On April 4, McKee tossed a no-hitter, beating Cedarville 9-0 with eight strikeouts. He was one walk away from a perfect game.
“It’s a great feeling,” McKee said. “You want to put your teammates out there, but when they help you out in the field, that means a lot.”
On April 10, McKee threw a five-inning shutout against rival Northeastern, allowing just one hit with seven strikeouts.
“He kept them off balance and the defense came up big on a couple key plays, led by our shortstop (Gehrig Cordial) and our outfield play was phenomenal,” said Trojans coach Darron Routzahn.
McKee is the ace of the Trojans pitching staff that has an earned run average of less than 1.00.
“We really talk about being bulldog and throwing my fastball,” McKee said. “I play for my teammates. That’s what keeps me going.”
Routzahn described McKee as a power pitcher who mixes in his changeup to keep hitters off balance. As a sophomore, McKee went 6-3 with 60 strikeouts and a 1.873 earned run average in 52.1 innings pitched.
“He started a few games as a freshman and showed he’s the bulldog, the Clayton Kershaw of the group and he’s thrown with confidence ever since,” Routzahn said.
The Trojans graduated two starters from last year’s team that won the Ohio Heritage Conference South Division championship and a D-IV district title. Southeastern advanced to the regional semifinals for the first time in 10 years, falling to Russia 6-2.
The Trojans hope to win another league championship and make another deep tournament run.
“We definitely want to get back there and more,” McKee said.
Southeastern has won four of its last five games and have lost two games by one run this spring.
In 30 years of coaching, Routzhan said he’s never coached such a tight-knit group of players.
“They go out for Taco Tuesday, Applebees and they’re constantly taking care of each other, picking each other up like brothers,” he said.
● Kenton Ridge (9-1, 7-0) has won eight straight games and is tied atop the Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail Division with unbeaten Jonathan Alder (10-0, 7-0).
The Cougars will face the Pioneers in a two-game series later this month. They’ll travel to Plain City on April 24 and host the Pioneers on April 26.
KR last won the league title in 2021, while the Pioneers won in both 2022 and 2019.
● Urbana has two pitchers ranked among the top-10 in the CBC through Friday’s games. Junior Will Donahoe has 29 strikeouts for the Hillclimbers, while freshman Kevin Endres has 19 strikeouts.
● Northeastern senior Cade Houseman leads the OHC with two home runs, while senior Dylan Haggy leads the conference in RBIs with 16 for the Jets (6-5).
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