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Colton Cattani had one of the finest seasons in the history of Lakota East High baseball.

And now he's being rewarded for it.

Cattani — the Greater Miami Conference Player of the Year — is in Norman, Okla., this week playing for Team Ohio in the 32nd annual Sunbelt Classic.

"It's an honor," Cattani said. "It's really a privilege. There's 20 guys picked for Team Ohio, and there's a lot of players in Ohio. I feel really honored to go. It's really exciting."

Cattani, a shortstop, led the Thunderhawks in nearly every offensive category this season, including batting average (.475), homers (4), RBIs (39), runs scored (33), total bases (75) and slugging percentage (.743).

"He had a special season," East coach Ray Hamilton said. "He's certainly going to represent Southwest Ohio well."

Play began Tuesday, June 17, and wraps up Saturday, June 21, at the University of Oklahoma. Team Ohio will play eight games against teams from Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, Arizona, Georgia, Canada and Maryland.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing," said Cattani, who was on junior Team Ohio last year. "This is something you can't pass up. You're playing top competition in the nation. It's really a chance to size myself up against other shortstops in the nation."

• Cattani and Lakota West's Jimmy Brenneman played for Team Blue this past weekend in the Mizuno All-Ohio Series at Dublin Jerome High School.

However, because of the rain, the pair just played one five-inning game on Friday, June 13, before the rest of the series was washed out. Team Blue lost to Team Red, 2-1.

Brenneman, a centerfielder, walked and had an infield hit in his two at-bats.

"It's a pretty good honor," Brenneman said. "They take the top 80 seniors to play in it, and the team we played against had two guys drafted. It was good competition."

Cattani and Brenneman will be teammates next season at Lincoln Trail College.

Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5113 or smatthews@coxohio.com.

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