2020 Virtual Ohio High School State Tournament Champions - A Closer Look At The Winners
May 29, 2020
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2020 Virtual Ohio High School State Tournament Champions - A Closer Look At The Winners
No spring baseball season meant no high school tournament in 2020. Sadly, one of the best times of the year was instead spent inside with players seeking out ways to stay in shape while honing their skills in whatever manner they could.
In an effort to keep the 2020 season alive in everyone's minds, PBR decided to hold a "Virtual State Tournament" featuring 16 of the top teams in the state in each of four divisions battling for the honor of being selected 2020 virtual champs.
Walsh Jesuit, Defiance, Archbold and St. Joseph Central Catholic came out on top with runners-up honors going to Moeller, Canfield, Coldwater and Lincolnview. A PBR thank you goes out to everyone that voted along the way. Hope it was enjoyed by all!
Below we highlight the four winners while featuring every player with a PBR Profile that is also on the varsity roster of each of the four "Virtual State Championship" teams.
Division I
Walsh Jesuit
In 2019 head coach Chris Kaczmar and the Warriors went 24-6. After defeating Massillon Jackson 1-0 in the regional semifinals a year ago, Walsh Jesuit was beaten 7-5 by Mentor to miss out on a Final Four appearance.
In 2020, the Warriors once again had one of the top rosters in the entire state, with a stable of arms and a roster that could mash from top to bottom. The only question mark was experience according to coach Kaczmar.
"We have a young but deep team positionally, and will need to replace some big holes on the mound," Kaczmar sais. "Pitching staff is also young but has potential."
Congrats on winning the 2020 Virtual HS State Tournament. We at PBR are sure you would have been a strong contender for the championship if a season had happened.this spring! Moving forward, watch out for the Warriors as their 2021-2023 class is absolutely LOADED!
D-I Title Game: Two of the states giants meet as we have SW Ohio vs NE Ohio with @BigMoeBaseball vs @WJHS_Baseball‼️ @SLogue13 @Strick_Aus31 @JHornschemeier9 @johnzig28 @patsuter @_michaeloc2
— Prep Baseball Report Ohio (@PrepBaseballOH) May 28, 2020
vs@connorbailey25 @KaczmarStanley @j_perebzak @BPerebzak9 @jake_armsey @DCrissman6
Class of 2020
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Connor Bailey RHP / OF / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2020Rankings StateRank: 28 / POS: 14
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Brock Belsole RHP / SS / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2020Rankings StateRank: 227 / POS: 75
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Stanley Kaczmar C / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2020Rankings StateRank: 87 / POS: 4
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Nicholas Leonatti RHP / 1B / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2020Rankings StateRank: 196 / POS: 65
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Jamie Perebzak 3B / 1B / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2020Rankings StateRank: 191 / POS: 10
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Robert Shepherd RHP / OF / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2020Rankings StateRank: 230 / POS: 76
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Class of 2021
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Jake Armsey SS / RHP / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2021Rankings StateRank: 39 / POS: 11
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Daniel Crissman RHP / 1B / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2021Rankings StateRank: 46 / POS: 14
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Bobby Perebzak LHP / OF / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2021Rankings StateRank: 29 / POS: 5
Enter Analysis Here |
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Michael Pollard OF / 2B / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2021 |
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Mark Serdinak 3B / RHP / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2021Rankings StateRank: 232 / POS: 13
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Erik Stern LHP / 1B / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2021Rankings StateRank: 38 / POS: 6
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Class of 2022
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Tyler Barni RHP / 1B / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2022Rankings StateRank: 33 / POS: 10
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Andrew Gormley RHP / OF / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2022Rankings StateRank: 39 / POS: 13
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Will Harding OF / OF / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2022Rankings StateRank: 38 / POS: 3
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Henry Kaczmar SS / C / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2022Rankings StateRank: 7 / POS: 4
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Kasey Kish C / OF / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2022Rankings StateRank: 80 / POS: 7
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Logan Oakes LHP / OF / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2022 |
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Jackson Phelps RHP / 3B / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2022 |
Class of 2023
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Joey Canzoni SS / 2B / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2023Rankings StateRank: 14 / POS: 3
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Mason Eckelman C / 2B / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2023Rankings StateRank: 8 / POS: 1
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Drew Erdmann RHP / 1B / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2023 |
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Ryan Piech RHP / OF / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2023Rankings StateRank: 11 / POS: 4
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John Simecek RHP / 3B / Walsh jesuit, OH / 2023Rankings StateRank: 15 / POS: 5
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Division II
Defiance
Year in and year out Defiance, under the tutelage of head coach Tom Head and assistant coach Rick Weaver, will always have a chance at a state championship.
The Team of the Decade in the 2010s didn't finish out the decade as they hoped, ending the 2019 season with a 19-8 record while losing to bitter-rival Napoleon and Uncommitted RHP Landon Willeman in the districts.
In 2020, Defiance had a 1-2 punch hoping to take the Bulldogs on a long tourney run in a duo of southpaws, Caden Kline and Jordan Howard. As anyone who comes across a Defiance team in the tournament, runs will be hard to come and with those two on the bump that was going to be the case in 2020. Moving forward, Defiance will certainly be one of the teams to beat in 2021 and beyond.
D-II Title Game: The Team of the Decade in the 2010s @DefianceBBall vs NE Ohio power @canfieldbasebal@kliner32 @JacobHoward2022 @Hutch2301 @jack_vandy2
— Prep Baseball Report Ohio (@PrepBaseballOH) May 28, 2020
vs@DomMagliocca @Nshaw_777 @havrilla_3 @beidelsc5
Class of 2020
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Jacob Hutcheson 2B / SS / Defiance, OH / 2020 |
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Caden Kline LHP / OF / Defiance, OH / 2020Rankings StateRank: 9 / POS: 1
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Cam McDonald RHP / OF / Defiance, OH / 2020Rankings StateRank: 412 / POS: 116
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Class of 2021
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Dade Robinson RHP / C / Defiance, OH / 2021Rankings StateRank: 268 / POS: 77
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Camden Roth 1B / OF / Defiance, OH / 2021 |
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Simeon Sweeney SS / RHP / Defiance, OH / 2021 |
Class of 2022
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Jacob Howard LHP / OF / Defiance, OH / 2022 |
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Kam Ron Rivera 2B / SS / Defiance, OH / 2022 |
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Brennan Roehrig OF / Defiance, OH / 2022 |
Class of 2023
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David Jimenez 3B / RHP / Defiance, OH / 2023Rankings StateRank: 30 / POS: 1
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Gavin Miller OF / RHP / Defiance, OH / 2023 |
Division III
Archbold
Similar to Defiance, the Archbold Blue Streaks always seem to have a bullseye on their back and get everyone's best. It is truly one of the top programs in the state.
The 2019 season most certainly did not end how any Archbold fan had hoped, losing a 5-4 heartbreaker in 8 innings to eventual D-III State Champion Coldwater. Had Archbold won that game, a second state title in school history was a strong possibility, especially with left-hand pitching ace Rigo Ramos on the mound.
In 2020, the Blue Streaks were once again ready to challenge for a state title. With a roster featuring Kade Kern, quite possibly the best player in the entire state, anything could happen. Kern, the Elite 25 Position Player of the Year, is a dynamic bat, runner and defender for Archbold who will be taking his talents to Columbus with the Buckeyes. Talented sophomore DJ Newman and senior Ethan Hagans were the two arms Archbold was trusting in 2020.
D-III Title Game: Familiar matchup here w/ two of the states powers doing battle in @ColdwaterCavs vs @AHS_BASE@millernoah86 @BlasingameMyles @DellingerReece @JakeHemi10 @MckibbenZack @WeigelRoss
— Prep Baseball Report Ohio (@PrepBaseballOH) May 28, 2020
vs@KadeKern @ethan_hagans @DJNewman_ @DrakeMohring @noah_garcia23 @Kohler_Chase
Class of 2020
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Kade Kern OF / RHP / Archbold, OH / 2020 |
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Noah Cheney 1B / SS / Archbold, OH / 2020 |
Class of 2021
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Brandon Taylor SS / RHP / Archbold, OH / 2021 |
Class of 2022
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DJ Newman RHP / SS / Archbold, OH / 2022Rankings StateRank: 104 / POS: 34
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Division IV
St. Joseph Central Catholic
In 2019 head coach Matt Malecha and the Crimson Streaks went 17-11 and in 2020 were ready to improve on that record with eight starters returning, including all of their top arms.
"We are a very experienced group, returning all of our top arms," Malecha said within the submitted HS Coaches Questionnaire. "We hope to make a deep run in the tournament and we once again hope to win the SBC River."
According to Malecha, their top players in 2020 were:
- Brody Deck, OF/1B/LHP, 6-3/170-pounds, JR. 2-year starter, 2019 2nd-Team PBR Ohio All-State, 2019 1st-Team All-District, 2019 SBC River 1st-Team. Last Year Stats- Hitting: .311 AVG, 28 H, 6 2B, 5 3B, 24 RBI, 28 R, 37 SB. Pitching: 5-0, 1.71 ERA, 78 K, 35 BB
- Blake Michael, 1B/LHP, 6-2/165-pounds, JR. 1-year starter, 2019 Honorable Mention PBR Ohio All-State, 2019 2nd-Team All-District, 2019 SBC River 1st-Team. Last Year Stats- Hitting: .379 AVG, 36 H, 10 2B, 6 3B, 27 RBI, 30 R, 16 SB. Pitching: 4-3, 1.59 ERA, 41 K, 22 BB
- Ricky Geyer, C/INF/RHP, 6-3/195-pounds, SR. 3-year starter, 2019 Honorable Mention PBR Ohio All-State, 2019 Honorable Mention All-District, 2019 SBC River Honorable Mention. Last Year Stats- Hitting: .397 AVG, 31 H, 5 2B, 1 3B, 23 RBI, 27 R, 12 SB. Pitching: 4-1, 3.42 ERA, 41 K, 22 BB
- Garrett Michael, SS/RHP, 6-2/180-pounds, SR. 3-year starter, 2019 Honorable Mention All-District, 2019 SBC River 2nd-Team. Last Year Stats- Hitting: .258 AVG, 23 H, 5 2B, 23 RBI, 23 R, 22 SB
D-IV Title Game: A stable of arms and talent with @Lancer_BASE vs a @sjccstreaks team that is poised to make its name.@collinoverholt @gavin_c_carter @landonprice2003 @ColeBinkley
— Prep Baseball Report Ohio (@PrepBaseballOH) May 28, 2020
vs@blakemichael34 @rickybobby11124 @HirtMerrick
Class of 2020
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Ricky Geyer RHP / C / St. Joseph Central Catholic, OH / 2020Rankings StateRank: 372 / POS: 108
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Class of 2021
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Blake Michael 1B / LHP / St. Joseph central catholic, OH / 2021 |
