Prep Baseball Report

Division III Team Of The Week: Week 3 - Fredericktown


Bruce Hefflinger
PBR Ohio Senior Writer

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Division III Team Of The Week: Week 3 - Fredericktown

FREDERICKTOWN - “This is the team to get over that hump.”

That is the view of Ryan Hathaway, head coach of Fredericktown, the Prep Baseball Report Division III Team of the Week.

“We have nine seniors so we have a lot of experience back, that’s one of the bigger things that’s helped us get out of the gates,” explained Hathaway, who has led the Freddies to the regional for five straight seasons, but a trip to state has eluded a program that has only made it to the Final Four once, that coming in 2012. “A good start was important for them. We’ve been swinging it well, but our pitching and defense have been the biggest things.”

This past week Fredericktown outscored the opposition 56-3 in five wins to improve to a perfect 11-0 on the season while moving to second in the Division III PBR ratings and 25th in the Top 25 Power Poll.

“This last week in particular we hit the ball better as far as line drives and ground balls, keeping the ball out of the air,” the eighth-year head coach said. “Our finding a way to get on base was good.”

Kaid Carpenter and Brady Lester, a pair of seniors signed with Mount Vernon Nazarene, each had four hits in a 13-1 win over Bishop Ready to open the week, Lester with two triples, a double and single.

Senior Ben Mast threw a six-inning two-hitter with six strikeouts in a 14-0 blanking of Lexington before fellow 2023 Xavier Mullins picked up the victory in a 19-1 blowout of Danville. Luke Bean, who fanned eight in four innings to beat Bishop Ready, then went the distance in a 4-1 triumph over Barnesville with Carpenter hitting a single and double.

Carpenter capped off the week with a 16-strikeout performance against Fairfield Christian, a 6-0 five-hit shutout that included two hits from Mullins and a pair of RBIs by Lester.

“We pitched seven different guys and they were good at throwing strikes and eliminating walks,” Hathaway summarized about the week. “We only had nine walks in five games.”

Carpenter, Mast and Bean are all now 3-0 in their final year at Fredericktown, Carpenter with 44 Ks in 24 innings.

The 45th-rated senior right-handed pitcher in Ohio also leads the Freddies at the plate with a .513 batting average, seven doubles and three home  runs.

Mullins is carrying a .423 average while Lester, the 40th-ranked 2023 outfielder in the state, is hitting .395 with 15 runs scored, three triples and three doubles.

“We’ve got to continue to keep pitching well with our two and three pitchers, Mast and Bean,” explained Hathaway about keys to success the rest of the season, including two games with Mount Gilead and one each with Danville and Hillsdale this week. “We also need the bottom of the order to keep hitting and being tough outs so we can roll the lineup over.”

Carpenter, Lester and Mullins hit 1-2-3 in the batting order for the Freddies, which last season lost in the regional finals in eight innings to eventual state runner-up Milan Edison.

“We were up the whole game but ended up losing (4-2) on a walk-off error,” reflected Hathaway, whose Freddies lost in 12 innings in the regional semifinals in 2021 to Barnesville, which went on to reach the state tournament. “We’ve got to get over that hump.”

A Look Back At The 2022 Season:

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A Look Back At The 2021 Season:

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A Look Back At What Would've Been The 2020 Season:

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A Look Back At The Last Decade:

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A Look Back At The 2019 Season:

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A Look Back At The 2018 Season:

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A Look Back At The 2017 Season:

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