Prep Baseball Report

2019 OHSAA Tournament: State Final Four Preview - Division IV


Dylan Hefflinger
PBR Ohio Editor in Chief/NW Scout

Follow @PBR Ohio 

To view the State Previews, click below:
Division I | Division II | Division III | Division IV

To view the Regional Previews, click below:
Division I | Division II | Division III | Division IV

To view the Final Team Rankings, click below:
Division I | Division II | Division III | Division IV

To view all things related to the 2019 Spring High School Baseball Season, click here.

To view the 2019 Scout Blog, click here.

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2019 OHSAA Tournament: State Final Four Preview - Division IV

We are holding a fan vote via twitter that will end Thursday night and we will add those results below after the vote is completed.

State Final Four Overview: With four of the top nine teams in the final Division IV ratings in the field, Friday's final two games should prove entertaining. Minster seeks its fourth state title in nine years but must get by Hillsdale and Jay Luikart, who is having a year to remember both on the mound and at the plate. Likewise, Nathan Karaffa has been one of the best in Ohio for Toronto this year. Meanwhile, the town of Antwerp is getting used to Akron after the softball team won a state title last week. The baseball Archers look to duplicate that accomplishment with a squad that has relied on strong pitching and team chemistry.

For Fun Prediction:

Dylan Hefflinger:

  • Hillsdale over Minster
  • Antwerp over Toronto
    • STATE CHAMP - Hillsdale

Fan Vote:

  • Hillsdale over Minster
  • Antwerp over Toronto
    • STATE CHAMP - Hillsdale

Hillsdale

Record: 27-2
Final Ranking: No. 1
Preseason Ranking: No. 5
Highest Ranking: No. 1 - Final
Postseason History:

  • First state final four appearance

Team Stats:

  • .388 AVG, 325 R
  • 1.74 ERA, 238 Ks

Top Players:

  • Garrett Goodwin, P/SS, Senior (Shawnee State) - .443 AVG, 12 2B, 3 HR, 35 RBIs, 51 R, 25 BB, 13 SB | 50.2 IP, 8-1, 60 Ks, 10 BB
  • Carsten Betson, C, Junior - .412 AVG, 6 2B, 26 RBIs, 45 R, 30 BB, 7 SB
  • Jay Luikart, P/CF, Senior (Wright State) - .505 AVG, 12 2B, 11 HR, 54 RBIs, 46 R, 15 BB, 19 SB | 61.1 IP, 10-0, 0.68 ERA, 113 Ks, 8 BB
  • Briar Funk, 3B, Junior - .341 AVG, 8 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 45 RBIs, 33 R, 17 BB, 8 SB | 11 IP, 4-0, 13 Ks
  • Ty Williams, 2B, Junior - .400 AVG, 8 2B, 4 3B, 5 HR, 35 RBIs, 30 R, 19 BB | 10 IP, 2-0, 1 Save, 14 Ks
  • Garrett Crites, DH, Senior - .409 AVG, 4 2B, 14 RBIs, 15 R, 13 BB | 17.1 IP, 2-0, 19 Ks
  • Brock Hoverstock, OF, Junior - .269 AVG, 6 RBIs, 13 R, 11 BB
  • Evan Rottman, OF/SS, Junior - .350 AVG, 8 2B, 3 HR, 26 RBIs, 30 R, 17 BB, 10 SB | 13.2 IP, 1 Save, 9 Ks
  • Clay Schoen, 1B, Junior - .357 AVG, 2 2B, 18 RBIs, 18 R
  • Garrett Smith, OF, Senior - .297 AVG, 3 2B, 2 3B, 20 RBIs, 28 R, 7 SB
  • Ethan Goodwin, OF/C, Freshman

Coach's Thoughts:

PBR: Talk about the feeling when your team won regionals?
Coach: I was very proud and happy for the team. I was proud of how these guys stick together, don't panic and stay confident. They are behind each other the whole way. I am happy for our team because they deserve this. They have battled every year and couldn't get over that hump. They continued to work harder and harder and now they have a shot!

PBR: Talk about what this means for your school and community?
Coach: It shows what hard work can do!! we live in a hard working community. The community is so proud of this team and supports all of our kids in our district all the time!

PBR: Thoughts on the four-team field at the state?
Coach: There are four teams that have shown a lot of heart and dedication. Each team displays great talent and can produce in all aspects. We all want to be a the top and each team will leave it all on the field.

PBR: Anything else you would like to add?
Coach: I am proud of our team. We are excited and look forward to the challenge. We will give it our best.We are proud to be Falcons!

Minster

Record: 22-7
Coach's Name: Mike Wiss
Final Ranking: No. 9
Preseason Ranking: No. 8
Highest Ranking: No. 6 - Week 1
Postseason History:

  • State Champs in Division IV in 2011, 2012, 2017
  • State Runner-up in 2003

Team Stats:

  • .321 AVG, 221 Runs
  • 2.26 ERA, 199 Ks

Top Players:

  • Jack Olberding, CF/LHP, Junior - .444 AVG, 13 2B, 4 3B, 3 HR, 38 R, 31 RBIs, 11 BB, 10 SB | 21 IP, 2 SV, 3.33 ERA, 38 K
  • Noah Enneking, 2B, Senior - .260 AVG, 1 2B, 22 R, 7 RBIs, 14 BB
  • Jack Heitbrink, 1B/LHP, Senior - .494 AVG, 11 2B, 4 3B, 1 HR, 24 R, 33 RBIs, 17 BB | 48.1 IP, 6-2, 1.30 ERA, 40 K
  • August Boehnlein, DH, Senior - .303 AVG, 4 2B, 1 HR, 14 R, 19 RBIs, 12 BB
  • Austin Brown, LHP/RF, Junior - .364 AVG, 2 2B, 1 3B, 13 R, 5 RBIs, 9 BB | 30 IP, 5-0, 0.93 ERA, 29 K
  • Trent Roetgerman, SS, Junior - .330 AVG, 5 2B, 23 R, 11 RBIs, 8 BB
  • Adam Ketner, C, Sophomore - .310 AVG, 24 R, 14 RBIs, 15 BB
  • Jacob Niemeyer, RF/LF, Junior - .298 AVG, 1 2B, 10 R, 10 RBIs, 7 BB
  • Mike Ketner, 3B, Senior - .274 AVG, 2 2B, 18 R, 15 RBIs, 9 BB
  • Ethan Lehmkuhl, RHP, Junior - 45.1 IP, 6-2, 1 SV, 1.99 ERA, 48 K
  • Eric Schmidt, LF/CF, Sophomore

Coach's Thoughts:

PBR: Talk about the feeling when your team won regionals?
4 Days to play 2 games was a lot. Lot of emotions. It was physically draining. Proud of the resiliency of our kids. Happy they pulled through.

PBR: Talk about what this means for your school and community?
Happy for these guys. Have been thru a lot this year, especially with the passing of a close teammate. Special group. Making the most of a tough situation and doing it together as a TEAM.

PBR: Thoughts on the four-team field at the state?
Final 4 - Very fortunate to be where we are right now. Some real good teams that are peaking at the rime I'm sure also. Baseball is a little crazy sometimes - weird things can happen. But all 4 teams are very worthy of being where they are and I'm sure will do their best to play their best games in Akron.

Antwerp

Record: 19-5
Coach's Name: Zac Feasby
Final Ranking: No. 8
Preseason Ranking: NR
Highest Ranking: No. 8 Final
Postseason History:

  • 1st regional title in school history
  • 1st district title in school history
  • 1st GMC title in school history
  • Best record in school history

Team Stats:

  • .314 AVG, 170 Runs
  • 2.13 ERA, 181 Ks

Top Players:

  • Cole Seslar, OF, Senior (Findlay football) - .308 AVG, 9 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 15 R, 9 RBIs
  • Austin Lichty, 3B/RHP, Sophomore - 39 IP, 5-0, 1 SV, 0.00 ERA, 50 K | .373 AVG, 5 2B, 19 R, 8 RBIs, 15 BB
  • Jacob Savina, SS/RHP, Junior - 18.2 IP, 2-0, 1 SV, 2.62 ERA, 25 K | .317 AVG, 4 2B, 21 R, 16 RBIs, 7 BB
  • Keaton Altimus, 2B/RHP, Senior - .448 AVG, 5 2B, 1 3B, 28 R, 8 RBIs, 9 BB
  • Brett Fulk, DH, Senior - .250 AVG, 4 2B, 1 HR, 19 R, 15 RBIs
  • Dylan Hines, 3B, Sophomore - .333 AVG, 8 2B, 22 R, 13 RBIs, 9 BB
  • Luke Krouse, 1B/LHP, Freshman - 42.1 IP, 6-0, 1 SV, 0.66 ERA, 56 K | .446 AVG, 14 2B, 2 HR, 19 R, 29 RBIs, 13 BB
  • Blake Schuette, OF/RHP, Junior - .250 AVG, 2 2B, 1 HR, 12 R, 22 RBIs, 9 BB
  • Jason Geyer, OF, Sophomore - .237 AVG, 8 R, 7 RBIs
  • Chase Clark, C, Freshman

Coach's Thoughts:

PBR: Talk about the feeling when your team won regionals?
Coach: Much like winning a district title, it was very exciting for not only the coaches, players, and parents, but the entire community of Antwerp. The support for the baseball team from the community has been overwhelming. It’s a great feeling to be part of history making season. I’m personally very happy for the community and program, and this means a great deal to me because I’m a graduate of Antwerp.

PBR: Talk about what this means for your school and community?
Coach: Much like the reaction to our softball team just winning a state championship, the community has been very supportive throughout the entire tournament run. I believe Antwerp has only had one other state championship team other than the softball team’s recent championship. That was a state volleyball championship back in 1992. It’s a great feeling to be able to give back to a community that has been so supportive. It seems like attendance at every one of our tournament games has increased.

PBR: Thoughts on the four-team field at the state?
Coach: All four teams are obviously well coached, talented, and are currently playing at a high level. As I have said from the start of tournament play, we will expect to see every opponent’s best and will need to play at our best.

PBR: Anything else you would like to add?
Coach: I feel my team is very well balanced with valuable contributors from every grade level. The team is led by four seniors (Cole Seslar, Keaton Altimus, Brett Fulk, & Nathan Lee). Seslar and Altimus have been starters since their Freshmen year. Seslar made a transition last season from the infield to the outfield and has been impressive in the CF position. Seslar has also embraced the leadoff spot in the lineup this season. Keaton Altimus has spent most of his time at 2nd base. Offensively, he has locked down the clean-up spot the past several seasons. Brett Fulk has contributed most of his time the past two seasons as a DH, but has also spent some time behind the plate this season. Nathan Lee unfortunately started out his season with a knee injury that he has recently recovered from. He has been a valuable vocal leader in the dugout. Two juniors (Blake Schuette & Jacob Savina), three sophomores (Austin Lichty, Dylan Hines, & Jason Geyer), and three freshmen (Luke Krouse, Chase Clark, & Hunter Sproles) round out the majority of contributions this season. Schuette has mostly played LF, and has also done a great deal of pitching for us this season. Savina has been our starting SS for the past two seasons, and has also pitched for us this season. His pitching role changed from last year, as he pitched in more innings. He now is used as a closer and hasn’t pitched in as many innings this season. Lichty has been one of our top pitchers this season, and spends most of his time while off of the mound at 3rd base. Dylan Hines has played mostly at 3rd and 1st base this season. Jason Geyer has started most games for us this season in RF. Luke Krouse has been another top pitcher for us this season, and when he is off the mound he plays either 1st base or one of the three outfield positions. Chase Clark has taken on the role of the team’s starting catcher. Hunter Sproles has done some pitching for us this season.

Toronto

Record: 24-5
Coach's Name: Brian Perkins
Final Ranking: No. 5
Preseason Ranking: No. 4
Highest Ranking: No. 4 - Preseason
Postseason History:

  • 25th consecutive Sectional Championship
  • 4th consecutive District Championship
  • Regional Champions in 1987, 1998, 2017, 2019

Top Players:

  • Nathan Karaffa, Senior, SS/RHP (Ohio State) - .579 AVG, 14 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 39 RBIs, 30 BB, 34 SB | 39 IP, 5-0, 1.79 ERA, 63 K
  • Lucas Gulczynski, Junior, OF - .417 AVG, 10 2B, 33 R, 28 RBIs, 9 BB, 26 SB
  • Nick Chetock, Senior, OF - .406 AVG, 4 2B, 36 R, 15 RBIs, 14 BB, 21 SB
  • Nick Sninchak, Senior, 2B/RHP (Cuyahoga CC) - .338 AVG, 9 2B, 1 HR, 25 R, 34 RBIs, 15 BB, 19 SB | 24.1 IP, 3-1, 2.58 ERA, 23 K
  • Aaron Clegg, Junior, OF/RHP - .337 AVG, 9 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 26 R, 26 RBIs, 11 BB, 10 SB | 36.2 IP, 7-0, 1.52 ERA, 52 K
  • Kobe Herrick, Senior, 3B - .323 AVG, 4 2B, 22 R, 14 RBIs, 19 BB, 12 SB
  • Tristan Thomas, Junior, C/RHP- .390 AVG, 7 2B, 23 R, 16 RBIs, 15 BB, 16 SB | 42.1 IP, 4-3, 2 SV, 1.48 ERA, 32 K
  • Zac Berger, Junior, 1B - .275 AVG, 4 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 18 R, 19 RBIs, 12 BB, 10 SB
  • Brendan Matyas, Junior, OF - .212 AVG, 1 2B, 20 R, 5 RBIs, 9 BB, 12 SB

Coach's Thoughts:

PBR: Talk about the feeling when your team won regionals?
Coach: It was a very exciting win over a very good Newark Catholic squad. I was very excited for the players and coaching staff.  

PBR: Talk about what this means for your school and community?
Coach: It has brought a lot of excitement to an already baseball crazy town. The support our team has received has been tremendous.