4 days ago
McDonald eyes highly-ranked Calvert in regional play
McDONALD, Ohio (WKBN) – Many question marks surrounded the McDonald baseball program when practice officially began at the end of February.
Coach Andy Timko recalls, 'We lost six starters, had a lot of spots to fill with a number of young kids taking over. Those [underclassmen] displayed their ability to play well early on.'
The Blue Devils excelled down the stretch, winning 12 of their last 14 games, to claim the district title after their 7-1 win over Maplewood on Saturday.
The championship was McDonald's first since 1997 – the year the program advanced to the state tournament.
'We haven't been to [the regionals] in a long time,' Timko noted. 'We've talked about it; this is a close-knit team that started gelling [midway] through the season. It really [began] with the move of Josh Srock – from being one of our best pitchers to becoming our catcher – 8 games into the season.'
Timko went on to say, 'We kind of struggled early on; we didn't have a catcher, so Josh was forced into it. He's done one a heck of a job – catching and framing balls for his pitchers. He's our leader.'
The Blue Devils are composed of one senior Nate Metzinger and a large and talented junior class that features the likes of Srock (15 RBIs), Jaxson Candel (.290 BA, 25 RBIs), Chayse Hickox (13 RBIs), Anthony Larson (10 RBIs) and Brady Klockner (.434 BA, 18 RBIs).
The team also has a freshman group that has exceeded expectations with the play of Quinn Schmidt (.484 BA, 31 RBIs) and Nick Larson (.278 BA, 21 RBIs).
McDonald's lone sophomore, Brady Shobel, has given Timko a strong arm for his pitching staff. Shobel has accounted for a 6-1 mark and an ERA of 3.25. Schmidt, just a freshman, also has six wins (6-2) and an ERA of just above 3 (3.12). Hickox also has accumulated three wins on the mound this season.
'Brady and Quinn have been absolutely lights out,' Timko said. 'Chayse throws very hard. We've been very fortunate to have those [guys] pitch this year for us.'
McDonald (16-8) will take on Calvert (25-3) at Oberlin College at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 3, in the Division VII Regional Semifinal.
The Senecas are riding a 13-game win streak following their district championship conquest over St. Paul – 10-0 – on Saturday.
Coach Matt Coleman's team has seven batters, who have 48 at-bats or more and who are hitting for a .333 average or higher.
Junior AJ Shoemaker leads the team with a .405 average (32-79). Connor and Cameron Moyer have hit five and two homers during this season, respectively. Connor has driven in 38 runs.
Calvert also has six players with double-digit stolen bases as well.
Pitching has been a real strength for the Senecas throughout the campaign as they've compiled a 1.58 ERA as a team. Freshman Tucker Coleman (8-0, 1.33 ERA, 62 Ks) and junior Logan Ritzler (6-0, 0.99 ERA, 54 Ks) have each pitched over 42 innings this year while collecting a total of 116 strikeouts.
'Calvert is an extremely good team,' says Timko. 'We have the utmost respect for them. I've been around the game for some time now. Anything can happen. Our kids will give all they have.'
2025 McDonald Blue DevilsCoach: Andy TimkoRecord: 16-8
ResultsBlue Devils 7 Maplewood 1*Blue Devils 6 Bristol 3*Blue Devils 15 Chalker 5*Blue Devils 11 Lowellville 1Blue Devils 15 Lowellville 3Mineral Ridge 9 Blue Devils 4Mineral Ridge 4 Blue Devils 0Blue Devils 11 Western Reserve 3Blue Devils 16 Mathews 4Blue Devils 5 Campbell 0Blue Devils 15 Jackson-Milton 4Blue Devils 8 Blue Devils 3Blue Devils 5 Waterloo 4Blue Devils 1 Niles 0Waterloo 3 Blue Devils 0Lakeview 18 Blue Devils 8Garfield 8 Blue Devils 1Blue Devils 13 Campbell 3Blue Devils 9 Western Reserve 3Springfield 6 Blue Devils 2Springfield 5 Blue Devils 3Niles 8 Blue Devils 3Blue Devils 8 Girard 5Blue Devils 12 Struthers 10
Individual Statistical LeadersBatting AverageQuinn Schmidt – .484 (31-64)Brady Klockner – .434 (33-76)Jaxson Candel – .290 (18-62)Nick Larson – .278 (15-54)Nate Metzinger – .270 (17-63)
Home RunsQuinn Schmidt – 1Chayse Hickox – 1
Runs Batted InQuinn Schmidt – 31Jaxson Candel – 25Nick Larson – 21Brady Klockner – 18Josh Srock – 15Chayse Hickox – 13
Earned Run AverageQuinn Schmidt – 3.12Brady Shobel – 3.25Chayse Hickox – 4.20
Pitching WinsQuinn Schmidt – 6Brady Shobel – 6Chayse Hickox – 3
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