Generals roll into repeat appearance at baseball regionals

The Wooster baseball team had so much fun advancing to the regionals last year that they did it again.

This year’s Sweet 16 run is even more unlikely.

Wooster graduated the heart and soul of the school’s first regional baseball team in 25 years in seniors Blake Bowen and Elisha Steiner.

The Generals then dealt with inconsistent play and injuries this spring, had their three-year Ohio Cardinal Conference championship streak snapped, and faced a gauntlet in their Division I district tournament.

However, Wooster (21-6, 11-3 OCC) put it all together to avenge a 2023 regional loss against Medina with a 2-1 win and then beat Cleveland St. Ignatius 7-2 on its home field for the second straight year in the district title game.

“We feel like if we handle our business and play clean, we can play with anybody,” said Wooster coach Steve Young, whose team advanced to play Twinsburg in an Oberlin Regional semifinal on May 30. “We told our guys, ‘We don’t have to be the best baseball team. We have to be the best team for 21 outs.’ That was really our focus (in the district games) to just play every single out like it was the most important of our season because it really was.”

Wooster lost three OCC games in a row in April, then turned things around in a major way, winning 14 of its last 17 games including a 7-1 tuneup against Waynedale on May 28.

First-team All-OCC juniors Hayden Meese and Brady Bowen lead the Generals.

“(Meese is the) best defensive center fielder in the state,” Young said. “(He’s) highly deserving of all-state honors. He’s unbelievable to watch track fly balls, and he’s having a great year at the plate.”

The 5-foot-9, 165-pound Meese, who’s been electronically timed at 4.38 in the 40-yard dash, is a solid college prospect in baseball and football. He leads the Generals in batting average (.460, 40-87), triples (3), RBI (18), runs (29) and stolen bases (30).

“Definitely everyone sees St. Ignatius as the big dogs, but we like being the underdogs and we like the pressure,” Meese said. “We take that as motivation. We have great team chemistry, and we play for each other.”

Bowen is the staff ace with a 7-1 record and 1.17 ERA, recording 61 strikeouts and just 14 walks in 53 2 /3 innings pitched. He also plays shortstop or third base and is batting .322 with five doubles, a triple, nine stolen bases, 16 RBI and 20 runs.

In a conversation following the 2023 season, Young handed Bowen a home run ball that Medina’s Brennan Stobbs hit off him in a 5-0 regional semifinal loss to end the year. Bowen kept the ball in his bedroom and used it as motivation for nearly a year.

Bowen made the most with his chance for redemption as the winning pitcher against the Bees in the district semifinals. The Generals also avenged a no-hitter thrown at them by Owen Cavey in 2023 by handing the lefty the loss this time.

“I looked at coach (Young) in the last inning when the bases were loaded with two outs, and he mouthed ‘remember the ball,’” Bowen said. “It went through my mind again and motivated me.”

The 6-foot right-hander, who Young called one of the most competitive athletes he’s ever coached, induced a groundout to senior third baseman Will Tirakis and flyout to Meese to escape with the win.

Second-team All-OCC picks Sam Nielsen, a junior pitcher-first baseman, and freshman outfielder Aidan McMillan also came up big in the district.

Nielsen came on in relief of injured starter Kyle Oswald (3-2, 2.82 ERA) and notched the win against St. Ignatius with six strikeouts and two runs allowed in 5.1 innings.

The 6-2 lefty is 3-0 with a 1.78 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 19.2 innings. He’s second on the team with a .429 batting average including four doubles, two triples and one home run. He has 13 RBI, 21 runs and 10 stolen bases.

McMillan drew two walks and scored a run against Medina and had a single, run and RBI against St. Ignatius. The ninth-grader is third on the team in batting average at .355 with 17 RBI and 22 runs.

Earning honorable mention All-OCC honors were senior catcher Dylan Hudson (.288, six doubles, 17 RBI) and sophomore pitcher-infielder-DH Brian Lapp (.295, team-high seven doubles, 16 RBI).

Junior left fielder-pitcher AJ Likowski also has been a key player, batting .250 with 16 RBI, 26 runs and 14 stolen bases and going 3-2 with a 2.76 ERA. Junior infielder Ben Winge (.355) started strong before being sidelined with an injury, and freshman infielder Brock Bowen has made some key contributions.

Young thanked the team’s seniors — Hudson, Henry Wilds (second base), Jack Ritchie (pitcher), Ashton Still (pitcher) and Tirakis (infield) — for their leadership and selflessness.

Hudson said every pitch seems a lot more important in the tournament. “I love working with our pitchers,” Hudson said. “I try to make sure I’m always locked in, catching and framing every pitch.

“We’re all doing our part to keep it going.”