Stetson Allie will take a dugout full of memories with him as his baseball career continues, either at college or as a professional. There are the two state championships he helped win as a member of the St. Edward team while playing for his father, Danny. There are the more than 100 victories he was a part of over...
Thomas Ondrey / PD
Stetson Allie will take a dugout full of memories with him as his baseball career continues, either at college or as a professional.
There are the two state championships he helped win as a member of the St. Edward team while playing for his father, Danny. There are the more than 100 victories he was a part of over the past four years. The home runs he hit. The strikeouts he tallied.
And now, being named The Plain Dealer's Baseball Player of the Year.
Yet, what he said he will remember most is a catch he made. It was the last out in this year's Division I state championship game. He was playing first base and was on the end of an around-the-horn double play in an 8-3 victory over Cincinnati Elder.
"I will never forget catching that ball," he said. "It meant so much to win state for the second time. I remember throwing my glove in the air and being on the bottom of the pile celebrating. It was a feeling I can't describe. Maybe pure happiness."
Allie, a 6-4, 215-pound right-handed pitcher whose fastball was clocked consistently in the mid-to-high 90s, was the most dominant player on the biggest stage in the area.
As a pitcher -- his first year as a starting pitcher -- he went 9-1 with a 1.51 ERA and 134 strikeouts and 25 walks in 60 innings. Arguably, he had one bad outing but managed a one-run victory over Mayfield in the regional final.
Batting third in the Eagles' potent lineup, he hit .500 with 37 hits, 14 doubles, three home runs and 32 RBI.
Allie says he was briefly disappointed when he was not drafted in the first round earlier this month, going instead to Pittsburgh with the second pick in the second round.
"But that only lasted one day," he said. "I realized what I had. I was a second-round draft pick and I have a scholarship to North Carolina. Either way, I am very happy. If I end up going to college, that will be great. If I sign, that will be great, too."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: trogers@plaind.com, 216-999-5169