HARWELLPHOTO.COM
Hurler Ryan Gaffney is 3-2 for the St. Vincent-St. Mary baseball team, riding a four-game winning streak.
Despite the miserable weather we have had in this part of the country, there is one college coach who is smiling and could care less.
He is the cat who swallowed the canary.
He is the coach who signed the star player – early. And now, as the player’s statistics mount, the decision to recruit and the signing look like a stroke of genius.
Veteran Saginaw Valley State baseball coach Walt Head must feel like he hit the lottery signing Medina senior left-hander Scott Sency back in December.
His prize recruit's batting and pitching numbers for the Bees (15-3) are even more impressive when you factor in the quality opponents he has faced in the Northeast Ohio Conference Valley Division.
Sency is hitting .422 (19-of-45) with team highs of 15 runs, 21 RBI and four home runs. Last week in two games against Brunswick, the 6-foot-1, pitcher-first baseman had nine RBI. But wait! There’s more. As one of the Bees’ aces, he is 4-0 on the bump with 53 strikeouts in 29 innings and a 2.41 ERA (through April 27). He fanned 16 Blue Devils in a contest last week.
Saginaw Valley, located in Michigan, plays in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).
One report had Ohio State getting involved late in Sency’s recruitment. From our vantage point, the scoreboard reads: Saginaw Valley State 1, Ohio State 0.
Senior class
Coach Nick Kaplack’s Medina Bees are taking aim at their fourth district title in seven years. With 11 seniors and the No. 1 seed in the Hudson Division I District, the Bees (15-3) look every bit the part.
Kaplack’s ballclub started its season in Florida and lost two of its first three games and then ripped off 12 straight wins before a loss to defending Division I state champion Lakewood St. Edward.
In addition to Sency, senior pitcher Matt Ellenbest is the team’s second-leading hitter (.412, three HRs) and carries a 4-0 mark on the mound with a 1.77 ERA.
The 6-foot-5 Ellenbest, who gave up basketball his senior year to focus on the diamond sport, has committed to Wabash Valley College in Illinois. WVC is renowned for developing players.
“It would be fun to watch them, if we didn’t have to play against them,” one Brunswick assistant coach said. “You can see they have a close-knit team and positive team chemistry. We are headed that way with a young team at Brunswick.”
It would be an understatement to say Kaplack and his coaching staff really having it going.
“Making memories – absolutely that’s what this is about,” Kaplack said. “Everybody always says, ‘Yeah, we’ve got great kids.’ When I say it, I’m saying it to the 10th power: We’ve got great kids. They are just good people. I’ll miss these guys a ton when they are gone.”
The Bees are scheduled to host Strongsville on Wednesday (May 4) at 4:30 p.m. in an NOC Valley Division showdown.
Comparing scores
This is one writer’s opinion, but powerhouse Medina could have a tricky game hosting Firestone in a sectional final on Wednesday, May 11. First the Falcons have to get past Copley on Tuesday, but if they do, whether or not coach Brad Lightfoot is able to conserve pitching will be important in trying to then upset Medina.
The Falcons (8-7) are a good club to be seeded No. 9 in the Hudson District. Firestone led state-ranked Walsh Jesuit 5-4 in the middle of the fifth inning before falling 8-5. The Falcons were credited with just three hits but chased touted Walsh junior starter Michael Marsinek.
Firestone, having recently lost a 5-4 decision to City Series rival Ellet, blitzed St. Vincent-St. Mary 11-0 on Apr. 21. The Irish have not lost since, including a 9-0 win over Massillon, giving the Tigers their first loss after 13 wins to open the season.
Speaking of the Irish (9-5), coach Anthony Boarman is one of our best contributors to SportsInk.com and is working to promote his players – and he’s got some good ones.
David Bowen (.415, 18 runs, 11 RBI), Sal Faetanini (.381, 15 runs) and Justin Dages (.370, 18 runs, 12 RBI) are the offensive catalysts for a St. V-M team poised to do some damage in the playoffs.
Boarman has two solid starting pitchers in Neal Edwards (3-1) and Ryan Gaffney (3-2).