Ceramic baseball players building for future

CROOKSVILLE - No area baseball team featured more youth than Crooksville's.

With one exception, every player on the Ceramic roster in 2016 was either a freshman or sophomore. The team was still only one victory from a district tournament appearance, despite the glaring lack of experience.

Trey White and Nick Headley are big reasons why its foundation is firmly cemented.

Both enjoyed banner summer travel seasons for two of the better programs in Ohio. White, a left-handed pitcher, was one of the top arms for the prestigious Ohio Elite 16-and-under team that travels throughout the Midwest.

Headley, who can play almost every position, was a key bat and pitcher for the Central Ohio Bandits 15U. New Lexington's Trey Gilven also played on the team.

A left-handed pitcher, White pitched in front of collegiate scouts at Michigan, Vanderbilt, Eastern Michigan and Ashland, among others, and will do so again in an Under Armour-sponsored showcase Aug. 7.

Headley played shortstop and pitched for the Bandits, where he served as one of the team's top run producers with an on-base percentage better than .450, and he struck out 27 batters between stints as a relief pitcher and starter. He played in top tournaments in Cincinnati and Michigan, among others.

They hope the experience not only leads to more wins for the Ceramics next season — they had eight in 2016 — but also more interest from collegiate scouts.

"That's the reason I'm doing this — to get to the next level and beyond," White said.

White landed with the Elite, which features mostly players from larger high schools, after the coaches saw him pitch last summer in the Buckeye Elite Showcase. It is the same organization that helped former Ceramic ace Chris Sparks earn a scholarship to Youngstown State.

"Ten minutes after the showcase, they contacted my dad and asked me to play," White said. "It was a good decision because of the better competition."

In 47 innings spanning eight games, including seven starts, he was 5-0 with a 2.07 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. He struck out 46 and walked only 17. He took a no-hitter into the sixth inning in a start at Ashland, which resulted in a one-hitter, and also had a two-hitter.

"It’s going to help me a lot this spring," White said. "I threw my change-up a lot, was able to get it on the outside corner and down. I also picked up a little bit of velocity on my pitches since the spring."

Crooksville coach Shawn Chamberlin thinks White can be as productive as any pitcher during his tenure. Chamberlin urged him to refine his off-speed pitches during the summer, a task White took to heart.

Being able to locate off-speed pitches in fastball counts helped fellow Ceramic lefties Aaron Adams, Nathan Van Meter and Jesse Watts — three of the best pitchers in school history — enjoy high-level success. Adams and Van Meter pitched collegiately.

"He’s really coachable," Chamberlin said of White. "It’s really easy to coach a kid that’s coachable, to mold them into that next level type of player. They understand where you are coming from in wanting them to get better."

Headley was used mostly in the outfield as a freshman under Chamberlin, but he is an infielder and pitcher by trade. He was pleased with his summer play, aside from a late-season slump at the plate that dropped his average into the low .300s.

He felt his mental approach and maturity as a pitcher improved as the season progressed.

"A lot is just getting more comfortable playing up against older guys," Headley said. "I could have played 14U this year, but I wanted to play against older players."

Chamberlin, whose team will have only one senior in 2017, sees a bright future. White and Headley will no doubt be major contributors.

"They got a taste of winning and losing in the postseason," Chamberlin said. "Looking ahead, it’s a nice feeling to know you have everyone back. (White and Headley) knew exactly what they wanted to do this summer and did it."

Headley knows the effort will pay off at the finish line.

"We should go pretty deep in the tournament then next couple of years," he said.

sblackbu@gannett.com

740-450-6723

Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR