After months of covering high school baseball and softball, Sports Team 27 is unveiling the WKBN Diamond Kings. They are nine players that have broken school records, earned Division I college scholarships, and won State Championships. They are the players that have dominated our coverage, as well as the competition. The following is the WKBN Diamond Kings…Class of 2018:
Drake Batcho – Champion (Senior)
Drake Batcho is a WKBN Diamond King for the second straight season. The Cincinnati recruit posted a record of 5-1 this season, with a 0.58 ERA and 74 strikeouts. He also batted .474 at the plate with 23 RBI and three home runs for the Golden Flashes.
Kelsey Byers – West Branch (Senior)
Kelsey Byers was a force for the Warriors at the plate and in the circle. The Malone commit batted .387 with two homers and 25 RBI’s with 13 runs scored. Byers posted a pitching record of 13-3, tossing 120.1 innings with 176 strikeouts and a 1.22 ERA.
Marco DeFalco – Niles (Senior)
Marco DeFalco finishes his career at Niles with six school records. The YSU recruit finished with 71 strikeouts with three career no-hitters which is tops in the Red Dragons record book. He posted a record of 4-2 on the mound this season with a 2.54 ERA. He batted .363 with 19 runs scored and ten stolen bases.
Jake Gehring – South Range (Freshman)
Jake Gehring helped lead South Range to the first state title in school history. The freshman phenom won eight games with 91 strikeouts and an ERA of 0.85. He batted .306 with a team-high 26 RBI’s and sixteen runs scored.
Addy Jarvis – Mathews – Senior
Addy Jarvis finished her high school career with a nag this season. The YSU recruit batted .623 with nine home runs, 37 RBI’s with 34 runs scored. In the circle she tossed one perfect game with five no-hitters, posting a record of 17-3 and a 0.30 ERA with 278 strikeouts.
Sebastian Lay – Jackson-Milton (Senior)
No one has struck out more batters in a single season at Jackson Milton than Sebastian Lay. The Blue Jays senior racked up 140 this season, posting a record of 9-2 and a 0.70 ERA. Lay allowed just seven earned runs all season, and his streak of 25 plus consecutive scoreless innings is among the best in state history. Lay batted .433 this season at the plate.
Allison Smith – Champion (Sophomore)
For the second straight season, Allison Smith is a WKBN Diamond King. The Champion sophomore was a perfect 16-0 in the circle with 162 strikeouts. The Ohio State recruit also batted .474, and led the Flashes with 55 runs scored, 55 RBI, and 15 homeruns in route to their second straight State Championship.
Avrey Steiner – Lakeview (Senior)
The University of Illinois is getting a good one with Avrey Steiner. The Lakeview senior broke a school record with her 35-game hitting streak and .681 batting average. Steiner finished this season without a single strikeout, while driving in 16 runs with 38 runs scored.
Megan Turner – Champion (Senior)
Megan Turner is a three-time state champion, from Champion. The Kent State recruit batted .612 this season, knocked in 54 runs, and scored 54 times with twelve home runs which gained her Gatorade Ohio Softball Player of the Year honors. Turner will graduate with a school record 167 career RBI, and 38 homeruns, and a career batting average of .520.
