LORAIN COUNTY SOFTBALL PREVIEW..........pg. 4 WEOL FORECAST MAGAZINE LORAIN COUNTY BASEBALL PREVIEW ..........pg. 7 SPRING 2017 PREVIEW A Publication of AM 930 WEOL LAKE ERIE CRUSHERS Volume 18 Issue 3 Hope on the Horizon after a Strong Finish....pg. 12 Station Manager Tim Alcorn CLEVELAND INDIANS Preview......................pg. 14 Editor BASEBALL SCHEDULES Matt Douglass LAKE ERIE CRUSHERS...................................pg. 11 Feature Writers CLEVELAND INDIANS....................................pg. 15 Tim Alcorn Andy Barch WEOL BROADCAST SCHEDULES Tim Gebhardt Joel Hammond KOLCZUN & KOLCZUN DIAMOND DUELS.....pg. 2 Todd Shapiro FROM THE DUGOUT .....................................pg. 15 Cover Design BozCorn Productions Publisher Source3Media About the Cover: Keystone’s Summer Constable is the 12th Lady Wildcat to capture the Lorain County Miss Softball award. In her senior season Constable hit .582 with 11 home runs, 28 RBIs and nabbed a team high 20 stolen bases. Her average was the fifth- highest mark in the history of the Keystone softball program. While at Keystone, The Wildcats Shortstop helped her team to a 104-20 record, four Patriot Athletic Stars Division titles, three district championships, two regional championships and a state semifinal appearance. Clearview’s Antonio Bennett had a dream senior season for the Clippers before being named 2016 Lorain County Mr. Baseball. At the plate the clippers shortstop hit .652 with 35 RBIs and 43 runs leading Clearview to an 18-5 record and a berth in the DII district semifinals. This spring you can find Bennett on the field at the University of Toledo where he is continuing his academic and baseball career. Spring 2017 Forecast Magazine 1 Welcome Letter, Spring 2017 A wise man once said, ‘baseball is the soundtrack of summer’. Yes, my co-host of the WEOL Morning Show, Bruce Van Dyke, uttered those words of few years ago, and they still ring true today. Welcome to the 2017 spring edition of FORECAST. Inside, you’ll get schedules and the low- down on baseball and softball, from the sandlots to the stadiums. WEOL AM 930 is proud to bring you Cleveland Indians baseball, select games of the Lake Erie Crushers, and a busy schedule for high school baseball and softball games from Lorain County. Thanks to all of our terrific sponsors who make these games possible along with the man- agers, coaches and players from the majors to the minors and high school ballfields. Play ball! Craig R. Adams Operations Manager/News Director WEOL AM 930 2 Spring 2017 Forecast Magazine Spring 2017 Forecast Magazine 3 2017 High School softball preview By Todd Shapiro both rankings Key- Lorain County softball fans are stone is second-high- some of the luckiest sports fans est ranked team from in the state of Ohio. outside the traditional Not only do they get to see warm weather states top-level tournament caliber where softball is a softball played at a ball field year-around sport. right in their back yard on an Senior third base- almost daily basis from late man Sammie Stefan, a March until deep into May, they University of Mary- also get the chance to follow land recruit and a one, or sometimes two, of their first-team National local teams along the tourna- Fast Pitch Coaches ment trail all the way to Akron, Association all-Ameri- the site of the Ohio High School can, is the Wildcats’ Athletic Association State Tour- all-team leading home nament on an annual basis. run hitter with 25 In 2016 Keystone made its home runs. Senior 16th appearance at the state pitcher Lauren Shaw, a tournament, crushing Hamilton University of Iowa Ross, 18-0 in the semifinal recruit, had a 23-3 before falling to Hebron Lake- record last year with a wood, 7-4, in the Division II 0.75 ERA, she also bat- state championship game. ted .360 with five Meanwhile, Amherst earned its home runs and 39 first trip to Akron, after winning RBIs. Keystone will have a its first district title since 1999, ANNA NORRIS / CHRONICLE and lost a 1-0, nine inning heart- couple of milestone Keystone team. wins long before post- breaker to Teays Valley in the season play starts. Keystone is fielder Sarah Miller and the by speedy junior center fielder Division I state semifinals. one win away from becoming pitching duo of senior Madison Macy Taylor and senior infielder Both schools are looking to the first program in Ohio with Spataro (10-1, 1.36 ERA) and Dierra Hammons, Elyria is look- make a return trip to Firestone 900 all-times wins and Wildcats sophomore Madison O’Berg (15- ing to repeat as Greater Cleve- Stadium, a number of other coach Jim Piazza is nine wins 5, 1.21 ERA) Amherst is hoping land Conference champions and local teams are looking to either away from win No. 400 in his 15- to repeat as both district and make it back to regionals. In stand in their way or punch their year career. Southwestern Conference cham- 2016, Avon and Midview were own ticket to Akron and AM - As impressive as Piazza’s 391 pions. the Comets’ biggest challengers 930 WEOL will be there every wins are, they are only enough to Coach Lacey Reichert’s team in the SWC and both teams step of the way. rank him third among active went 25-6 last season and in the looks to be strong again this Coming off a 28-5 season with coaches in Lorain County. Elyria Reichert’s first three years at the spring. 12 returning letter winners and Ken Fenik’s has 514 career wins helm of the Comets the team has The Middies are coming off of with nine Division I recruits on and new Vermilion coach Bill a 64-18 record. a 21-9 year, returning nine its roster, Keystone has attracted Mathews won 486 games. Elyria High used to be one of starters. Senior pitcher Lauren preseason attention well beyond The Amherst Comets are those teams that you could pen- Landers was fifth in Lorain the borders of the Buckeye State. another premier program in cil in for an annual trip to Akron, County in wins last season and The Wildcats were ranked No. Lorain County. With eight but since 2014 the Pioneers junior Gabby Shackelford (.417 15 in the USA today preseason returning starters including hon- haven’t made it out of districts. avg., 23 RBIs) orally committed Super 25 and No. 16 in the Max- orable mention all-Ohio out- With seven returning starters led Preps preseason Xcellent 50. In See SOFTBALL, 5 4 Spring 2017 Forecast Magazine elsewhere in the Stars Division. SOFTBALL Wellington returns junior all-dis- From 4 trict first baseman Hope Diermyer, who hit .427 last year. to Cleveland State after her The Dukes were Division III dis- sophomore year. trict semifinalists last year and Avon (18-7 in 2016) will be hope to be in position to make young this year but can count on another deep postseason run sophomore Tina Clark in the this spring. pitcher’s circle. Clark had 0.75 Black River is coming off of a ERA in her freshman year. Senior season in which it went 16-9 Dani Austinson will also share overall and 14-2 in the PAC and some of the pitching duties for is bringing back eight letter win- Avon. ners led by senior third baseman After a tough 2016 season Bailey Scheck (.356) and junior things can only get better for infielder Grace Spencer (.358). North Ridgeville in 2017. The Brookside and Firelands will Rangers return eight starters and be looking to take different have one of Lorain County’s best paths to the top of the standings. hitters in senior Addison Mease. Brookside, under the tutelage of Mease, a Tiffin University first-year coach Ken Collins, is a recruit, hit .547 with 31 stolen veteran team with 10 returning bases in her junior year. letter winners while Firelands Avon Lake only returns five will look to win with seven fresh- letter winners from last season man on its varsity roster. but coach Buzz Mullen always Over in the PAC Stripes Divi- finds a way to make the Shore- sion Columbia is looking to ANNA NORRIS / CHRONICLE gals competitive in the SWC. repeat as both league and Divi- Elyria’s Macy Taylor. While the Patriot Athletic Con- sion III district champions. The Mathews is the new head coach County’s only Division IV and ference Stars Division is tradi- Raiders return one of the at Vermilion. Mathews, who was only independent team, returns tionally Keystone’s private play- league’s best hitters in junior the head coach for three decades a pair of .400 hitters in junior ground, there is a lot of talent pitcher Allison Bouscher. at Amherst, takes over a Sailors pitcher Hannah Kardar and Bouscher hit .524 last year with team that returns senior pitcher infielder Lynsey Scheneman. five home runs. She also had a Becca Oates and senior catcher The highlight of the regular 1.78 ERA in the circle. Kennedy Shreve is they prepare season will be the Prebis Memo- Oberlin had one of its best for the first year in the Sandusky rial Classic. Seven Lorain County years in recent memory in 2016, Bay Conference. teams — Keystone, Elyria, Mid- going 16-12; and with its top hit- Another team with a new view, Amherst, Avon, Columbia ter, senior catcher Olivia Pfeifer coach is defending Great Lakes and Wellington — will take on (.471, 32 RBIs last year) and Conference champion Elyria some of the best teams from sophomore pitcher Bryanna Catholic. The Panthers have a across Ohio.