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AP Canfield junior AJ Havrilla watches the ball fly during a game at Boardman last spring. The corner infielder scored .338 with 25 RBIs in his sophomore year and recently signed up for Ohio State.
Home is where you feel like you belong.
The atmosphere, the ambiance, the energy, sometimes it suits you.
After numerous digital communications, with the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in virtual recruiting rather than in person, Canfield junior AJ Havrilla knew he was in the right place once he was finally able to set foot on the campus of Ohio State.
Havrilla knew this was the place to be.
“For me Ohio State felt like home from the first time I went there, all the coaches, the facilities, the tools to make a better player but also a better person there, c ‘was something I couldn’t pass up, “Havrilla said. “It was like me there, it felt like it was for me, it matches my personality, and it felt like home for sure.”
As a second baseman for the Cardinals, he beat 0.338 with 25 RBIs, as well as a team-high 33 points scored in his second campaign on a Canfield side who posted a 24 RBI rating. -1, but title hopes failed after a 3-1 loss to Salem in the regional semi-final.
What stands out statistically from Harvilla is the fact that he produced at a high level without any prior college experience in high school, which would have been his first season was canceled in 2020.
It takes a special type of athlete to perform in the face of adversity and lack of college experience.
“He pushes himself every day, he’s a team manager, he doesn’t take a day off,” Canfield coach Gary Knittle said. “A lot of times we say to ourselves, hey, you need a break, but he will outdo anyone, his discipline at home is amazing.
“I always like to say he’s an old soul, he listens to 50’s music, he’s just very different, humble, and makes everyone around him better, and always has a smile on his face, and when you have a child like that, you are blessed.
With a base percentage of 0.517, as well as just one error on 61 defensive assists, Harvrilla has caught the attention of programs like Michigan State, Youngstown State and Toledo.
But it was the Buckeyes who had everything Havrilla was looking for, a program that already offers a pair of local South Range produce to Jacob Gehring and Trey Pancake.
There may have been some wasted time, but that didn’t bother the Canfield junior.
“The funny thing is, his freshman year, he would have been our three hitters, and he would have been in our roster every day,” Knittle said. “That says a lot, what some people don’t understand is that we went 24-0 last year, and we were going to be young, and we thought we would take our pieces.
“But, he solidified that role as a three-way guy and in any program, any team, any division of high school baseball, that says it all, the fact that he didn’t he couldn’t do his first year, he did it in the second year. , he was like a leader, you can’t find too many sophomores coming in and leading your team, and that’s exactly what he did for us.
At first glance, baseball seems like a summer sport, but with athletes competing in varsity, summer travel ball and fall ball competitions, it’s constantly a revolving door and a chore unlike any other. others.
It’s that grind that makes Harvilla, someone who’s held a bat for as long as he can remember.
“Failure happens more often in baseball than success, so it’s also a mental game,” said Havrilla. “Being mentally strong, going through tough times, and obviously not every time something falls for you, but you just have to stay strong in this game, that taught me a lot.
“Staying strong in baseball correlates with life, and the things in life that happen change.”
With his verbal commitment under his belt, there is still a lot to work out in his last two seasons wearing the Canfield red, white and black.
After such a momentous season, the bar is set exceptionally high, one that Harvilla and her teammates embrace with open arms.
“Our main goal in high school right now is to continue to win successfully like last year and to win a state championship,” said Harvilla. “We have to play game after game and not get ahead of ourselves, but we definitely have potential this year and I’m very excited for our team this year. ”
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