2020 News Archives
Kountis and 5 Other Black Squirrels Earn League Honors
The Greater Akron AA League Awards were announced on Monday, February 14th with 6 Portage South Black Squirrels,
once again, earning league all star honors. The 5 individual league awards were also announced and Jonathan
Kountis was named Frank Garcia League MVP and Dave Young Pitcher
of the Year. Ty Moorhead finished second in the George Sisler Hitter
of the Year and 4th in the Frank Garcia League MVP. Josh Salinas finished
third for the Don Lombardi Rookie of the Year. Kevin Haley was also nominated
for Dave Young Pitcher of the Year. In addition to Kountis, Haley, Moorhead and Salinas, Tyler
Mazzei and Jacob Caruso were named to the Greater Akron AA All Star team.
Portage South Announces 2021 Team Awards
With the 2021
season finished, the Portage South Black Squirrels announce the annual team awards. The PS MVP was
presented to Ty Moorhead for the 4th straight season. Moorhead had 42 hits, 26 runs scored, 8 doubles,
2 triples, 2 homeruns, 26 runs batted in, and stole 24 bases. Moorhead's .452 average was good enough also to earn the
PS Stan Musial Batting Title. The PS Cy Young was awarded to Jonathan
Kountis again this season. Kountis went 8-1 in 11 appearances with a 0.87 ERA and striking out 81 in 56 innings. PS Golden
Glove Award for the Black Squirrels was awarded to Jacob Caruso for the second consecutive
season. The final award given out is known as the "Herb". Lucius Ivory also took
home the 2021 Herb.
Two Black Squirrels Compete in Italy for the European Championship
Portage South Black Squirrels had 2 players competing in the European Championship being held
in Torino, Italy September 12th through 19th. Jonathan Kountis is part of Team Greece and Phil
Smith with Team Croatia.
Team Greece was in Group A after winning
the European Qualifier and played host team, Italy in the first game. They would drop a tough one to Italy, but bounce
back with a 14-13 win over Austria. In the final game of the first round, Belgium would hand Greece a second loss, 5-4.
In relegation, Greece would go 1-1. Sweden would beat Greece 10-0 in the first one, the Greece team would win the second
game 12-9 over France. Kountis threw 8 innings against France, allowing 3 runs and striking out 10 hitters. In
the 13th place game, Ukraine would face Greece and jump out to a 5-1 lead after 3 innings, but Greece rallied to get within
1 run, with a run in the fourth and 2 more in the fifth, but could not score again and fell 5-4.
Croatia was in Group B with Germany, Spain and Ukraine. Croatia beat Germany 8-2 in the first game
and move to 2-0 with a win over Ukraine, 9-3. Spain would hand Croatia their first loss to end the first round.
In relegation, Croatia would lose 8-5 to Italy and 17-2 to Czech Republic. They would go 3-3 and finish in 7th place
with a win over Belgium, 12-8. Smith would go 2-4 with a 2B and 1 RBI in the game and finished the tournament with a
.348 batting average, 2 2Bs, 1 HR and 5 RBIs in 6 games with Croatia.
Kountis Wins Championship with Greece in the 2021 European Qualifier
Portage South Black Squirrel, Jonathan Kountis, traveled to Lithuania
as a member of the Greece National Team to compete in the 2021 European Championship. The tournament ran from June 30th
through July 3rd in Utena, Lithuania. Greece would defeat Poland in the first game, 7-0. In the second game,
Kountis would throw a complete game shutout for the victory, scattering 5 hits and striking out nine, as Greece would beat
Romania 14-0. Greece would lose 9-7 against Lithuania in the final pool play game, but had already earned a spot in
the Championship game. They would again face Lithuania and jump out to a 8-0 lead in the seventh inning before securing
the 8-4 victory. Kountis would throw the final 3 innings of the game for the save, allowing just one run. Kountis
would earn Best Pitcher honors for the tournament and Greece would punch their ticket into Europe's top level
of baseball, the European Championship A Pool.
Greece is now preparing
for the European Championship in Torino, Italy September 12-19, 2021. Greece is in Group A with host Italy, Austria
and Belgium. This is the first time Greece has been in A pool since 2016 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Haney Sixth Black Squirrels Inducted into the Greater Akron Baseball
Hall of Fame
Mike Haney played high school baseball at Theodore Roosevelt High
School and went on to Kent State University where he lettered for two years. He began playing baseball in the Kent VFW
Hot Stove Class leagues, and then played in the NEO Class AAA and A leagues where he was a three-time All-Star selection
in the Class A league. Mike also played several years in the Roy Hobbs leagues and the Ohio MSBL Open Division leagues. Since
2003, Mike has been the Head Varsity baseball coach at Theodore Roosevelt High School. He has coached at Barberton High
School (varsity asst), Kent State (as a grad asst), and Stow Munroe Falls High School (freshman head coach). Mike has
received several Coach of the Year Awards which include the Portage Trail Conference (2009 & 2015), Suburban League (2019),
and NEOBCA Division 1 (2019). He has coached Summer League Teams, including the Ohio Yankees, and in the Kent Parks and Recreation
including the Kent Colonels. Mike and Jennifer Haney live in Kent with their sons Michael, Luke, and Anderson.
Caruso Earns All Conference Honors this Spring
Portage South Black Squirrel catcher, Jacob Caruso, earned Mid-South Second
Team All-Conference and First Team Academic All-Conference honors during his sophomore year at Thomas More University in 2021.
Caruso hit .288 with 51 hits, 9 doubles, a triple, a homerun and 34 RBI. He also had a .984 fielding percentage, throwing
out 31 runners and picking off 5 more. Congratulations to Kylo on an outstanding spring season!
