Prep Baseball Report

2013 Final Top 25 Team Rankings



Dylan Hefflinger
PBR Senior Writer and Northwest scout

How awesome would it be if after the state champions were won, we could have the Division I and Division II champs play each other as well as the Division III and Division IV play each other, or even better a bracket with all four teams within it? Moeller vs. Newark Catholic and Defiance vs. Wheelersburg with the winners playing for the overall state title.

Well without that luxury, the final top 25 will have a deadlock at the top. Tied as the best team in Ohio are the state champions in Division I and Division II, Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller and Defiance. 

Moeller (32-2) won its final 20 games in a row, outscoring its tournament opponents 82-8, to capture back-to-back state titles. On the season, the Crusaders outscores its opponents 295-83. At the plate, Moeller had a team AVG of .346 with 109 stolen bases. Juniors Zach Logue (pictured left) and Riley Mahan (pictured right) led the way, batting .455 and .406, respectively. On the mound, the Crusaders had a team ERA of 1.54, striking out 231 batters in 222.1 innings. Juniors Gus Ragland and Logue are the Crusaders' 1-2 punch with ERAs of 0.69 and 1.13, respectively. 

Riley Mahan

Zach Logue, LHP




Defiance (31-1) outscored its tournament opponents 48-6, led by the top 1-2 punch in the state, Robert Zeigler and Weston Rivers (pictured left). Zeigler struck out 14 in the semis, while Rivers struck out 15 in the finals, coming close to a perfect game and no-hitter. On the season, the Bulldogs' staff had a team ERA of 0.69 while striking out 276 in 212 innings. Junior Derek Turner led the Bulldogs with a 0.29 ERA, while Rivers and Zeigler had a 0.31 and 0.45 ERA while striking out 87 and 109, respectively. At the plate, Defiance batted .335 as a team with 98 stolen bases. The Bulldogs' top four in its lineup consisted of junior Austin Hancock (pictured right .385 AVG), junior Dom Gentile (.383 AVG), Zeigler (.437 AVG) and junior Adam Schaffer (.390 AVG). On the season Defiance outscored its opponents 243-46.
Weston Rivers throwing knuckleAustin Hancock

To view the rest of the Top 25 as well as 25 other teams in consideration click here.