Maxwell piled up the K's in elite career

NORWALK — Kole Maxwell is a creature of habit. After every St. Paul baseball home game, the recent graduate could be seen jogging the outfield. Sometimes that was after all his teammates had already left Norwalk Area Contractors Park. But when it came to his performance on the mound as the ace pitcher for the Flyers, even his appreciation of routine and regularity couldn't explain what happened. "I think it's a little bit of luck, and also some of the work I've put in," Maxwell said. On May 4, 2023, Maxwell struck out 20 batters — all but one of the outs recorded — in a win over Western Reserve at Contractors Park. That put him on a list of just 27 pitchers in Ohio history to do so, according to the unofficial OHSAA record book for single-game strikeouts. Then, on April 9 of this season — just 25 days shy of exactly one year later — Maxwell again toed the rubber at home against Western Reserve. And again, he struck out 20 batters in the seven-inning game. The list of pitchers with multiple 20-strikeout games is now two. Maxwell joined Jackson Center's Kevin Mann, who accomplished the feat in the same season in 2006. The list of players to do it twice against the same team is, of course, just Maxwell. "I'm more than happy to take on that, but I don't think I could have ever thought or imagined it would happen," Maxwell said. "But I'm more than happy to achieve it, and anyone else can do it as long as you just put the work in." On June 3, Maxwell earned one final feather in his star St. Paul career when he was selected to the All-Ohio first team in Division IV. In the fall, he will head to NCAA Division II University of Findlay to continue his academics and baseball career. "I was trying to focus in and have fun with my teammates as long as we could," Maxwell said of his final high school season. "It will prepare me and I'll continue to learn more as the other levels of play come." 'Pitch with a purpose' Aaron Fries didn't need long to ponder the question. The fifth-year head coach at St. Paul, Fries was asked what separated Maxwell from others when it came to his performances on the mound. "It's his attention to detail," Fries said. "Especially when Kole is throwing the baseball. Since he was a freshman, every throw has a purpose. That constant repetition has put him in the position that he is in today." Fries said Maxwell also made a commitment to get stronger in the weight room. "When Kole was a freshman, he threw about 65 mph and had a nice little curveball," he said. "As he got older, he got more mature, then he got in the weight room and his velocity went up." A turning point for Maxwell was a 13-0 win at Hopewell-Loudon in the 2023 season opener. He struck out 10 in four scoreless innings and allowed one hit. "He found his slider, and he's never lost it since," Fries said of the start. "Until that point, he struggled with it and was inconsistent with his breaking stuff as a sophomore. "But the consistency since that point is what leads you to a No. 1 starter." Fries has seen a string of dominant starters come through his program for the past four years. That included Scotty Adelman (2021), and Maxwell's older brother, Kaden (2022). "It took those guys a couple years, too. But the biggest thing those kids eventually got to was consistency," Fries said. "We have a lot of kids with good stuff in our program. "Those three obviously had it, too, but they had to find the consistency. Once they found it, that's what propelled them to be great pitchers." For his part, Kole admits being around the Flyer baseball program as a kid helped him reach this point. St. Paul has won five FC titles over the past seven seasons and eight consecutive sectional championships. Kurt, Kaden and Kole Maxwell have been key players during that entire stretch. Their father, Joe, was also an assistant coach for several of those years as well. "I was a team manager for both my older brothers and when my dad coached," Kole said. "So I always grew up around the sport and loved it. I was like any kid and dreamed of the major leagues. "As I grew older, my brother (Kurt) started getting recruited and played at Capital University in Columbus. He played at the college level, and it was a goal for me to be like my older brother and be the same. He is a big role model for me. Kole also credited his high school and travel baseball coaches for seeing something in him. "It was what I was good at and what people saw as potential in me," he said. "So I kind of went with the flow, and that's why I became a pitcher." The art of a strikeout On top of two 20-strikeout games against Western Reserve, Maxwell continued to pile up the K's. With back-to-back 107 strikeout seasons in 56 1/3 and 57 2/3 innings in 2023 and 2024, Maxwell averaged 13.4 and 13.1 strikeouts per seven innings pitched. Given his penchant for strikeouts, Maxwell described what it's like. "It's a feeling that your best pitch was better than their best swing at that moment," he said. "You feel complete getting the out, and not having any chance of an error or anything at all happening. "A strikeout is just you and your catcher. It means you earned it completely, and there is no better feeling — especially getting multiple in one inning. It gives you confidence and allows you to go back out after that, or finish each inning strong after a strikeout." Conversely, Maxwell has allowed just 12 earned runs on 58 hits in those 114 innings over the past two seasons. Those totals were good for a 0.95 ERA in 19 appearances. So, what is the feeling like of giving up a hit or a run during a game? "Depending on the situation, I might get mad or annoyed," Kole said. "But most of the time in my head, I tell myself that person's best swing beat my best pitch, so they earned it. "If I threw my best pitch and located it great, and they put a good swing on it and get a base hit or a home run, I usually don't get angry. If anything, I congratulate the kid and I'm on to the next batter and I'm not worried about him." Maxwell, who had to pitch his final six games with a face mask after suffering a broken nose, found one of his defining moments by using his "best pitch" to beat hitters. Faced with a must-win game in the FC finale against Crestview, Maxwell ran into some trouble in the top of the fifth inning of the May 7 game at Contractors Park. Trailing 4-2, the Cougars got two singles and a fielder's choice to load the bases with no outs. But just eight pitches later, Maxwell had struck out Gavin Barker and Tyson Ringler — a pair of FC first team players. A foul pop out four pitches later ended the threat, and the Flyers went on to win 6-2 to earn their FC title share. "I was confident, because that's Kole's thing," St. Paul junior shortstop Jacob Bocock said. "He loves those moments and we know he'll go at it. His attitude, will to win, grind, hard work — everything about him is built for those moments." Career wrap-up This season, Maxwell finished with a 7-2 record and a 0.99 ERA in 10 appearances (nine starts). He threw six complete-games in the nine starts and struck out 107 with 14 walks in 57 2/3 innings. Opponents were held to a .145 batting average and a .213 on-base percentage against Maxwell this season. Those numbers earned Maxwell FC Pitcher of the Year, District 9 first team and All-Ohio first team honors in Div. IV. For his career, Maxwell was 17-6 with a 1.47 ERA in 33 appearances. "All I want to do is put my team in the best position to win," Maxwell said. "I was completely surprised both times at the end of the game when my coach told me I had 20 strikeouts. "I was just trying to put us in position to win. I guess that's what I had to do those two days, but I took that same approach to every game." Up next for Maxwell is a Findlay Oilers program that will be coming off a 28-22 season, including a 21-10 mark in Great Midwest Athletic Conference play. "I'm just trying to have fun and extend the game for another four years hopefully," Maxwell said. "I don't have any goals for the minors or anything … but I want to go there, work for four years and do the best I can. "At the end, if I have the opportunity to extend it again, I'll take it. I'm not ready to hang up the game yet, but right now that will be my focus."