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Blue Devils comfortable in arms race
BERLIN CENTER
The road to a baseball state championship has been full of young arms for Western Reserve High School.
That’s expected to continue in the Blue Devils’ next-to-last hurdle in today’s Division IV state semifinal at Huntington Park in Columbus.
Their opponent, Hicksville High School, features two top-notch pitchers in its rotation with Western Reserve all but assured to see at least one of them.
Jake Greer, a 6-foot freshman, has been the one turning heads after throwing a complete-game, five-hitter in the Aces’ regional final win over Miller City. The other is junior Wes Perry. Both have a sub-2.00 ERA.
“From every indication, they have solid pitching, they have three or four good contact hitters and they play a lot of small ball,” Western Reserve coach Ed Anthony said.
“We know it’s gonna be a tough test. Any time you get down to this stage with the final four, they’re all deserving to be there”
But the Blue Devils (22-5) have a talented young gun of their own, who’s been knocking off higher-profile pitchers all postseason. Sophomore Wyatt Larimer moved to 7-0 and lowered his ERA to 1.15 in last Thursday’s regional semifinal win over New Riegel High School.
In the process, he out-dueled 6-foot-5 sophomore Michael Kirian, who is the No. 5 ranked prospect in the state and has already given the University of Louisville a verbal commitment.
Safe to say Larimer, and the Blue Devils, don’t read into hype.
“We kinda told [Larimer] that it’s one thing to be hyped up like that, and I’m not taking anything from that young man,” Anthony said of Kirian.
“I think that sophomore over there did an outstanding job and he’s gonna be something to reckon with the next couple years and he’s very deserving of those accolades.
“But we’re pretty proud of what we have. We’re now talking about a district final and a regional semifinal that [Larimer’s] outperformed probably even our expectations. He’s thrown a two-hitter, a three-hitter and a one-hitter.”
His most recent outing was the one-hitter that included seven strikeouts over six innings and just a single walk to New Riegel. His encore performance will be tonight on an even bigger stage.
“He’s undefeated,” Anthony said. “He’s not one of those kids that’s going to smoke it past you at 90 miles-per-hour, but he’s got good movement on his ball and good location. And he’s held us in these games.
“We’re going to need that again Thursday from him.”
Hicksville (19-10) can throw either pitcher in the semifinal and Western Reserve’s batters will have an extra feeling of comfort at the plate knowing Larimer doesn’t need much in the way of run support.
“It’s good to see a higher-level pitcher like that, especially since we beat him,” Blue Devils senior John Clegg said of Kirian.
“It’s just a comforting feeling that we beat two quality teams last week. We’re going to try and do it again this week.”
Western Reserve will be making its second appearance in the state tournament in as many years.
Hicksville will be making its third in school history, but first since 1982. The Aces won their only baseball state title in 1978.
But experience often only helps you up until the first pitch. After that, talent typically prevails.
“They played a hard schedule,” Clegg said. “They’re out there in western Ohio and they play good teams, so they’ll be tough.
“We’re going after them with the mindset we’re gonna win it all. But we gotta stay focused.”