Perkins' Walton named Div. IV player of the year

Perkins' Talon Walton has been named Division IV player of the year by the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association. Walton, a senior, helped the Pirates win the Div. IV state championship last weekend in Akron. He went 3 for 6 at the plate and reached base seven times in the final two games of the season. Walton also was the winning pitcher in Perkins' 12-7 win over Cardinal Mooney in the semifinals, throwing four shutout innings. He was named to the All-Ohio first team as a utility player. Walton pitched and played shortstop, third base and second base during Perkins' postseason run. Walton finished the season with a .404 batting average and led the Pirates with 43 runs scored and 36 runs batted in. He had 13 extra-base hits, including three home runs. On the mound, Walton was 8-1 with a school-record 0.76 earned run average. He struck out 64 batters in 46.3 innings. He allowed only five runs all seasons to help Perkins finish with a 25-6-1 record. Walton also was the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division and district player of the year. The coaches association announced its All-Ohio teams Monday night. Players of coaches who are members of the OHSBCA are eligible for the organization's all-state teams. Bellevue shortstop Ike Brown also was named to the 19-player first team in Div. IV. Brown was a second team pick last year. Brown batted over .400 this season for the Redmen and also was a standout pitcher. Perkins senior Kash Koch was one of five pitchers named to the second team and Bellevue junior Blake Sutherland was one of 10 pitchers named honorable mention. In Division V, Edison's Eli Hermes (pitcher) and Bryson Wittmer (outfield) were named to the first team. Wittmer, who will play collegiately for the University of Louisville, batted .388 with five doubles, two triples, three home runs, 15 RBI and 26 runs scored out of the leadoff spot. He was a first team pick and player of the year in Division V in 2025. Hermes finished with a 7-2 record and 0.61 ERA with 122 strikeouts in 68 2/3 innings pitched for the Chargers, who shared the SBC Bay title and reached a district title game. At the plate, Hermes batted .296 with four home runs and 23 RBI on his way to earning SBC Bay Player of the Year honors. Margaretta junior Zach Gray was a second team All-Ohio choice in Division V as a utility player. Gray batted .441 for the Polar Bears, who shared the SBC Bay Division title. On the mound, he had an ERA below 1. St. Mary Central Catholic had two players named to the honorable mention list in Division VII: senior Blake Finneran (second base) and junior Cayden Wikel (utility). St. Paul senior Izaac Snyder was a first team pick at second base. Snyder also was named Firelands Conference player of the year while helping the Flyers win the league title. Earning second team honors for St. Paul were sophomore pitcher Alex Marsh and senior catcher Gabe Snyder. St. Paul senior shortstop Landon Fries was named honorable mention. Coach of the Year honors in Division VII went to St. Paul's Aaron Fries. Along with a program record 21 wins, the Flyers finished with a No. 3 ranking in the final state coaches poll. SBC River Division champion Tiffin Calvert had five first team picks in Division VII. Joining Perkins' Walton as players of the year were Parker Van Engelenhoven (Div. I, Olentangy LIberty), Drew Jones (Div. II, Lakewood), Wilson Wells (Div. III, Granvlle), Ryan Younglas (Div. V, Keystone), Grady Monigold (Div. VI, Berlin Hiland) and Logan Ritzler (Div. VII, Calvert). Coaches of the Year in each division included, in order, Jason Whited (Centerville), Grant Graves (Lakewood), Steve Young (Wooster), Adam Arcuri (Newark Licking Valley), Lucas Daughtery (Apple Creek Waynedale), and Mike Gast (St. Henry).