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I have been very fortunate to be around the Warren Local Baseball team as more than a casual observer since 2004. The Warriors have put high quality teams on the field almost every one of those seasons. WHS baseball players always step on the field with some of the best fundamentals around. Some of the stars on those teams have been outstanding ball players.

Here are some of my favorites over the years (forgive me if I am off on graduating year):

2004- Zach Welch...unbelievable fielding skills and great bat.

2005- Josh Beebe...see above!! Possibly the best arm from the outfield I have seen. Beat Athens in a sectional game on a 3-0 pitch GrandSlam in last at-bat. Coach Bradford said if you are going to swing at that pitch it better clear the pines...it did.

2006- Cody Welch...Power, power, power and great glove.

2006- Alex Barth...In my opinion the most complete player I have watched. Batting, fielding, base running, pitching. Nothing he couldn't do. Scored from 2nd on an infield grounder in District semifinal game against Jackson...you had to see it to understand how incredible it was.

2007- Tyler Wynn...Hardest working high school baseball player you will ever find. Great pitcher and could flat out hit with power. Destroyed Marietta with 3 HRs and 10 RBI in ONE game. 120+ career hits.

2007- Garrett Proctor..."Whatever you need coach" type player. Would play anywhere and play it well. My favorite memories of G are from little league...but that's a story for another time. 90+ hits

2007- Ethan Bonnette...Toughest kid I have ever met. All out-all the time. Great leadoff man. Came within 1 HBP from state record. Would take ball 4 in the knee just to be sure. Stood stone still on a pitch that hit him in the mouth against rival Marietta. Could run down anything in the outfield.

2008- Daniel Wagner...All time wins leader at WHS. Lived for the "Big Game".

2009- Tyler Spence...Little guy with great fundamentals. Consistent, was going to be on base 3+ times a game. Patient, would rarely swing until he had 2 strikes, wore pitchers out. 100+ hits and 55+ walks.

2010- Zach Heath...Moved here as a sophomore and proved his worth with game winning hit against Marietta. Great bat and great pitcher.

2011- Tyler Proctor...Mr Baseball. Could do it all, pitch, field and hit. Fun to watch TP play. My favorite memory of him was when he was 6 and played with a 9 year old All-star team for a game to field a team. Didn't realize he shouldn't be there...knew he was going to be special.

2012- Landon Kern...Ultimate backstop behind the plate and great hitter. Going to have a great Senior season.

Some of the opponents I remember:

Marietta: Nate and Ryan Eschbaugh, Evan Brockmeier...Had the pleasure of Coaching Evan in Pony League. One of my favorite players. Wasn't ever going to back down.

Belpre: Jordan Thornhill

Fort Frye: Tyler Engle and Tyler Stevens

Federal Hocking: Tyler Chadwell and Tyler Thompson

Zanesville: Alex Cultice, Cory Swope, JT Bunting

Gallia Academy: Austin King

Jackson: Jarod Humphries

Court House: Tyler Penwell

Nice post Cap'n.

You left out Chris Hendricks, was he pre-2004?

OSUsucks wrote:You left out Chris Hendricks, was he pre-2004?

Not sure, Z Welch is the only one I remember from that season. I really got into it the following year. Hendricks was another great one though.

Nice Post Capn..... Lots of Great memories there....I remember most all the games you posted about.... Too Bad it all goes so fast.....

warriorfan79 wrote:Nice Post Capn..... Lots of Great memories there....I remember most all the games you posted about.... Too Bad it all goes so fast.....

There were lots of great baseball games through the years. Just about any of the games with Marietta were exciting. Same with Gallia, Coach Corvin always brought a quality team to the field. Beating Fed Hock when they were ranked 4th in the state was a good one. Destroying eventual WV State Champion Magnolia was awesome. The Games with Zanesville were epic battles...wow, talk about great baseball. The 2 district championship losses to Court House were tough to swallow but still were 2 of the best high school games I have seen.

Man, I miss those days!

Cap'n,

Yep, lots of great memories for me also....with The B-L American Legion team. Most of the guys mentioned had outstanding seasons with Legion BB.

Winning the 2006 State tournament, several Dist 11 Championships, and beat that Antill coached Cambridge team nearly every year.

ps, I remember Josh Beebe helped Marietta College win the Div.III World Series the same year he helped B/L win the Legion State Tourney.

Most of these players went on to play College baseball.

Rickoshay, I really miss the Legion Games too. I'm an addict to "Quality" high school baseball.

One name I Just remembered is Seth Dawes from Chillicothe.

And Landon Kern, he has developed as an all around excellent player to go along with his catching game.

Pretty sure he'll be elgible to play Legion ball again this summer.

Stop by The Fort Frye field and check out the new bigger pro-style backstop just installed.

Some other names I just remembered:

Athens- Steven Eberts and Jared Cline

Vinton County- Andy Grillo

Warren had some of its greatest program success under Jeff Bradford. Many great teams under his watch.

There are a few players that I think need mentioning.

2001-Casey Duvall
Bradford himself called him Mr.May for his exploits down the stretch. He won 7 straight decisions in April in May including tournament wins over Meigs, Vinton County, Athens, and Circleville. Duvall got a no decision in one of the craziest games in Warren baseball history the district finals loss to Scioto Northwest 4-3 in 9 innings. The game featured two rain delays and one venue change from Ross county park to the VA in chillicothe. Duvall went the first 5 before delay number one and didn't factor in the decision.

2002-Chris Hendricks
Made a great transition from behind the plate to the outfield in his final season. Utilized his speed and natural instincts to garner all league honors and did virtually everything necessary to win games. Stole bases, played excellent defense, and provided much needed leadership in Bradford's second season. Brought that same attitude to Marietta College where he was an instrumental cog in the national championship season of 2006.

There were many more names to mention, but felt those two from the Bradford era needed mentioning.

Thanks for the info. That was before I got into Warren baseball but I do remember the names.