Quin Schroeder of Leipsic acknowledges a teammate after scoring on a hit against Riverdale on Thursday.
Chris Howell | The Lima News
At the heart of every great team is one unquestioned leader, and for the Leipsic Vikings, Quin Schroeder has been a steady presence for his teammates to lean on all season.
For Schroeder, becoming that leader was a process that started four years ago when he was a freshman himself, and the Vikings made a run to the regional finals.
Now Leipsic’s starting catcher and leadoff man’s career has come full circle. With his team one game away from the state tournament again, Schroeder is doing his best to pass on everything he learned in his high school career to the freshmen on this team.
“I’ve learned so much over these years,” Schroeder said. “We have four or five freshmen this year that play varsity, and I’m just trying to give them all of my knowledge. Just seeing the growth they’ve had this season shows me that they’re going to be good ball players. The future is in good hands, and I’m proud of them.”
On Thursday afternoon in Leipsic’s 10-0 regional semifinal victory over Riverdale, Schroeder went 2 for 4, scored two runs and drove in another. He and starting pitcher Tommy Offenbacher set the tone in the field and at the plate in the Vikings’ sixth straight victory.
“Right off the bat, me and Tommy got on base and we scored early,” Schroeder said. “That’s always a big confidence booster. After that, we let our defense do the rest. We didn’t commit any errors and that’s huge for us.”
Offenbacher drove in five runs on the afternoon. He and Schroeder also worked together in the field to silence Riverdale’s bats in the shutout.
“It’s always fun to catch Tommy. He’s a really good pitcher,” Schroeder said after Offenbacher threw a two-hitter. “He came out and threw the ball well today. He was hitting all of his spots.”
This season Schroeder has spent 126 innings behind the plate. He was responsible for just six passed balls, and he’s thrown out four runners. Out of the leadoff spot, he’s batted .447 with 26 RBI, 11 extra-base hits and 12 stolen bases.
Those numbers earned Shroeder a plethora of postseason honors, including the Putnam County League’s Player of the Year, something he set out to achieve at the beginning of the year.
“I’ve always been a team guy first, but getting Player of the Year was one of my goals at the beginning of the season,” he said. “I’m glad I got it, but at the end of the day, it really doesn’t mean anything unless we’re still standing in the end, and we’re still fighting.”
Fighting is a great way to describe Leipsic’s tournament run. Both of its first two games went down to the wire, including a 4-1 win over Miller City and a 3-2 win over Lincolnview after a seventh-inning rally.
“We have a group that never gives up,” Schroeder said. “Going back to the Lincolnview game, we were down 2-0 going into the seventh inning and fought back and we’re here now. We’re still going. I’m just proud of my team for that. That win gave us a lot of confidence and I think that’s a big part of why we’re playing the way we’re playing right now.”
Since that come-from-behind victory over Lincolnview, Leipsic has combined to outscore Patrick Henry and Riverdale 23-5.
Now only one game stands between Schroeder and a trip to Arkon in his final season, a matchup with Fort Recovery (14-12) on Friday night at Ed Sandy Field.
“We just can’t let the moment get too big. We need to play our game like we did today, and we didn’t let the moment affect us. I have confidence we’ll do it again too.”
Although he didn’t do one of his signature backflips after the win over Riverdale, Schroeder hinted that we might see one if the Vikings punch their ticket to the state tournament on Friday night.
“I pick and choose when I do them,” Schroeder said with a smile.” I didn’t do one today, but maybe if we win tomorrow (against Fort Recovery) I will.”
Reach Chris Howell at 567-242-0468 or on Twitter/X at @Lima_Howell
