WARREN, Pa. – Camron Marciniak was a force on offense both with his bat and his legs in helping Johnsonburg roll to the District 9 Class 2A title with an unbeaten record and into the second round of the PIAA playoffs, and for those efforts, the junior outfielder is the inaugural D9and10sports.com District 9 Baseball Player of the Year.
Marciniak hit .528 with a 1.251 OPS for the Rams while recording five doubles, two triples, and 24 RBIs. He did a lot of his damage on the base paths where he stole a District 9-leading 32 bases. The 32 swipes tied for 12th in Pennsylvania among teams who entered stats into MaxPreps.com while tying for 150th nationally among teams who entered stats into MaxPreps.com.
Camron Marciniak of Johnsonburg. Photo by Bob Parana of the Ridgway Record
Joining Marciniak as major award winners are Kane’s Carson Whiteman (Pitcher of the Year), Clarion’s Dawson Smail (Rookie of the Year), and Johnsonburg’s Mike Porter (Manager of the Year).
Whiteman was fantastic for Kane helping the Wolves to a second-place District 9 Class 2A finish and a spot in the District 4-6-9 subregional. He was 8-3 on the year (two of the losses were to Johnsonburg) with a 0.90 ERA. In 62 innings of work, he struck out 132, an average of 2.13 per inning, while walking just 13. He hit three batters, and opponents hit .143 against him.
Whiteman finished four in Pennsylvania in strikeouts among teams who entered their stats into MaxPreps.com and was just 15 strikeouts behind the state leader despite pitching 35 fewer innings (there was one player who had 143 punchouts in 58 ⅔ innings of work). His strikeout total was also the 14th most in the nation among teams who entered their stats into MaxPreps.com.
Carson Whiteman of Kane. Photo by Victoria Hallberg
Smail had a phenomenal freshman season for Clarion hitting .400 with a 1.168 OPS. He had 13 doubles, two triples, and 19 RBIs while stealing 14 bases.
His 13 doubles tied for the state lead among teams who entered their stats on MaxPreps.com and was a top 200 mark nationally for teams who entered stats into MaxPreps.com.
Dawson Smail of Clarion. Photo by Diane Lutz
Porter helped guide Johnsonburg to a 22-1 record. The Rams’ lone loss came to WPIAL champion Shenango, 2-1 in eight innings, in the PIAA Class 2A quarterfinals. Shenango went on to place second in the state. Johnsonburg won a loaded Class 2A field in District 9 that included nine teams at or over .500.
Mike Porter of Johnsonburg (left) being interviewed by the Ridgway Record’s Bob Parana. Photo by Jane Marciniak
In addition to the major award winners, an All-District 9 team was named as well. The team consists of a catcher, a first baseman, a second baseman, a shortstop, a third baseman, three outfielders, two “utility” spots, and two pitchers.
2021 D9and10Sports.com All-District 9 Baseball Team
C – Ethan Wells, Jr., Johnsonburg – .477 average, 1.335 OPS, 8 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 30 RBIs, 16 SB
1B – Broc Weigle, Sr., A-C Valley: .462 average, 1.294 OPS, 8 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 16 RBIs, 7 SB
2B – Carter Hickman, So., DCC: .465 average, 1.164 OPS, 6 2B, 2 3B, 22 RBIs, 15 SB
SS – Cole Sebastian, Sr., Otto-Eldred: .467 average, 1.851 OPS, 4 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 17 RBIs, 12 SB
3B – Garret Bauer, Sr., St. Marys: .415 average, 1.093 OPS, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 8 SB
OF– Camron Marciniak, Jr., Johnsonburg: .528 average, 1.251 OPS, 5 2B, 2 3B, 32 SB
OF – Jake Merry, Sr., Otto-Eldred: .367 average, 1.099 OPS, 3 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 30 RBIs, 4 SB
OF – Jace Miner, Sr., Brookville: .474 average, 1.290 OPS, 6 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 14 RBIs, 12 SB
UTL – Kobe Bonanno, Sr., Redbank Valley: .373 average, 1.197 OPS, 4 2B, 6 HR, 27 RBIs, 1 SB
UTL – Bryson Huwar, Jr., Clarion-Limestone: .596 average, 1.579 OPS, 10 2B, 2 HR, 14 RBIs, 1 SB; 5-1, 0.91 ERA, 30.2 IP, 52 Ks, 9 BB, 4 HP, .172 opponent’s batting average
P – Gabe Watts, Sr., Johnsonburg: 8-0, 1.66 ERA, 50.2 IP, 79 Ks, 41 BB, 2 HP, .157 opponent’s average against
P – Carson Whiteman, Sr., Kane: 8-3, 0.90 ERA, 62 IP, 132 Ks, 13 BB, 3 HP, .143 opponent’s average against
Player of the Year: Camron Mariniak, Jr., Johnsonburg
Pitcher of the Year: Carson Whiteman, Sr., Kane
Rookie of the Year: Dawson Smail, Fr., Clarion: .400 average, 1.1168 OPS, 13 2B, 2 3B, 14 SB
Manager of the Year: Mike Porter, Johnsonburg
