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WEST CHESTER TWP. — Jimmy Brenneman may be positioned at the top of the Lakota West batting order, but make no mistake, he's in the middle of everything the Firebirds do offensively.

The senior center fielder's numbers are even better this year than they were last year when he was voted first-team All-Ohio while leading Lakota West to the Division I state championship.

"He is a huge, huge catalyst to everything we've accomplished the last two years," said coach Bill Dreisbach, whose 21-1 Firebirds begin defense of their state title today at home in a sectional tournament contest against Middletown (4-19).

Brenneman's game revolves around speed. Last year he stole a Lakota district-record 22 bases in 24 attempts. And he's already broken it this year while playing 11 fewer games, stealing 24 in 25 attempts.

"And that one wasn't really a caught stealing," Brenneman said. "I got picked off second base."

His mark of 46 steals in just two years also is the Lakota district's career record, smashing the old record of 34 by Justin Mundt (1998-2000).

"I wasn't that fast when I was real young," Brenneman said. "But once I started playing select ball, I've pretty much been the fastest guy on the team."

Still, speed is just a part of his success.

"He's got great speed, but even more than that, he's got great instincts," Dreisbach said. "He really reads pitchers well and he gets outstanding jumps. Jimmy's had the green light ever since he stepped foot in our program last year. He's proven that he knows what he's doing out there."

Of course, all that knowledge and all that speed wouldn't matter a lick if Brenneman wasn't able to get on base. But that's certainly not been an issue for him.

He hit .406 last year, and this year he leads the team in runs scored (36), extra-base hits (12), total bases (52) home runs (four) and slugging percentage (.703) while compiling a nearly identical .405 average, which means he likely will be the first player in Lakota district history to post a career average over .400.

That's quite an accomplishment given all the talent that has come through the district, especially of late as the Firebirds collected three consecutive league championships.

"We've had some great players that last couple of years, but if Jimmy's not in the equation, we don't have the same results," Dreisbach said. "He's that important to our team. He's been a difference maker, and it's been a pleasure to coach him."

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2193 or jmorrison@coxohio.com.

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