Walsh Jesuit senior Ryan Berry, 18, has accepted an academic and baseball scholarship from the University of Dayton.

Berry, a 6-foot, 215-pound first baseman, helped the Warriors win the 2008 Division II state championship as a sophomore. As a junior last season, he helped Walsh to a Division II state runner-up finish.

Berry is entering his third year as a starter. He batted .375 last season, with 33 hits, six home runs and 25 RBI; had a .648 slugging percentage; and was the team’s Offensive Player of the Year.

”I couldn’t be more proud of what Ryan Berry has accomplished during his time with Walsh Jesuit in terms of his commitment to the team, his tremendous success on the field and his impact as a leader outside the lines,” Warriors coach Chris Kaczmar said.

Walsh Jesuit senior Marco Caponi, 17, has accepted an academic and baseball scholarship from Duquesne University.

Caponi, a 5-foot-9, 170-pound shortstop/second baseman, helped the Warriors win the 2008 Division II state championship as a sophomore. As a junior last season, he helped Walsh to a Division II state runner-up finish.

Caponi is entering his third year as a varsity player. He batted .333 last season, with 16 hits, 18 RBI and a .500 slugging percentage.

Caponi is also a three-year letter winner in basketball, holds a 3.8 GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society.

”What a true joy it has been having Marco Caponi as a member of Walsh Jesuit baseball for four years,” Warriors coach Chris Kaczmar said. ”His kindness is contagious, he is tremendously loyal, he is trustworthy, dependable and talented. He is skilled in many areas and truly is gifted defensively.”

Twinsburg senior Frank Dufour III has committed to continue his academic and baseball careers at Cleveland State University.

Dufour, 6-foot-3 and 210-pounds, is a right-handed utility player. He batted .286 last season for the Tigers and posted a 1-0 pitching record with one save.

”Frank is a very skilled baseball player who can play the outfield, corner infield positions, as well as pitch,” said Twinsburg coach Donald R. Jones. ”He is going to excel at Cleveland State. Frank’s best baseball is ahead of him. He is an extremely hard worker and a very classy young man.”

Waterloo senior Jon Pusateri has signed a national letter of intent to play baseball at the University of Akron beginning in the fall of 2010.

Pusateri, a right-handed pitcher, earned All-Portage Trail Conference County Division honors during his sophomore and junior seasons for the Vikings. He struck out 53 batters in 45 innings as a junior and compiled a 5-0 record for a Vikings team that won a school-record 21 games as a sophomore in 2008.

Louisville senior Bobby Swigert has orally committed to continue his academic, football and baseball careers at Boston College.

Boston College recruited Swigert to play wide receiver in football and shortstop in baseball, Louisville football coach Paul Farrah said.

“I am very proud of him,” Farrah said. “I am happy for him. He chose a school that is great for him for education, football and baseball.”

Swigert, a 6-foot-1 and 178-pound quarterback this season, got injured in the host Leopards’ third game of the season against Archbishop Hoban.

Swigert had to undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right foot following the Leopards’ fourth game of the season against Canton South. He led Louisville to four wins, completing 71-of-123 passes for 760 yards and seven touchdowns, and rushing for 126 yards and one touchdown on 28 carries.

Louisville finished the regular season at 10-0 and was No. 1 in the final Associated Press Division II state poll before losing its first playoff game.

“I wish we would have had him the whole season because things could have been different,” Farrah said. “The young gentleman is a class act and so is his family.”

Swigert threw one touchdown pass at Ravenna and then tossed five touchdown passes against visiting North Canton Hoover to open the season. He rushed for a touchdown against Hoban after injuring his foot.

Swigert played against host Canton South the following week and threw one touchdown pass.

At defensive back in 2008, Swigert was a second-team Division II All-Ohio pick and a first-team selection for the All-Northeast Inland District and All-Northeastern Buckeye Conference. He grabbed four interceptions, had 45 receptions for 531 yards and four touchdowns and had two kickoff return touchdowns.

Swigert was also receiving interest from several schools, including Michigan, Nebraska, Stanford and Pittsburgh.

Barberton High School senior Jacob North has made an oral commitment to continue his academic and baseball career at the University of Toledo.

North led the Magics last season with a .500 bating average. He had 36 hits, eight doubles, one triple, five home runs, 35 RBI, scored 24 runs and stolen 10 bases in 11 attempts.

North plays center field for Barberton’s baseball team and is also a standout guard on the basketball team.

“I think he is just a laid back kid,” Barberton baseball coach Ryan Hartzell said. “His work ethic is one of a kind in the classroom and on the field. I have never met a kid like him. He is just a solid young man. I think his best years are yet to come. He has put up unreal numbers in basketball and baseball.”

North also excels in the classroom and is ranked No. 3 in a class of 279. He has a 4.591 grade-point average and scored a 28 on his ACT. He plans to major in pharmacy at Toledo.

Hey everyone! This is my column that’s running in the Akron Beacon Journal Friday, but it’s posted on Ohio.com now, as you can see. Thanks to everyone who submitted votes for their favorite high school nicknames. If there are other crazy nicknames from out of state, post them so we can all get some laughs. Thanks again!

Walsh Jesuit graduate Drew Danko is continuing his academic and baseball career at Ohio University.

Danko, a 2009 Walsh graduate and left-handed pitcher, earned a spot with OU’s baseball team following a walk-on tryout.

Danko helped the Warriors complete the 2009 season as Division II state runner-up. He made 13 appearances posted a 9-1 record with a 0.87 ERA. In more than 40 innings of work, he had 60 strikeouts and kept opponents at a batting average of .164.

“When you talk about the journey being more important than the destination, Drew was a player who made that a reality for the team last season,” Walsh coach Chris Kaczmar said in a prepared statement. “It’s going to be difficult starting a season without Drew because he was such an integral part of this era of Walsh Jesuit baseball. More importantly, he is a good person and good friend whose mere presence and sense of humor lit up the dugout.”

Walsh won Division II state titles during Danko’s junior and freshman seasons.

“Drew is also a competitor with a real passion for the game,” Kaczmar said. “He has an excellent grasp of his craft, he is very consistent, and he possesses tremendous control. The year he had for us was truly special, and I am thrilled he will play at the Division I level.”

Walsh Jesuit senior Johnny Fasola, 17, has made an oral commitment to continue his academic and baseball career with Kansas State University.

Fasola, a Hudson resident, is 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds. He will be entering his fourth year as a Walsh starter as a third baseman and right-handed pitcher.

As a sophomore, he had a .354 batting average with four home runs and 26 RBI to help the Warriors win the 2008 Division II state championship. He was named Honorable Mention for the All-Cuyahoga River Baseball Conference (CRBC).

As a junior, he batted .392 with seven home runs and 25 RBI to help the Warriors to a Division II state runner-up in 2009. He also compiled an ERA of 1.40 as the team’s closer, with one save and 26 strikeouts in only 15 innings pitched. He was named first-team All-Ohio and first-team All-CRBC.

“Johnny Fasola is simply one of the finest all-around talents we have had come through the program,” Walsh coach Chris Kaczmar. “He is a fierce competitor on the mound, in the box, and with his glove while simultaneously having a great demeanor and sense of humor — making him wonderful to be around on and off the field. Johnny is highly versatile and bright, and he is a gamer.

“He also comes from a very special family is a tremendously caring young man who has truly been a close friend. As good of a baseball player as he is for Walsh Jesuit — and as projectable as he is for the next level at KSU — I’ll miss him most outside the lines after he moves on.”

When Fasola signs a National Letter of Intent in November, he will become the first
player in Walsh Jesuit baseball history to advance to the Big 12 Conference, the third member of the Class of 2010 to advance to collegiate baseball, and the 37th Walsh Jesuit baseball player in the last 14 years to advance to the Division I level.

The 2009 Walsh team was ranked nationally as high as No. 11 in the USAToday Super 25 and earned national rankings from nearly every major baseball publication, including Baseball America, ESPN Rise, Collegiate Baseball, and Perfect Game CrossChecker.

Green senior baseball player Kurt Gamby has made an oral commitment to the University of Akron. Gamby, 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds, plays third base and first base, and he also pitches. He helped to lead Green to their first state final four appearance in Division 1 in 2009 along with the most wins in school history (25-4).

As a pitcher, Gamby had a 7-1 record last season, with a 1.56 ERA in 63 innings. Gamby posted a .440 batting average with four home runs, 33 RBI, .510 on-base percentage, and a .710 slugging percentage.

”Kurt has been an excellent leader for us both on and off of the field,” Green coach Jon Wallace said in a statement. ”He is a very hard worker and will undoubtedly continue to be successful at the college level. Akron will be getting one of the best players I have had the opportunity to coach and an even better person.”