Tipp baseball enjoys 24-win season

For the Tippecanoe baseball team, it was a lot of growth and improvement this season as coach Cameron Dickens completed his second season with the Red Devils. Not only did they compete near the top of the Miami Valley League, but several of the players showed improvement from last year as the Red Devils advanced to the third round of the OHSAA playoffs, and have solid players returning next season. “We took a step forward this year, finishing with a strong record of 24-4. But even beyond that, I saw growth from the guys who have been on the roster for the two years I have been here,” Dickens said. “If you came out and watched us, you saw a team that was improved and more confident, and I think they were more comfortable with us. We were a much better offensive team this year.”

“Last year we had some struggles at different points of the year, heavily reliant on a player or two, and this year we got contributions from all over. We got some nice surprises from guys who maybe we didn’t expect to play that big of a role this year.”

“It was a fun year but obviously the way it ended was tough,” he said. “Overall the program took steps forward this year.” While the offense was more potent this season, so was their pitching that showed vast signs of improvement as the season progressed. “We have a lot of talent on the roster and had some guys take steps forward,” Dickens said. “Cayden (McKinney, second-team all-area) has been in the rotation for a couple of years, but he really cemented himself at the top this year. Not only as our bulldog on the mound, but one of the state’s best no matter what the assignment was.”

“He accepted every challenge for us. We also had some guys step up for us this year like Anderson McKinney who hadn’t got a ton of varsity inning at this point but he shows up and gives us everything he has. He turned his senior year into something great, second-team all-area. We also got contributions from guys who had never pitched at all on varsity like Ethan Davis and Carter Chinn.”

The team leader was a young man headed to Toledo in the fall as Preston Zumwalt was selected first-team all-Ohio this season. “He did what he has always done with increased attention,” Dickens said as Zumwalt received the all-state honor for the second time in his career. “He is one of the best players in the history of the program, and really embraced setting the tone for us.”

Also named first-team all-Ohio was junior Bryce Eckert from the centerfield spot. “Bryce took steps forward with the bat,” Dickens said. “He is a fast and athletic kid, but he really took a step up with 5-6 doubles and four triples. Constant hard contact and a kid who is very passionate about the game.” Carson Jackson also made all-area as an outfielder for the Red Devils. “He is the kid who doesn’t try to do too much, a very simple and repeatable swing,” Dickens said. “He has hard contact all over the field and is everything you want in a high school athlete.” James Merry also was second-team all-area as a sophomore showed a lot of promise going forward for the Red Devils. “He is a super hard working kid and was in here every day,” Dickens said. “He got a chance and never let it go.”