West Branch senior Jeremiah Thomas was an All-Ohio honorable mention in Div. IV. (West Branch Athletics)

Columbiana junior shortstop Avery Young produced some of the best offensive numbers in the state this past season and for that reason he was named a first team Div. VI All-Ohioan by the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association.

“He is the spark plug that makes our offense go,” Columbiana coach Bryce Franken said. “He was a lead-off hitter as a sophomore but we tried to move him to the three hole this year when we started out at Myrtle Beach to try to get him some move RBI opportunities. We quickly realized we needed him at the top to get as many at-bats as possible.”

Young batted .521 in 27 games and had a team-high 49 hits and 11 doubles. He scored 32 runs while contributing 17 RBIs. He was also a terror on the base paths with 28 stolen bases which led him to becoming the school’s career stolen base leader with 78. On the mound, he went 2-3 in 10 appearances, while posting a 3.97 ERA with a team-high 50 strikeouts.

As a fielder Young was also an important asset.

“Avery is one of the smoothest shortstops I’ve seen,” Franken said. “He has very quick hands and a very strong arm.”

Young’s batting average was second in the state in Div. VI according to MaxPreps, while he also ranked sixth in stolen bases and ninth in runs scored.

West Branch senior Jeremiah Thomas was named an honorable mention in Div. IV. He led the team with a .403 batting average and .473 on base percentage. He was also the team leader in hits (33), doubles (6), runs scored and pitching wins (4).

Thomas, a Mount Union football recruit, was also a first team All-Ohio selection in football while getting All-Ohio special mention in basketball.