Strikeout No. 400 and a Barrage of Runs: Portage South Overwhelms Rays

Portage South Black Squirrels faced the Akron Rays Wednesday night at Roosevelt with starting pitcher, Jonathan Kountis, only 7 strikeouts away from 400 in his career.  Portage South came out swinging and opened a big lead in the first with 7 runs.  After Charlie Drumm and Logan Poole reached, Ty Moorhead singled to score Drumm.  Justin Nelson followed with a single to left field, scoring Poole.  Another single by Mike Darrah brought home Moorhead to go up 3-0.  Matt Dile singles to left on a hard hit ground ball that would score Nelson and Darrah.  Lucius Ivory singled to center to move Dile to second.  Both runners advanced on an error by the fielder.  Dile and Ivory would both score on two separate wild pitches to make it 7-0 after one.  PS stayed hot in the second inning, adding 8 more runs.  Nelson singled to lead off the inning and then Darrah reached on an error.  Ryan Schromm would double to left center to score Nelson and Darrah.  Dile walked and Mike Haney III singled to right, loading the bases.  Ivory would single to left to plate Schromm.  Drumm lined a single to center, scoring Dile, then Moorhead singled home Haney.  Nelson delivered a double to right center, bringing home Ivory and Drumm to make the score 14-0.  Darrah singled home Moorhead on line drive to left field.  In the fourth inning, the Black Squirrels added 2 more runs to make it 17-0.  Three straight singles load the bases and Dile grounds into a fielder's choice to score Nelson.  Haney followed with a single to right, bringing Darrah in to score.  Kountis picked up a strikeout in the fourth inning for his 400th career punchout with Portage South.  He would finished the game with 9Ks and allowing only 2 hits.  Nelson went 4-4 with 3 runs, 3 RBI and a 2B to lead the PS offense.

The Black Squirrels Sweep a Split Doubleheader

The Portage South Black Squirrels would play Sunday at Roosevelt Park in a split doubleheader with the first game against the Akron Irish and second against the Canton Outlaws.  In game one, Portage South took the early lead with a run in the first inning.  Ryan Kitay led off with a walk, then Charlie Drumm reached on a sacrifice bunt to make it first and second.  Mike Darrah moved the runners to second and third.  Justin Nelson would then score Kitay on a RBI groundout.  PS would extend the lead with 2 runs in the fifth inning.  Lucius Ivory walked and stole second.  Kitay would reach on a dropped third strike and make the turn to second to draw a throw and score Ivory with Kitay returning to first safe.  He would then steal second and score on Darrah's single.  The Black Squirrels pushed the lead to 6-0 with a 3-run frame in the sixth.  Lyndon Rainey walked to start the inning, followed by a single from Logan Poole.  Matt Dile walked to load the bases and Jason Preising would score Rainey on a sacrifice fly to center.  Ivory then doubled to left scoring Poole and Dile, but was thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple.  The Irish would get 2 runs in the top of the seventh, but would get no closer as the game finished 6-2.  Eric Schaffer threw a complete game for the win with 5 strikouts and allowing only 4 hits.  Darrah led the Portage South offense with 2 hits and a RBI.

Game two had the Canton Outlaws come into Roosevelt Park for a championship game rematch.  The Outlaws grabbed the lead early with a run in the bottom of the second.  Portage South answered back with a 3-run third.  Lyndon Rainey reached on an error and Lucius Ivory was hit by a pitch.  Ryan Kitay was then also hit by a pitch to load the bases.  Charlie Drumm hits a hard ground ball to short that scored Rainey and Ivory would come around to score on an throwing error.  Mike Darrah scored Kitay on a sacrifice fly to left field to make it 3-1.  Canton came right back in the bottom of the inning with 3 runs of their own to take the lead back, 4-3.  PS would tie the game in the fifth inning with a run.  Drumm tripled to right center and scored on a ground ball by Darrah.  The Black Squirrels took command in the sixth with a 6-run inning.  Rainey walked and Ivory was hit by a pitch again.  Kitay singled to left scoring Rainey.  Drumm singled to score Ivory and move Kitay to third.  Drumm advances to second on an error and Kitay scored.  Darrah would walk and move to second on a wild pitch.  Justin Nelson tripled to score Drum and Darrah.  Jason Priesing followed with a single to score Nelson.  The Outlaws cut the lead in half in the bottom of the sixth, but Portage South added 3 more runs in the top of the seventh to secure the lead at 13-7.  PS loaded the bases with 2 outs, then Matt Dile and Mike Haney III would draw RBI walks.  Preising scored the final run on a wild pitch.  Kevin Haley went 5.2 innings on the mound for the win and Kitay threw 1.1 innings of scoreless relief.  Drumm and Nelson each had 2 hits, a 3B and 2 RBI to lead the Black Squirrel offense.

Haley Reaches Milestone, but Portage South Drops Opener to the Vipers

The Portage South Black Squirrels opened the 30th season in franchise history with the Eastside Vipers on Sunday at Roosevelt Park.  In game one, the Vipers took the lead with a run in the second inning.  Eastside would add to the lead with 2 more runs in the fifth to open a 3-0 lead.  Portage South would get a run in the bottom half of the inning to cut it to 3-1.  Ryan Kitay was hit by a pitch and Justin Nelson followed with a single to make it first and second with no outs.  After a double play moved Kitay to third, Logan Poole singled to right to plate Kitay.  The Vipers added another run in the sixth for a 4-1 lead.  PS would threaten in the bottom of the seventh, but only get one run to make the final score 4-2.  Kitay was hit by a pitch for the second time and Jesse Michel reached on an error.  Poole would walk, loading the bases with one out.  Jason Preising scored Kitay on a fielder's choice, but that was as close as it would get.  Kevin Haley threw 5 innings, allowing just one earned run and recording his 700th career strikeout.  Nelson, Preising and Poole each recorded a hit for the Black Squirrel offense.  Game two was postponed because of weather. 

Kountis, Haley and 4 other Black Squirrels Earning League Honors

The Greater Akron AA League Awards were announced with 6 Portage South Black Squirrels earning league all star honors.  The 5 individual league awards were also announced with Jonathan Kountis earning Dave Young Pitcher of the Year honors.  Kevin Haley won the Dave Layton Tournament MVP award for the American Division of the Greater Akron AA League for the second year in a row.  Charlie Drumm was a finalist for the Don Lombardi Rookie of the Year.  In addition to the above mentioned Black Squirrels, Justin Nelson, Chad Harper and Josh Salinas were named to the Greater Akron AA All Star team.

The 2025 season ends with a familiar sight: Portage South on top. With their fourth straight title secured, the Black Squirrels now turn the spotlight to their standout performers. The PS MVP was presented to Justin Nelson. Nelson hit .412 with 28 hits, 16 runs scored, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homerun and 21 runs batted in, while playing in 25 games.  Josh Salinas hit .442 in 2025, which was good enough to earn his 4th consecutive PS Stan Musial Batting Title. The PS Cy Young was awarded to Jonathan Kountis. Kountis went 6-1, with 97 strikeouts and a 0.53 ERA.  He also had zero walks in 52.2 innings pitched. PS Gold Glove Award for the Black Squirrels was awarded to Ryan Schromm. The final award given out is known as the "Herb".  Lucius Ivory took home the 2025 Herb.

Portage South Honored by Greater Akron Baseball Hall of Fame

The Greater Akron Baseball Hall of Fame announced the Induction Class of 2023 and Special Awards.  The Portage South Black Squirrels were awarded the Team Award, which is presented to a team that has excelled for many years on the field.

In 1997, Bob Paradise, his son, Robert, and Marc Korogi formed the Portage South Baseball Team with local players from Summit and Portage County.  They joined the Hot Stove D League, which then became the NEO AAA and NEO Class A League.  Portage South would then join the rebuilt Greater Akron AA League in 2005 and helped carry it over to combine with the NEO Roy Hobbs 18+ Division.

Portage South won 3 NEO AAA division titles (1998, 99, 01) and made 2 State Final Four appearances (1998, 00) from 1997-2004.  Portage South then won 2 regular season titles (2007, 11), League Tournament ('05), AABC District title ('06) and AA League title ('11) in AA League (2005-11).  In the NEO Roy Hobbs Greater Akron AA Division, Portage South won 3 AA League title ('20, '22, '23), the Wood Bat Classic ('14) and were the 2016 regular season champions and won the NABA Labor Day Tournament in Rochester, NY.

Portage South founders, Bob Paradise, Robert Paradise and Marc Korogi also played an important role, with Ted Hardy to revive the Greater Akron AA League in 2005 and worked with other area leagues in NE Ohio to showcase local talent in All Star Games, playing against players in the Canton and Warren leagues.  They also have had 6 former/current players inducted into the Greater Akron Baseball Hall of Fame.