All-Ohio Baseball: Medina's Mark Kelly named D-I coach of the year

Medina County was well-represented when the All-Ohio baseball teams were released by the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association. Medina's Mark Kelly took home the most significant award, being named Division I Coach of the Year. The Bees' Luka Pagura and Joey Johnson were on the D-I first team, while Highland's Casey Myser was a D-III first-team choice. They were far from the only honorees, as Medina's Lincoln Briggs was on the D-I second team, Highland's Peyton Ganda and Buckeye's Scott DiMarco were D-III second-team choices and Brunswick's Elijah Poindexter was honorable mention in D-I. Kelly piloted the Bees to their second regional finals appearance in his three seasons, finishing with a 24-6 record and Greater Cleveland Conference championship. Medina is 64-25 under Kelly, a Norton native who also went 50-34 and won the first league title in school history at Cloverleaf before joining the Bees. Pagura earned a reputation for clutch hitting, batting .425 with 30 RBIs and 13 extra-base hits. The first baseman led the team with five RBIs during the postseason. Johnson found himself all over the Medina County leaderboards with a .434 average, 13 extra-base hits, 32 RBIs and 35 runs. He also had a .947 fielding percentage as the primary second baseman. Myser had a breakthrough season for the Hornets, leading the county in batting average (.508), on-base percentage (.620), slugging percentage (.814) and OPS (1.430) while helping the school win the Suburban League American Conference. The outfielder also was a first-team All-Ohioan in football. Briggs was a two-way performer for Medina, batting .380 while also patrolling the outfield and boasting a 1.27 ERA as a high-leverage reliever. DiMarco was the heart and soul of Cleveland West Conference champion Buckeye, batting .415 while leading the county with five home runs and 35 runs and playing quality defense at second base. The Cincinnati recruit also went 6-0 with an area-best 0.88 ERA. Ganda, a talented defensive catcher headed to Tiffin, batted .448 and was second in the county with a .571 on-base percentage. He also led the area with four saves. Poindexter was the top power hitter for the Blue Devils, boasting a .363 average, nine extra-base hits and tying for the team lead with 25 RBIs. Only players whose coaches are members of the OHSBCA are eligible to be named All-Ohio. Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com.