Aces at the top to lead St. Paul

NORWALK — On the surface, the situation may give off a negative feel. But given the circumstances, Aaron Fries finds himself in the best possible situation as he enters his first season as the St. Paul High School baseball coach. Fries was hired prior to the 2020 season to replace Jim Carper, who stepped down after 20 seasons and ended his career with three straight Firelands Conference championships and three consecutive district runners-up finishes in Division IV. But then the 2020 season never happened, which means Saturday's scheduled 1 p.m. season opener at Port Clinton will be the first time Fries, a 1999 St. Paul graduate, officially coaches the Flyers. And much like the run the Flyers have been on since 2017, the cupboard is far from bare. In fact, Fries believes he doesn't have one ace pitcher this spring. "We have two No. 1 pitchers, not a traditional No. 1 and No. 2," Fries said. "Certainly our pitching is our strength, and being that it is the most important position in team sports, we feel really good about our team." Those pair of aces will be senior Scotty Adelman and junior Tyler Perkins. Adelman is an NCAA Division II Tiffin University commit, while Perkins, who is getting high-end looks as a punter for football, has been playing baseball year-round. "And we have depth after that as well, but Scotty and Tyler are going to be outstanding in my opinion," Fries said. "Tyler has looked good all winter, and Scotty is coming off a fabulous summer and fall ball. He hit 86 mph (on the radar gun) on Monday (vs. Norwalk) in our scrimmage. I have a lot of confidence in both those guys." When Adelman is on the mound, he will most likely be surrounded by a lineup that includes sophomore Luke Blum at catcher, sophomore Jayden Hipp at first base, freshman Kole Maxwell at second base, with junior Eli Fisher at shortstop and junior Jaycob Stanley at third. The outfield will include Perkins in right, junior Kaden Maxwell in center and either senior Adam Baker or sophomore Thomas Bocock in left. When Perkins is on the mound, Adelman, who Fries said is also the team's best all-around player, will shift over to first base and Bocock slides over to right field. "I feel really good about our defense," Fries said. "We have some holes to fill. One thing about last year that we lost is when you know there are positions you will be losing. We didn't have the opportunity to work guys into those positions to replace them, and we have to do that work now. "It's coming along, I wouldn't say we're there, but it's coming," he added. "The kids are committed. They come in and work hard, and I think we'll get better at those positions and I think those will be positives for us defensively." Fisher will bat leadoff and is a line drive hitter according to Fries, but his role will be all over the diamond potentially. "Defensively we're led by Eli, he's our coach on the field and is a very knowledgeable player," Fries said. "He'll play mostly shortstop and could play anywhere, but he'll probably pitch as well. He's in charge of making our calls and does a great job. "We have a lot of confidence in him to get us in the right positions and really be a leader on the field. He's another one coming off a strong summer ball season last year and is playing with a lot of confidence." Kole Maxwell, Adelman, Blum and Perkins will find themselves batting second through fifth most days, with Kaden Maxwell, Stanley, Bocock, Hipp and Baker rounding out the batting order. "I feel really good about the top of the lineup," Fries said. "We've got to bring the bottom along a little bit. We are mostly line drive hitters, led by Scotty. "Luke and Tyler can provide some pop in the middle of the lineup, and Jaycob has had a good preseason and will give us an additional option in the middle of our lineup." After Adelman and Perkins, Fries indicated Kaden Maxwell, Fisher, Blum, Stanley and Kole Maxwell are strong pitching options. From 2017-19, the Flyers were 60-18 overall with the three FC championships and three district runners-up finishes. To maintain that level of success, Fries said St. Paul will play to its strengths. "Which is our pitching," he said. "We'll look to get out and get our pitchers a lead. We feel if we get out a run or two, we can do some damage. We'll look to move some runners and play strategic, but overall we feel good about what we have." 2021 St. Paul schedule March 27: at Port Clinton, 1p .m. March 29: at Hopewell-Loudon, 5 p.m. March 30: vs. St. Mary C.C., 5 p.m. March 31: vs. Tiffin Calvert, 5 p.m. April 3: at Mohawk (DH), 11 a.m. April 5: vs. Monroeville, 5 p.m. April 6: at Monroeville, 5 p.m. April 10: vs. Edison (DH), 11 a.m. April 12: vs. Crestview, 5 p.m. April 13: at Crestview, 5 p.m. April 15: vs. Danbury, 5 p.m. April 17: at Fremont SJCC (DH), 11 a.m. April 19: at New London, 5 p.m. April 20: vs. New London, 5 p.m. April 22: vs. Western Reserve, 5 p.m. April 23: at Western Reserve, 5 p.m. April 27: at Mapleton, 5 p.m. April 28: vs. Mapleton, 5 p.m. April 29: vs. Huron, 5 p.m. May 3: vs. South Central, 5 p.m. May 4: at South Central, 5 p.m. May 10: at Plymouth, 5 p.m. May 11: vs. Plymouth, 5 p.m.