Hiland’s Nolan Yoder leads PBR Ohio’s All-State teams

On the heels of an historic season, a host of area baseball players added one more honor earlier this week.

A total of 23 players earned a mention in Prep Baseball Report Ohio’s All-State teams, which were announced Tuesday through the organization’s site and social media accounts.

Hiland’s Nolan Yoder led local honorees, earning co-Player of the Year honors in Division IV after helping the Hawks to their second state title in school history this past June.

Yoder did a little bit of everything for a Hiland team that finished the season with a 30-1 record. The pitcher/shortstop shared POY accolades with Lincolnview’s Dane Ebel after a season where he went 10-0 on the mound, posting a 0.11 earned-run average over 63 innings of work, and was one of the top hitters in the area with a .365 batting average, driving in 37 runs and scoring 38 times. Yoder also had 16 stolen bases and a .418 on-base percentage.

Including Yoder, eight area individuals earned first-team spots in their respective divisions as Blake Bowen (Wooster, D-I), Trey Barkman (Waynedale, D-III), Grant Schag (Triway, D-III), Jonah Carr (Rittman, D-IV), Isaak Yoder (Hiland, D-IV), Will Schlabach (Hiland, D-IV), Nolan Yoder (Hiland, D-IV) and Nick Kandel (Hillsdale, D-IV) all were listed among the top players in the state.

Bowen, who will continue his playing career at Kentucky next season, led the Generals to their first district championship since 1998 and swung a red-hot bat all season long to a tune of a .455 average, including four homeruns, 27 RBI, to go with an on-base percentage of .606.

The Golden Bears captured their second straight D-III state title, the first team in local history to win back-to-back crowns, thanks to the play of guys like Barkman. The Ohio University recruit went 7-1 on the mount with 0.65 ERA and 0.96 WHIP with 91 strikeouts. The senior also batted .361, driving in 31 runs and scoring 23 times.

Schag and the Titans advanced to the district finals and the sophomore infielder posted one of the top batting averages in the area (0.479) with 24 RBIs and 22 stolen bases as he had a .573 OBP.

The Hawks were well-represented in a loaded local contingent on the D-IV side. Isaak Yoder went 5-0 on the mound, recording a 0.90 ERA in 38⅔ innings pitched, while fellow pitcher Schlabach proved himself as one of the top power pitchers in D-IV, striking out an area-best 88 batters in 46 innings.

Carr and Kandel also were first teamers locally. Carr batted .506 on the year with seven doubles, four triples and four homers while driving in 30 runs and swiping 17 bases. Kandel was a two-way threat for the Falcons, fielding a .438 average with 42 hits, nine going for doubles with 25 RBIs, 32 runs scored and 18 stolen bases.

Along with five first-team selections, and the co-POY in Nolan Yoder, the D-IV list also included Hillsdale two-way player Jake Hoverstock (.422 avg., .495 OBP, 24 RBI, 35 runs; 47 2/3 innings pitched, 4-0, 1.47 ERA, 34K) earning second-team honors.

The honorable mention list featured Hillsdale’s Daniel Painter and Hiland’s Caden Coblentz, along with Dalton’s Jack Steiner and Seth Wyckoff.

Orrville catcher Brady Marshall was the lone area player to make the D-II list, picking up a second-team spot after batting .400 and posting a .491 OBP, which also featured 39 stolen bases.

Waynedale pitcher Otto Solorzano and Triway two-way threat Chad Harper both were tabbed as second-team selections in D-III. The left-handed Solorzano fanned 117 batters over 73 innings in posting a 10-4 record, while Harper was 8-3 as a pitcher with 77 Ks, along with hitting .448 for the Titans with 13 doubles and 24 RBIs.

The D-III honorable mention list included a host of Waynedale players with catcher Tristan Franks, infielder Timmy Short and outfielders Connor Gatti and Jayden Schlabach all making the list, along with Triway pitcher Simon Kitchen.

Wooster sophomore Brady Bowen was an honorable mention pick in D-I for his play on the mound and in the infield.

Many of the same players earned All-Ohio accolades from the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association last month as well.

Local selections from those teams can be found below:

Div. I: Blake Bowen (first team)

Div. II: Brady Marshall, Orrville (second team)

Div. III: Chad Harper, Triway (first team), Grant Schag, Triway (first team), Trey Barkman, Waynedale (second team)

Div. IV: Nolan Yoder, Hiland (Player of the Year, first team), Jonah Carr, Rittman (first team), Nick Kandel, Hillsdale (first team), Jake Hoverstock (second team), Jack Steiner, Dalton (second team), Seth Wyckoff, Dalton (second team), Colin Coblentz, Hiland (second team), Chris Dages, Hiland (Coach of the Year)

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Baseball: Hiland’s Yoder leads PBR Ohio’s All-State teams