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Division I Team Of The Week: Walsh Jesuit

CUYAHOGA FALLS - Some teams have pitching depth. And then there’s Walsh Jesuit pitching depth.

The Warriors used that strength to capture their first 12 games of the season and in the process have been named the Prep Baseball Report Division I Team of the Week.

“Depth on the mound has been a catalyst to our start,” noted Walsh Jesuit head coach Chris Kaczmar. “Solid performances have been widespread.”

A team ERA of 1.40 can do wonders in boosting the success of a team and it has Walsh Jesuit the top-ranked team in Ohio at this point in the season.

Nate Stahl, Connor Bailey and Nicholas Leonatti are all 3-0 on the season, while Yassir Kahook stands 3-1 after the Warriors suffered their first loss of the season on Monday to Benedictine.

Stahl, an Indiana signee who is rated 17th in Ohio’s 2019 class, has a 0.57 ERA with 21 strikeouts and nine walks while allowing just three hits in 12.1 innings on the mound. Kohook provides a solid one-two punch with the Toledo commit, who is the 63rd-ranked senior in the state, fanning a team-high 24 in 18 innings of work with a 3.50 ERA.

Bailey, a 6-4 190-pound uncommitted right-hander rated 37th in his class, has struck out 13 in nine frames with a 0.78 ERA while Leonatti, a 6-1 185-pound junior ranked 221st, also has 13 Ks in 18 innings with a 0.75 ERA.

Lefty sophomore Bobby Perebzak, ranked 52nd in his class in the state, adds to the depth with a 0.00 ERA in 8.2 innings with 16 strikeouts in a team-high five appearances

“If our pitching continues to execute, that’s the key,” Kaczmar said about what is needed to succeed the rest of the season for the Warriors, which have a rematch with Benedictine today before facing Berea Midpark on Saturday. “We need to pitch to contact because our defense is very solid. We have good play in the middle infield and at third base.”

Jake Armsey, a sophomore ranked 39th in the state, plays either shortstop or third base for Walsh Jesuit and has led the way at the plate with a .622 average, hitting 10 doubles and scoring 25 runs in 48 plate appearances with 16 RBIs.

“He’s been torrid to start the year,” Kaczmar said. “He’s playing like a video game. He only played about a quarter of last year as a freshman, but now he’s the three-hole hitter.”

Senior second baseman Evan Swan (ranked 212) is batting .541 with 18 runs scored and a team-high 13 walks, with freshman Henry Kaczmar, a Michigan recruit rated sixth in the 2022 class, also seeing time at shortstop averaging .297 with an on-base percentage of .409.

Stahl, who had three home runs and eight RBIs on Saturday when the Warriors beat CVCA to win the Cuyahoga Falls City Classic final (they beat the hosts on Friday in the semifinals), plays third when not pitching and averages .385 with four homers and a team-best 22 RBIs.

Nick Vaccaro, the leading hitter a year ago who is currently averaging .419, hits at the top of the order followed by Swan.

“The top of the order needs to get on with a base rate that’s high to have the strong run production that we have,” explained Kaczmar, whose squad is averaging 10.6 runs a game.

If that isn’t enough, the Walsh Jesuit lineup also features Stanley Kaczmar (Video), the fourth-ranked junior catcher in Ohio. The left-handed hitter is averaging .486 with an on-base percentage of .609.

“He put on some good weight in the offseason and it’s began to pay off at the plate,” Kaczmar said of his oldest son on the team. “He’s had a solid start offensively.”