High school baseball: Talented quartet picks up All-Lorain County top honors

A group of four seniors who excelled at different positions, played in different conferences and will be playing college baseball at different levels now share one thing in common. They're the 2024 Lorain County players of the year. Elyria catcher Isaac Ramos earned Division I Player of the Year honors when the Lorain County Baseball Coaches Association released its voting. Keystone pitcher Brock Miller and Elyria Catholic's Eastern Michigan bound center fielder Anthony Hutter shared the honor in Division II while Open Door shortstop Tyler Reaser's record-breaking season earned him the Division III-IV award. Reaser hit for a school-record .628 average with 22 doubles and three home runs. His 58 steals were fourth-most in a season in Ohio High School Athletic Association history and his 142 career steals rank in the top five. "He just had a phenomenal year, he's just like a hitting machine," said Dennis Reaser, Open Door's coach and Tyler's father. "His numbers this year were just incredible. Baseball is a game of ups and down and sometimes you get in a funk or a slump but he was consistent all year." Reaser, who will continue his baseball career next year at the University of Mount Union, hit safely in 23 of 24 games and had 22 multihit games. "I just go out there and do everything I can to try to win the game," Tyler Reaser said. "It's means a lot to me to leave Open Door with my legacy and the record I set. I know it will push other guys coming up who will see those records and work hard to try to beat them." Of all of his records, Reaser said he is most proud of the batting average mark because it shows "consistency in putting the ball in play and not striking out." Miller is a two-time Player of the Year, winning the award in Division III-IV last season before the Wildcats made the jump to Division II. "Brock was the hardest working guy all of the time, he loves the game and wants to get better at it," Keystone coach Bert Fitzgerald said. "He's been our leader really almost since he came on the scene as a freshman. I really never saw leadership quality from a freshman like I saw from Brock. He always played baseball the way it is supposed to be played." Miller, who was 5-1 on the mound with a 1.81 earned run average and 71 strikeouts, also batted ,393 with a home run and 16 RBIs. "I thought I had a great year. I feel like I played a bigger role, I pitched in the more important games and must-win games," said Miller, who will play at Cuyahoga Community College next year. "My coaches trusted me and whatever I did to get ready for a game they were 100 percent behind me. They trusted me and believed in me. That gave me so much confidence and the freedom to be comfortable with myself." Coming off an All-Ohio season, Hutter committed to Eastern Michigan prior to his senior year. Many would think that having his college plans settled prior to the start of the season would have allowed Hutter to play free and easy but Hutter said that wasn't the case. "I started off pretty rough, I put some extra pressure on myself and I tensed up," Hutter said. "After the first six games I realized I was playing baseball because I loved the sport not because of the hype or all of the other stuff. That allowed me to relax and we had a great year as a team after that." Hutter finished hitting .437 with six doubles and had eight stolen bases. "Anthony was a four-year starter and he's going to a D-I school so that's the type of ball player he is," Elyria Catholic coach Bruce Lisicky said. "When he was on and hot that was how our team rolled. We followed his lead. He was always a big part of all of our success." Ramos hit .446 for the Pioneers this season with three triples, a home run and 33 stolen bases, but his most impressive stat came from his work behind the plate where he threw out 38 opposing runners, an average of over 1.5 a game. "I don't think there's any words to describe what Isaac meant to the team this season," Elyria coach Jordan Connell said. "He was a leader, he worked hard every single day. He was coachable. I have never seen a kid that was so skilled and knowledgeable but was still willing to get coached. He was just amazing." When Ramos, a University of Findlay commit, shed his catchers gear he could be found on the mound, where he went 3-2 with a 2.81 ERA and 31 strikeouts in five starts. "I really never hit above .250 in my high school career so hitting over .400 this year was a big deal for me," Ramos said. "It showed what I was capable of and I was glad I could get it done. "I worked hard this year and didn't allow myself to get frustrated. I have a lot of confidence going into college because I showed I really have what it takes to play at the next level. And this year made me hungry to want more and be the best I can be." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. DIVISION I FIRST TEAM PITCHERS: Brody Papay, Avon; David Moore, Midview; Nicky Mealey, North Ridgeville POSITION: Caleb Melendez, Amherst; Henry Isaacs, Amherst; Jacob Schliesser, Amherst; Ryan Sudbrook, Avon; Jason Gillespie, Avon; Hayden Blosser, Avon Lake; Isaac Soloff, Avon Lake; Isaac Ramos, Elyria; Derek Encarnacion, Lorain; Kaiden Vogelpohl, Midview; Spencer Mueller, Midview; Gannon Padgett, North Ridgeville HONORABLE MENTION: Anthony Heikkinen, Amhert; Cael Charles, Amherst; Landon Wolf, Amherst; Joey Griffiths, Avon; Colten Fitch, Avon; Kyle Ritter, Avon Lake; Nate Haven, Avon Lake; Neeko Spicer, Elyria; Maurice Stone, Elyria; Anthony Rosa, Lorain; Shane Hargreaves, Lorain; Tracy Hough, Lorain; Joey Melendez, Midview; Mateo Lopez, Midview; Jordan Smith, Midview; Zakery Jockel, Midview; Simon Stefancin, North Ridgeville; Manny Ramos, North Ridgeville PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Isaac Ramos, Elyria COACH OF THE YEAR: Ryan Morgan, Midview DIVIAION II FIRST TEAM PITCHERS: Riley Kearns, Vermilion; Kyle Fairbanks, Elyria Catholic POSITION: Ryan Younglas, Keystone; Alex Sayers, Keystone; Bowdy Todd, Keystone; Brock Miller, Keystone; Anthony Hutter, Elyria Catholic; Noah Willett, Elyria Catholic; Sammy Zambataro, Elyria Catholic; LJ Hurlbut, Elyria Catholic; Cody Schwarek, Vermilion; Logan Peterson, Vermilion; Xavier Brown, Brookside; Tony Poyle, Firelands HONORABLE MENTION: Victor Vilchez, Keystone; Nathan Seguin, Elyria Catholic; Lukas Rivera, Brookside; Nick Arra, Brookside; Joey Polenske, Brookside; Evan Kuhns, Vermilion; Will Matheson, Vermilion; Nate Draga, Firelands; Liam Varndell, Firelands; Niko Gotsis, Firelands; Christopher Radman, Firelands CO-PLAYERS OF THE YEAR: Brock Miller, Keystone, and Anthony Hutter, Elyria Catholic COACH OF THE YEAR: Bert Fitzgerald, Keystone DIVISIONS III and IV FIRST TEAM PITCHERS: Kody Hall, Columbia; Jacob Sanders, Columbia POSITION: Ayden Cruz, Clearview; Anthony Ruiz, Clearview; Carter Duley, Columbia; Logan Menge, Columbia; Justin Smith, Columbia; Julian Anderson, Oberlin; Drew Walter, Oberlin; Ben Comer, Open Door; Tyler Reaser, Open Door; John Kinter, Wellington HONORABLE MENTION: Xavier Rivera, Clearview; Sean Mettler, Clearview; Jose Rivera, Columbia; Colton Schmidt, Columbia; Elliott Hart, Columbia; Ehab Abuhamda, Oberlin; Jackson Cikalo, Oberlin; Jacob Godby, Open Door; Charlie Murphy, Open Door; Thomas Perris, Open Door PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Tyler Reaser, Open Door COACH OF THE YEAR: Dan Durante, Columbia