The Journal-Tribune has named an All-Area team for both high school baseball and softball.
This marks the first time the newspaper has named what many would call an all-county team in any sport in a number of years.
The Journal-Tribune named county teams in football and boys and girls basketball in years gone by.
The purpose is to honor local athletes who excelled in the two spring sports during the 2022 campaign.
The newspaper covers five area schools – Marysville, Fairbanks, North Union, Jonathan Alder and Triad – and we wanted to put at least one member of each school on the boys and girls teams.
Our goal was to be inclusive to all of the schools in our coverage area.
Here are our selections, plus a little background information on each athlete.
Baseball First Team
The All-Area Baseball Coach of the Year is Craig Kyle of Jonathan Alder.
-Pitcher: Jonathan Keith, senior, Jonathan Alder. Keith posted a 6-3 record with a 1.88 ERA. In 44 2/3 innings, he struck out 47 batters.
-Catcher: Tristan Burns, senior, Marysville. No season stats were available for Burns, who earned honorable mention in the Central District for Division I.
We did not name athletes to specific positions for the infield or outfield. We selected the four infielders and three outfielders we felt were the top players this year.
-Infield: Griffin Scheiderer, Marysville, freshman; Ayden Spriggs, Triad, senior; Nick Sowers, Jonathan Alder, senior; and Ryker Beaty, Fairbanks, senior.
Scheiderer also earned first-team honors in the Ohio Capital Conference and second team in the Central District. No season stats were available for him.
Spriggs finished with a .290 batting average with 13 stolen bases and nine RBIs.
Sowers hit .323 and drove in 14 runs. He also had 30 putouts and 35 assists.
Beaty hit .301 for the 2022 campaign with two homers and 17 RBIs.
He tallied 24 putouts and 39 assists.
-Outfield: Chase Maynard, Jonathan Alder, senior; Aaron Krebehenne, North Union, senior; and Hank Shoemaker, Jonathan Alder junior.
Maynard hit .373 for the season. He finished with a pair of homers and led the Pioneers with 21 RBIs.
Krebehenne tallied a .388 batting average with 10 ribbies and eight stolen bases.
Shoemaker notched a .355 batting average. He was right behind Maynard with 20 runs batted in.
Second Team Honors
Those named to All-Area Second Team include: pitcher Derek Bails of Triad; catcher Landon Converse
of North Union; infielder JR Thornton of Marysville; infielder Bruce Phelps of Fairbanks; infielder Gage Heitman of Triad; infielder Noah Bowers of Marysville; outfielder Nolan French of Marysville; outfielder Kamren Apt of North Union; outfielder Drue Instine of Triad.
Softball First Team
The All-Area softball Coach of the Year is Dave McGrew of Jonathan Alder.
Pitcher: Marlee Jacobs, Jonathan Alder senior. Jacobs, who pitched JA to the 2019 Division II state title as a freshman, got the Lady Pioneers back to the state championship game this year. She posted a 24-2 record as Alder finished as the state runner-up.
Catcher: Haley Winans, Marysville, junior. Winans finished with a .450-plus batting average and drove in 25 runs as the Lady Monarchs won a Division I district championship.
-Infield: Anna Higbee, Fairbanks senior; Danielle Robbins, Jonathan Alder senior; Abby Gindlesberger, Marysville senior; and Jada Davis, North Union junior.
Higbee hit .447 and tallied 22 RBIs. She also finished with a .955 fielding average.
Robbins blistered opposing pitchers for a .554 batting average. She also swiped more than 30 bases from her lead-off spot in the batting order.
Gindlesberger finished with a .450 batting average and had a fielding percentage of .940.
Davis hit .424 for the Lady Cats and drove in 23 runs during the regular season.
-Outfield: Abri Schmutz, Marysville junior; Lizzie Lombardi, Jonathan Alder senior; and Lilly Green, Triad sophomore.
Schmutz finished the season with a .379 batting average and swiped more than 20 bases.
Lombardi hit .288 with a home run.
Green, who also pitched for the Lady Cardinals, led Triad’s starters with a .467 batting average and had a .959 fielding percentage in the outfield.
Second Team Honors
Those named to All-Area Second Team include: pitcher Taryn Born of Marysville; catcher Kylie King Jonathan Alder; infielder Macy Kise of Fairbanks; infielder Grace Pyres of Fairbanks; infielder Jaden Phelps; infielder Evan Platfoot of Jonathan Alder; Outfielder Avery Henry of Marysville; outfielder Lilly Walker of Jonathan Alder; outfielder Kirsten Dolby of Jonathan Alder.