Division I Team Of The Week: Week 3 - Hamilton Ross

April 19, 2023
Dylan Hefflinger
PBR Ohio Senior Writer

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Division I Team Of The Week: Week 3 - Hamilton Ross

HAMILTON - Brad Voegele’s first season as head coach at Hamilton Ross did not get off to a great start. But since losing the opener to LaSalle, Ross has not tasted defeat leaving Voegele a bit surprised and definitely pleased.

“We are a very young team with only five players with significant varsity experience, three position players and two pitchers,” noted Voegele, whose Rams are the Prep Baseball Report Division I Team of the Week. “The kids have bought into a new staff focusing on executing and doing the little things. Our senior leaders have been instrumental in the success of the team so far.”

This past week Voegele’s squad picked up four wins to improve to 10-1 on the season, beating Dayton Carroll 8-3, Landmark Christian 9-4, St Xavier 6-4 and Cincinnati Country Day 8-0.

“Pitching has been key so far,” pointed out the mentor of the 18th-rated Division I team in the state, which have won two more games this week, 10-0 over Northwest on Monday and 8-4 over Edgewood Tuesday to push its winning streak to 12. “Jeff Kist has been really good in relief for us and got the win against Carroll. Nathan Jester closed two games last week including 1⅔ innings against St Xavier.”

There has been more that has stood out on the mound.

“Aiden Vanderbilt has been awesome so far,” Voegele said. “He got the win against X. And Mitch Naehring was dominant against CCD on Friday shutting them out.”

To date eight different pitchers have picked up wins, with sophomore Nolan Ertel the only one with more than one victory at 3-0 on the season with 20 strikeouts in 12 innings and a 0.66 ERA. Naehring has thrown a team-high 16 innings with a 1.18 ERA while Vanderbilt, the 155th-rated 2023 RHP in Ohio, has 15 Ks in 14.2 frames with a 1.36 ERA.

Kist, a senior like Naehring and Vanderbilt, is 1-0 with a 0.50 ERA while Jester, a junior, is 1-0 with a save and 1.61 ERA. The team ERA is an astounding 1.58.

Voegele pointed to sophomore catcher Kerry Snyder with playing a key role in the success of the pitchers.

“He has done a great job managing the pitching staff,” Voegele said.

Improved defense has also helped the cause according to the first-year Ross head coach.

“Our defense hadn’t been great over the first seven games, but this last week we put it all together and played great defense,” Voegele explained. “Defense, pitching and executing will be the keys to continued success.”

With an on-base percentage of .461 and a team batting average of .311, the Rams have also impressed at the plate with Voegele pointing to Ben Voegele, Ian Busch, Nate Bray, Colby Adams, Austin Parker, Dylan Ayers, Austin Farris and Ty Graff.

“All of them have come up with big hits and quality at-bats,” the Ross coach said.

A left-handed hitting sophomore shortstop, Voegele is batting .500 with a team-high 16 hits, 15 runs and 19 stolen bases. Graff, a senior first baseman, tops the Rams with a .579 average while Parker, a junior, is hitting .370 with 13 runs and seven steals.

Bray has a team-best nine RBIs along with a pair of doubles while Ayers is batting .375 and Busch .323. Adams has driven in six runs and junior third baseman Farris five, including the game-winning hit in a 3-2 victory over Hamilton two weeks ago.

Voegele likes what he is seeing out of the Rams.

“I’m a little surprised by the never-say-die attitude,” Voegele concluded. “We lost our first game of the season and then rattled off 10 straight (now 12), some in comeback fashion including a walk-off against neighborhood rival Hamilton. We also had a big seventh-inning win against a top D-II team in Indian Hill.”