Division IV Team Of The Week: Week 3 - Tiffin Calvert

April 19, 2023
Bruce Hefflinger
PBR Ohio Senior Writer

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Division IV Team Of The Week: Week 3 - Tiffin Calvert

TIFFIN - After advancing to the state tournament for the first time in school history a year ago, expectations were high at Tiffin Calvert entering the 2023 campaign. Thus far the Senecas are living up to the predictions many had about the Prep Baseball Report Division IV Team of the Week.

“We knew we could be a solid team, but we are very aware of how baseball works and that over the course of a season there likely will be high and low points,” explained head coach Matt Coleman. “We've really tried to focus on trusting the process of going about our business and not getting too caught up in results.”

But the results heading into this week were perfect, with eight straight wins to begin the season including four this past week, 12-0 over Fremont St. Joe, 16-3 over Hopewell-Loudon 9-0 over Sandusky St. Mary’s, and 12-3 over South Central. On the season, Tiffin Calvert has outscored the opposition 99-11 through its first eight contests.

It is quite a contrast to a year ago when the Senecas lost their first four games during a 7-11 start before advancing to the state semifinals.

“We have been fortunate to get consistent pitching overall so far this year,” noted Coleman, whose team is rated four in the state in Division IV by PBR. “We have had four one-hitters, one two-hitter and one three-hitter in our eight games. Blake Coleman has led the way with three wins, but 10 different pitchers have contributed to lighten the load.”

All totaled, Calvert has surrendered just 21 hits in 49 innings through eight games.

But it has been far from just pitching that has Coleman pleased about the season up until now.

“I have really liked our team's patience at the plate through the first few weeks of the season,” related Coleman, who has been led offensively by seniors Mason Johnson and Nick Palm along with junior Caden Otterbacher. Johnson is hitting .520 with four home runs while Palm, a shortstop/pitcher committed to Findlay, carries a .409 average. Otterbacher is batting .367.

A trio of freshmen has also benefited the cause immensely for a team with an OPS in excess of 1.000, an on-base percentage better than .500 and a batting average of .356.

“AJ Shoemaker, Cameron Moyer and Conner Moyer have really stabilized the lineup,” Coleman pointed out.

Shoemaker has a team-high .524 average while Connor Moyer is hitting .474 and Cameron Moyer .462.

“We have been able to consistently play complimentary baseball on all sides of the ball,” explained Coleman. “The keys to our success will be continued focus on the little things and throwing strikes, coming together as a team and understanding roles.

“Coming off of a season where we were 7-11 going into the tournament draw, with most of our losses by two runs or less, we were still able to make the Final Four. We understand we just have to keep ‘plugging away’ at these things and to simply control what we are able to control. Obviously, we were able to trust the process last year and not get caught up in results. We turned it around in time to make a Final Four run and we just keep the realization in our minds that we have to stay focused - things can change in a hurry.”