Freshmen Keaton McKeel, Logan Wilson step into starting roles for Ellet baseball team

Freshmen Keaton McKeel and Logan Wilson are ahead of schedule for the Ellet baseball team.

While most freshmen play on a freshman team or a junior varsity team, McKeel and Wilson are starters and impact players at Ellet.

"They looked good indoors [during tryouts, preseason workouts and practices]," Ellet coach Scott Swan said April 27 after a 4-3 win over Firestone at Canal Park. "Keaton looked good in the [batting] cage right off the bat. Logan showed some bright spots and promising moments, but until you get out on a real ball field against real varsity opponents, you don't know how they are going to react or respond. Both of them have handled themselves very well."

McKeel, 15, is a shortstop, pitcher and Ellet's leadoff hitter. In 20 games, he is batting .294 with 15 hits, 25 runs, nine RBIs and five stolen bases, and is 1-1 with a 1.58 ERA, two saves and 16 strikeouts in 13⅓ innings.

Wilson, 14, is a pitcher and right fielder. In 13 games, he has seven RBIs and five runs and is 1-2 with a 1.91 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 14⅔ innings.

McKeel and Wilson were eighth-graders at Hyre Middle School at this time last year. Both said there have been nerve-wracking moments, but the overall experience has been positive.

"It has been cool working with these upperclassmen," said Wilson, who is 5-foot-7½ and 145 pounds. "I have been having fun. ... We are doing pretty well as a team and as a family, but there is always room for improvement."

Ellet entered the week with a 10-10 overall record and as the City Series regular-season champions at 10-0. Ellet is set to meet Firestone (8-8, 6-2) at 5 p.m. Tuesday in the City Series postseason final.

"It has been pretty cool playing varsity," said McKeel, who is 5-foot-6½ and 140 pounds. "That [game against Firestone at Canal Park] was one of the biggest games I have played so far. ... We are at a really good spot. We haven't finished the job yet [in the City Series]. It feels good to get wins against them twice."

McKeel and Wilson accounted for both of Ellet's hits against Firestone at Canal Park on April 27, each contributing an RBI single. Wilson pitched six innings and allowed three runs and six hits to earn his first varsity win. McKeel recorded the final three outs for his second save.

McKeel's first varsity save came on April 16 when Ellet topped Firestone 7-6. Wilson added a single, RBI and run in that game.

"Both guys have been very composed," Swan said. "I noticed early on with Keaton in preseason, we batted him leadoff and he was hitting the ball in our scrimmages and has continued on throughout the season. He has played shortstop, which is a pressure-packed position, and he has handled that flawlessly. The few times I have had the opportunity to bring him in to pitch, he throws strikes and pounds the zone.

"With Logan, we brought him up from the JV team during the season. We had an opportunity to pitch him [April 20] against Canton McKinley. He threw a real strong outing against them. He had one rough inning and they beat him 4-0, but he went six strong innings against them. He threw down at Thurman Munson Stadium in a nice, big stadium, and I thought he might be able to do the same thing here at Canal Park [against Firestone]. He kept McKinley's hitters off balance and I thought he kept Firestone's hitters off balance and got a lot of popups and a lot of flyballs. He pounded the zone, got some groundballs and stayed very composed."

Ellet regularly starts five seniors this season after featuring 11 seniors last season. Senior Preston Blythe, senior Hunter Millsaps, junior Noah Williams and sophomore Nate Freudeman each scored a run and combined to walk five times against Firestone on April 27. Blythe and Millsaps both drove in a run.

"Senior outfielders LeeAnthony Hopkins and Hunter Millsaps played very well [at Canal Park against Firestone]," Swan said. "LeeAnthony made some great catches and threw out two guys at home plate, and Hunter took third base on an infield pop up when nobody was covering the bag and laid down the ... squeeze. Hunter had two nice plays on offense and LeeAnthony had two really nice plays on defense. LeeAnthony threw out a runner at home, and the second one he threw the ball to Noah [Williams] and he threw it home to Josh [Sims]."

Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Freshmen Keaton McKeel, Logan Wilson lead Ellet to baseball success