Edison's Wendt closes prep career with MVP honors

PERKINS TWP. — Davin Wendt lined two triples all season. The Edison senior matched that total Monday in the district all-star games at Sports Force Parks. Wendt drove in three runs, leading Ottawa/Erie County to a 19-8 win over Richland County. Wendt added a single and scored three runs. He was named Most Valuable Player for his efforts. "It feels great," Wendt said. "It is the last time I'm ever going to play in my high school career and we went out and had fun. It's fun going against guys you know and like to compete against. It added some competition to the table." The contest saw lots of laughs, jokes and great talent. It's a culmination of a long spring with the ups and downs every season brings. Players, fans and coaches have to battle through tough weather at times, but the sun was shining throughout Monday evening. "This is the eighth or ninth year I've done this," said Huron coach Dan Lindsley, who coached Ottawa/Erie along with St. Mary Central Catholic's Ryan Myers. "It's so much fun. What's cool about it is to see all these guys come together. They've competed against each other over the last four years. Now, they come together and have a good time. "It's all about these guys being good kids, and at the end of their high school career, getting to play together." Ottawa/Erie jumped out to a 7-1 lead after one inning. Sandusky's Dennarius Walk led off with a triple before Ottawa/Erie took advantage of four walks, two errors and a hit batter to score seven times. "It ends my senior year off great because during the year, I know a lot of kids worry about their stats and how they do," Walk said. "Out here, you can come out and play ball with kids you might not be as comfortable with. But a lot of them are fun and you fit in with them." In the second inning, SMCC's Reid Wikel walked before Walk singled. Wendt followed with a two-run triple to the wall to put Ottawa/Erie up 9-4. A run-scoring single by Oak Harbor's Brayden Butzin furthered the advantage. In the third, Sandusky's Rocco D'Amico and Edison's Abe Hermes each singled. A RBI groundout by Huron's Ben Davis and RBI single from Huron's Caden Peterman gave Ottawa/Erie a 12-4 lead. "It's cool, especially to play with a lot of guys from the Sandusky Bay Conference and play with a lot of local talent," Hermes said. "I think it's awesome we get to compete against each other and with each other. I think it brought the best out in everybody." The offense kept flowing for Ottawa/Erie. In the fourth inning, Walk was hit by a pitch before Wendt smoked his second triple of the game to score a run. In the fifth, SMCC's Brayden Gill drew a bases-loaded walk after D'Amico reached on an error and Davis and Peterman each singled. Then, SMCC's Will Bruni lasered a triple to the wall to empty the bases for three more runs. Wikel grounded out to score Bruni and made it 18-7 after five innings. Huron's Paul Maloney added a RBI triple in the sixth inning to score Wendt. All told, Ottawa/Erie County registered five triples. "It feels good to play with some of the guys I see in the paper every day," Walk said. "I'm right there along with them in the paper. It feels good to play with people that are good and can put on a show." Maloney, Hermes, Oak Harbor's Michael LaLonde, Wikel, D'Amico, Butzin and Bruni each pitched one inning for Ottawa/Erie. LaLonde, D'Amico and Bruni threw scoreless frames. Lindsley was thrilled to be coaching players like Hermes and Wendt, who he has had to coach against. "You get to see that side of kids you don't see when you're coaching against them," Lindsley said. "With the rivalry we've had with Edison over the last 10 years or so, it's cool to see those kids and be friends and be on the same team." In action on other fields, Norwalk's Avery Scheel and Kevin Howard were joined by Bellevue's Kaden Cramer and Logan Damron and St. Paul's Jacob Zuccaro and Gavin Thurston on the Ashland/Huron County team. They faced Sandusky/Wood County, which had Clyde's Gavyn Boggs and Kam Shortridge and Margaretta's Brayden Windau and Isaac Lochotzki. "It was about five or six years ago we brought it here and split it into three games and did the teams by counties," said Zack Moots, Sandusky coach and district president. "It's an extra day for these guys to get out here. It's a laid-back game and they're playing positions they don't normally get to play. They're playing with guys they usually play against. "You like to see the guys smiling and having a good time." Sandusky's Dylan Crawford and Huron's Dom Fresch were originally on the Ottawa/Erie team, but were moved due to shortages on other teams. "It's a positive thing," Moots said. "Some of these kids will never put cleats on again, have a glove or throw a ball until they get older with their own kids. Coming out here and getting an extra game in is what we want to do." Richland Co. 130 301 0 — 8Ottawa/Erie Co. 732 151 X — 19