While the COVID-19 pandemic was playing havoc with baseball schedules in 2020, Kyler McIntosh got a little help from an unexpected source.
Los Angeles Dodgers minor league player Devin Mann was back in Columbus and working out at McIntosh’s brother Hunter’s new Hit Factory indoor baseball facility. When Kyler, the Columbus North shortstop-pitcher was there, he picked up a few pointers from the former Bull Dog shortstop.
“(Losing the 2020 season) was difficult,” Kyler said. “It was definitely not fun by any means. But I just looked at the bright side, and I got in the cages as much as possible, and I worked with Devin Mann actually, so that kind of helped me out. COVID actually helped me a little bit by having him home. He had nothing to do, so we fixed my swing and got it a lot better.”
Kyler McIntosh, who led North to arguably its best season in school history, is The Republic Baseball Player of the Year. He joins Hunter, who won the honor in 2012, as recipients of the award.
As dominant pitcher on the mound, Kyler went 8-1 with a 1.68 ERA and had 60 strikeouts and only eight walks in 62.2 innings as the ace of a Bull Dogs team that spent most of the season ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 4A.
“Kyler did a lot for us this year,” North coach Ben McDaniel said. “We asked him to be basically our No. 1 guy pitching-wise, and he relished those opportunities to take on big opponents. “He’s a big-game pitcher. He seems to enjoy the big games and stepping up the big games and giving what he’s got.”
Offensively, Kyler led the Bull Dogs in almost every category as a senior this spring, batting .394 with five triples, 39 RBIs and 29 runs scored. He also smacked four home runs.
“He batted in the 3-hole for us, and typically 3-hole doesn’t get a lot of good pitches to hit, but Kyler was able to produce and get the bat on the ball,” McDaniel said. “He played solid defense, as well. He was a jack-of-all-trades and did everything we asked him to do.”
Kyler’s only loss as a pitcher this season came against Kentucky state champion Louisville Trinity, which currently is ranked No. 7 in the nation by MaxPreps.
“Quite frankly, I don’t know what more Kyler could have done that game, and we didn’t score any runs to help him either,” McDaniel said.
Kyler credits much of his success this season to the work he put in last year at Hit Factory. He did plyometrics, threw weighted balls and did bullpen sessions with Hunter, who co-owns the facility with former North teammate and classmate Will Nelson.
“Definitely with online schooling and being able to drive, I was over there at 11 a.m. most days,” Kyler said. “So I was getting my work in on my own and with Devin. We had that whole facility to ourselves.”
The Bull Dogs reaped the benefits of the work Kyler and others put in during the extended offseason. They went 27-5-1, shared the Conference Indiana title and won the Bloomington North Sectional.
Columbus North was ranked No. 1 in 4A from early in the season until the final poll, when it fell to No. 2.
“This year was a very cool experience with being ranked No. 1,” Kyler said. “I think that’s everybody’s goal at the beginning of the season. Whenever you see that you’re not ranked No. 1, and there’s people doubting you, it makes you want to work harder and ready to play even more every game, and I think it showed. After we got No. 1, everybody got excited, and I loved how people came at us. We wanted to keep No. 1 and stay at the top.”
The sectional title was the first since 2017 for the Bull Dogs, who had fallen to Columbus East in the sectional finals Kyler’s freshman and sophomore years. North’s season came to and end with a loss to Center Grove in the regional semifinals.
“When I’ve been here, we hadn’t even won a sectional,” Kyler said. “We’ve done good, but hadn’t really had anything like that. It ended a little too short. We tried everything we could.”
This summer, Kyler is playing for the Snapping Turtles in a summer league for college players at Grand Park. He has been selected to play in this weekend’s Indiana Baseball Coaches Association North-South All-Star Series in Evansville.
Kyler leaves the second week of August for Alabama State, where Hunter, who was a two-way standout in high school, settled into a pitching role. Kyler sees himself as a pitcher first, but may end up both hitting and pitching for the Hornets.
“They wanted me as a pitcher,” Kyler said. “They hadn’t seen me hit and pitch before, and I kind of told them I wanted to hold on until they saw me hit and pitch, and they’re allowing me to go there as a two-way. I just don’t want to give up hitting, but I’m definitely more of a pitcher.”
The ultimate goal remains to eventually make it to the major leagues.
“That’s always been the dream, and I hope to achieve that,” Kyler said. “That is definitely my No. 1 long-term goal — to play in the pros.”
The Republic 2021 All-Area Baseball team:
Kyler McIntosh, Columbus North: The senior went 8-1 with a 1.68 ERA and led the Bull Dogs with a .394 average, five triples, 39 RBIs and 29 runs scored and had four home runs.
Austin Bode, Columbus North: The senior led the Bull Dogs with 10 doubles and five home runs and batted .333 with 25 RBIs and 26 runs scored.
Reese Harmon, Columbus North: The senior batted .286 with 20 RBIs and 20 runs scored and went 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA.
Will Baker, Columbus North: The junior went 7-2 with a 1.42 ERA and had 13 RBIs and 16 runs scored.
Blake Huffman, Columbus North: The senior batted .281 with three home runs, 16 RBIs and 25 runs scored.
Jacob Bailey, Columbus North: The senior went 5-0 with a 1.38 ERA and had 10 runs scored.
Kaden Wise, Columbus East: The senior went 4-4 with a 3.06 ERA, had one home run and 14 RBIs and led the Olympians with nine doubles.
Parker Harrison, Columbus East: The senior led the Olympians with four home runs and batted .333 with 14 RBIs and 18 runs scored.
Clayton Taylor, Columbus East: The senior batted .308 with one home run and 12 RBIs and went 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA.
Ben Major, Columbus East: The senior batted .309 and led the Olympians with 15 RBIs and 20 runs scored.
Aaron Rork, Hauser: The senior led the Jets with a .431 average, eight doubles, three triples and 34 runs scored and had one home run and 24 RBIs.
Koby Johnson, Hauser: The junior went 6-4 with a 2.36 ERA, led the Jets with three home runs and had 18 RBIs and 15 runs scored.
Jacob Vogel, Jennings County: The junior went 7-2 with an 0.98 ERA and had 11 RBIs and 10 runs scored.
Carson McNulty, Jennings County: The junior led the Panthers with a .346 average, nine doubles and 21 RBIs and had 14 runs scored.
Keegan Manowitz, Jennings County: The sophomore went 5-1 with a 2.46 ERA and had 10 RBIs and 15 runs scored.
Avery Seegers, South Decatur: The sophomore led the Cougars with a .500 average, three home runs and 18 RBIs.
Honorable mention
Brown County: Travis Ely. Columbus East: Will Boyer, Ethan Ianni, Will Rieckers. Columbus North: Luke Harmon, Hayden McDaniel, Dyllan Redmon, Blake Stevens, Zach Wager. Edinburgh: Noah Detling, Riley Palmeter. Hauser: Levi Gollmer, Kobe Meahl, Eli Miller, Sam Miller. Jennings County: Logan McIntosh, Ian Sawyer. South Decatur: Devin Pate. Trinity Lutheran: Tyler Goecker, Jack Marksberry.
