Prep Baseball Report

Division IV Team Of The Week: Week 6 - Montpelier


Bruce Hefflinger
PBR Ohio Senior Writer

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Division IV Team Of The Week: Week 6 - Montpelier

MONTPELIER - An 18-5 record is the best in school history at Montpelier, the Prep Baseball Report Division IV Team of the Week.

Two wins over Pettisville by 7-6 and 2-0 scores and a 9-4 victory over Hicksville last week helped this year’s Locos equal the all-time best mark set in 2019. Now the focus is on matching the most wins in a season of 19, set in 2005.

“We expected to compete in the BBC, but not to go 12-0,” admitted head coach Toby Hutchison, who received two big performances out of senior Blake Altaffer to sweep Pettisville.

The Ohio Northern commit, the 150th-rated senior right-handed pitcher in the state, hit a grand slam to help Montpelier rally from a 4-3 deficit on Tuesday, then came back to throw a shutout two nights later.

Altaffer is now 8-1 with a 0.49 ERA, striking out 104 in 49 innings while walking just 14.

The three-hole hitter in the batting order is one of a trio of standouts that Hutchison points to when it comes to why the Locos have been successful this season.

“We have three kids that have rewrote the record book with what they’re doing,” Hutchison said of Altaffer, Collin Crisenbery and Tylor Yahraus. “Blake has set the record for most strikeouts in a season and in a career, Collin Crisenbery has set the record for doubles and Tylor Yahraus has the record for stolen bases with 41. The record was 27.

“Those three being team leaders have been phenomenal. The others have just fallen into place.”

Crisenbery, the 94th-rated 2021 outfielder in Ohio, has a team-high .494 average hitting leadoff for Montpelier. The Owens CC commit has scored 38 runs and driven in 25 with 13 doubles and a .563 on-base percentage. Altaffer, who bats third, is averaging .485 with 40 RBIs, 29 runs and a pair of home runs. Two-hole hitter Yahraus is batting .446 with 40 runs, 25 RBIs and a .495 on-base percentage.

Crisenbury is also the number two hurler with a 5-0 record. In 38 innings, the senior who usually plays center field when not on the mound, has yet to give up an earned run. Yahraus, the usual shortstop, also pitches for the Locos with freshman Jaxon Richmond adding depth to the staff with 22.2 innings of work and a 3.08 ERA.

Ethan Marihugh, a senior playing varsity baseball for the first time, is hitting .370 with 13 runs scored while playing second base and first, in addition to throwing seven innings with one earned run permitted.

“We’ve had a couple games where the bottom of the order has stepped up and won us a game, but for the most part if without three guys we’re in trouble,” related Hutchison, who coached Montpelier from 1997-2002 before returning to the helm in 2017.

A date against either Hicksville or Stryker looms ahead in D-IV tournament action on Thursday for Montpelier.

“We’ve got to hit,” Hutchison said about the keys to tournament success for his squad. “That’s one of the biggest concerns. Our pitching is solid and our defense is pretty solid … we’ve just got to hit. That was a concern going into the year, especially with missing last season, and it’s still the concern. We’ve got to hit.”

A Look Back At What Would've Been The 2020 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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