Mahoning Valley Sports Boardman’s Gavin Hyde looks in a pickoff attempt from his pitcher during a matchup against Canfield earlier this season. Hyde was Boardman’s top pitcher this season.

Boardman’s Gavin Hyde was thrown to the wolves early.

Without a freshman season, Hyde took on a big role early in his high school career, as the top pitcher in the rotation for the Spartans, but he adapted well and found his groove quickly, serving as the team’s ace for the last three seasons.

Hyde remembers having to fight for his spot, taking on some really tough schools. Getting tested early, in his mind, really helped.

“Pitching as a sophomore, like I didn’t know if I was the ace or not, I was just competing every single day just to try to earn my spot,” Hyde said. “They put me into some big games against like St. Edward and Hoover and like just some big schools and it just happened that I showed up during those games, and I played pretty well. It was a very quick experience because I got a lot of varsity experience early but I think it definitely helped me for sure.”

After those early performances against top schools, Boardman coach Joe Gabriel had an easy decision on who to put at the top of the rotation.

“We put a lot on him, especially after early in the season,” Gabriel said. “He had beaten St. Edward and he just had a nice little string there early in the season, his sophomore year. We kind of shoved them into that role as our No. 1. He did a great job with it. …

“He’s been a (No.) 1 for three years and to have the success that he’s had now – he was close to a couple of records this year that he didn’t get – but we haven’t had anyone that close in a long time to pitching records. His legacy of just being a great kid, a hard worker, our No. 1 for three years, and at a Division I school. I think a lot of times what gets missed is the fact that Gavin pitched against the best of the best in the Northeast Ohio area and he succeeded.”

Hyde had a successful senior campaign, striking out 45 batters while allowing 19 hits and had a 1.71 ERA in 28.2 innings pitched.

Walking into school every morning with a smile on his face, Hyde was a source of positivity for the Spartans. Excited for whatever challenges awaited them that afternoon, he and Gabriel were ready for the moment.

“He’s a really personable player. Every day he would walk in and he always passes me when he walks into the school,” Gabriel said. “The first thing in the morning, I always ask him how he’s feeling, he always has a huge smile on his face, and he always gives me this gigantic adjective whether it’s amazing, wonderful, fantastic. ‘How’s your arm feel?’ I’d ask him. ‘Amazing. Can’t wait to play.’ That kind of stuff. I’d get that every morning from him and I might miss that more than anything else.”

Hyde is moving on to Marietta College to continue his academic and athletic career and plans to major in finance.

“I really like the culture there, like the school itself,” Hyde said. “Everything about it. The baseball team, it’s just like a family there. They have a culture. They’ve got a whole program set up and they just know what they’re doing down there. I think I’ll be in very good hands. All the coaches were super nice. They knew what they were talking about. I’m just super excited to get down there.”