look for leadership from seniors Devon Crouse (P-OF), Trent Weigel (P-utility), and Blake Szalapski (P-OF), junior Garrett Swank (IF), and sophomores Lucas Bloom (P-IF) and Ryan Oshea (IF).

The Bulldogs have above-average speed and athleticism, but will need to acclimate quickly to varsity baseball.

"I believe, if we can minimize our errors on defense, we will be able to compete with anyone," Siewert said.

The Bulldogs, who have not won an NWOAL baseball title since 1990, were beaten by Bryan, 5-1, in a D-II sectional final in 2019.

DELTA

Delta (2-21, 0-7) looks to build under ninth-year coach Damon Mattimore, who has six returning players to work with.

That group is led by seniors Hunter Hamilton (P-IF), Jayce Helminiak (C-P-IF), Austin Michael (C-P-IF), Chase Stickley (P-IF), and Max Hoffman (IF-OF), and junior Bryce Reeves (P-OF).

Mattimore is pleased with his team's eagerness to compete, and labels them as "very coachable." He is concerned with a lack of depth, and believes the lineup will have to grind out at bats to offset a potential lack of pop at the plate.

"We are committed to never being satisfied, and to work together as a team," Mattimore said. "We are just glad to be back together, and excited to be able to have a high school baseball season."

The Panthers, whose last NWOAL title came in 2005, when they split the crown with D-III state champion Archbold and Bryan, lost their D-III tourney opener in 2019, 7-1 to Otsego.

First Published March 29, 2021, 6:00pm