When you’ve thrown 44 straight scoreless innings, people start to notice.
Wapakoneta Redskins southpaw Johnny Crawford received that notice when the All-Western Buckeye League baseball and softball honors were released Tuesday.
Crawford was the lone Redskins baseball player to be selected to the first team. The junior pitcher has not given up a run since a 7-2 win over Greenville on Tuesday, March 27.
In a twist, Greenville has forfeited all of its wins from the 2012 season for using an ineligible player. It is not known how the forfeits will affect the games it lost or if official statistics will be changed.
Regardless, Crawford has dominated in WBL games, not allowing a single run. He carried that run into the postseason with shutout wins over Elida and Tiffin Columbian.
In softball, Carli Sammons and Renee Lovett earned first-team honors.
Sammons and Lovett rotated back-and-forth between pitching and second base all season. Sammons had already established herself as a solid pitcher in the league. And Lovett showed tremendous progress throughout the season, adding a devastating changeup to her arsenal.
Also earning All-League honors in baseball were Alex Koch (second team), Brandon Schreiber (third team) and Josh Apple (honorable mention).
The Redskins’ lead-off batter, Koch has been one of the most consistent hitters on the team this season. The junior has played virtually flawless defense at second base.
Schreiber leads the team in walks by almost a two-to-one margin and has earned a reputation as a tough catcher to steal against.
At shortstop, Apple joins Koch to form one of the most formidable center infields in the league.
In softball, senior Ashley Knippen was voted to the second team. It was a fitting tribute to one of the best stories of the season after Knippen suffered a knee injury in October and willed her way back into the lineup before the start of the season. She also made the difficult transition from playing center field to shortstop mid-season.
Senior Marcie Grothause earned third-team honors. Grothause showed tremendous improvement since her junior season and became one of the Redskins key contributors.
Earning honorable mention were senior first baseman Courtney Knippen and junior catcher Kati Sawmiller.
ALL-WBL TEAMS
BASEBALL
Player of the Year
Anthony Kidston Def 12
Coach of the Year
Tom Held Def
FIRST TEAM
Name School Gr.
Anthony Kidston Def 12
JOHNNY CRAWFORD W 11
Robert Zeigler Def 11
Casey Schroeder O-G 12
Mackenzie Hampshire Eli 12
Cory Wilder Sha 11
DJ Manning SM 12
Derek Waterman Cel 12
Matt Wise Bath 12
Joe Gentile Def 12
Joey Hurless VW 11
SECOND TEAM
Name School Gr.
ALEX KOCH W 11
Jacob Moore Def 12
Michael Huber SM 12
Brice Fackler Ken 12
Sam Altenbach Sha 12
Dalton Martz Eli 12
Tyler Zender O-G 10
Cody Vogel Cel 10
Kyle Miller Sha 12
Caleb Norton Bath 11
THIRD TEAM
Name School Gr.
Shea Murray Def 12
Cody Bockrath O-G 11
BRANDON SCHREIBER W 11
Brad Sawmiller SM 12
Aric Fickert Cel 11
Colin Gossard Bath 10
Nick Vogel SM 12
Brant Henry VW 9
Tyler Batt Def 12
Trey Runneals Sha 12
HONORABLE MENTION
Name School Gr.
Keaton Sullivan Bath 12
Kyle Berry Cel 11
Dom Romero Def 11
Jacob Porter Eli 11
Kasey Rawlins Ken 12
Jake Hashberger O-G 11
Casey Mulcahy Sha 11
Steven Paulus SM 12
JOSH APPLE W 11
Andrew Todd VW 11
SOFTBALL
Player of the Year
Camille Martin Bath 11
Co-Coaches of the Year
Laura Ford Bath
Nicole Driggs Celina
FIRST TEAM
Name School Gr.
Camille Martin Bath 11
Kimmy Reynolds Bath 10
Alexis Zacharias Cel 9
Kaity Kuhn Cel 10
Kylee Bader Cel 11
Jackie Stalder Ken 12
Harle Smith SM 12
Britt Lauck Sha 11
CARLI SAMMONS W 11
RENEE LOVETT W 10
SECOND TEAM
Name School Gr.
Amber Mosley Bath 12
Mary Deppe Bath 12
Leah Rose Cel 11
Jenn Eilerman Eli 12
Morgan Goecke Ken 11
Hayley Kitchen O-G 12
Mo Truxal Sha 12
Shelby Lucas Sha 11
ASHLEY KNIPPEN W 12
THIRD TEAM
Name School Gr.
Lydia Hammer Bath 11
Katie Kerr Cel 11
Emily Gallant Def 11
Sabrina Kline Eli 9
Molly Closson O-G 11
Kiley Schamp SM 12
Liz Aller Sha 12
Brittany Bigham VW 11
MARCIE GROTHAUSE W 12
HONORABLE MENTION
Name School
Julia Miller Bath
Hillary Heiby Cel
Kathryn Riehle Def
Caitie Shroyer Eli
Gwen Downing Ken
Stephanie Hempfling O-G
Lexi Roop SM
Sam Bullock Sha
Maggie Almandinger VW
COURTNEY KNIPPEN W
KATIE SAWMILLER W
