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Division I Team Of The Week: Mason

MASON - When you are the Greater Miami Conference champions that says it all.

That is the case this season for Mason, Ohio Prep Baseball Report’s Division I Team of the Week.

“That’s one of the goals every year,” Mason coach Curt Bly said after finishing league play with a 17-1 record by beating Sycamore in the GMC finale to beat out 16-2 Lakota East for first place. “We talk about a banner and this is the first one you can get. I feel from top to bottom it’s the best conference there is and we’re fortunate to come out on top, there are no shortcuts.”

At 22-3 heading into this week, the Comets are riding a 10-game winning streak as the regular season winds down.

“This team has great character and the chemistry is really, really good,” Bly said. “They never get too up or too down and they’re very talented. We had a lot back from last year and we’ve had a lot of guys step up on the mound.”

Evan Kemp (Video), a 6-1 190-pound senior left-hander rated 81st in Ohio’s 2019 class, is 8-1 with more than 70 strikeouts to date.

“He’s pitched in all kinds of situations for us,” Bly said of the University of Cincinnati signee.

AJ Kraus, the 80th-ranked junior in the state, has stepped into the number two role for Mason. The 6-4 220-pound uncommitted right-hander is 5-0 “doing a good job of keeping us in ball games” according to Bly.

“We felt we had a chance to be good with a lot of guys back,” explained Mason’s sixth-year head coach. “We have a lot of leadership and a lot of guys that have been in big games. We were just wondering how the pitching would come together. They all have different roles this year, but the pitching has been really, really good.”

At the plate, Mason has shined. Proof comes with a school-record 19 home runs to date, this coming in an era of high school baseball when the long ball has been diminished with bat restrictions.

“Offensively, we’ve put the ball out of the park and scored a lot of runs,” Bly said.

Cole Harting has led the way with seven home runs while batting better than .400. The 12th-rated junior in the state, a 5-11 180-pound Cincinnati commit, plays center field for the Comets.

J.P. Sponseller, a first-team all-state performer a year ago, is also exceeding a .400 average with 20 doubles on the campaign. The 5-11 200-pound left-handed hitting first baseman, ranked 46th in the 2019 Ohio class, is an Elon commit.

Another major contributor for the talent-laden Comets is senior catcher Joe Powell, The 5-9 155-pounder is a Cincinnati signee and the top-ranked 2019 backstop in the state.

“He’s a guy we can really count on back there,” Bly said of the three-year starting catcher. “My money is that he’s the best catcher in the area and maybe the best shortstop.”

A number one seed in the tournament draw this past Sunday, Mason improved to 23-3 with a 12-6 win over Springboro on Tuesday heading into a big confrontation on Thursday with Centerville. Mason is currently fifth in the Division I state ratings while Centerville is seventh.

“We just need more of the same,” Bly said about what his squad must do to continue the success accomplished so far. “It’s about staying unselfish. We talk about doing your job and finding a way to keep doing your job.

“If we can continue to play clean baseball behind our pitchers and put pressure on the other team offensively, we can be a tough out.”