Waterford’s Braun Doak, right, celebrates with teammate Hayden Jones after getting the final out against Eastern during Tuesday’s district final at Bob Wren Stadium. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

WATERFORD — As far as head coach Chris Schmitt could recall, the Waterford baseball program never had a first team All-Ohio honoree before.

This year, they have two.

After leading the team on a run to the Sweet 16, senior Braun Doak and junior Hayden Jones both were named first team All-Ohio by the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association.

“They both definitely deserved the honor,” said Schmitt, who completed his fourth season as the team’s skipper. “They switched the voting system this year — coaches from around the state were voting. I don’t vote in that, but I nominated them. I know a lot of coaches spoke highly of our guys.”

Doak batted .468 this spring with a pair of home runs and a school record 51 runs-batted-in. He doubled 11 times, tripled five times, scored 36 runs and stole 25 bases in 27 attempts.

“Braun is exactly what Waterford baseball strives for,” Schmitt said. “Hard work, dedication, toughness — he is our leader vocally and on the field.”

Despite not having pitched much at the varsity level entering his senior year, Doak became one of the Wildcats’ top arms this season. He finished with a 6-1 record and a 2.42 earned-run average, striking out 46 batters in 49 1/3 innings. In a district final win over Eastern, Doak pitched a complete game to earn the victory.

“He didn’t pitch until his senior year,” Schmitt said of the Mount Vernon Nazarene University commit. “That speaks volumes about how dedicated he is.”

As Waterford’s primary catcher and every-day leadoff batter, Jones put together one of the best all-around seasons in Waterford history. He collected 55 hits — a school record — in 107 at-bats for a .514 average. His three home runs and 12 doubles both were team-highs, as were his 30 stolen bases in 31 tries. Jones also scored a team-best 51 runs, drove in 24 more and had four triples.

“Hayden is the type of player who impacts the game in every phase,” Schmitt said. “He is consistent, he’s high-IQ and the moment is never too big for him. That feeds to the other guys around him.”

Defensively, Jones was a tough catcher to run on. He also pitched 37 2/3 innings, going 4-2 with a 3.35 ERA and 27 punchouts to give Waterford a solid third option on the mound behind Doak and Corbin Stark.

“What he brings to us every night is something truly special,” Schmitt said. “He’s one of the top returning players in the state of Ohio in Division VI.”

One impressive thing about both Doak and Jones was their ability to always put the ball in play. The duo combined for 234 plate appearances this season and struck out just 11 times. One of Schmitt’s philosophies centers around making contact and putting pressure on the defense, and nobody did that better than Doak or Jones.

“This is a tremendous honor for both of those guys, but it sets the tone for our program,” Schmitt said. “It speaks volumes about our program. It’s the culture we’ve built. We’ve gotten a little better each year. What these have done goes all the way back to the hard work they’ve put in since the beginning of their careers. They’re both well deserving of the recognition.”

Waterford wasn’t the only team in Washington County to win a district title. The Warren Warriors made an impressive tournament run this spring, with freshman pitcher Carter Strong helping lead the way. The right-handed Strong pitched complete-game gems in a pair of tournament wins over Miami Trace and Hillsboro for the Warriors.

NOTES: Last year, Waterford’s Zavier Heiss earned second team All-Ohio. … Hiland, the team that beat Waterford in the regional semifinals, also had a pair of first team all-staters — Mike Miller and Grady Monigold

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@newsandsentinel.com.