Contributed The McDonald baseball team takes a photo after winning its Division VII district final against Maplewood on Saturday in Creston.

Heading into the season, the McDonald baseball program was in a weird spot. There was excitement with four freshmen entering the program, but the tall task of replacing six seniors from the prior season.

Coach Andy Timko saw the potential, but knew it was going to take some work.

Now, after a 7-1 victory over Maplewood, the Blue Devils are district champions for the first time since 1997, when they advanced to the state tournament.

“I told the kids before the game, ‘You guys want to make history? Today’s your opportunity,” Timko said. “They went out there. They played loose. Everybody played well. It’s been a ride.”

At the beginning of the year, McDonald was asking who was going to step up on the mound?

The plan originally was for Josh Srock to take the reins and pitch, but the Blue Devils also needed a catcher. Srock stepped up to handle catching duties, opening the door for the emergence of both sophomore Brady Shobel and freshman Quinn Schmidt as two of the team’s top arms, along with junior Chayse Hickox.

Srock’s decision paved the way for McDonald this season.

“He was going to be our number one,” Timko said of Srock. “He ended up saying, ‘I’ll catch, I’ll help behind the plate.’ He’s done a fantastic job. He’s got a really good arm. He’s taking control of the pitching, and he’s turned into a leader for us. As we started going on that roll there, everybody (has stepped up). We saw our pitching starting to come around, and our hitting started to come around, and our defense. It’s just been one thing after another. It’s getting better as the season goes on.”

Shobel and Schmidt didn’t see time on the mound early in the season, but when they got their respective chances to make an impact, they didn’t waste the opportunity.

“Brady Shobel just came out of nowhere and has been lights out and Quinn Schmidt also,” Timko said. “Those two guys, we held off until I’d say the eighth game of the season. We just were throwing other guys.”

And that’s on the mound and at the plate.

Schmidt boasts the team’s highest batting average, hitting .484 on the season. He’s also leading the team in RBIs with 31.

As the youth ingrained themselves into the Blue Devils’ lineup, the wins started coming. As they prepare to take on Tiffin Calvert today, McDonald has won 12 of the last 14 games. Those two losses came at the hands of Mineral Ridge, who swept them just before the final series of the regular season against Lowellville.

After the disappointment of getting swept by a bitter rival, the Blue Devils regained their confidence against the Rockets, beating them by a combined score of 26-4 in two games. Sweeping the Rockets gave McDonald some momentum entering the tournament and helped it reach the regional stage.

“They had a really good pitcher. We did pretty well against him there, and just carried on,” Timko said. “It’s been fun. The kids are enjoying it. They’re loose. Happy-go-lucky kids.”

Overall, the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Scarlet Tier was great fuel for the Blue Devils all season.

“It helps to face good pitching.” Timko said. “If you can face good pitching, that helps you in tournament time because you get everybody’s ace, their one and two all the time, and when you have good arms in the league that you face, it gets you ready.”

Not only that, but McDonald was left off the first and second all-league teams. Schmidt didn’t make the cut, and neither did Brady Klockner, who hit .434 and led the team with 33 hits.

The team wanted to prove themselves.

“They knew it, and were out to prove they can play,” Timko said.

Right after the Blue Devils’ first tournament game, a 15-5 win over Chalker, tragedy struck the program. Freshman third baseman Nick Larson was injured in a car accident that fractured his skull. Luckily, he’s doing well, but needs three months to recover in full, rendering him out for the remainder of the season.

The team rallied around its third baseman and hoped to keep winning for Larson.

While acknowledging how good Calvert is — the Senecas have made a habit of reaching the regional stage as of late — Timko noted that funny things happen in baseball and anything can happen if you have the right team.

And he thinks his team could be the right one.

“I’m sure they’re as good as they’ve been in the past. It’s a good program out there,” Timko said. “I know they always go to that regional and I believe they made it to state last year. They’re good, but you know, I saw Wright State beat Vanderbilt the other day in college baseball. Baseball is a funny game. Any hot pitcher on the mound (can make a difference), and we’ve got a hot pitcher, so it could be interesting.”

First pitch for today’s game against Calvert is set for 5 p.m. at Oberlin College.