2024 Spring Team Preview: Marlington Diamond Dukes

January 28, 2024
Dylan Hefflinger
Editor in Chief/Scout

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With 2023 now in the past, PBR Ohio is eagerly anticipating bringing the Buckeye state the best high school coverage that can be found anywhere in 2024. Starting in February, we began releasing team previews for squads across the state. Ahead, we will have Preseason All-State Teams as well as the Preseason State Rankings coming your way.

To view the full list of 2024 Team Previews that we have already completed, please click here.

If you are a coach and haven't filled out your 2024 Team Preview, click here.

Interested in attending a PBR Ohio event? Check out our schedule by clicking here.

2024 Spring Team Preview: Marlington Diamond Dukes

Team Name: Marlington Diamond Dukes
Head Coach: Cody Jones
Division: II
2023 Record: 13-13
2023 Tourney Finish: District Semfinal Loss to Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin
Returning Starters/Pitchers: 5

Coach Outlook: "We are excited to see what this group can do. I know they have high expectations for themselves as a team and rightfully so. Everyone knows that we lost some big time players last year to graduation, Tommy Skelding (Kentucky), Caden Bates (Bowling Green), Drew Denham (Chattanooga St.), Nathan Johnson (Hiram) and guys like that are once in a coaching career type players, but they continued to raise the bar at Marlington & this years team looks to carry on that tradition. Once again we have one of the toughest schedules in the region, if not the state, but our guys love the challenge. We open up the 2024 season with Waynedale, Glenoak & Norton week 1. We then start EBC play with frontrunner Carrollton. Our league will be competitive as usual. Our non league schedule after week 1 includes Green, Uniontown Lake, Norwayne, Wooster, Canton Central Catholic, Canfield & Wadsworth in April. Then we finish the regular season in May with games against Archbishop Hoban, Louisville, Massillon Perry & South Range. I think it's safe to say that we will be battle tested come tournament time."

2024 Team Strengths:

Pitching depth - Of 173 Inning played last year, we return 168 1/3 of those inning on the mound. We would have 172 of those innings were it not for an injury to junior Bryson McCord.
Experience - We return 7 everyday starters from last year and the next few guys have plenty of varsity experience in big games.

Top Returning Players:

Drew Simmons RHP, 2024 6'6"/230 2 Year Starter, Malone University commit. 52.2 IP, 5-2, 3.323 ERA, 32 K, 19 BB
Garrett Martz C, 2024 5'8"/183 R/R 2 Year Lettermen/1 Year Starter, .230 AVG, 2 2B, 13 RBI, 10 R, 6 BB. Caught 96% of our innings last year. Only 1 PB & 8 CS.
Wyatt Dillon OF, 2024 5'9" 180 R/R 2 Year Letter Winner/ 1 Year Starter, .234 AVG, 1 2B, 6 RBI, 15 R, 12 BB
Carter Difloure RHP/UTL 2024 5'9" 200 R/R 1 Year Letter Winner / 1 Year Starter, 34 IP, 3-5, 5.59 ERA, 14 L, 12 BB .227 AVG, 1 2B, 2 3B, 12 RBI, 17 R, 14 BB
Garett Dillon RHP/IF 2025 5'9"180 R/R 1 Year Letter Winner / 1 Year Starter, .316 AVG, 3 2B, 19 RBI, 14 R, 12 BB
Dylan Heatherington LHP/1B 2025 6'4" 190 L/L 1 Year Letter Winner / 1 Year Starter, Had a back injury that limited his inning pitched. Big bounce back year this year. .257 AVG, 3 2B, 7 RBI, 17 R, 11 BB
Sam Yoder RHP/UTL 2025 6'6" 215 R/R 1 Year Letter Winner. 25 IP, 2-1, 1.68 ERA, 15 K, 11BB 8. Travis Hoffmeyer RHP/OF 2025 5'11" 175 R/R 1 Year Letter WInner / 1 Year Starter.

Class of 2024 Prospects To Keep Eye On: