Norwalk preps for stretch run

NORWALK — The difference can be summed up in the simplest of terms. In 2025, the Norwalk baseball team sat at 11-3 on May 5 and was alone in first place atop the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division standings with a 6-1 record. But from there, the Truckers lost seven of their final eight games to stumble out of the league race, punctuated by a run-rule loss to Ashland at home in a Division III sectional championship game. Exactly one year later, the scenarios remain similar. On May 5, the Truckers are 12-5 overall and 5-1 in the Lake Division. Last year, Norwalk lost a pair of games against Perkins and at Bellevue to start its slide. This week, the Truckers are again scheduled to host Perkins (10-3, 7-0) and visit Bellevue (9-6, 4-3) on Wednesday and Friday before a rescheduled trip to Clyde (4-9, 1-5) on Saturday. Aside from being one game out of first as opposed to one up, fourth-year head coach Jason Higgins does see one noticeable difference in his team. "We're playing better baseball in our losses this year than we did in some of our wins last year," Higgins said. "Not to say that it's our goal to lose a 5-4 game to someone and we played well, but I'd rather see, watch, or coach that game than have us play terribly and create bad habits. "We're playing good baseball. You almost hate to admit this, but we've had the lead in every game this season, but that means we lost five of them," he added. "So we want to continue to close out games, and I think these guys are learning how fun it is to win." The Truckers are averaging 7.3 runs per game thanks to a deeper batting order this season. Four regulars are batting over .300, and three other regulars are batting .278 or higher for a team that has 19 extra-base hits in 17 games, including no home runs. Noah Helton is batting .360 with five doubles and 10 RBIs and has scored 22 runs out of the leadoff spot. Wesley Shupe is hitting .367 with four doubles while driving in seven and scoring 17 times, and shortstop Landon Ferkel is batting .354 with 14 RBIs. Catcher Caiden Wilson is also over .300 at .303 with two doubles and 10 RBIs, while Kaedyn Warner is batting .294 with a double and 16 RBIs. Also for the Truckers, Carter Harp is hitting .278 with three doubles, nine RBIs, and has scored 16 runs. Brady Singer bats .280 with a pair of doubles and one triple and has scored 18 runs. Grady Naseman (.250) adds a double with 13 runs. On the base paths, Singer has 10 stolen bases, Helton has nine, and Shupe adds seven. "This is the most complete lineup we've had in my four years here," Higgins said. "One through nine, they are giving us quality at-bats. Some guys may not pick up a lefty as well, but then someone else does. "I think these guys want to be up in big spots now because they know how much excitement it brings to have a two-out RBI base hit." On the mound, the Truckers have allowed 72 runs (4.3 per game), including 48 earned. Higgins has four pitchers near 20-plus innings. That group is led by Harp, who, after Monday's dominant start in a 6-2 win over Columbian, is 3-3 with a 0.81 earned run average. The senior has 39 strikeouts and 13 walks and has yielded just three earned runs on 15 hits over 26 1/3 innings. "We have a lot of older guys, so this is our last run, and we want to make an impact on the league race and do well in the tournament," Harp said. "I feel like we're not making as many errors. "We have been able to jump on teams early, which makes us more comfortable in the later innings. We are able to play a little more free." In 19 innings, Helton is 4-0 with a 0.74 ERA. He has 24 strikeouts and 10 walks and has allowed two earned runs on 15 hits. Greg Keefer leads the Truckers in innings pitched at 29 2/3. He is 2-1 with a 1.92 ERA with 17 strikeouts and 10 walks. Nate King is 2-1 with a 3.82 ERA. The senior has 14 strikeouts and 10 walks in 22 innings of work. In the first meeting at Perkins, the No. 12-ranked team in the Div. IV state coaches poll — the Truckers took a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning. But the Pirates scored three times, thanks in part to a pair of errors by Norwalk, for a 3-1 win on April 17. The return trip to face the Redmen on Friday also won't be easy. Norwalk beat Bellevue, 2-0, in a game called after five innings on April 22. There is also a postponed league game at Tiffin Columbian (3-11, 1-5) to play, tentatively scheduled for May 13. "Perkins won the league last year and played for a state title, and we want to play those types of teams in this caliber of a game with the calendar in May," Higgins said. "I'm happy we control our own destiny, and we don't have to worry about anyone else or what they do. "We just have to win baseball games, and we can do that by playing well," he added. "As long as we do that, however it happens, we'll live with it. But we'll be ready to compete and try and see what we can do." Among its quality wins aside from Bellevue, the Truckers have defeated Oak Harbor (12-7), Shelby (10-6), and Fremont Ross (9-8). Norwalk's other four losses were 5-2 vs. Ashland Crestview (8-5), 6-5 vs. Ontario (11-7), 14-8 vs. Galion (12-2), and 5-4 at Div. V No. 8 Edison (12-3). In Div. III, there are 19 teams that will draw into two district brackets this weekend. Norwalk is in contention for the top seed in its group, which includes Defiance (11-4), Wapakoneta (8-5), Lexington (8-8), and Ashland (7-6) among others. Among the top teams in the other group are Maumee (12-4), Sylvania Southview (10-5), Fremont Ross (9-8), and Toledo Bowsher (9-9). One bracket features a district final at Tiffin University, while the other is at Oak Harbor. The Truckers can go to the top half of district No. 1 or the bottom of district No. 2, where both potential semifinal games will be played in Tiffin. If they go to the second bracket, that district final would be at Oak Harbor instead of Tiffin. Regardless, after a combined 26-42 record over the past three seasons, Harp and his classmates are pleased to be in the conversation. "We know the tradition we've had here in the past," Harp said. "It's good to get that Norwalk name out there again. It's nice to know the 2026 Truckers are doing good things this season."