Ritzler's breakout season propels Senecas back to state

Ever since he first stepped onto a baseball diamond in fifth grade, Logan Ritzler knew that he would be following a legacy. Inspired by his father's stories, Ritzler wanted to know the feeling of being on a team that went to state.Calvert (27-3) is making the trip back to Akron Thursday to play against Newark Catholic (21-9) for the third time in four years. This will be Ritzler's second time.His freshmen year, the Senecas went to the state semifinals at Canal Park, and they played Berlin Hiland. Calvert fell that season to the Hawks 4-1 and finished the season 31-3."I didn't get to play that year," Ritzler said. "I got all excited because it was a really great experience at Canal Park. Getting to bond with the team and just being on the big stage."Before returning to the big stage, how did the junior pitcher and third baseman get to where he is and what drove him to the sport?Andy Ritzler's stories from his high school days is what inspired Ritzler to get into the sport and have a love for it. Andy Ritzler is an assistant coach for baseball at Calvert. He was a 2001 graduate and on the first regionals team from 1998-2001 for the Senecas, and was a freshman when coach Matt Coleman was a senior. Just like Coleman, Andy Ritzler has been coaching on and off since 2002.Ritzler prefers to pitch, simply because he can control the game in terms of the pace that it goes."I'm thankful to coach (Coleman) for giving me the chance to be able to pitch and to have the confidence in me to do it."Ritzler (7-0) was named a first team pitcher in the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division, has he pitched in 49.33 innings so far with 59 strikeouts, and an ERA of 1.14. While Blake Coleman has been the mainstay on the mound for four years, this season though, the Senecas haven't seen Coleman as much, but that has allowed Ritzler to shine. Coleman and Ritzler aren't strangers to each other; they have been playing travel ball together since fourth grade and that bond is a special one."It's been great to pitch beside Blake," Ritzler said. "He is probably one of my favorite teammates, and it's great to be able to pitch next to a great pitcher like him. Sometimes we make a competition between each other."As far as third base, it's a new position for him this season. He played second base last year and at first struggled. With the training that he has had this season, his only goal in playing the position is to get as many outs as he can."I'm just glad to see improvement," Ritzler said. "I'm also glad that coach (Coleman) gave me the opportunity to be able to do both."He was recently named second team Division VII All-Ohio third baseman.For Ritzler, the biggest challenge this season has been his batting. Offensively, Ritzler has 27 hits, scored 25 runs and has 20 RBIs with a .338 average. He attributes changing batting stances to be what has helped him improve this season and finally found one that he likes.Even though he is a junior, he hasn't thought too much ahead into the future. He knows he wants to go to college and play either baseball or basketball, and if given the choice on which sport he would want to go to college on scholarship for, he would prefer a basketball scholarship.For Ritzler, the growth he has seen in himself from when he started his freshman year until now is one that he is excited about."My freshman and sophomore year, I wasn't that good as a pitcher or as a batter," Ritzler admitted. "This year I have grown a lot, and that has helped with my pitching and batting stance. Being a leader and a captain and knowing that people look up to me is something that has driven me to be more confident."Ritzler, alongside Blake Coleman, and a couple of others, are the leaders on the team. Ritzler knows that gaining the trust of his coach to lead wasn't easy and is thankful that he is trusted to be a part of that leadership circle. He not only gets encouragement, but also gives encouragement to his teammates, but he keeps them accountable as well.One of Ritzler's highlights of the season? Getting a little sweet revenge on the one baseball team that thwarted Calvert last season."Getting revenge against JFK, especially pitching wise, has been the highlight standout moment for me," Ritzler said. "Last year, we lost to them in the 10th inning. This year, being able to pitch the whole game and having great defense behind me, that last out, and realizing we were going back to Akron. It felt good to prove that we are a good hitting team. Just getting back to Akron is surreal."This season, the Senecas were not about to let it happen again. While the Eagles were up 3-0, Calvert rallied back and tied it 3-3 in the sixth inning. From there, AJ Shoemaker lined a single to right field, allowing Blake Coleman to score, and breaking the tie 4-3."After that first inning, I wasn't so sure," Ritzler admitted. "Giving up three runs, I was afraid. Then, everyone told me that they had my back and coach giving me the chance to pitch in an important game. When I threw that first pitch, I could tell I was a little nervous and giving the first kid a hit, and hitting the second kid, I was a little scared. When we got that final, and saw the score, I was so excited."Coleman and the rest of the staff knew with confidence that Ritzler could handle it."When you have adversity," Coleman said, "or you give up three runs in a regional game in the first inning, you bond together. It was fun to see us execute in crunch time last week. I hope Logan knows that from our standpoint of just giving him the ball that we trust him and he is an athlete and competitor. As long as he believes in himself, then he will be fine. A couple of those balls were bloopers, but as long as he believed in himself, we knew he could do it. "