Eastwood senior relief pitcher Andrew Badenhop delivers a pitch during a district semifinal game against Coldwater on May 23 at Elida High School. Badenhop is on the mound this summer for the Pemberville Post 183 Steam baseball team. (Scott W. Grau | Sentinel-Tribune)
By Nicholas Huenefeld
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
PEMBERVILLE — Local fan favorite Pemberville will begin postseason play on Thursday as Chopper Schmeltz Field at Post 183 Ballpark hosts the four-team American Legion district tournament.
“I think it’s probably going to be one of the most competitive district tournaments we’ve had in a while,” second-year head coach Jacob McNulty said. “It seems like seeing all of us play each other, we kind of beat up on each other a little bit.”
The Pemberville Post 183 Steam (7-8-3) will open the tournament on Thursday night at 7 p.m. against Findlay. Napoleon faces Ottawa at 7 p.m. on Friday in the other winner’s bracket semifinal.
Tournament play continues on Saturday before the championship game on Sunday at noon. The if necessary game of the double-elimination tournament would take place at 3 p.m.
During the regular season, Pemberville split with Findlay and defeated Napoleon once. They fell twice to Ottawa, which split with Napoleon. Findlay has beaten Napoleon, and Ottawa took down Findlay.
“This year, it’s been about parity,” McNulty said. “Really, it’s going to come down to has the most pitching on Sunday because there doesn’t seem to be a team to beat this year. It seems like everyone is right there with each other. It’s anyone’s tournament.”
Pemberville’s roster is littered with kids of an Eastwood background, including Connor Norton, Bryce Miller, Brandon Falls, Tristan Schuerman, Andrew Badenhop, Xander Greulich, Jack Sensenig, Drew Kachmarik and Paul Lautzenheiser.
“Tristan seems to be the catalyst,” McNulty said. “When he’s there, he leads off the game. He fields everything in center. When he leads off the game, he gets on.”
Ryan Wagner and Aiden Young, who recently led Lake to an appearance in the state championship game, are also on the roster along with Elmwood’s Luke Armbruster and Rossford’s Landen Reiter.
Other players include Chase Dussel of Lakota and Garret Perkins of Oak Harbor, along with Carson Wilkins, Kale Wilkins and Jase Kennedy of Clay.
Schuerman, who hit .368 with 76 runs as a freshman for Owens Community College this past spring, is one of several college guys on the team. Kale Wilkins also played his first year at Owens, batting .439.
“Being able to pull those guys has helped tremendously,” McNulty said. “The fact that we can have 19-year-olds playing legion baseball is huge not only for having numbers to play, but it just gives these guys a place to play, where they may otherwise have to drive (a distance).
“Having them at least helps them through their freshman season and gets them ready for their sophomore year. Plus, they can show the younger guys that this is the road they can take to make it to the next level.”
Outside of those two, Dussel is heading to Heidelberg, Kennedy plays at Lourdes, Greulich is going to Heidelberg, and Young will play at Terra State.
“Chase has done everything that I’ve needed him to do. He played short at Lakota. With Kale being our shortstop, he plays second. I’ve never heard a complaint.”
Pemberville has battled low numbers in the recent past, including last year when the team had to bow out of the district tournament due to a lack of players, although that tournament was in Ottawa.
“Last year, I think that was one of the biggest issues,” McNulty said. “Ottawa was an hour drive for me. I’ve got three or four kids from Clay so that’s an hour and a half for them. Pemberville isn’t a short distance for them either, but it’s a lot closer than Ottawa.”
Napoleon has captured the past two district championships. This year, they’ve experienced turnover from previous teams, but feature six kids from Napoleon’s regional finalist team this past spring.
The winner of this weekend’s district tournament advances to state play July 26-30 at Beavers Field in Lancaster. The team that comes out of there will play in the Great Lakes Tournament at Lee Pfund Stadium’s Legion Field in Carol Stream, Ill. on Aug. 7-11.
The American Legion World Series takes place at Keeter Stadium in Shelby, N.C. Aug. 15-20. That event will be featured on ESPN.
