IMA SPORTS

As the only team at Maumee to advance to the state semifinals or further, the Panthers baseball team has a rich tradition.

If the last two seasons are any sign, Maumee is on its way to making noise in the tournament once again. The Panthers wrapped up their second straight winning season in the Division III district final last week, going 18-8 overall. They won 18 games the previous year as well.

“This program has been historically strong, and the last few years we’ve gotten back to the point where the teams we play against know they’ll be in for a fight when Maumee is on the schedule,” Maumee coach Todd Ery said. “We still have things to accomplish though, so we’ll learn from losses and mistakes to prepare for the next opportunity.”

Before last season, the Panthers had last had a winning season in 2017.

Maumee also finished 10-4 in the Northern Buckeye Conference, good for fourth place. That was also back-to-back 10-win NBC seasons.

Heading into the season, Ery had questions about his pitching staff’s experience and depth. In fact, pitching turned into a strength for the Panthers.

Five players pitched in at least 15 innings. Junior Ben Kubicz was the staff’s ace, going 6-1 with a 0.754 ERA, 78 strikeouts and only 11 walks in 55 2/3 innings.

Junior Brock Heard threw 28 innings, going 4-2 with a 2.00 ERA and 24 strikeouts. Senior Max Biernacki went 43 1/3 innings with 44 strikeouts and a 2.91 ERA.

“Our first three starting pitchers accounted for 75 percent of our innings this season, which is pretty rare,” Ery said. “It was beneficial having two veteran guys like Ben and Max that had already been through a varsity season and knowing what to expect and how to prepare.

“When you don’t have a ton of experienced depth, you certainly have to rely on your guys at the front of the rotation, and those players stepped up to the challenge.”

Kubicz was also one of the leaders at the plate, batting .381 with team-highs 29 runs and 21 RBIs.

Tommy Parker also drove in 21 runs, batting .316. Carter Koepfler scored 26 runs and drove in 18 RBIs while batting .355 with nine doubles and 17 stolen bases. 

Kubicz was named first team All-NBC, and Koepfler was named to the second team. Biernacki, Heard and Nate Durham were named honorable mention. 

Experience won’t be an issue for the Panthers next year, with 10 juniors on this year’s varsity roster, including Kubicz, Parker, Heard and Durham.

For Ery, the goal for the Panthers are to continue improving and taking steps forward, as a staff and program.

“We’ll use June to have player evaluations and play summer ball, then put a plan together heading into the fall for providing players with opportunities to develop,” Ery said. “In order to have sustained success, we’ll need players to continue putting in the sweat equity because we know that just showing up next spring won’t be enough.”

Photo courtesy of Pride of the Panthers
Reach IMA at insidemaumeeathletics@gmail.com