Avon graduate Phil Brua and Oberlin graduate Max Phinney were named to the Division III All-Buckeye State teams.

Brua was tabbed as a second-team selection, while Phinney notched honorable mention honors.

Brua, who is currently pitching for the Vancouver Canadians, a short-season Class A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, capped off his senior season in the crimson and gold by locking down five saves to go along with three wins in 20 appearances.

Opponents batted just .213 against him, while he held left-handed batters down to a .140 average. The Second Team All-NCAC selection also had a WHIP of just 1.07.

Phinney led the Yeomen with a .357 batting average. He also paced the Yeomen with 28 RBIs and a .470 slugging percentage. Furthermore, the All-NCAC Honorable Mention selection was second on the squad in hits (41), total bases (54) and doubles (8). He also added three outfield assists and his five sacrifice flies were good for a single-season school record.

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Avon High School and Oberlin College graduate Phil Brua, who accepted a free agent contract from the Toronto Blue Jays, has been assigned to the Vancouver Canadians, a Class A affiliate that plays in the Northwest League.

The Canadians have their home opener this Friday against the Yakima Bears.

Brua left Oberlin as the all-time leader in saves (11) and appearances (65) and is second all-time in wins (15). The sidearm specialist held opposing hitters to just a .213 batting average while averaging over six strikeouts per nine innings during his senior season.Brua’s chances of signing a professional contract came to light last summer while playing in the Prospect League for the Lorain County Ironmen.

In four years at Oberlin College, Brua posted a record of 15-15 in 65 total appearances, while making 17 starts. He threw 187 2/3 innings and struck out 143 batters. He leaves as the all-time saves leader with 11.

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Just hours after inking a deal with the Traverse City Beach Bums of the Frontier League, Avon graduate and Oberlin College graduate Phil Brua accepted a free agent contract offer from the Toronto Blue Jays.

Brua will report to the Blue Jays extended spring training in Dunedin, Florida, to be evaluated by the club before being assigned to one of its minor league affiliates.

"It’s great to see a guy get rewarded for all of the hard work he has put in over the last four years," Oberlin head coach Adrian Abrahamowicz said. "Phil is a great kid that has the drive and passion to succeed at the next level."

Brua left Oberlin as the all-time leader in saves (11) and appearances (65) and is second all-time in wins (15). The sidearm specialist held opposing hitters to just a .213 batting average while averaging over six strikeouts per nine innings during his senior season.

Brua’s chances of signing a professional contract came to light last summer while playing in the Prospect League for the Lorain County Ironmen. Brua shut down hitters in the Prospect League, which features mainly Division I players with high pro potential. The two-time All-NCAC selection led the league in appearances (30), tied for third in saves (10) and posted the third-best ERA (1.46) last summer. In 49 1/3 innings of work he recorded 30 strikeouts while walking just 10. His opposition batting average of .180 was also second best in the league. He allowed just eight earned runs and surrendered just 30 hits while finishing with a record of 4-2.

During his junior season for the Yeomen, Brua was a First-Team All-NCAC selection and Third-Team American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-Midwest Region selection. In that season he helped lead the Yeomen to a school-record win total (18) while finishing third in the league with .278 ERA. He set the school record for saves (6) and tied the school record for wins by going 6-3. In that season he led the NCAC with a .227 batting average against. He struck out 50 and averaged over eight strikeouts per nine innings.

In four years at Oberlin College, Brua posted a record of 15-15 in 65 total appearances, while making 17 starts. He threw 187 2/3 innings and struck out 143 batters. He leaves as the all-time saves leader with 11.

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Left to right: Phil Brua, Max Phinney, Ben Puterbaugh

Avon graduate Phil Brua, Oberlin graduate Max Phinney, along with teammate Ben Puterbaugh earned North Coast Athletic Conference honors, the league office announced on Thursday.

Brua was named to the All-NCAC Second-Team, while Phinney and Puterbaugh were tabbed as honorable-mention selections.

Brua, who split time between the bullpen and starting rotation, finished the season with five saves (third in the NCAC) and three wins. He led the team in appearances (20), innings pitched (51.2) and strikeouts (36). Hitters batted just .213 (second in the NCAC) against the native of nearby Avon, Ohio, who also averaged 6.31 strikeouts per nine innings. He leaves Oberlin as the all-time leader in saves (11) and appearances (65) and is second all-time in wins (15).

Phinney led the Yeomen by hitting .357. He also paced the team in slugging (.470) and RBI’s (28) to go along with three outfield assists. Phinney was second on the team in hits (41), total bases (54) and doubles (8). Furthermore, he set a school record with five sacrifice flies. He departs Oberlin with 101 career hits.

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In the first game of a doubleheader, Oberlin rallied from an early deficit and got solid relief pitching out of the bullpen to preserve a 5-4 win over Wittenberg.

Avon’s Phil Brua celebrated his birthday by earning a four-out save for his fourth save of the season.

After the rocky first inning Western Reserve graduate Brandon Cantrill (2-1) settled down as he got through 4 1/3 innings to earn his second win of the season. Following the first inning, the Tigers managed just three hits off of the senior.

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From left to right: Phil Brua, Brandon Cantrill, Grady Campion

First-year baseball head coach Adrian Abrahamowicz has announced that seniors Phil Brua, of Avon, Brandon Cantrill, of Western Reserve, and Grady Campion will serve as team captains for the upcoming season.

"All three of these guys display the leadership qualities and work ethic to guide our team in the right direction," Abrhamowicz said. "I fully expect them to be positive influences on everyone in and around our program."

The Yeomen, who are coming off the best season in school history, return eight seniors who are poised to lead the team to its first-ever NCAC Tournament appearance.

Brua, who was a First-Team All-NCAC selection and Third-Team Great Lakes Region honoree, was simply dominant on the mound for the Yeomen in 2010. Brua set the school record for saves in a season (six) and tied the Oberlin mark for wins with a record of 6-3.

Cantrill was only one of two players to start in all 37 games last season. As the Yeomen’s main catcher he finished second on the team with a .328 batting average. He led the team with four home runs, while finishing second in slugging percentage (.543) and hits (38).

The Yeomen will begin their season on March 5 at Transylvania.

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Avon’s Phil Brua, who pitches at Oberlin College, was named to the Prospect League Second-Team All-Stars, announced last week.

Brua was simply dominant during his second season in the Prospect League, leading the league in appearances (30), tied for third in saves (10) and posted the third-best ERA (1.46).

He finished the year 4-2 in 49 1/3 innings of work, striking out 30 while walking just 10. His opposition batting average of .180 was also second best in the league. Overall, he allowed just eight earned runs and surrendered just 30 hits.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

After earning the Rawlings All-Mideast Region Gold Glove last month as voted on by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), Avon’s Phil Brua, who pitches for Oberlin College, has been tabbed as the national Gold Glove winner as a pitcher, the organization announced earlier this month.

Brua, who works inside and induces many slow rollers back to the mound, had 23 assists and five putouts in 28 chances on the mound this season. He finished the season error-free on the mound and was a part of three double plays.

Currently, Brua pitches for the Lorain County Ironmen of the Prospect League, a wooden bat collegiate league. He leads the league in appearances (21) and is third in ERA (1.16), saves (6) and wins (4).

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Avon graduate and Oberlin College player Phil Brua was selected to play in the Prospect League All-Star game, representing the Lorain County Ironmen on July 6 as voted on by the Prospect League’s coaches.

Brua, who was a Third-Team All-Region and First-Team All-NCAC selection this past spring, has been lights out for the Ironmen this summer.

The sidearm specialist leads the league with three saves and is second with a 0.74 ERA. In 24 1/3 innings, he is 3-0 and has allowed just two runs and five walks while striking out 11.

For the Yeomen he set the school’s saves record with six and also tied the wins record by going 6-3. He appeared in a school record 22 games, registering 50 strikeouts.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Avon graduate and Oberlin College pitcher Phil Brua was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-Mideast Region Gold Glove Team. With this award, Brua will now be nominated for the national gold glove award at his position.

Brua served as the team’s closer and main reliever this season. He had a team leading 55 innings pitched in 22 total appearances with only two starts on the mound. His 2.78 ERA led the team, as he set school records in total appearances (22) and saves (six). He also tied the school record for single season wins with six.

The sidearm specialist used his athletic ability to be a defensive stalwart on the mound with a .975 fielding percentage on the year; his only two errors on the season coming while he was behind the plate.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Phil Brua shown pitching

Four Oberlin College baseball players were honored by the North Coast Athletic Conference, the league office announced on Tuesday.

Highlighting the honorees were All-NCAC First-Team selections Avon’s Phil Brua and Ben Puterbaugh. Western Reserve’s Brandon Cantrill and Jack Dunn garnered honorable-mention accolades.

Brua dominated on the mound this season as he set the school record for saves in a season (six) and tied the Oberlin mark for wins with a record of 6-3. His 2.78 ERA was third best in the league, while his opposition batting average of .227 tied for tops in the NCAC.

The sidearm specialist recorded almost nine strikeouts per nine innings. He totaled a team-high 55 innings, while making a school-record 22 appearances and racking up 50 strikeouts along the way.

Cantrill was the main backstop for the Yeomen and finished second on the team with a .328 batting average. He led the team with four home runs and joined Puterbaugh as the only players to start all 37 games. He finished second on the team in hits (38) and slugging (.543).

Last week, Brua pitched a two-hit complete-game shutout against Allegheny College to keep Oberlin alive for a postseason berth in the NCAC Tournament.

However, Oberlin lost the last three games, finishing the season 18-19 overall and 8-8 in the NCAC East, and missed qualifying for its first ever NCAC Tournament appearance. The 18 wins by the Yeomen surpasses that of the 2007 squad that finished 17-23 overall. The eight conference wins is also the most since 1986 when Oberlin finished 9-11 in league play.

Brua (6-2) took a no-hitter into sixth inning before giving up a single. He allowed just one more hit the rest of the way and struck out eight batters in the game.

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On July 1, it will become official.

Lorain Catholic graduate Adrian Abrahamowicz has been named the head baseball coach-in-waiting at Oberlin College, replacing Amherst graduate Eric Lahetta, who has been at the helm for 13 years.

Since joining the Yeomen staff in 2005, Abrahamowicz has served as pitching coach and has managed the offense while coaching third base. During the last three seasons, he has also served as the associate head coach and team’s recruiting coordinator. He is largely responsible for bringing in some of the deepest classes in program history.

“It’s a really exciting time for me, because I’ve had an opportunity to help build the program as a recruiting coordinator,” Abrahamowicz said. “I feel like I’ve got a head start on things I wanted to do. Coach Lahetta has always been a guy that let me do my thing recruiting. We’ve been able to build a program, rather than come into a situation where you’re walking into a program that you’re not familiar with. I’m familiar with the school. I’m familiar with the reputation of the school, the type of kids we have to recruit academically and are going to fit in our baseball program.”

Abrahamowicz, a Tiffin University graduate, coached at Lorain Catholic in 2004 — the school’s last year — and was the assistant coach from 1996 to 2000 at the now-defunct school. He also coached at Elyria Catholic in 1995.

“I’m a little more of a direct guy than Eric, but at the same time, he has given me the flexibility to be the type of coach that I am,” Abrahamowicz said. “I’ve been able to do a lot of things from within the start and now it’s time for us to reap the benefits. A lot of what were doing is a credit to Coach Lahettta as well.”

Abrahamowicz will be replacing Lahetta, who will be taking on a new role as the assistant athletic director — a job that will allow him to spend more time with his family.

His wife Becky Lahetta (Kanuch) is the girls’ soccer coach at Oberlin High School. His daughter Mackenzie plays soccer and basketball at Firelands, his son Cody runs track at South Amherst Middle School and he also has a one-year-old son named Chase.

Lahetta, a 1986 Amherst graduate, originally went to Ohio Wesleyan to play football and baseball after high school. He then transferred to Bowling Green and played baseball for two years for the Falcons after making the team as a walk-on. He went to work as a director of stadium operations with the Canton-Akron Indians before taking the job as pitching coach at Oberlin College for two years before taking the head position.

“I’m looking forward to new challenges,” Lahetta said. “I’ll be doing some new things and learning some things. I’ve been prepping myself over the last 13 years to do this so I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Lahetta is confident in the baseball program he helped build.“Adrian has done a great job,” Lahetta said. “He’s been my right-hand man for the last six years. The last three years, we’ve been prepping him to be head coach. Baseball-wise, he’s as good as anyone around here. He’s done everything we’ve asked as an assistant coach. It’s his time to be a head coach.

“I feel like as a head coach that I’ve done a pretty good job of turning the program around and getting it to a point where were very competitive and I think Adrian is the guy to take it to the next level.”

Abrahamowicz is excited about the future of the Yeomen, especially juniors Phil Brua (Avon), Brandon Cantrill (Western Reserve), Ben Puterbaugh (Massillon Jackson), Ben Kauder (St. John’s Jesuit) and Ryan Mouch (St. John’s Jesuit).

Oberlin opens up its season on March 12, when they play a doubleheader at Berea College. They then will travel to Marysville, Tenn. to play back-to-back doubleheaders against Marysville College in the Foothills Classic.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Admiral King’s P.J. Carter capped off his baseball career at Oberlin College, being named to the All-North Coast Athletic Conference Honorable-Mention Team, announced on Wednesday.

Carter won the award as a pitcher, but was also a big contributor at the plate as he finished second on the Yeomen in doubles (nine) and RBIs (22). On the mound, Carter made 12 relief appearances, earning a 2-0 record with three saves. In 21 2/3 innings pitched, Carter recorded 18 strikeouts and walked only five.

Carter officially ended his college career last week, working two scoreless innings to pick up the win for Oberlin, as they split a doubleheader with Hiram in the last games of the season.

The Terriers walked-off in the bottom of the seventh in game one to win 6-5, but the Yeomen used a big sixth inning to prevail in the nightcap, 11-7.

In the game two win, Western Reserve’s Brandon Cantrill hit a two-run double in the first inning and added an RBI single in the third to pace Oberlin, who improved to 15-25 on the season, two wins shy of the season-record of 17, set in 2007.

Avon’s Phil Brua also added an RBI single. He also threw 2 1/3 innings in relief in the game one loss. He was tagged with the loss, despite allowing just three hits and one run.

Carter leaves Oberlin as their all-time single-season saves leader, as well as hitting 10 career home runs as designated hitter.

Brua, a sophomore, went 3-6 on the mound in 10 starts. He pitched two complete games and struck out 36.

Cantrill, a sophomore catcher, batted .302 in 38 starts with seven doubles, 11 stolen bases, 14 runs and 24 RBIs. He also went 1-0 as a pitcher, pitching 9 1/3 innings in four appearances.

Sophomore Max Phinney (Oberlin) and freshman Jared Ramirez (Brookside) have also gotten some playing time. Phinney has made 14 appearances, including four starts and batted .190. Ramirez, who also played on the basketball team in the winter, has made 10 appearances, pitching 8 1/3 innings with six strikeouts.

Also joining Oberlin’s baseball team next season are Clearview's John Rosser and Midview's Nick Miller. Rosser will also play football.

Oberlin’s head coach is Amherst graduate Eric Lahetta, while Lorain Catholic grad Adrian Abrahamowicz is the assistant.

swalker@MorningJournal.com