MANSFIELD — Most casual high school baseball fans had heard of Richland Source Player of the Year Evan Lee of Lexington before the start of the season, but not even the most well-informed knew much about Michael Penney.
Count Madison coach Doug Rickert among them.
The newly-crowned Richland Source Pitcher of the Year, Penney came out of left field — or, more accurately, from behind home plate — to take the area by storm this spring. The sophomore catcher-turned-ace was 6-1 with 38 strikeouts and a 1.79 earned run average for the Ohio Cardinal Conference champion Rams.
Nobody was more surprised than Rickert and his coaching staff.
“We didn’t see this coming,” Rickert said. “We had a couple of senior starters and four-year guys in Blake Lampert and Bo Curvin, but Bo hurt his arm and it was a Wally Pipp situation.”
Pipp was the slumping New York Yankees first baseman who was benched by manager Miller Huggins on June 2, 1925 in favor of Lou Gehrig. Fourteen years and 2,130 games passed before Gehrig relinquished his starting job.
“Michael was pitching so well we didn’t want to go away from him,” Rickert said. “He was the OCC Pitcher of the Year and he got the ball in our district semifinal game.”
The hard-luck loser in Madison’s 2-1 loss to Bowling Green in the district semifinals, Penney was also selected to the District 9 first team in Division I.
Penney anchored the Richland Source’s five-man rotation. He was joined by Lampert, Ontario’s Paul Homan, Lexington’s Zach Temple and Mansfield Senior’s Curtis French.
A left-hander, Lampert was 5-2 with 48 strikeouts and a 2.67 ERA. He was an OCC second team pick and a District 9 second team selection. He was 17-6 in four seasons.
A junior righty, Homan helped lead the Warriors to the Northern Ohio League crown and a district runner-up finish. Ontario fell to Sandusky Perkins in the district championship game. Homan led the area with eight wins and 72 strikeouts. He was a NOL first team pick and District 9 second team selection.
A senior right-hander, Temple anchored a talented Lexington pitching staff. He had a team-best five wins with 33 strikeouts and a 2.84 ERA. He was a first team OCC pick and a District 9 honorable mention selection.
Just a sophomore, French was Mansfield Senior’s most reliable pitcher and hitter. He had 61 strikeouts for the Tygers, earning a spot on the District 9 first team and OCC second team.
The Richland Source Player of the Year, Lee established himself last spring as Lexington advanced to the Division II regional. His star has only risen since then. The junior already has verbally committed to Kent State.
“He was the most feared hitter we played this year,” Rickert said, “and that is saying something when you consider the teams on our schedule.”
The shortstop batted .468 with three home runs, 26 runs scored and 20 runs batted in. He wasn’t bad on the mound either, striking out 49 with a 1.31 ERA. He threw a no-hitter against Division II state qualifier Sandusky Perkins.
“We had high expectations for Even going into the season and he exceeded them,” said rookie varsity coach Kevin Morrow, who has been with the program for a decade. “In my 10 years at Lexington, he is without a doubt the hardest worker I’ve been around.
A shortstop, Lee is joined on the All-Richland Source infield by catcher Kyle Galco of Madison, first baseman Travis Born of Clear Fork, second baseman Tyler Brown of Crestview, third baseman Kyle Pasheilich of Ontario and utility man Chris Vealey of Mansfield Christian.
In addition to hitting better than .400, Galco was the area’s most reliable defensive backstop. The junior was first team OCC and District 9.
The left handed-hitting Born was Richland County’s most prolific power hitter. He belted eight home runs — including four in a single game against Marion Harding — to go with a .434 average. Born was selected to the OCC and District 9 first teams.
The future is bright for Brown, who batted .587 with six home runs and an area-best 40 RBIs. The freshman was selected to the District 9 first team.
A holdover from Ontario’s district championship team, Pasheilich batted .463 with 24 RBIs. The senior was selected to the NOL and District 9 first teams.
Vealey led Richland County with a .597 batting average and knocked in 36 runs. He was selected to the District 9 first team in Division IV.
The All-Richland Source designated hitter is Ontario’s Brad Dretzka. The senior catcher and lead-off hitter batted .423 with 30 runs scored. He was first team All-NOL and second team All-District 9 in Division II.
Madison’s Hunter Ackerman, Clear Fork’s Ridge Winand and Hunter Evans and Lexington’s Brody Basilone make up the All-Richland Source outfield.
A junior, Ackerman took over as Madison’s lead-off hitter this spring and never looked back. He batted .446 and was selected the District 9 Player of the Year in Division I. He also was an OCC first team pick.
A senior speedster, Winand is headed to Ohio State as a preferred walk-on. He knocked in 23 runs and stole 16 bases, earning a spot on the OCC and District 9 second teams.
Evans also had a big season for the Colts. He batted .434 with four home runs and 23 RBIs. He was an honorable mention selection in the OCC and in District 9.
In addition to his work on the mound, Basilone was one of Lexington’s most reliable hitters. He scored 24 runs and swiped 13 bases. He was an OCC first team pick and a second team selection in District 9.
