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St. Henry's Devin Delzeith, seated center, signs a national letter of intent to play baseball at Defiance College on Wednesday. Seated with him are his parents, Vicky and Steve, and standing from left are St. Henry alum and Defiance outfielder Tyler Dehan, Devin's sister Rena and brother Max, and St. Henry coaches Mike Gast and Neil Schmitz.
ST. HENRY - St. Henry ace Devin Delzeith signed a national letter of intent on Wednesday to play baseball at Defiance College.
Delzeith, the Midwest Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2023, said the relatively new coaching staff's focus on academics was a key factor in his decision.
"I feel like the program's in good hands with Coach (Shane) Gardner and (Ben) Babcock," said Delzeith, who intend to major in business/finance. "They enforce academics, and their team's had a really good GPA the last couple years."
Gardner took over in July after Defiance went 4-34 last spring, while Babcock, the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator, was retained after joining the program in 2021. Delzeith came to know Babcock early in his tenure through St. Henry alumnus Tyler Dehan, now in his junior year with the Yellow Jackets, and talked to him on a September visit that helped seal Defiance as his choice over Baldwin-Wallace and the University of Northwestern Ohio.
With Dehan, who came back to St. Henry for Delzeith's signing day, he also had an inside source to give him insight into the team.
"He helped me figure out everything with the program," said Delzeith, "all the things that some people might not know."
St. Henry coach Mike Gast remembered how even in his varsity debut - when he threw 3 1/3 innings as a spot starter against St. Marys, giving up eight hits and seven runs - Delzeith's poise stood out.
"Got beat around a little bit, but showed no signs of breaking down or that that adversity was too much for him," Gast said. "He's someone that just takes everything in stride."
By his sophomore year, Delzeith was one of St. Henry's top two pitchers, and he took another leap his junior year.
As the anchor of St. Henry's rotation, he went 11-1 with a save and threw a no-hitter in the sectional final. In 80 2/3 innings, he had a 1.13 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP and struck out 89 batters while only walking 21.
"What he started to do last year in the preseason was become the leader of the team," Gast said. "Taking younger pitchers under his wing, really guiding them and helping them out."
Gast said he's hoping to keep Delzeith from throwing so many innings this year, which would also allow him to play more at third base, where he brought solid defense and hit .289 with 21 RBI and 21 runs.
But he noted that Delzeith's command played a big part in preserving him from injury or fatigue, as he averaged just 13 pitches an inning.
"His pitchability is through the roof," Gast said. "He throws four pitches for strikes, keeps guys off balance. So he produces a lot of weak contact, and he's done that regularly since he's been a sophomore, but as he's progressed with strength and velocity, he's seen the strikeouts rise as well."
Heading to the next level, Delzeith is looking to continue to get faster.
"I'm trying to increase velocity," Delzeith said. "I feel like my command's been pretty good over the course of my high school career, and velocity will help me out in the long run."
Coming off a 24-7 season and a run to the state semifinals, Delzeith has a clear-cut goal for St. Henry in his senior year.
"Win a lot of games," he said.
