Tootle named OAC Co-Pitcher of the Year, five other Polar Bears named All-OAC in Baseball for 2025
By Marissa Myers
| 2025 All-OAC Baseball Teams (.pdf) |
ADA — Ohio Northern senior Joe Tootle (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) was named the Ohio Athletic Conference Co-Pitcher of the Year to headline a list of six Ohio Northern players earning All-Ohio Athletic Conference recognition in baseball for the 2025 season in voting conducted by the league's head coaches.
Senior Elliott Veenstra (Findlay/Liberty-Benton) and freshman Jackson Saylor (Springboro) earned Second Team honors.
Sophomore Devon Morris (Archbold), junior Chase Armstrong (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) and Senior Blake Altaffer (Montpelier) received Honorable Mention accolades.
This marks the third All-OAC honor for Armstrong and second for Altaffer.
Tootle has a 6-0 record with one save and had a 2.42 ERA this season.
He ranks second in the OAC with 69 strikeouts, tied for fourth in wins and fifth in ERA.
In 34 career appearances, Tootle is 12-2 with a 3.90 ERA and 126 strikeouts.
Veenstra leads the team in batting this season with a .360 average to go with 41 base hits and 28 RBIs. He also has eight doubles, three home runs and eight stolen bases.
He has a career .308 average with 48 hits, 32 RBIs, nine doubles and three home runs.
Saylor has a 6-2 record this season with one save, 65 strikeouts and a 3.19 ERA.
His strikeout total ranked him third in the OAC.
Morris is batting .301 with a team-high eight home runs, five triples and 13 stolen bases. He also had 40 hits, 34 RBIs and 33 runs scored.
His home run total ranks third in the OAC.
Armstrong is batting .247 on the year, leading the team with 39 RBIs, 10 doubles and 39 runs scored. He also had 39 base hits, seven home runs and three stolen bases.
He is tied for fourth in the OAC in home runs.
In his career, he has 119 hits, 109 RBIs, 36 doubles, 24 home runs, 106 runs scored and 12 stolen bases.
He ranks tied for fifth in ONU history in home runs, sixth in RBIs and tied for sixth in doubles.
Altaffer is a 6-3 record this season with two saves, 39 strikeouts and a 3.83 ERA.
His win total ranks tied for fourth in the OAC.
In 39 career appearances, he has an 18-6 record with five saves, 115 strikeouts and a 3.36 ERA.
Under 14th-year head coach Gene Stechschulte, the Polar Bears are 29-12 overall in 2025, finishing second in the OAC with a 13-3 league mark and were runners up in the OAC Tournament.