2010 Brings New Faces to Portage South

There have been a lot of changes to the team makeup of the Greater Akron AA League in 2010.  Sharon Center Cox Painting, Randolph Reds and Canton-Akron Legend no longer have teams in the league.  Portage South signed 10 new players for the 2010 season and most of them came from the teams that disbanded.  PS picked up Sam Crea, Ryan Hartzell, Walt Samson, Ron Spears, John Ventura and Kevin Yelinek from Sharon.  They also brought back Mike Haney.  The Black Squirrels also signed Dan Hepler and Dylan Wartluft from the Randolph Reds.  The lone rookie signing in 2010 is Kyle Campfield, brother of 2009 League MVP, Danny Campfield.

Sam Crea was the 2008 Frank Garcia MVP and 2006 Dave Layton Tournament MVP.  He was named 1st team Greater Akron AA League in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.  Sam was named to 4 Greater Akron AA League All Stars games as a starter (2005-2008).  He was named to the Buckeye Baseball 18+ All Tournament team in 2006.  In his 2008 MVP season, he led the league in hitting (.508), hits (40) and stolen bases (30).  Crea also led the league is stolen bases in 2006 and 2007 along with being the homerun leader in 2005.  He played his college baseball at Kent State.

Ryan Hartzell played his first year in the Greater Akron AA League in 2009.  He made 4 starts, throwing 26 innings and striking out 32 while walking just 5.  Ryan was a 2009 Greater Akron AA League All Star and named honorable mention All League.  He threw in the Canton Class A League for the Canton Stallions prior to that.  Hartzell played for the Washington Wildthings and Florence Freedom in the Frontier League in 2004.  He played his college baseball at Ashland.

Walt Samson was the 2005 Dave Young Pitcher of the Year with the Akron Storm.  He was 1st Team All AA League in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and earned Honorable Mention All League in 2008 and 2009.  Walt was a 5-time All Star in the Greater Akron AA League (2005-2009) and named the starter in 2005, 2006 and 2008.  He led the league in wins with 7 in 2005, striking out 55 and walking only 4 that season.  Samson played his college baseball at Wooster.

Ron Spears was the 2007 Frank Garcia MVP.  He led the league in hits (33) and hit .465 in his MVP season.  Ron was named 1st All League in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.  He is a 5-time All Star in the AA League (2005-2009).  Spears was the 2006 Buckeye Baseball 18+ State Tournament George Sisler MVP.  He played his college baseball at Eastern Kentucky.

John Ventura was the 2002 NEO Class A League MVP and Cy Young.  He was named 2nd Team All AA League in 2007.  Ventura won the 2006 Buckeye Baseball 18+ State Tournament Phil Niekro Pitcher Award.  He played his college baseball at Walsh.

Kevin Yelinek was the 2003 NEO Class A League MVP.  He was 1st Team All League in 2006 and 2nd Team in 2005.  Kevin was named to the 2006 Buckeye Baseball 18+ All Tournament Team.  He was a 4-Time Greater Akron AA League All Star starter (2005-2008).  Yelinek played his college baseball at Akron.

Dan Hepler was the 2007 Dave Young Pitcher of the Year and the 2007 Dave Layton Tournament MVP.  He led the league in wins (7) and strikeouts (52) in 2007.  Hepler earned Buckeye Baseball 18+ All Tournament Team in 2007.  He was also 1st Team All League in 2007 and Honorable Mention in 2006 and 2009.  Dan was selected to 3 All Star teams (2006, 2007, 2009) with the Greater Akron AA League.  He played his college baseball at Rio Grande.

Dylan Wartluft was 2nd Team All Greater Akron AA League in 2009.  He was also George Sisler MVP of the 2009 Wood Bat Classic tournament.  Dylan hit .588 with 10 RBI in 6 games at the Wood Bat Classic.  He plays his college baseball at Marietta.