Photo courtesy of Ohio State Athletics Ohio State pitcher and Canfield alumnus Landon Beidelschies fires a pitch against Maryland on April 15. Beidelschies, who is entering his sophomore season at OSU, is playing summer baseball in the famed Cape Cod League.

It’s been a year of change for Canfield alumnus Landon Beidelschies — and a year of a lot of baseball.

Beidelschies finished off his first collegiate season with Ohio State on May 20, a campaign in which the Buckeyes went 31-25.

At the start of that season, however, there were plenty of transitions. The coaching staff that recruited Beidelschies to Columbus was let go right after his final game with Canfield, and a new regime took over.

“With the new coaching staff coming in, there were a lot of questions,” Beidelschies said. “They weren’t the coaches that I committed to there, but they ended up being a good fit.”

In many ways, Beidelschies explained, the new staff gave each member of the team a fresh start.

“Everyone is a freshman at that point,” Beidelschies said.

But, “from day one” the coaching staff did what it could to help Beidelschies succeed, the lefty pitcher noted.

That included a move to the bullpen — something Beidelschies wasn’t used to after starting during high school games. In fact, Beidelschies became the Buckeyes’ closer.

The southpaw reliever finished the season with 24 appearances, posting a 4.15 ERA and earning seven saves in 30.1 innings of work. He struck out 45.

After a quality freshman campaign, Beidelschies now is playing for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the prestigious Cape Cod League, a collegiate summer league that’s widely considered among the best in baseball.

In fact, Ohio State’s coaching staff places players across various leagues. Beidelschies said some of his teammates are in the Northwoods League, while others are in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. Still, others also are on the Cape.

Placement depends on goals for each player, Beidelschies explained.

“It kind of just fits what’s best for you. Some guys need reps, some guys need to play against good competition, some guys need to get in front of scouts. Everyone has their needs and what fits best,” he said.

There are some differences in day-to-day life for Beidelschies, but much of his schedule remains the same. Beidelschies gets up, eats, works out and heads to practice much like he does in Columbus. The biggest difference, of course, is he isn’t taking classes in Cape Cod.

While he’s in Massachusetts, Beidelschies is staying with a host family.

“It’s a lot of fun and a lot of baseball,” Beidelschies said. “It’s definitely a grind.”

For Beidelschies, there are a couple main objectives in Cape Cod. In the near term, Ohio State’s staff wants him to continue to increase his pitch count so that he can shift back into a starting role when the Buckeyes return to action.

With that in mind, Beidelschies has spent his time with the Y-D Red Sox as a long reliever, typically coming in during the middle portions of a game and throwing four or five innings when he makes appearances.

It’s a role he’s enjoyed so far.

“It’s the best of both worlds, really,” he said. “You get that adrenaline of closing out a game, but you still get to throw more innings. (More innings is) the only thing I’d say is better about starting.”

In the long run, Beidelschies says playing in front of scouts has been an added bonus, as well as gaining confidence and playing against some of college baseball’s best players.

And, of course, he’s aiming to stay healthy while enjoying what’s been a strong season for Y-D so far. The Red Sox lead the East Division and have the second-best record among the league’s 10 teams at 13-8 entering Saturday.

The league’s season runs about 10 weeks, and is nearing its midway point right now. After the summer season ends, Beidelschies will get a week back home in Canfield before returning to Columbus for the fall semester, where he hopes to continue to improve.

“For me, it’s kind of gaining confidence and proving to myself that I can play with the best competition in the country,” he said.

jwhetzel@tribtoday.com