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Liberty Union’s Jacob Miller leads list of 30 players to watch in the OHSAA baseball state tournament

Here are some of the best baseball players remaining in Ohio’s state playoffs, headlined by the MLB Draft prospect
Photo by Gabe Haferman

Photo by Gabe Haferman

There are 16 teams converging on downtown Akron this weekend, as the OHSAA holds its state tournament at Canal Park.

Here are some of the best players to keep an eye on as the state tournament plays out from Thursday to Saturday.

(Players are listed in alphabetical order)

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Brodey Acres, INF, Sylvania Northview

Leads the team in hitting at .424 and has eight doubles, four triples and four homers while driving in 24 runs on the season. The Walsh University commit has also stolen 16 bases.

Trey Barkman, RHP, Waynedale

The junior has posted a record of 9-1 this season with an ERA of 1.68. In the district final against Gilmour Academy, Barkman allowed just one run on seven hits and struck out seven in a 2-1 win. He backed that up in the regional semifinals with an 8-4 win over Youngstown Ursuline in which he went the distance and struck out five, his third complete game win of the postseason.

Dimitri Boumis, RHP/INF, Bishop Hartley

The Chatham University signee leads Bishop Hartley in hitting at .438. He also gets it done on the mound, and threw a four-hit shutout in a 5-0 win over Steubenville in the regional semifinals.

Blake Bradford, RHP/3B, Sylvania Northview

In the regional final against St. Ignatius, Bradford went the distance and allowed just six hits in a 6-1 win to improve to 7-0 on the season. At the plate, he is hitting .321 with five home runs and 23 RBI.

Dane Ebel, RHP, Lincolnview

He is 6-0 this season with 110 strikeouts and 20 walks. In the regional semifinal against Leipsic, he allowed just six hits and struck out 10 in an 8-1 complete game victory.

Brenden Garula, LHP, Mason

The University of Cincinnati commit threw a two-hitter to defeat Moeller in the regional finals. In the sectional finals, he struck out 17 hitters in a perfect game win over Western Brown. He is 9-0 with a 1.92 ERA on the season. He is also hitting .365 with three homers and nine doubles.

Emmett Gillies, RHP/OF, Bishop Hartley

The Akron commit is 7-0 with a 1.41 ERA and 92 strikeouts and struck out 12 in a 5-2 win over Washington Court House in the regional semifinals. Gillies, who had a three-hit shutout in sectionals and a six-hitter in the district semis against Jonathan Alder, is also hitting .346 and has five doubles and a homer.

Christian Hall, RHP/3B, Chardon

In his first full season in three years, the Alcorn State commit is the leading hitter for the Hilltoppers with a .431 average. On the mound, he is 4-2 with a 1.85 ERA. In a 4-1 win over Chagrin Falls in the regional semifinals, he gave up just four hits and struck out five.

Jake Hanley, 1B, Mason

The sophomore has hit .340 this season with 21 extra-base hits, including three homers. The Indiana University commit has driven in 47 runs for the Comets.

Nolan Holmgren, C, Archbishop Hoban

The senior is hitting .364 with three homers, nine doubles and 23 RBI for the defending Division II state champions. The Marshall University commit made a critical tag at the plate to help Hoban defeat Tiffin Columbian in the regional final.

Keegan Holmstrom, LHP, Grove City

The sophomore has just one loss in his two seasons of high school baseball. The Ohio State University commit picked up his 14th career win with a shutout over defending champion New Albany 2-0 in the regional finals. He allowed just three hits in the victory.

Noah LaFine, RHP, Archbishop Hoban

The Vanderbilt University commit has backed up his excellent freshman season by going 5-2 with a 3.03 ERA and one save. He has experience pitching at Canal Park, as he started the Division II state championship game last season and allowed just five hits and one run in six innings while striking out seven. He also picked up the win in the state semifinals, where he pitched in relief and threw 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up just one hit and striking out three.

Drew McKenna, SS, Chargin Falls Kenston

The junior led the Bombers with a .412 batting average this season and had 12 extra-base hits and 27 RBI. In a 4-1 win in the district final over Willoughby South, McKenna hit a three-run walk-off homer.

Eli Morris, RHP/2B, Newark Catholic

In the district final against Cardington, Morris went the distance on the mound and scattered seven hits in the 4-2 win. And then in the regional semifinals against Lucasville Valley, he again went the distance and allowed just one run in a 6-1 win. He allowed six hits in the game and carried a shutout into the seventh. He also had three hits and two RBI in the regional semifinal.

Jacob Miller, RHP, Liberty Union

In three postseason games, the Louisville signee and MLB Draft prospect has allowed just three total hits and struck out 46 hitters and didn’t allow a single earned run. He is 8-0 this season with an ERA of just 0.26 ERA. In 52 innings pitched, he has recorded 123 strikeouts and given up only two earned runs. In 166 career high school innings pitched, he has 372 strikeouts.

Parker Munday, LHP, Chargin Falls Kenston

In nine appearances on the mound this season for the Bombers, Munday went 4-0 with an ERA of 0.93. In the regional final against Walsh Jesuit, the junior went the distance and allowed just one run on six hits and struck out six batters.

Michael Murphy, P/3B, Mason

The junior is 5-1 on the mound with a save and an ERA of 0.80. At the plate, he is hitting .361 with three homers and 43 RBI.

Jimmy Nugent, C, Hamilton Badin

The Penn State signee has hit over .300 and has three homers and 35 RBI this season for the Rams.

Nick Palm, SS, Tiffin Calvert

The junior leads the team with a .493 average and has driven in 16 runs while collecting 11 extra-base hits. In the districts and regionals, he hit .500 with two doubles and four RBI.

Shawn Parnell, SS/P, Archbishop Hoban

The senior is hitting .345 with three homers and eight doubles while driving in 25 runs. In the district semifinals, the University of Cincinnati commit hit a two-run inside-the-park home run to give Hoban a 6-4 lead over Bay in a game they eventually won 6-5. On the mound, he is a critical part of the Knights’ bullpen.

Landon Price, LHP, Lincolnview

The Ohio State University commit has four wins in the postseason this year and has struck out 46 hitters in 24 postseason innings. In the regional final against Antwerp, he carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and finished with 15 strikeouts. He was named the Ohio High School Coaches Association Player of the Year for Division IV.

Eric Rawlings, RHP, Hamilton Badin

The senior is a perfect 10-0 on the season with an ERA of 0.52. In the regional final against Buckeye Valley, he went the entire six innings and allowed just one hit in the 11-1 win.

Noah Samol, LHP, Mason

After not pitching last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, the Georgia Tech commit is back to form this year, posting a 6-1 record with 1.40 ERA and has struck out 78 hitters in 40 innings pitched.

Grant Saunders, RHP, Russia

Despite dealing with an injury, Saunders has turned it on in the postseason. In the district final against Cincinnati Christian, he pitched six innings and gave up two earned runs on four hits while striking out 10 batters. Then in the regional final against Southeastern, he went the distance and gave up two earned runs on five hits and one walk while striking out 10 batters in a 6-2 win.

Thomas Simon, LHP, Milan Edison

After a junior year where he was 8-1 with a 1.21 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 52.2 innings pitched, Simon is 7-1 with an ERA of 1.57 this season and was named the District’s Division III Player of the Year. At the plate, he has hit nearly .400 on the season.

Otto Solarzano, RHP, Waynedale

The sophomore is 9-1 on the season with an ERA of 1.17. Against Manchester in the district semifinals, he went the distance and allowed just one hit in a 2-1 win. Then in the regional final against Hawken, he again went the distance and allowed just three hits while striking out 12 in an 8-2 win.

Jake Tschida, LHP/OF, Roger Bacon

The senior has 11 extra base hits including a pair of homers this season and has driven in a team-high 25 runs. On the mound, he is 3-2 and his best outing came in the district semifinals against Madeira, where he threw six innings and struck out 12 hitters while allowing three unearned runs on just three hits in a 4-3 win.

Landyn Vidourek, SS, Hamilton Badin

The University of Cincinnati commit is hitting .365 with 15 RBI this season and has stolen 18 bases after returning from a broken hand that he sffered during football season. Last year, he hit .337 with 25 RBI and 30 steals.

Jon Wheeler, RHP/SS Liberty Union

While Jacob Miller gets the headlines, Wheeler has been an exceptional No. 2 in the Liberty Union rotation. Wheeler is 7-1 with a 1.02 ERA and has struck out 59 hitters in 50 innings.  He leads the team at the plate, hitting .451 with four doubles, 14 RBI and 19 runs.

Garrett Zimmerman, RHP, Sylvania Northview

He has eight wins on the season with an ERA of 1.61. In his last outing, he fired a four-hitter against Anthony Wayne in a 5-1 win in the regional semifinals. 

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