Six in a row: How Highland built a league dynasty in baseball

SPARTA — According to Highland baseball coach Don Kline, the Scots have a tried-and true approach when it comes to league games.

"For us, it’s a year-around process," he said. "We’re constantly watching teams and scouting. We’re constantly looking for an edge. We have books on every team and all these players. We try to make it a year-round process. We put a heavy emphasis on league play."

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And it shows.

For the sixth straight season, Highland won a league championship in baseball. Since 2005, the program has earned 15 conference titles.

"We play a tough nonleague schedule," Kline said. "We play some powerhouses on our weekends. Our nonleague schedule is as tough as our league schedule. When you set it up like that then all of a sudden the league games slow down a little bit. You’re able to compete."

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To win six in a row across two leagues in the span — the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference and the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference — means the Scots aren't riding one or two super classes to big wins. It's embedded in their culture.

To go along with the scouting and the tough non-leaguers on the weekend plus the season-opening trip to southwest Ohio, Kline and his staff build a stable of pitchers.

"When you play in a competitive league like the MOAC, you have to have arms. When you look at teams who have arms, they have the best opportunity. We knew coming into the season we would have a lot of experience from a throwing standpoint," Kline said.

For the season and before this week, Highland used six pitchers for at least 10 innings and all of them have earned run averages of under 4.00. They have three of the top four pitchers in the MOAC in terms of ERA and two of the top three in strikeouts.

Zach Church leads with a 6-0 record to go with 44 strikeouts and a 0.93 ERA. Kort Sears is 5-1 with 46 strikeouts and 1.15 ERA, while Jayden Collins is 4-1 with 33 strikeouts and a 2.07 ERA, and Jace Brooks is 4-0 with 16 strikeouts and a 3.98 ERA. Hayden Kline and Drew Altizer add depth, combining for 28 strikeouts in 26-plus innings. Kline's ERA is 0.66, and Altizer's is 2.63.

Hitting needed, too

Championships aren't won on pitching alone, and the Scots have hitters.

Coming into the week, Highland was batting .351 as a team with an .462 on-base percentage. They don't hit for a lot of power, but they have combined for 45 doubles and 71 stolen bases.

Brooks leads with a .449 batting average, while Kline is at .421, Collins at .400 and Sears at .391.

"I think this team learned to be tough," Kline said. "Throughout the season we saw a lot of growth individually. We still start a pretty young team with four sophomores."

The sophs — Church, Collins, Rhett Russell and Hendrick Karya — are coming of age this season to join veterans like seniors' Kline, Brooks, Altizer, Evan Johnson and Gage Partin. The juniors are led by Sears and catcher Gavin Wiggand.

"After the second MOAC loss when we dropped one to Shelby, our guys found an extra gear," Kline said. "They started to play real aggressive on offense, and it was a fun brand of baseball. We’ve done it most of the season."

The Scots are 21-3 overall and 10-3 in the MOAC with a Saturday game against Marion Harding left to play in the league. The postseason starts Wednesday when the second-seeded Scots will host either No. 20 Madison Plains or No. 23 Northridge in a Division III sectional final.

"We’ll regroup and go back to the drawing board and comeback for a good practice and get ready for the rest of the week," Kline said.

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This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Six in a row: How Highland built a league dynasty in baseball