Success overlaps with Norwalk, St. Paul baseball

Editor's note: This is part two of a three-part series on the state of baseball in Norwalk. Baseball is easy to play here. Not that the game itself is easy, but if you want to play, Norwalk has more than a dozen baseball fields. For every age level, Norwalk offers the opportunity to play America's pastime at Baines Park, Contractors Area Park, McGuan Park, Norwalk High School, St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, and VFW's Lefty Grove League fields. Easy access to ball fields has played a key developmental role for both the Norwalk and St. Paul High School baseball programs. The Truckers and Flyers are now amidst their best stretches of success in recent seasons. Access to playing opportunities has proved critical to winning games. "Baseball in our community has a storied history, and there are so many people who have a tremendous amount of knowledge," noted St. Paul head baseball coach Aaron Fries. "And as long as those people continue to share their knowledge, the future can be just as bright." Read part 1 of 3 here Read part 3 of 3 here The Maple City's connection to the sport runs deep. Ban Johnson, the first commissioner of the American League, was born here. The family briefly lived on East Monroe Street. Hank Edwards, who spent several seasons with the Cleveland Indians, including the franchise's last World Series championship year in 1948, grew up on State Street and attended school in Norwalk. And, of course, 300-game winner and Hall of Fame member Robert M. "Lefty" Grove himself moved to Norwalk in 1961, living here in retirement until his death in 1975. In 1962, the local Jaycees' youth league was renamed Lefty Grove Baseball League. Since 1957, league teams have been playing baseball on fields located behind the VFW post home on Milan Avenue. The league is part of the fabric of Norwalk sports and a rite of passage for generations of families each summer. But as each program looks to maintain a stretch that has seen them average a combined 33 wins per season for more than a decade, challenges lie ahead. Participation numbers, while still good, have been inconsistent. Closure of the Baines batting cages — a facility not as crucial as it once was — nevertheless is one less opportunity to practice putting the bat on the ball. And pressure for high-schoolers to play for area traveling teams brings another dimension to youngsters' baseball development. "Not all travel ball is created equal," said Jason Higgins, who recently finished his fourth year as head coach at Norwalk High School. By the numbers In 2026, the Truckers finished 14-10 overall and 7-3 in the SBC Lake Division. Two of those league defeats were to Division IV state champion Perkins. With 26 players, Norwalk's roster was slightly below average this spring. During Higgins's four years at the helm, this season saw the fewest number of boys try out for the team. Established in 1972, Norwalk's first sustained success was from 1976 to 1981. The Truckers, at 85-37, had four Northern Ohio League titles and two trips to the state semifinals under John Deerer, the program's first head coach. A key player during those years was 1979 graduate Wes Douglas. He returned to NHS as head coach in 1997 and took the program to remarkable, consistent success over a quarter century. The Truckers were 425-238 (.641) overall in 25 seasons under Douglas through 2022. Norwalk won six league championships, 11 sectional titles, and played for four district championships during his tenure. From 2003 to 2022, Norwalk had seven 20-win seasons and three other 19-win seasons. Higgins pitched for Douglas from 2003 to 2006 and later joined his staff before taking over in 2023. Across town, the Flyers had 23 players on the 2026 roster and produced a 21-4 season, a state ranking in Div. VII, plus Firelands Conference and sectional championships. The 21 wins are a record for a single season. Also coaching at his alma mater, Fries ('99) took over from Jim Carper in 2020 after his 22 years in the dugout — but that year had no baseball season because of the pandemic. Since 2021, the fewest number of players on the St. Paul roster has been 19. "We have been able to have a JV team every year, which has turned out to be critical to the run we've had," Fries noted. In the past decade, after years of spotty or inconsistent success, the Flyers have found their footing. St. Paul's average season over the previous 11 years is 18-8 overall and 11-3 in the FC. Across those years, the Flyers notched three 20-win seasons and two more 19-win seasons, with six conference titles and five district-title games. Like any high-school sport, the two teams will lose key pieces from their 2026 campaigns. But both teams will retain pivotal players for next season, including junior ace pitchers Noah Helton and Alex Marsh. Helton (4-2, 1.86 ERA) for Norwalk and Marsh (8-1, 1.39) for St. Paul will be solid on the mound in 2027. "I think Norwalk as a community definitely has a strong connection to baseball, and that's pretty clear with the amount of success both (we) and St. Paul have had in the last few decades," Higgins said. "We're both constantly battling for league titles, playing competitive tournament games, and sending many kids to the next level to play in college." In late March each season, the Truckers and Flyers take turns hosting each other in a scrimmage under regulation rules. Both sides embrace being able to stay in town and play a quality opponent ahead of the regular season. "Right now, high-school baseball is very good in Norwalk," Fries said. "Future success will depend on if we can continue to get quality individuals to step up and foster a passion for the game at the young ages." Fries notes that schools' football and basketball programs have feeder systems starting as young as fifth grade. "But in baseball, their first experience with the high-school program is as a freshman," he said. "To try and field a team year-in and year-out with high-level travel players is not realistic for schools our size. "If we continue to get a good combination of high-level travel players along with those who have received some good instruction locally, our programs will continue to have success." Travel baseball The topic of travel and club sports remains as polarizing as ever across the nation. At St. Paul, Fries said only three of his returning players for 2027 played on a travel team, while two more get private training. That's the fewest number he's had not playing in the summer. "But that's a little deceiving, because we've had six others who played it all the way up to last season," he said. "So, we feel good about where we are fundamentally. "I would say just about all of our kids are putting the work in to be better athletically, which is what we need them to do if they are going to reach their potential next season." At Norwalk, Higgins said about half his roster also played travel baseball at some level, with four returning players who played on very competitive teams. Among those is incoming junior Caiden Schmidt, a rare three-sport athlete who also took on the workload of travel baseball. In 2026, Schmidt was a JV player for the Truckers. He spent nearly every weekend in June and July playing for an Ashland-based 16U team. With nearly 90 minutes of round-trip driving and weekend tournaments usually in the North Canton area, his days were long. "So, I'm spending almost as much time driving as I am on the field," Schmidt said. "The time it takes up is definitely a drawback, and so is if you make a team but aren't quite good enough to be a starter." Schmidt noted baseball is a sport that doesn't often substitute within games the same way as football, basketball and soccer. "So, if you play for a high-level team, where you're paying over $2,000 a year or whatever it might be, you could be paying that to sit and watch," he said. But among the benefits for Schmidt and players is the opportunity: competition is at a much higher level than playing JV games just months earlier. "It will greatly benefit you for the next year," he said. "Personally for me, I am getting more quality reps this summer that I was unable to get in the spring. My last month or so is probably the best I've played all year because of that." Even with his improved skill set, Schmidt knows he'll have to compete for playing time at NHS. And he knows why. "I'm excited to compete with my classmates and friends for a spot on a winning varsity team," he said. "That's the expectation at Norwalk. You have to earn it." As head coaches, both Higgins and Fries have come to terms with the pluses and minuses of travel baseball. "It gives players great opportunities to play against competition outside their community, but unpacking travel ball as a blanket statement is difficult," Higgins said. "There are many great coaches, but I think sometimes parents and players run into situations where the basic skills are not being developed." Plenty of elite teams push players to their potential, Higgins noted. But some teams, often co-existing in the same organization as elite clubs, are more of a pay-to-play situation. "Many times those are revenue-builders for their elite teams," he pointed out. "With that being said, the biggest concern for parents should be the instruction that they are receiving from the coaches — not how much they are paying or how many games they are winning. "I have seen players that have been on elite teams that cannot hold runners when pitching, do not know basic base-running, do not back up bases, do not hit their cut-offs, and other baseball IQ-type situational play." The former NCAA Div. II Tiffin University pitcher pointed out that constantly having to teach basic knowledge and skills to high-school players — rather than developing and fine-tuning those skills — is a burden for coaches. "The worst-case scenario is a player that has been on a travel ball team and had success with bad habits or poor instruction," Higgins said. "They find out quickly that those bad habits do not translate well at the varsity level." Fries echoed those sentiments, saying that being around adult coaches in travel, camps, or private lessons and who are doing skills development correctly, is important. "Being around people who have the best interest of the young people involved is critical," he said. "I have seen this done really well, but also … baseball is a tough game. Hitting a baseball is commonly referred to as the toughest thing to do in all of sports. "So, to have people who are involved with the youth who can help kids foster a passion for the game is the most critical ingredient. Without that, it can lead to bad results." What it means As the pair reflected on playing and then coaching at their respective schools, one element became clear: past, present, and future continue to be at the forefront of what they do. Both Higgins and Fries have baseball alumni as assistant coaches on their staffs. "I tell my players all the time that I am not only trying to teach them how to play the game correctly or how to develop skills, but also that there is a chance they may want to coach their kids in the future," Higgins said. "They should put it in their long-term memory." To Higgins, baseball is pure sport. The average spectator at a game will watch a ground ball to second base that ends an inning as just that — an out. But a baseball coach sees every intricate detail that occurs in every moment from a game. "From looking at spray charts of the opponent and moving a position player two steps to the left, what pitch sequence they saw last at-bat, who the next batter in the lineup is, etcetera … Baseball is something special to me, and that's why I wanted to coach," he explained. "I may not be right in everything that I do, but I definitely try to emphasize playing the game the right way and learning the fundamentals of the game." Fries said baseball has given him the opportunity to work with young people and develop relationships that he regards with fondness and pride. Winning is a bonus. "I am coaching kids in high school that I have been coaching in one thing or another since they were just starting in sports," he said. "Getting the opportunity to work with them throughout their entire journey and watch the evolution from wide-eyed young kids to outstanding young men is very rewarding."