Central Division
Lg. All
Northmont 8-2 18-11
Fairmont 7-3 20-10
Wayne 5-5 15-15
Springfield 4-6 18-9
Centerville 4-6 18-14
Beavercreek 2-8 12-14
Springfield
Coach: Rob Cassell, third season.
Returning players: Seniors — Jimmy Powell, LHP/OF (.402, 24 RBIs); Brandon Short, RHP/OF/IF; Jalen Wood, RHP/IF; Kenny Dixon, RHP/IF (.348, 20 RBIs); Marcus Roberts, RHP/IF (.342). Junior —Titus Montgomery, LHP/OF (.403).
Newcomers: Senior — Trent Davenport, RHP/IF. Juniors — Tre’ Casey, RHP/IF/OF; C.J. Chance, RHP/IF/C; L.J. Grayson, RHP/IF/OF; Billy Sanders, RHP/IF; Chase Weber, C. Sophomores — Riley Borders, RHP/IF; Alex Shew, RHP/OF; Kyler Horton, RHP/IF. Freshman — Derek Williams, RHP/IF.
FYI: The Wildcats graduated the 2010 News-Sun All-Area Player of the Year, Jordan Moore. ... Powell is a four-year starter who made the News-Sun All-Area Second Team last year. ... Springfield went 7-1 against Clark County teams in 2010. Tecumseh was the only team to beat the Wildcats.
Coach’s quote: “Pitching should be one of our strengths this year. We have two of our top pitchers back. Hopefully we can build off them. We have a lot of growing to do at this time, but if we put in the time and work hard, I think we will be successful.” Central Buckeye Conference
Kenton Trail Division
Lg. All
Tippecanoe 15-1 21-4
Bellefontaine 13-3 20-6
Kenton Ridge 10-6 20-7
Shawnee 9-7 13-14
Tecumseh 6-10 10-16
Stebbins 0-16 3-23
Kenton Ridge
Coach: Aaron Shaffer, fourth season.
Returning players: Seniors — Luke Mamer, RHP/SS (.420, 31 RBIs, 6-2, 1.93 ERA, 70 strikeouts); Cory Evans, IF (.337); John McKinney, C (.300); Kyle Powell, IF/DH (.317); Drew Reynolds, OF; Jeff Tiffner, OF. Junior — Blake Blazer, P (6-0).
Newcomers: Seniors — Jared Hufford, P; Meric Curlis, IF. Juniors — Ryan Lyons, P/IF; Chaz Smith, OF; Jared Armentrout, IF/P; Brandon Rinker, IF/DH; Adam Roberson, C; Curtis Lininger, P.
FYI: The Cougars graduated CBC Player of the Year Derek Toadvine, who is now starting at shortstop for Kent State. ... Kenton Ridge lost 13-4 to Franklin in a Division II district final last season. It was the second straight season they lost to Franklin in the district final. ... Mamer has signed with Wright State University.
Coach’s quote: “Our biggest question mark is offense. Can we score runs? I think our pitching and defense will keep us in games.”
Shawnee
Coach: Andy DeWitt, third season.
Returning players: Seniors — Trevor Brown, SS/INF (.300); David Dillahunt, IF/DH, Xavier Jordan, RHP/OF, Jordan Hellwig, RHP/IF; Eddie Hoecker, RHP/IF; Ben Rowland, RHP/OF. Juniors — Michael Beedy, RHP/C (.315, 15 RBI); Deric Hellwig, RHP/OF. Sophomores — Jordan Huggins, RHP/OF (.364); Andrew Young, RHP/C/IF.
Newcomers: Senior — Quan Givens, IF/OF. Junior — Zac Crislip, RHP/OF/IF. Sophomores — Derek Zinkhon, RHP/IF; Tyler Bostick, RHP/IF; Frankie Robinette, RHP. Freshman — Joey Chapman, RHP/C/IF.
FYI: The Braves return 10 players from last year’s team. ... Shawnee split its season series with two of the top teams in the Kenton Trail last season, Kenton Ridge and Tippecanoe.
Coach’s quote: “Last year, we were a very young team that made some good things happen. That experience will help us this year. I like the mix of senior leadership and the talent of the younger guys coming through the program. We are working hard every day, and I am proud of the attitudes and the way that the guys are pushing each other to get better.”
Tecumseh
Coach: Roger Culbertson, third season.
Returning players: Seniors — Adam Dixon, IF/RHP (2-2, 2.95 ERA); Braxton Pearson, C. Junior — J.T. Brubaker, IF/RHP. Sophomore — Tony Evans, IF.
Newcomers: Juniors — Chase Culbertson, IF; Michael Luttrell, C/RHP; Trent Mead, OF; Alex Sheets, OF; Alec Stapleton, OF/LHP; Brandon VanHoose, OF/RHP. Sophomores — Jimmy Rowland, OF/LHP; Gabe Winans-Berner, IF/RHP.
FYI: Tecumseh graduated three players who received All-CBC honors last season: Zach Schwartz, Kyle Furlong and Oliver Bicknell.
Coach’s quote: “We are a young and inexperienced team with only a few returning varsity players. The kids have been working very hard, and we are looking to get better with each game we play this year.”
Central Buckeye Conference
Mad River Division
Lg. All
Urbana 11-5 17-7
Benjamin Logan 11-5 19-10
Graham 8-8 14-14
Indian Lake 7-9 14-13
Northwestern 4-12 9-16
Greenon 2-14 4-24
Greenon
Coach: Cliff Foght, first season.
Returning players: Seniors — Clay Robinson, 1B; Kyle Hosier, CF; Tyler Seitz, 3B; Ryan Steiner, P/LF; Ross Brandon, P; Nick Andrews, SS/P; Doug Devore, 3B. Juniors — Brandon McNeil, 2B; Jeff Godby, P; Collin Millar, RF; Tyler Steiner, Util. Sophomore — Tyler Renk, C.
FYI: Foght is a first-time head coach who was an assistant for several seasons at Northwestern. ... He said he instituted an offseason lifting program for the baseball team for the first time. ... Brandon and Andrews will be the team’s top pitchers. ... Greenon didn’t have a JV team last year. This year, it not only has a JV team, but it had enough players at tryouts that it had to make cuts.
Coach’s quote: “I have a real experienced team coming back with a solid seven seniors. They’re great leaders. They’re hard-working.”
Graham
Coach: Jeff Adams, first season.
Returning players: Seniors — Ben Coleman, P/3B (.377); Brooklyn Hutchinson, OF/C; Collin Johnson, OF/P; D.J. Snipes, 1B (.333, 8 RBIs). Juniors — Luke Black, P/1B/OF (.319, 17 RBIs); Levi Holcomb, C/P/IF (.310, 11 RBIs); Alex Mossbarger, P/IF; Tyler Ohnmeiss, P/2B.
Newcomers: Juniors — James Ehrle, 3B; Ryan Rowe, OF; Bennie Vanderpool, OF. Sophomores — Mitchell Bronne, P/1B/3B; Jacob Kizer, P/SS; Floyd Lowry, C/IF/OF.
FYI: Adams replaces Larry Bair, who was head coach for four seasons. Adams was an assistant under Bair for those four seasons. ... Holcomb made the All-CBC Mad River first team last season.
Coach’s quote: “We have several letter-winners returning. Our goal is to work hard to get better each and every day and compete for a league title.”
Northwestern
Coach: Jordan Shumaker, first season.
Returning players: Seniors — Cody Kaffenbarger, 1B (.393, 23 RBIs); Austin Hurley, RHP/OF; Tanner Spencer, RHP/DH; Mike Goheen, RHP/OF; Carlos Bailum, OF. Juniors — Jeremy Noffke, 2B; Eli Worley, OF; Brad Hall, 2B; Jordan Brewer, RHP; Tyler Sherrock, LF/RHP. Sophomores — Jaden Cleland, C; Cody Circle, 3B; Justin Phlipot, CF.
Newcomers: Freshmen — Austin Marshall, SS; Hunter Houseman, RF/RHP.
FYI: Shumaker is a 2005 Northwestern graduate who played college baseball at Cedarville University. He takes over for Brent Parke, who was the coach for four seasons. ... Kaffenbarger has signed to play Cedarville University. ... Of the eight starting position players, three are sophomores and two are freshmen.
Coach’s quote: “While we will be a very young team this year, we still have a great pool of talent. The team has worked extremely hard in the offseason and is highly motivated in practice. Although we lack a single dominant pitcher, we have a very deep pitching roster and some great guys who will definitely give us a chance to win. I think we may surprise some people with how successful we are going to be and how much we have improved this year.”
Urbana
Coach: Kevin Bowdle, 12th season.
Returning players: Seniors — Cole Winner, LHP/1B (.383, 20 RBIs); Clark Henson, SS/RHP (.362); Marcus Lingrell, OF; Myer Runyan, OF/1B.
Newcomers: Seniors — Brad Massie, RHP/OF; Kyle Robb, OF. Juniors — Levi King RHP/3B; Bryce Carafa RHP/IF; Michael Cebulka RHP/IF; Tyler Cross, RHP/1B; Jack Wilbur, RHP/OF. Sophomores — Eric Bader IF/RHP; Tyler Powell, RHP/IF; Deryk Fain, C; Dereck Dunham OF/C; Thomas Russell, OF/RHP; Michael Haffner, 1B/RHP.
FYI: Urbana won a share of a conference title for the first time since 1999 last season. ... Winner will play baseball at Baldwin Wallace College next season, and Henson has signed with the University of Findlay. ... Urbana is traveling to Vero Beach, Fla., for the first week of the season. It will play six varsity games, seven junior varsity games and two freshman games at the old Dodgertown complex, where the L.A. Dodgers trained for decades before moving their spring operations to Arizona.
Coach’s quote: “We lost a lot of senior leadership from last year’s team. We will be very young and with little varsity experience. Early on, we are working hard and improving every day. We feel that we have a team that can be competitive. We do have a lot of depth at each position.”
Ohio Heritage Conference
Lg. All
West Liberty-Salem 14-0 26-5
Triad 11-3 24-6
Greeneview 9-5 14-13
Northeastern 8-6 13-11
Cedarville 7-7 12-8
Southeastern 4-10 14-15
Catholic Central 4-12 7-19
Mechanicsburg 0-14 0-19
Catholic Central
Coach: Zach Raines, second season.
Returning players: Senior –— Kyle Cooper, 2B (.475, 15 RBIs, 23 SBs). Juniors — Dylan Besecker, OF (.309); Nate Sowards, 1B; Matt Garitty, OF. Sophomore — Mark Ellis, 3B (.364, 16 RBIs); Dimitrious Dimitroff, SS (28 SBs); Matt Horner, C; Joe Lynch, OF.
Newcomers: Junior — Taylor Gannon, OF. Freshmen — Ryan Sain, Util.; Zack Mounts, OF; Connor Hamilton, OF.
FYI: Central won two more games last season than it had in the three previous seasons combined. .... Nine of the 12 players will pitch, and the team has no No. 1 pitcher at this point. ... Brian Kelly, the area leader in home runs (8) last season, will miss the season with a torn labrum in his shoulder, an injury he suffered in the final game of football season. Dale Maloney, another probable starter, will also miss the season with a torn labrum. Three other expected starters elected not to play this season.
Coach’s quote: “We’re a little more experienced, but still very young. My expectation is to compete in the OHC. Triad is going to be tough. So is West Liberty. Being over .500 in the OHC would be a realistic goal.”
Cedarville
Coach: Kristopher Miller, first season.
Returning players: Seniors — Anthony Satariano, SS/P/CF; Corey Shelton, 1B; Kenny Snyder, 1B/3B/OF/DH; Seth Wright, P/2B; John Thompson, OF/P; Josh Dalton, C. Junior — Robby Kuriger, P. Sophomores — Kyle Oldiges, OF/SS. Thomas Sizer, P.
Newcomer: Freshman — Justin Liming, P/OF.
FYI: Shelton will be a captain and is switching to first base as he battles a knee injury. ... Miller replaces Mark Gainer, who was head coach for one season and stepped down to spend more time with his family. Miller’s assistants are Kyle Mack and Tony Satariano.
Coach’s quote: “I believe our team will go as far as it desires. The coaches will lead them in a direction they should go, so that in addition to baseball knowledge, they understand truth and passion in order to be successful in life.”
Greeneview
Coach: Paul Thompson, seventh season.
Returning players: Seniors — Kris Partin, RHP/IF (.319, 23 RBIs); Cody Reed, RHP/IF; Ryan Creamer, SS; Zach Raynor, RHP/CF (.382, 18 RBIs); Charlie Roberts, 1B; Brad Bornhorst, Util. Juniors — Eric Green, LHP/OF (.456, 12 2Bs, 36 SBs); Derringer Ross, RHP/Util.; Adam Elzey, RHP/Util.; Craig Perry, C/IF; Kaleb Carter, C.
Newcomers: Seniors — Wayne Harlow, Util.; Justin Northup, Util.
FYI: Partin will be the team’s top pitcher, and Reed will be the No. 2 pitcher. ... Green, a News-Sun All-Area First Team performer, led the area in stolen bases last season.
Coach’s quote: “If the team comes out and plays hard and works hard, we’ll definitely compete for the league title. We lost three or four seniors from last year, but for the most part what we lost didn’t kill us. We only have two new people to our team, so we have the core of the team still intact. If we’re going to make a run at the league title, this is going to be the year.”
Mechanicsburg
Coach: Dave Lough, first season.
Returning players: Juniors — Josh Rousculp, IF; Daulton Boggs, Util. Sophomores — Austin Black, P; Travis Rousculp, Util.; Eli Stapleton, Util.; Brandon Miller, Util.; Tim McMahill, Util.
Newcomers: Seniors — Alex Huffman, Util.; Cody Rodgers, Util.; Alex Peoples, Util.; Julian Stephens, Util. Freshmen — Luke Marsh, Util.; Matt Bogan, Util.; Tyler Lauchard, Uti.
FYI: Lough coached the Mechanicsburg softball team last season. He is a Mechanicsburg graduate. ... Black made the All-OHC second team last season, and Josh Rousculp received an honorable mention.
Coach’s quote: “I’m excited about our numbers this year. We have the potential to be competitive in our quest to progress as a team. With our newcomers, our team speed and pitching will strengthen this year’s team.”
Northeastern
Coach: Chris Kitchen, 22nd season.
Returning players: Seniors — Zack Robbins, LHP/OF (.348); Ethan Ford, RHP/IF (.328, 24 RBIs); Ryan Malone, IF; Mike Orahood, IF (.373); Brian Mabry, RHP/IF.
Newcomers: Seniors — Tony Reynolds, C; Mark Schwitzgable, RHP/IF. Juniors — Mitchell Binkley, RHP/IF; Tyler Ford, RHP/OF; Braden Hileman, RHP/OF; Justin Parcels, OF; Levi Hambrick, OF; Bo Watts, OF.
FYI: The Jets graduated their top two pitchers, Damon Williams and Aaron Smith, who had two of the top three ERAs in the area.
Coach’s quote: “This would have to be called a rebuilding year, as we have a whole bunch of new faces at the varsity level.”
Southeastern
Coach: Rick Woods, 24th season.
Returning players: Seniors — Joe Cooke, RHP/C/Util.; Tyler Cooper, RHP/C/IF/OF; Jake Fent, 2B; Spencer Saunders, RHP/2B/SS (.308); Brad Woods, RHP/IF/OF (2-1, 2.86 ERA). Juniors — Josh Black, LHP/RF/1B (.458, 3 HR, .710 slugging perc.); Caleb Diamond, RHP/IF (.359, 8 2Bs); Jordan Hitt, RHP/IF (6-6, 92 Ks, 3.55 ERA, .345); Luke Pavlatos, RHP/C (3.69).
Newcomers: Sophomores — Zane Grove, RHP/C/IF/CF; Duncan Mercer, RHP/1B/OF.
FYI: The Trojans graduated three seniors who were part of three sectional championships. They have 10 players on the varsity roster this spring working as pitchers. Their numbers are down with 11 players on varsity and 11 on reserve. ... Fent and Cooper are both returning after being injured last year. ... Black earned honorable mention all-state honors last season. ... Hitt set a school record for strikeouts last season.
Coach’s quote: “We have a lot more experience this season with nine returning lettermen on the squad. We are doing a lot of experimenting to set a solid defense, and we are concentrating on good at-bats as a team. Our goals are to compete for the OHC and have another strong tournament run. I have been proud of the team’s work ethic and dedication. The team chemistry will be a positive asset. We have a small group and they all get along well together.”
Triad
Coach: Will Nichols, 14th season.
Returning players: Seniors — Kaleb Deam, OF/RHP (.333, .585 OBP, 23 SBs); Tyler Wilson, SS/RHP (23 RBIs); Bryce Williams, OF; Zach Ford, 3B/RHP; Quinton Yocom, RHP/1B (7-1, 1.00 ERA, 83 Ks, .360, 20 RBIs); Frank Edwards, OF; T.J. Teets, RHP/1B/DH (7-2, 1.84 ERA, 64 Ks; .356, 35 RBIs). Juniors — Zach Propst, 2B/SS.
Newcomers: Seniors — Tommy Hayes, OF; Mikey Helterbran, OF; Austin Arms, OF/DH. Juniors — Cody Wynn, RHP/IF; Drew Butz, 3B. Sophomores — Colten Young, RHP/Util; Seth Collier, C/Util.; Ryan Davis, RHP/IF; Jacob Watkins, C/Util.; Austin Sanford, SS/RHP. Freshman — Tre McIntyre, C/OF/RHP.
FYI: The team returns eight starters, seven of whom have more than one year of varsity experience. The Cardinals have no catchers with experience at the varsity level, and two sophomores and a freshman will compete for the job. ... Teets made the News-Sun All-Area First Team last season. ... Triad lost 3-0 to Carlisle in the district final last season.
Coach’s quote: “Teets and Yocom will be a solid duo in the league on the mound. The seniors have achieved a league title their sophomore year and a sectional title their junior year. Their expectations are high as to competing for another league title and another solid tournament run late in the year.”
West Liberty-Salem
Coach: Toby Smith, 14th season.
Returning players: Seniors — Brock Bahan P/OF (8-0, 1.41 ERA), Canaan Thornburg, P/OF (5-1, 1.67 ERA); Levi Reed, C (.378, 32 RBIs); Cade Hunt, OF; Tyler Cordell, OF; Greg White, OF/P (26 SBs). Juniors — Brad Stengel, SS (.333, 18 RBIs); Chase Troyer, OF.
Newcomers: Juniors — Luke Cook, P/IF; Reese Kelley, IF; Tyler Ulmer, P. Sophomores — Matt Ulmer, IF/P; Grant Burden, IF/P; Max Bailey, IF/P. Freshmen — Kyle Crawford, P/IF; Taylor Cordell, OF/P.
FYI: The Tigers have won 20 games 10 seasons in a row. Smith’s overall record is 280-76. He was named News-Sun All-Area Coach of the Year in 2010 after guiding the Tigers to the OHC title and a victory over third-ranked Cincinnati Reading in the district championship. ... Tyler Cordell, a key starter his first two seasons, is back after missing most of last season with an injury.
Coach’s quote: “We have an eager group of young players trying to mix with our experience from last year. We are very excited to get this season under way and see what these younger guys can do. Our success will depend on our senior leadership and how quickly the younger players adapt to varsity baseball.”
Metro Buckeye Conference
Yellow Springs
Coach: Clayton Brady, first season.
No other information available.
— David Jablonski, staff writer
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