Lake Division title will be earned

Of the 12 players who received Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division baseball first-team honors last year, seven were juniors. That makes for a whole lot of seniors this year looking to wrap up their careers with a league championship. There were 26 players honored across the first team, second team and honorable mention and 17 of them return this season. Perkins played for the Division IV state championship, coming up one run short. The Pirates welcome some key baseball players after the school made a run to the state semifinals in boys basketball last week. Perkins and Bellevue return all of their pitching from last year. Clyde is in its second year under Jake Strayer. Can it make strides in the rugged league? Where does Sandusky sit after it was hit hard by graduation? The baseball season starts Friday. A look at the six Lake Division teams in alphabetical order: Bellevue The Redmen finished 13-9 last year and 7-3 in league play. Bellevue returns nearly its entire team, led by juniors Cooper Winke, Ike Brown and Blake Sutherland. Those three, along with seniors Drew Dennings, Grant Musser and Caden Lindsey, threw every inning on the mound for the Redmen. Sutherland was 9-1, but all of Bellevue's pitchers had to be in top shape. The Redmen's offense averaged just over four runs per game. Brown led Bellevue in hits, runs scored and runs batted in. "We have a group this year which has played a lot of varsity baseball so we should be prepared to have a good season," Bellevue coach Andy Dennings said. "Our group likes to play baseball, has good team chemistry and is hungry, so that is a good combo. "We need to continue to develop at the plate and find ways to plate more runs." Clyde Three of the Fliers' four leaders in runs batted in last season return this year. Clyde was 10-15 last year including a 3-7 league mark, but seniors Mason Flewelling (14 RBI), Dawson Jeffrey (12) and Jonathan Lantz (11) are back. Flewelling was second on the team with 23 hits while smacking a team-high seven doubles. On the mound, Clyde will look to junior Colt Flores and Lantz, who each tallied four wins last year. Flores struck out 70 in 54 2/3 innings of work while Lantz fanned 38 in 42 2/3 innings. Both had an earned run average under 3.00. "With this year's team, we have started to see a culture shift within our program," Strayer said. "The kids have bought into what we are trying to do and our leaders have run with it. We have a group of guys who enjoy being around each other and have created a great team dynamic. "We aim to compete in every game that we play in and grow as baseball players and as people." Norwalk The Truckers went 12-10 last year, finishing 6-4 in the league. Norwalk returns some of its top pitching in seniors Wesley Shupe and Carter Harp and sophomore Noah Helton. Shupe and Helton each had four wins on the mound. Shupe led the team with 46 1/3 innings while Helton threw 33 2/3 innings. At the plate, Shupe paced the Norwalk with 15 runs batted in. Isaiah Wells, who graduated, was second with 12. "We are at the point where many of the freshmen who started for us three years ago are now seniors," Norwalk coach Jason Higgins said. "We are returning around 130 innings pitched on the mound from last year. We have returned the majority of our defense, but have had a few moving parts. "Our strength this season will be with our pitching and defense. Our hitting is something we are continually trying to improve. " Perkins The only loss the Pirates suffered to graduation was standout outfielder Dylan Crabtree, who batted leadoff and did a little bit of everything for Perkins. The Pirates return a plethora of talent after going 22-10 and falling one run short in the Division IV state title game to Mentor Lake Catholic. Perkins won the SBC Lake with an 8-2 record. Senior Quentin Binette topped the Pirates with 32 runs batted in while senior Talon Walton, the Most Outstanding Performer in the Lake, had 31 RBI. Senior Kash Koch and senior Braxden Martin each added 23 RBI. On the mound, Koch was 9-1 in 11 starts. He pitched 59 innings with 58 strikeouts and had a 1.89 earned run average. Walton had a 1.48 ERA and Martin was 4-0 with a 1.62 ERA. "We return 10 guys who started in a state game last year," Perkins coach TJ Blanton said. "Our team is built with guys who have experience making state runs in multiple sports, have played at the highest level of competition at the high school level and stay composed in high pressure situations." Sandusky The Blue Streaks lost six impactful seniors from last year's team that finished 14-12 overall and 2-8 in league play. Landon Parker, Dennarius Walk, Dillon Crawford, Keelan Lockhart, Rocco D'Amico and Quentavion Fisher all graduated. Crawford (2-6 pitching record) led the Blue Streaks in innings pitched at 43 1/3 while Walk (4-2) threw 39 1/3 innings. D'Amico (2-3) added 33 2/3 innings with the three combining for 120 strikeouts. Sandusky has a pair of senior pitchers in Mykell Ott (3-0, 21 1/3 innings) and Ja'Syre Poole (3-1, 16 2/3 innings). Also back for the Blue Streaks is second-team Lake infield pick Deyker Inciarte. The senior led Sandusky with 24 runs batted in. "We are excited about our team this year," Sandusky coach Zack Moots said. "We will have a lot of new faces in positions and it may shift early on in the season to find the right chemistry on the field," Sandusky coach Zack Moots said. "We will be replacing seven everyday starters on defense and about 75 percent of our innings pitched, but we have an eager group who have been working hard this offseason. "We are returning five lettermen from last year, but have 23 total in our sophomore and freshman classes, so we are looking for guys to step in quickly and play hard." Tiffin Columbian The Tornadoes were 11-15 overall and 4-6 in Lake action last year. Columbian has to replace Isaiah Tilse, who pitched in nearly every big game for the Tornadoes the past few years. He was 5-5 in 12 appearances last year, striking out 67 batters in 49 innings. At the plate, he led Columbian with 31 hits including five doubles and 17 runs batted in. Back for the Tornadoes is first-team outfielder Johnny Bremyer and second-team outfielder Jaxon Little. "We have a lot of guys back in key positions," Columbian coach Nick Weber said. "We will be better on the mound than we have in years past. We graduated one of the best to do it in Isaiah Tilse, but we are deeper this year. We have a lot of guys who have grown up and matured mixed in with some younger arms." Returning All-SBC Lake selections First team Pitcher: Kash Koch, Perkins Catcher: Drew Dennings, Bellevue Infield: Ike Brown, Bellevue; Talon Walton, Perkins; Quentin Binette, Perkins; Braxden Martin, Perkins Outfield: Johnny Bremyer, Columbian; Carter Harp, Norwalk Second team Pitcher: Wesley Shupe, Norwalk; Blake Sutherland, Bellevue Infield: Grant Musser, Bellevue; Deyker Inciarte, Sandusky Outfield: Mason Flewelling, Clyde; Jaxon Little, Columbian; Dante Shipp, Sandusky (transferred to Perkins) Honorable mention Pitcher: Colt Flores, Clyde Infield: Blake Parker, Perkins Outfield: Bryce Davie, Perkins