BEVERLY - Beverly/Lowell Post 389/750 catcher Landon Kern and starting pitcher Zach Eddy have a little more in common than just being battery mates for a team that has reeled off 27 straight wins.
Both players plan to attend Marietta College in the fall and if all goes well the two would like nothing more than to be teammates on the Etta Express.
"I'm just very excited to have the opportunity to go there," said Kern, the left handed hitting catcher who graduated from Warren High School in the spring. "I just plan on going there and doing everything I can to help out."
Article Photos
MIKE MORRISON The Marietta Times
Beverly/Lowell’s Landon Kern takes an inside pitch during a game earlier this season. He and Zach Eddy will be attending and playing baseball at Marietta College in the fall.
With Pioneer starting catcher Alex Toth returning for his senior year and back up Josh Ungerbuehler having two years of eligibility remaining, Kern's freshman season will more than likely be a lot of watching and learning.
Kern has been tearing it up at the plate for the 36-4 Post 389/750, sporting a .600 plus on base percentage with 50 runs batted in.
Maybe even more important to the success of the Beverly/Lowell team are Kerns's defensive abilities behind the plate as he has been charged with just three passed balls the entire season.
Fact Box
American Legion state tournament field
- District 1: Whitehouse Post 384
- District 2: Lima Post 96
- District 3: Troy Post 43
- District 5: Sandusky Post 83
- District 6: Mount Vernon Post 136
- District 7: Circleville Post 134
- District 8: Pickerington Post 283
- District 10: Steubenville Post 33, Wayne County Posts 68, 147, 282
- District 11: Beverly/Lowell Post 389/750
- Northeast District (9/13/14): Berea/Strongsville Post 91/795
Eddy, who was a stand out for the Fort Frye Cadets in both basketball and baseball, is the anchor of a solid pitching staff for B/L that has been strong all season long.
After dropping his first decision of the spring, Eddy has reeled off six consecutive victories.
The hard throwing right hander is equally excited about joining Kern as a member of the defending champion Pioneers.
"It's exciting to go to a team that competes for a national championship year after year," said Eddy.
Eddy hopes to join a team that graduated no less than four key members of its pitching staff in starters Brian Gasser, Austin Blaski and Mike Mahaffey as well as closer Kyle Lindquist.
The opportunity to play together in the summer the past few years has given Kern and Eddy a chance to develop a good chemistry between one another.
"Zach's just a very good pitcher, all I have to do is just sit back and catch the ball," said Kern, who hits right behind former Warren teammate Tyler Proctor in the B/L line up. "I know his tendencies and I know what to expect from his pitches."
While the two of them hope to be chasing national championships for Marietta College head coach Brian Brewer for the next four years, their immediate goal is to help Beverly/Lowell coach Todd Engle bring home his second national championship when state tournament play begins Monday in Lancaster.
After being a part of last years team that was eliminated in it's first two games at state, both players feel that this years team has a chance to do a whole lot better.
"We know more of what to expect this year," said Eddy, who figures to start one of the first two games of the tourney. "I think were more prepared this year as a team."
"I just feel that this group of guys are just so connected," said Kern. "We've got the chance to go along ways."
Kern, Eddy and the rest of their Beverly/Lowell teammates will get that chance Monday against a team to be determined in a Sunday evening tournament draw.
