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Northwood baseball coach Dave Russell is looking for another strong season from the veteran Rangers, who won their first TAAC championship last season.
Northwood reached the sectional finals, losing to conference rival Ottawa Hills, which reached the Division IV state semis.
"Our defense will be solid,” Russell said. “We have a young catcher (Nick Whitmore) stepping in who did a great job for us last year on the jayvee team. We threw him on a travel team in the summer and he did real well there, too. All of our other starters are back. Our offense is going to be a key this year. Last year we struggled a little bit at the plate. That was kind of our weak point.”
Cardinal Stritch will have 11 players on its varsity roster and will start three sophomores and one freshman this season.
“Our numbers are way down,” Coach Greg Christian said. “Out of our 11 guys, nine of them can pitch so we should be OK pitching-wise. We don't have a lot of experience, with only two seniors coming back. We have a lot of new kids being plugged in this year. Our sophomore class is getting thrown right into the fire.”
Clay made the Toledo City League final four last season, losing in the semifinals to eventual league champion Central Catholic. The Eagles then lost to St. Francis de Sales in the sectional finals.
Coach Garry Isbell expects this year's squad to maintain a strong presence on the mound and improve at the plate.
“We have to hit the ball better early in the season and make sure we make routine plays, and we have to have run support for our pitchers,” Isbell said. “That was very lacking for us last year. Our pitchers did a very nice job last year, but early on we lost a lot of close games as a result of not being able to put the ball in play and come up with the big runs.”
With no clear-cut No. 1 pitcher and the graduation of their top hitter, the Indians will have to find creative ways to win games this season, according to coach David Quiroga.
“We've got to play the defensive side in order to be good,” said Quiroga, whose team lost its season opener to Northwood, 6-5, on Monday. “We're going to be a scrappy team on the offensive side. We're going to have to bunt, steal and hit-and-run to try to put the pressure on when we get guys on base.”
Northwood
Coach: Dave Russell, fourth year
Last year: 17-9 (11-1, TAAC)
Returning lettermen: Cameron Juhasz, Sr., P/1B; Jake Pressley, Sr., P/LF; John Romstadt, Sr., CF; Eric Russell, Sr., 2B; Ben Wilson, Sr., Utility; Nick Russell, So., SS; Justin Rohrs, So., P/3B; John Segura, So., OF/P
Outlook: Left-hander Cameron Juhasz, the Rangers' No. 1 pitcher, leads a deep pitching staff. Juhasz was 6-3 with a 3.44 ERA last season.
“Cameron has been in the program all four years and been a real solid pitcher for us,” Russell said. “He's a power lefty and he has some small schools looking at him right now. He's a great student and a great leader and he never misses an offseason workout. He's going to be our go-to guy, just like he was last year.”
The rest of the rotation includes seniors Jake Pressley and Marc Canaday (4-2, 4.35 ERA) and sophomores Anthony Rorigi (3-1, 3.21), Brandon Mahoney, Nick Russell, Justin Rohrs and John Segura.
“We're hanging our hat on our staff this year, how deep it is and their experience,” coach Russell said. “Those sophomores have played top-notch baseball in the summer. That class that's coming through has a lot of experience for us in big games. If the seniors keep doing what they've been doing and we get some contributions from our sophomores, we're going to be pretty tough.”
Nick Russell, who was first-team All-TAAC as a freshman, batted .420 last season with 29 runs and 17 RBI. Pressley, a second-team pick, hit .370 with 24 RBI and 20 runs.
Dave Russell said the race for the TAAC title will include several teams, although Maumee Valley has temporarily dropped its baseball program. The coach expects the Rangers to be in the thick of the race.
“We had a real good offseason,” he said. “Our offseason strength and speed program, we had 20-plus kids at it every day since we started. Our numbers are pretty good this season and we had a good scrimmage against St. John's and saw some things we liked.”
Cardinal Stritch
Coach: Greg Christian, 13th year
Last year: 12-14 (6-6, TAAC)
Returning lettermen: Matt Guy, Sr., P/3B; Tim Langlois, Sr., P/2B; Mike Blazevich, Jr., CF/P; Cody Kuch, So., C/P
Outlook: Stritch's only returning All-TAAC players are seniors Matt Guy (second team) and Mike Blazevich (honorable mention). Guy will start at third base and Blazevich moves from shortstop to center field in place of the graduated Gabe Pinciotti, who led the team with a .484 batting average a year ago.
“Mike is probably our best overall athlete,” Christian said. “We are very inexperienced in the outfield and we're moving Mike out there to patrol center field and take control.”
Other starters include senior second baseman Tim Langlois, sophomores Robbie Beiker (first base), Kyle Smreker (shortstop) and Joe McVicker (left field), juniors Derek Scott (third base) and Andy Geierman (DH), and freshman Brooks Gasser (right field).
Junior Mack Schwamberger will play all three outfield positions, depending on who is pitching for the Cardinals.
Stritch's No. 1 starter will be either Blazevich or Beiker, both right-handers. Guy, who was 3-2 with a 3.55 ERA last season, will also see action on the mound.
“Beiker is a 6-4 lanky kid and probably our hardest thrower,” Christian said. “He could develop into a pretty good baseball player.”
Clay
Coach: Garry Isbell, second year
Last year: 13-14 (8-3, TCAL)
Returning lettermen: Jesse Castilleja, Sr., 1B/HP; Austin Achter, Sr., LF/1B; Nick Sheehan, Sr., 2B; Jordan Grosjean, So., 1B/P; Ross Achter, Jr., OF/P; Jake Bedra, Sr., SS; Sam Berry, Sr., OF/DH; J.J. Miller, Jr., 3B
Outlook: The pitching staff is led by first-team All-CL and all-district pick Jesse Castilleja, who went 3-6 with a 3.75 ERA as a junior. Castilleja also batted cleanup and hit .303 and drove in 20 runs.
“He knows how to pitch well,” Isbell said. “He's a low to mid-80s fastball guy and has a phenomenal breaking ball and change-up. He threw all of our tough games last year.”
The rest of the staff includes sophomore Jordan Grosjean, seniors Jake Bedra and Tyler Stoldt and juniors Ross Achter and Brett Jordan. Achter went 2-1 last season, while Stoldt and Jordan are first-year varsity players.
“I think the upside for our top four pitchers is they are very versatile,” Isbell said. “Jesse's a pretty good pitcher who proved himself last year. Jordan Grosjean ended up being my No. 1 in tournament time. He hit 88 on the gun last year as a freshman. His breaking ball has improved tremendously and his change-up is very good. Ross is a tall lefty and has a very good fastball.”
Clay's offense will rely on senior Austin Achter, who hit .444 with 24 RBI, 26 runs and 12 steals last year. Achter, a first-team all-league pick last year, recently committed to Ohio State as an outfielder.
Two of the Eagles' other top hitters are junior J.J. Miller, who hit .346 last season, and senior Sam Berry (.326).
“I think our offense will be OK,” Isbell said. “Our leadoff hitter will be Nick Roman. He sat out his junior year with mono and is kind of a diamond in the rough for us. He just flies, and he's a very aggressive kid. Sam Berry is a lefty and is very versatile with his bat. He can bunt and he runs very well.”
Defensively, senior Nick Sheehan has moved to second base after starting the last two years at shortstop. Bedra moves from second to short.
“It's worked out great so far,” Isbell said. “They both have exceptional hands. Shortstop is more of a natural position for Jake.”
Waite
Coach: David Quiroga, second year
Last year: 10-12 (4-6, TCAL)
Returning lettermen: Catarino Hernandez, Sr., P/INF; Nick Wagner, Sr., OF/P; Sean Harold, Sr., 3B; Rob Garcia, Sr., SS/P; Dylan Clifton-Lorton, Jr., C/P; Cyrron Barringer, So., OF; Joshua Murphy, So., P/1B
Outlook: Phil Hatch, a shortstop/pitcher who led Waite in several offensive categories last year, has graduated. Hatch was a first-team all-league pick.
“We don't have the big hitter we had last year,” Quiroga said. “Phil was our all-around power guy and RBI guy. That was our big loss on the offensive side. We have to use our speed and our bunting ability and running bases and put pressure on the defense. We've got a few guys who can run and a few guys who can handle the bat well.”
Senior shortstop/pitcher Rob Garcia hit close to .400 last season and was a second team all-league pick.
“Rob needs to step up and take leadership with his attitude and performance and carrying himself correctly,” Quiroga said. “He's good enough, and if he plays the game like he should play it, tough and hard-nosed, his stats will take care of themselves. He'll do quite a bit of pitching this year. He was right around the .500 mark last year.”
Quiroga said Waite doesn't have what is considered a staff ace, but it has several pitchers who are capable of winning ballgames. That list includes seniors Catarino Hernandez, Garcia and Nick Wagner along with junior Dylan Clifton-Lorton and sophomore Joshua Murphy.
“We have a lot of No. 2 (pitchers) who can shut down most of the teams, and we'll be competitive,” Quiroga said. “I'm not going to be scared to put any of them in at a different spot. If they pitch like they're supposed to, we'll be just fine.”
Quiroga added that if the Indians get consistent pitching and solid defensive play, they will be able to compete in the CL.
“If we don't have pitching and defense,” he said, “we're not going to be that good this year. It's going to be tough in the league again. It gets tougher every year. Six or seven teams are going to fight for that final four spot.”
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