Licking County enters its fifth year in existence, coming off of a banner year for the Settlers in Newark.  A 22-13 mark, a fourth-place regular season finish, and the organization's first postseason appearance in the new six-team playoff format highlighted the '09 successes. 

The Settlers move forward with new names and faces in 2010, but expectations remain high as two-year assistant coach Brian Meyer takes over as head coach for Kyle Sobecki. 

With the schedule already set for the '10 season, the Settlers look forward to renewing some of the blossoming rivalries while adding two new opponents to the schedule.  The Delaware Cows return to the GLSCL after a one year hiatus while Lexington, Kentucky joins the league to compile an 11-team field. 

As the season approaches, check back on the blog for all the exciting news and information to get you ready for the 2010 Licking County Settlers' season.

In a year which saw the Licking County Settlers baseball franchise reach new heights, finishing above .500 for the first time ever with a best ever mark of 24-14, individually plenty of Settlers excelled.

Finishing in the Great Lakes League top 10:

* Denotes new Settler single season record

Batting Average

8th Aaron Roberts (Southern Illinois) .336

Slugging Percentage

4th Chris Serritella (Southern Illinois) .525

*Home Runs

2nd Serritella 5

*RBI

6th Serritella 23

As the 2009 summer season has come to a conclusion, attention is turned t the professional ranks as they enter the full month of action. As that happens we will begin to catch up and see how former Settlers are doing. Today it is the highest ever selected Settler in the MLB Draft that we take a closer look at.

2007 Settler Eric Arnett (Indiana University)

Arnett became the first Licking County Settler to be selected in the first round of the MLB draft. It was the Milwaukee Brewers who selected the native Licking Countian Arnett, who hails from Pataskala and attended Watkins Memorial High School, with the 26th overall pick.

Arnett would rocket up draft boards after putting together a 2009 Hoosier season that saw him selected as a co-Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, while numerous publications made him an All-American. After signing with the Brewers, Arnett was sent to Helena, Montana to play for the Helena Brewers of the Rookie Ball Pioneer League.

Arnett has appeared in nine games, making three starts, compiling an 0-3 record. in 17.2 innings pitched, Arnett has struck out 19, walked 14, opponents are batting just .189 off of the flamethrowing righty. Arnett has allowed 18 runs, 10 earned off of 14 hits to post a 5.09 ERA.

The numbers might appear pedestrian, but further numbers show Arnett is starting to come around and shine. Arnett's first five appearances were in relief where he went 0-2 with a 7.88 ERA. However since returning to a more familiar role as a starter Arnett is 0-1 with a 2.79 ERA limiting hitters to a stingy .176 batting average against.

Otterbein player works way into starting role 

By Kurt Snyder August 5, 2009

NEWARK -- Brandon Gessner worked out for the Licking County Settlers coaching staff in early June, but he did not initially hear back from the Settlers.

Two weeks later, Gessner, who is a central Ohio native and will be a senior at Otterbein, needed a little bit of patience as he soon was suiting up for the Settlers. Otterbein's leading hitter in the spring, Gessner jumped at the opportunity to play in Ohio's premier college summer league, the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League.

"Everyone has been real comforting," Gessner said. "Being friends with everybody, it is an easy fit to come right in and start playing."

The need for Gessner and others eventually arises every summer because of injuries. Gessner quickly worked his way into the Settlers' crowded corner outfield positions, and a late hot streak has him bidding for at-bats during this week's league tournament.

Gessner had two doubles, two RBI and a run scored in the Settlers' 6-3 victory against Lake Erie in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday, and he added a RBI double in Sunday's regular-season finale, a 9-7 win against Lake Erie.

Fourth-seeded Licking County (22-13) will open play in the six-team double-elimination tournament today against third-seeded Cincinnati. The event will continue through this weekend in Xenia.

"Everyone is here to try to get at-bats," said Gessner, who has made 13 starts and was hitting .295 with 14 RBI entering the tournament. "It is up to us and how we perform. It is nice to always get your name in the lineup."

Licking County's offense was one of the league's best all summer, but it received a shot in the arm midseason from its additions. Ohio State's Tyler Engle stepped into the middle infield and hit .340 in 15 games with one home run. The Settlers also needed an extra catcher because of injury and the increased playing time for Dan Buchholz at third base, and John Lydic, a Gahanna graduate, was 7-for-17 in his short time with the team.

With Licking County's entire roster entering the summer with the hopes of picking up at least 100 plate appearances, adding late comers into the mix could have hurt the camaraderie. That appeared to not have happened, and the results helped the Settlers close out their first winning regular season in the program's four-year history.

"You don't want to just bring in a guy that is going to be your fourth or fifth outfielder," Settlers coach Kyle Sobecki said. "You want to bring in somebody that is going to compete for a spot and push the other guys to play better. Some of the guys that we have brought in have done that, and they have actually pushed some other guys out of the way."

This week's motivation is winning the Settlers' first league championship. All of the players were standouts on their high school and summer teams in past years, but it has been a few years since many of the players have had a chance to win a title.

Akron is 14 games under .500 during the three years of Licking County catcher John Turk's career, and Engle was on the field for Ohio State's 37-6 NCAA tournament loss to Florida State that made national headlines.

"You don't get many opportunities to play for something like this," Turk said. "You had better enjoy it and look forward to it."

Engle added, "We hit a hot stretch, and we are playing good baseball. We are peaking right now."

With the combination of the Settlers taking four out of five games this past week and their pursuers losing, Licking County has locked up their first postseason berth since 2006.  It also marks the first time in the six-team format that Licking County finds themselves in the field playing for the GLSCL crown. 

At 19-12, the Settlers will finish above .500 for the first time in their four year history, and will likely finish no worse than fourth in the league.  The six teams will play a double-elimination tournament beginning on August 4th from Xenia's AIA Stadium.