JJHuddle/PBR Ohio Division II Power Rankings: No. 11 - No. 15
March 28, 2014
By Dylan Hefflinger
PBR Ohio Senior Writer/Northwest Scout
No. 11 Richmond Edison High School
Richmond Edison finished last season with a 22-4 record, losing to Cambridge 4-2 in the district semifinals. Head coach Mike Collopy and his 147-46 record at Edison returns six starters and five pitchers from last season. Edison has won three straight OVAC championships, three straight Buckeye 8 League championships and has gone undefeated at home over the last two seasons.
The Wildcats lose four key contributors in Alec Jones, Tyan Kramarich, Brian Straka and Dylan Glasure from the 2013 team.
Coach Collopy feels the Wildcats will have strong leadership, pitching and defense.
Projected pitching rotation:
- 1 Nolan Marcus Sr 5'9" 160 RHP Sr (Honorable Mention All State, OVAC 5A PoY, 1st Team Buckeye 8/OVAC/Eastern District)
- 2 Clay Woodward 6'1" 195 RHP Jr
- 3 Tanner Evans 6'2 200 RHP So
- 4 Matt Dillon 6'0" 190 LHP Sr
- 5 Austin Horan 6'0" 165 RHP Jr
Coach Collopy feels the lineup will be good with situational offense, but will need to become more consistent.
Projected lineup:
- 1 Dylan Jones 5'10" 150 2B Sr
- 2 Josh Pasek 5'10" 160 RF Sr (2nd Team Eastern District)
- 3 Nolan Marcus 5'9" 160 SS/P Sr
- 4 Collin Scott 6'2" 215 1BDH/P So
- 5 Clay Woodward 6'1" 195 LF/P Jr
- 6 Tanner Evans 6'2 200 3B/P So
- 7 Austin Horan 6'0" 165 CF/P Jr
- 8 Collin Skeeles 6'0" 190 C Jr
- 9 Storm Allese 6'1" 200 DH Sr
Coach Collopy also feels the Wildcats will have a few underclassmen that could contribute in 2014. Freshmen Bryce Piatt, Joe Nave and Dominic Rogers as well as sophomore Nick Glenn (RHP/2B) and junior Brian Flack (LHP) have a chance to help the Wildcats.
No. 12 Carlisle High School
Carlisle and head coach Chris Hawkins move up to division II after
being in division III in the past. Last season the Indians finished 24-3, 10-2 Southwestern Buckeye Conference, while losing in the district semifinals to Hamilton Badin.
The Indians return seven starters and six pitchers from the 2013 season and are poised to show division II who Carlisle High School is.
Some of the top players for Carlisle in 2014 are:
- Hunter Back, P, 2014, 6'3-170, R-R
- Levi Boyer, C, 2014, 6'1-200, R-R (Olivet Nazarene football commit)
- Andrew Goodpaster, P/OF, 2014, 6'1-160, R-R
- Skyler Kelly, SS, 2014, 6'-170, R-R (unsigned senior, pictured right, ranked 253 in 2014 class)
- Josh Tarter, P/OF, 2014, 6'-185, L-R (Sinclair commit, pictured left, ranked 109)
- Alec Turner, 3B, 2014, 5'10-195, R-R (Sinclair commit, ranked 101)
No. 13 Dover High School
Dover and head coach Dave DiDonato had an impressive 2013 season, finishing 24-4, 13-0 ECOL, losing
to Harrison Central in the district finals.
The Tornadoes return five starters and four pitchers from the 2013 season and are poised to make a tournament run in 2014.
Dover is led by Kyle Abel (P/1B, Jr, 6'4", L/L, .409 BA, 6 HRs 47 RBIs), Cory Contini (2B, Jr, 6'1", R/R, .402 BA, 25 RBIs, 24 SBs, pictured right), Blake Blair (P/3B, Jr, 6'1", R/R, .315 BA), Evan Snyder (SS), Alexander Bowman (Catcher) and Keaton Lahmers (RHP/SS).
No. 14 Plain City Jonathan Alder High School
Plain City Jonathan Alder and head coach Craig Kyle have had plenty of success in his four season at the helm. The Pioneers have been to state three of Kyle's four seasons, winning state in 2010. In 2013, the Pioneers finished as the state runner-up, as the Pioneers fell to Defiance 8-2 as seen here, putting Alder's final record at 24-8.
The Pioneers return six starters and have the same high expectations as they have had in the past. Some
of the top players for Alder include:
- Trent Kaltenbach, C, 2014, R/R, pictured right, unsigned senior, ranked 157 in 2014 class.
- Scott Peters, 3B, 2014, R/R
- Casey Graber, LF, 2014, L/R
- Luke Nees, SS, 2015, R/R
- Bret Yutzy, 2B, 2014, R/R
- Mitchell Eye, P, 2015, R/R
- Zach Ary, CF, 2014, R/R
- Tanner Gaerke, P, 2015, R/R
A couple sophomores to keep an eye on are Tanner Killian (RHP/3B) and Jon Peters (SS/RHP).
No. 15 Wapakoneta High School
Wapakoneta and head coach Jason Brandt had a heart-breaking defeat to Granville in the regional semifinal 6-5 to finish the 2013 season with at 18-6 record.
After being state runner up in 2012 and making regionals in 2013, coach Brandt loses 10 seniors, Johnny Crawford (BGSU) AJ Etzkorn (ONU) Marshall Gerlach, Josh Apple, Alex Koch, Andrew Hines, Brandon Schreiber, Caleb Zwiebel, Keaton Zwiebel, Brandon Miller, to graduation.
Most people feel the Redskins are in a rebuilding phase, but with the coaching and the arm of Chace Culver I feel the Redskins are ready to reload.
Coach Brandt feels the Redskins will have a deep rotation which looks like this:
- 1 Chace Culver RHP (Northern Kentucky recruit, 3rd team WBL, 2nd team District, ranked number 73 in the 2014 class, pictured right)
- 2 Zach Golliday LHP/OF 5'10 165
- 3 Jake Bruns RHP/INF 6'1 175
- 4 Kodi Morgan RHP
- 5 Nick Bruns RHP
Coach Brandt also feels his team has plenty of athleticism, team speed and are a competitive bunch.
Projected lineup looks like this:
- 1 Quinn Lotridge OF/P JR 6'1 175 R/R (A very skilled athlete who can play all over the field. Coach Brandt is looking for him to be offensive catalyst this season)
- 2 Adam Henderson OF JR 6'1 185 R/R (Would have started last year as a sophomore, but had knee surgery during basketball season)
- 3 Chandler Kaeck 1B/P SR 6' 250 L/R (HM All Ohio 2013, 1st team WBL)
- 4 Chace Culver P/DH SR 6'3 205 R/R
- 5 Nick Bruns INF/P SO 5'10 160 R/R
- 6 Nate Kaeck C JR 5'11 210 R/R
- 7 Jordan Kaeck INF SR 5'8 150 R/R or Jarrett Koch INF 5'8 150 R/R
- 8 Kodi Morgan OF/P JR 6' 170
- 9 Keaton Metz SS/P JR 6'1 175 R/R
