Future is bright for young Pirates

AKRON — The loss will sting for a while. Perkins, playing in its first-ever baseball state championship game, led 2-0 early before watching Mentor Lake Catholic rally for a 3-2 win Sunday at Canal Park. The Pirates graduate just one senior — a good one in Dylan Crabtree, who will play collegiately at Findlay next season — meaning the future is bright for Perkins. "The expectations are going to be very big," said Braxden Martin, who will be a senior next year for the Pirates. "We're going to get to work every single day. We will have this thought in the back of our minds each and every practice and game. We're going to think about this a lot of the time." The close defeat in the Division IV title game wasn't lost on Martin's eye. About half of the baseball team suffered the same heartbreak in early December when Perkins lost by the same margin to Indian Valley in the football state championship game. "Tough setting coming up short in football by one point and now baseball by one run," Martin said. "It's very upsetting, but we're returning a lot of guys next year. We're going to sit on this a little bit, wait for winter to come back around and get back rolling. We don't want this to happen again." Perkins coach TJ Blanton pointed out the clear statistic — Perkins had 20 players dressed for Sunday's title game, which means 19 will be back in the spring of 2026. "I think once you experience something, it's going to be easier the next time," Blanton said. "The kids are going to be hungry and want to come back and get to this. That will be the motivation we use next year. Not a lot of teams get this far — two in the division. These kids are highly motivated anyways." Talon Walton was the starting pitcher Sunday and was good until the Cougars scored three runs in the fifth inning and Perkins couldn't recover. Walton, Martin and Kash Koch started nearly every big game for the Pirates this season and all will be back next year for their senior seasons. "We all have good chemistry," Walton said. "Most of us play on the same summer ball teams and same organization. We all know each other really well and trust each other, which is good. Coming back next year is going to be great because we all have a chip on shoulders. We want to get right back here next year, but on the other side of things." Nothing is guaranteed in life. Perkins will return the vast amount of talent, but the Pirates will still have to push to be better. Perhaps Perkins flew under the radar a little bit this season, going unranked in the final state baseball coaches polls and finishing with a 22-10 record. But, the target will be bigger on the Pirates' backs next year when March rolls around. "We'll be grinding," Martin said. "We have a lot of time to reflect on ourselves — look at ourselves in the mirror and see who we are as a man. In these moments where we're at our lowest point, we have to dig out of it and come back better next year." Sam Schweinfurth, Quentin Binette, Bryce Davie, Blake Parker and Carter Koch are all other starters who will return for Perkins next season. Blanton reflected on the season a bit after Sunday's game. It didn't go the way Perkins wanted it to, but there's a plethora of things to be proud of. "We're one of one in Perkins history to make it to the state finals in baseball," Blanton said. "That's something to be proud of. Ten years, 20 years down the road, they'll look back and say it was pretty cool." The players will go their separate ways to enjoy the brief summer and rest before sports start up in early August. Some will play football and try to reach the final game of the season again. Some will play soccer after winning a district title last year. Some will run. Some will get ready for the winter and a new baseball season after the new year begins. Walton said the pain from Sunday's loss won't soon leave. It's easy to get motivated for something when you're hungrier than ever. "This will be great motivation," he said. "Every single time I'm in the weight room, taking ground balls or taking batting practice, it's all I'm going to think about."