Carmichael Classic celebrates legacy and local baseball talent
Triway senior Grant Schag is honored with the Sean Carmichael Memorial Scholarship as members of the late Wayne County Sports Hall of Famer’s family pose with Schag for a photo.
Play ball! Three area baseball diamonds with new turf infields made it possible to showcase area baseball with 10 games on a day that easily could have been rained out in past years.
Despite heavy rains falling the night before and a steady mist in the morning of April 26, all the games of the annual Carmichael Classic were played across three sites.
New artificial turf infields at Triway and Wooster, along with a three-year-old turf diamond at Hillsdale, made it possible to get the games in and showcase another talented group of area teams.
“It would have been iffy to get the games in without the turf fields,” said Triway baseball coach and Athletic Director Justin McDowell, whose host school honors Sean Carmichael, the Titans’ former star athlete, coach and AD who passed away at age 52 in 2019, with the Classic. “It would have taken a whole lot of field work in the morning because of Friday’s rain and a lot of work in between the games because an annoying mist was still coming down.
“Having these turf fields, we had no concerns whatsoever. We are very thankful for the field we have at Triway and for the help from people at Wooster and Hillsdale as well to make this possible.”
McDowell said Triway is incredibly fortunate to have turf baseball and softball fields.
“There's a litany of people that helped us get there very quickly,” McDowell said. “It started out with the booster club backing it last fall, then the school, and we got the Miller family — Jack and Deb and Kirk and Christy — and Upward Bound Youth to give us sizable donations. We are very thankful for everyone who’s stepped up to make it possible.”
Triway also has a new turf softball field nearby, which is expected to be ready for play soon, McDowell said.
At Triway the action opened with Southeast beating Rittman 9-5, followed by host Triway topping Smithville 14-4 and Hiland edging Akron Hoban 4-2.
Triway fourth-year starter Grant Schag homered in the Titans’ win, and teammate Josh Stoner, also a hockey standout, added his first career home run.
After the Titans' win, Schag was presented with the Sean Carmichael Memorial Scholarship to help fund his schooling at Walsh University.
Wooster’s Brady Bowen, an Akron signee, was honored as the Carmichael Scholarship runner-up after his team defeated Strongsville at the Generals’ newly renovated Legacy Park. McDowell said exact dollar amounts for the scholarships were still being calculated.
Schag was a first-team All-Ohioan as a sophomore after batting .460 and committing zero errors at shortstop. He had a tough-luck junior year at the plate but still played strong defense and was again named all-league. As a senior Schag entered the week batting .372 with team highs in doubles (seven), home runs (three), RBI (16) and runs (seven).
“We have been very fortunate to have Grant for the last four years,” McDowell said. “He truly leads by example, first one here and last one out type of guy on the field and in the weight room. He does a great job in and out of the classroom as well, which is very important.”
Triway entered the week with a 10-4 record including 5-0 in the Principals Athletic Conference.
Top performers for the Titans, in addition to Schag, include senior outfielder Alex Shearer (.455), senior Brody Snyder (.409), junior catcher Stoner (.405) and senior second baseman-pitcher D.J. Corbett (.361). Corbett has committed to play for Adrian College. Senior Austin Patterson has played strong defense in center field, and freshman third baseman Braylen Miller is batting .278 with five doubles.
Snyder (3-0, 2.46 ERA) tied the school record with 16 strikeouts against Canton South April 23, equaling a mark held by Ken Flinner, Tyler Schuch and Chance Lomas.
Snyder, junior Luke Starr (3-1, 3.13) and senior Ron Bricker (3-1, 4.48) have logged the majority of innings on the mound.
Playing in front of a big crowd, the Titans put on a show for their home faithful. In the nightcap Titan alum Derek Carmichael came up on the short end of the scoreboard coaching Hoban against Hiland, but it was still a special day as he and the rest of his family honored his late father.
“The biggest thing with the Classic is we want to remember coach Carmichael, who he was and what he stood for, and continue to keep his legacy alive,” McDowell said. “It's also awesome to showcase what we have in area baseball. There are some really good teams and great coaches out there.”
In games at Wooster, Chippewa run-ruled Loudonville 17-7 to open play, followed by West Holmes shutting down Dalton 7-1, Wooster blanking Strongsville 7-0 and Waynedale edging Buckeye 5-4 in extra innings.
At Hillsdale the host Falcons edged Northwest 3-2, Tuslaw blanked Northwestern 3-0 and Norwayne shut out Orrville 6-0.
Watch for a feature story on Wooster’s new turf fields and baseball team in next week’s edition.