One way or another, Landon Wolf always had a bat in his hands growing up.
From being a bat boy at 6 years old to becoming a college commit, the senior first baseman has lived and breathed Amherst baseball.
Wolf’s passion for the game turned his dreams into reality as he committed to Ashland University on Oct. 4. He joined Cael and Cole Charles (Kent State) as the third Amherst player to commit this week.
“Everything (stood out) from the campus to the people to the coaches to the way they coach,” Wolf said. “People keep asking me what was so different about Ashland and it’s just the fact there were no negatives. Walking around I knew it was the best place where I could put myself in a position to succeed. It truly felt like home. I knew that’s what I was looking for.”
Wolf’s time around the program has shaped him. He got a close look at what it takes to be successful. It has carried over to the high-caliber player he has become.
“Growing up in that dugout has definitely motivated me to get where I am today,” Wolf said. “Growing up seeing Evan Shawver and Xavier Moore and all of the many guys I could name — I could go down a list — that I looked up to. Seeing all the hard work it took for them to get where they are led me to where I am today.”
Where Wolf is today is one of the best players in Ohio. He earned Division II first-team All-Ohio honors as a junior with a .338 batting average, a school-record 54 RBI, six home runs and a 1.269 OPS. He also walked 29 times and hit by a pitch 14 times – both school records.
“I’m unbelievably happy for Landon to able to play at the next level,” Amherst coach Matt Rositano said. “Landon came into the program when he was 6 years old when Casey Wolf took over as the AD. He was in the dugout and part of the program pretty much since he was in kindergarten. He’s been around it all. He’s almost like another coach on the field.”
“To be able to see him get bigger and develop and turn into a college baseball player, that’s really satisfying for me personally.”
Wolf saved some of his baseball for the end of the season during Amherst’s run to the D-II state championship game. He saved the Comets’ season with a game-tying three-run home run in the district final against Riverside. In a wild turn of events, Wolf also hit an inside-the-park home run in Amherst’s state-semifinal win over New Albany.
“When we got hot, he stayed hot,” Rositano said. “You always had that confidence especially towards the end of the year where if Landon was up and there were runners in scoring position, I think every coach, every player and every fan had confidence Landon was going to come through for us. Most of the time he did.”
Now with his commitment out of the way, Wolf is focused on one thing — winning a state championship.
The Comets’ amazing season fell one game short with a 7-3 loss to Anthony Wayne in the state title game. They return seven starters from a year ago and look to make it count.
“I want to bring something to Amherst that hasn’t been done,” Wolf said. “Just because we have seven returning defenders and three returning starting pitchers doesn’t mean the state championship is going to be gifted to us. We’re going to have to go back to work and work twice as hard as we did last offseason.”
“In this last year, I just want to go out and have fun and leave an impact.”