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Division IV Team Of The Week: Week 3 - Lake Center Christian

HARTVILLE - Four wins by a combined 44-4 score moved Lake Center Christian to 10-0 on the year and the honor as the Prep Baseball Division IV Team of the Week.

“Our players have established a strong foundation for our program and we knew we had a lot coming back this year along with some promising newcomers,” explained head coach Shane Byler, whose squad is ranked fourth in the state. “Because of that, we decided to continue to put our heads down, work hard, play the game the right way and let the chips fall where they may. Our guys have done just that and we’re progressing even faster than I thought we would … We're going to stay on it.”

Two shutouts over St. Thomas Aquinas, 10-0 and 18-0, was followed by a 6-2 win over Manchester before Byler’s squad closed out the week with a 10-2 victory against Southeast.

“Our competitiveness, teamwork and overall desire has been great,” noted Byler, whose Tigers are now 10-0 on the season with another game against Southeast this week before facing Portage Trail Conference opponent Alliance at Kent State.

Nathan Bryant, the seventh-rated sophomore right-handed pitcher in Ohio, did not allow an earned run with six innings of two-hit ball against Manchester, fanning seven to improve to 3-0 on the year. Senior Dylan Maninga is also 3-0 after tossing a one-hitter with 11 strikeouts and no earned runs permitted versus Southeast. Maninga now has a 0.35 ERA with 30 Ks in 20 innings and Bryant a 0.457 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 15.1 frames. 

Another sophomore, Brayden Myers, has not given up an earned run in 14 innings while fanning 20 and is also 3-0 on the season.

Two freshmen are among the three hitting leaders to date for Lake Center Christian. Grant Coblentz (OF/1B/P) has a .556 average and .636 OBP with a team-leading 11 RBIs while Caleb Shelly (3B/SS/P) is hitting .474 with seven doubles. Coblentz has also thrown 5+ innings of scoreless relief.

Senior outfielder Matt Warder has scored 14 runs for the Tigers with six stolen bases and a .458 batting average.

“I couldn't be more proud of our seniors and their leadership so far,” Byler concluded. “All other returners and newcomers add so much value to our team. I love the way our guys play the game...it’s special to be a part of this.”

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