TWO-HIT GAME … Terry Rebeck makes contact and reaches base for the Cadets in last year’s district final versus Montpelier. The sophomore hit .464 with 27 RBIs while scoring 24 runs last season.
By: Nate Calvin
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
sports@thevillagereporter.com
MONTPELIER – The BBC looks to be a three team race this spring as Montpelier, Hilltop, and Edon return key pieces from last year’s squads.
BBC Player of the Year Kenneth Smeltzer tops the list of returners for the Locos who were a perfect 7-0 in the BBC last season and made their deepest tournament run since 2003.
Hilltop head coach Tony Gerig and his Cadets look to build off of last season’s district runner-up finish and win their first BBC title since 1993 behind a potent lineup.
After finishing fourth in the BBC last year, Edon is considered a contender for the top spot this season as they return their top two pitchers in Kyler Sapp and Christian Owens.
Below are team-by-team previews for this season, obtained from information provided by the coaches, in order of last season’s league standings with last year’s record in parentheses.
1. Montpelier (13-10, 7-0 BBC; Lost in Division IV regional semifinals to Fort Recovery, 14-4)
HEAD COACH: Toby Hutchison (14th Season)
LETTERWINNERS LOST FROM LAST SEASON: Landon Fackler (P/SS) – .400 avg., 7 doubles, 26 RBIs; Pitching – 3.79 ERA, 2-1 record, 24 IP, 31 strikeouts; Jaxon Richmond (P/1B) Pitching – 3.23 ERA, 2-0 record, 13 IP, 21 strikeouts
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: JUNIORS: Kenneth Smeltzer (P/Utility/C) – .440 avg., 7 doubles, 21 RBIs, 23 runs, 24 stolen bases; Pitching – 2.41 ERA, 46.1 IP, 8-1 record, 59 strikeouts; Griffin Cooley (P/Utility/C) – .333 avg., 13 RBIs, 29 runs, 33 stolen bases; Jaxon Stahler (P/Utility) – .260 avg., 5 doubles, 11 RBIs, 29 runs, 13 stolen bases; Hayden Sharps (P/1B) – .345 avg., 6 RBIs, 11 runs; Pitching – 2.84 ERA, 19 IP; SOPHOMORE: Wesley Hartsock (P/IF) – .262 avg., 10 RBIs 19 runs, 16 walks, 15 stolen bases
NEWCOMERS: Sophomores – Drake Farley, Malachi Smith; Freshmen – Jacob Lyons, C.J. Fidler, Malachi Smeltzer
STRENGTHS: EXPERIENCE: “We bring back a large portion of our defense, pitching and hitting lineup. Almost every kid that was on the team last year had experience playing at both the varsity and JV level.”
“We have athletes who have “been there and done that”. We have a high level of baseball IQ that we hope translates to success on the field.”
POSITIONAL FLEXIBILITY: “We preach being able to have a plug and play mindset. Last season we had a major contributor who went down with a season ending injury.”
“Because of this, we played a lot of kids at different positions. Almost everyone we bring back has played multiple positions – which allows us to hopefully patch any holes that may pop up throughout the season.”
LEADERSHIP: “The group of kids that return back to us have played multiple years of high level baseball. These kids know the expectations of the program and they run things the right way. Our kids lead the underclassmen and take ownership of their own team.”
WEAKNESSES: YOUTH & DEPTH CONCERNS: “While we return a strong core group, we only have one senior on the roster, meaning we will rely heavily on our junior class and underclassmen to fill key roles.”
“With younger players stepping into bigger varsity roles, there may be growing pains early in the season as they adjust to the speed and intensity of competition.”
PITCHING DEPTH: “Our rotation has strong frontline arms, but the depth behind them is still developing. With a long season ahead, staying healthy and finding reliable innings from the bullpen will be crucial.”
OFFENSIVE CONSISTENCY: “While we have several returning bats, we lost key production in Landon Fackler and Jaxon Richmond. Replacing their power and run production will be essential, especially against strong pitching in the Buckeye Border Conference.”
DEFENSIVE ADJUSTMENTS: “With several players having the ability to play multiple positions, finding the right defensive alignment will take time. Ensuring stability and chemistry in the field will be a priority early in the season.”
SEASON OUTLOOK: “The 2023/24 season was our farthest tournament run since 2003. Making it out of districts and onto the regional semifinals with an extremely young group of kids was huge for our program.”
“Not only has it elevated the confidence of our athletes but also raised the expectations as well.”
“Our 2024/25 will be determined by our core group of returning athletes from last season. We graduated two cornerstones of our team in seniors Landon Fackler and Jaxon Richmond and return six starters.”
“This season we will only have one senior, so we will again lean on our large junior class. Returning is Kenneth Smeltzer (1st Team-BBC POY), Griffin Cooley (2nd Team-BBC), and Jaxon Stahler (Honorable Mention- BBC) as well as a healthy Hayden Sharps (season ending injury) and sophomore Wesley Hartsock.”
The Buckeye Border Conference is a gauntlet, and we hope that we can retain our league title. The bullseyes are always on our back, and we hope our boys will rise to the occasion.”
“Being able to build off of last season to use it as motivation for this upcoming year will be very important. We are excited to see how the new seven division alignment works out for postseason play as well.”
LEAGUE OUTLOOK: “I think the Buckeye Border Conference will continue to be a competitive league, top to bottom. Last season 3/4 of our district was comprised of its members.”
“Just based off of last season, I think that Edon, Hilltop, and North Central all bring back several pieces that could springboard them into a championship.”
“Edon returns two top arms in Christian Owens and Kyler Sapp, Hilltop brings back a good core from their district runner-up team and North Central has always been competitive.”
“Winning the league last year, we believe that everyone will be gunning to take us down. Our boys have to play to their potential day in and day out because of how talented the other league members are.”
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: BBC Opener: April 10 – Pettisville (A)
2. North Central (12-9, 5-2 BBC; Lost in Division IV district semifinal to Montpelier, 6-3)
HEAD COACH: Anthony Kidston (1st Season)
LETTERWINNERS LOST FROM LAST SEASON: Ethan Beard – .205 avg., 9 hits, 9 runs; Pitching – 2-4 record, 48 strikeouts, 44 IP, 3.80 ERA; Connor Gendron – .328., 2 HRs, 20 hits, 23 runs, 13 RBIs; Cohen Meyers – .353 avg., 24 hits, 22 runs, 18 RBIs, 19 stolen bases; Sam Moore – .207 avg.; Johnny Hicks – .193 avg., 11 hits, 13 RBIs; Pitching – 4.11 ERA, 44.1 IP, 48 strikeouts, 2-4 record; Ben Pettit – .339 avg., 21 hits, 15 runs, 16 RBIs; Pitching – 2.63 ERA, 16 IP, 1-1 record
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Gavin Shockley – .138 avg., 8 runs, 8 stolen bases; Wyatt Gruber – .192 avg., 9 RBIs; Jackson Poynter – .286 avg., 16 hits, 20 runs, 13 RBIs; Pitching – 1.89 ERA, 29.2 IP, 43 strikeouts, 5-2 record); Alex St. John – .179 avg., 8 runs, 4 RBIs; Kade Stewart – .277 avg., 13 hits, 9 runs, 14 RBIs; Pitching – 1.47 ERA, 14.1 IP, 1-0 record
NEWCOMERS: Freshmen – Masen Boles, Briggs Fiser; Sophomores – Carsen Nixon, Garrett Shockley
STRENGTHS: “Our defense will be hands down our greatest strength coming into the season. Our outfield will have a tremendous amount of speed, and we will have multiple players who come off our bench who will be able to step in without missing a beat.”
WEAKNESSES: “Experience and consistency. We will have to do the little things constantly in order for us to be successful.”
“Even our experience coming back is young and that will open the door for competition throughout our starting lineup.”
“Whoever consistently makes the routine play and gets on base the most will find themselves with the most opportunities to be in our lineup.”
SEASON OUTLOOK: “I will be curious to see what this group will be able to accomplish this season. Almost our entire lineup will have zero or very limited varsity experience.”
“Our lineup will be streaky, but we must throw strikes and play good defense every game in order for us to have a successful season.”
“We have young competitive kids who show up ready to get better every day which will benefit us in the future.”
LEAGUE OUTLOOK: “In my eyes Montpelier is the clear league favorite with Edon and Hilltop right behind. All three teams are very well coached, and our goal is to be right in that mix come late spring.
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: BBC Opener: April 10 – Holgate (A)
3. Hilltop (14-10, 5-2 BBC; Lost in Division IV district final to Montpelier, 12-5)
HEAD COACH: Tony Gerig (16th Season)
LETTERWINNERS LOST FROM LAST SEASON: Raace Haynes – .308 avg., Pitching – 1.56 ERA, 69 strikeouts; Wade Wagner – .260 avg.; Colton Wood
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Seniors: Devin Dempsey – .324 avg., 35 runs, 24 stolen bases; Cameron Schlosser – .288 avg., 17 RBIs, 24 runs, 4.61 ERA; Zander Runkel; Junior – Brady Wagner; Sophomore: Terry Rebeck – .464 avg., 2 HRs, 27 RBIs, 24 runs; Cameron Shimp – .257 avg., 29 RBIs, Jacob Haskell, Brennan Dempsey
NEWCOMERS: Sophomore – Micah Rossman (IF/P); Freshmen – Anthony Jiannuzzi (IF/C/P), Corbin Hartman (OF)
STRENGTHS: “We will have contributors from all four grade levels this season which is great. I feel like we have a lot of guys who can play multiple positions which will help us as we navigate a busy schedule. The top 2/3 of our batting order has the potential to be extremely dangerous.”
WEAKNESSES: “We have to replace some tremendous senior leaders from a year ago. We will need some very young, inexperienced guys to step up to help lessen that blow.”
SEASON OUTLOOK: “Our program is in a solid position entering 2025. As a program our record since the start of the 2016 season is 85-85. This is by far the best prolonged stretch of competitive baseball in school history.”
“Reaching a district final for only the second time in school history last year was a tremendous accomplishment. This success has made us motivated and hungry to take the next step.”
“We feel like we have a team that has the potential to win a league championship for the first time since 1993. Our ability to throw consistent strikes will be the determining factor for how far this team will go.”
LEAGUE OUTLOOK: “In the BBC, we believe that Montpelier and Edon will be our biggest obstacles to winning our conference as they both return a lot of talent from a year ago.”
“However, every team in our conference has enough talent to make us earn every win. We must show up ready to play every night.
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: BBC Opener: April 10 – Stryker (A)
4. Edon (7-15, 4-3 BBC; Lost in Division IV sectional semifinal to Pettisville, 5-0)
HEAD COACH: Brien Moore (11th Season)
LETTERWINNERS LOST FROM LAST SEASON: Chris Joice (P/1B)
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Seniors – Kyler Sapp (P/SS), Max Radabaugh (P/OF), Carter Steinke (2B/OF), Zayne Oberlin (OF); Juniors – Christian Owens (P/Utility), Jackson Clinger (OF/P); Sophomores – Corbin Chrisman (P/IF), Lane Brandt (P/1B), Kadin Stantz (C/Utility), Brayden Wehrle (C/OF)
NEWCOMERS: Freshman – Korbin Olds (P/Utility)
STRENGTHS: Experience, pitching, depth
WEAKNESSES: Offense
SEASON OUTLOOK: “We have had a lot of guys buying in to what we are trying to accomplish this spring. We had guys put the work in this offseason and they are seeing the results.”
“We have really been focusing on the offensive side of things in the preseason since we struggled with that late last spring. I am excited to see what this group can do.”
“We feel we have a very competitive non-conference schedule that will help prepare us for a competitive BBC schedule.”
“We know we must play our best baseball every time we step on the diamond if we want to compete and achieve our goals.”
LEAGUE OUTLOOK: “The BBC is going to be very competitive this spring. There are 3-4 teams that I think will be in the mix for a league title throughout spring.”
“Montpelier is the returning league champion, so they must be the favorite until someone knocks them off. Hilltop and Pettisville are going to be very competitive. Holgate always plays tough and are well coached.”
“We know that we must bring our best every Tuesday and Thursday during league play.”
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: BBC Opener: April 10 – Fayette (A)
5. Holgate (4-13, 3-4 BBC; Lost in Division IV sectional semifinal to Miller City, 12-2 in 6 innings)
HEAD COACH: Tim Kelly (11th Season)
LETTERWINNERS LOST FROM LAST SEASON: Dylan Boecker – .353 avg.; Jake Thome – .216 avg.
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Juniors – Austin Medina, Holden Hartman, Matt Healy; Sophomores – Zac Boecker, Grady Hoffer, Vincent Peck, Matt Verehoff
NEWCOMERS: Freshmen – Izayah Martinez, Wieand Stalnaker, Brock Verehoff
STRENGTHS: Pitching
WEAKNESSES: Numbers
SEASON OUTLOOK: “We hope to compete as the season progresses.”
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: BBC Opener: April 10 – North Central (H)
6. Pettisville (5-10, 2-5 BBC; Lost in Division IV sectional final to North Central, 11-1)
HEAD COACH: Paul Bishop (20th Season)
LETTERWINNERS LOST FROM LAST SEASON: Kaleb Wyse
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Seniors – Caden Bishop, Rylan Warner; Juniors – Creighton Aeschliman, Luke Horning, Aiden Crawford, Quinn Ripke, Sebastian May, River Vajen; Sophomores – Ryan Bishop, Rylee Bevard, Josh Morris
STRENGTHS: “Experience will be a big strength this season. This year is the first time in four years we will have more upperclassmen than underclassmen on the field at one time.”
“Pitching depth should also be a strength this season. Rylan Warner, Caden Bishop and Luke Horning, our top three pitchers from last spring, are all returning. They will provide us with three pitchers with plenty of experience throughout the season.”
“Consistency out of those three on the mound will be a key for our season. Quinn Ripke and Ryan Bishop will also provide us with valuable innings on the mound.”
“Our defense returns a lot of experience, and this should allow us to make most of the routing plays. Creighton Aeschliman returns at catcher (2 year starter), Caden Bishop -1B (3 year starter), Quinn Ripke – SS (2 year starter), Luke Horning-OF (2 year starter).
WEAKNESSES: “Our biggest weakness this season will be scoring runs. We struggled last year stringing together hits and simply moving runners over. With everyone getting bigger and stronger from last season we hope to improve in this area.”
SEASON OUTLOOK: “We took some steps forward last season, and we hope to continue taking more steps forward this season. With the returning players we have, we are looking at being more competitive this year.”
LEAGUE OUTLOOK: “There are multiple teams that can win the league this year.”
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: BBC Opener: April 10 – Montpelier (H)
7. Stryker (3-11, 2-5 BBC; Lost in Division IV sectional final to Hicksville, 9-2)
HEAD COACH: Austin Nickells (3rd Season)
LETTERWINNERS LOST FROM LAST SEASON: Jacob Cadwell – .308 avg.; Gavin LaBo – .212 avg.; Michael Donovan – .200 avg.; Austin Batterson – .197 avg.; Carl Glenn – .100 avg.; Lennon Capps – .100 avg.
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Daniel Donovan – .300 avg.; Jacob Myers – .400 avg.; William Donovan – .350 avg.; Eli Capps – .100 avg.; Chandler Lloyd – .100 avg.; Shawn Buehrer .050 avg.
NEWCOMERS: Bradley Williams, Walker Atkinson, Dylan Rivas, Cooper Stuckey, Corbin Cruz
STRENGTHS: “Having returning players in key spots we bringing back a majority of our pitching rotation.”
WEAKNESSES: “We lost a lot of experience with graduating five seniors and some key pieces to our lineup.”
SEASON OUTLOOK: “We look to be extremely competitive and push ourselves to take a big step in the BBC.”
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: BBC Opener: April 10 – Hilltop (H)
8. Fayette (2-14, 0-7 BBC; Lost in Division IV sectional semifinal to Antwerp, 2-1)
HEAD COACH: Matt Maginn (7th Season)
LETTERWINNERS LOST FROM LAST SEASON: Shane Maginn, Wyatt Mitchell, Hawk Brehm, Braxton Jacob, Gavin Figgins, Jacob Rose
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Caden Leininger, Carter Lavinder, Wyatt Bieber, Zander Johnston, Dane Andrews, Zach Oehlers
NEWCOMERS: Mason Leininger, Caleb Lerma, Cru Lavinder, Alex Lavia
STRENGTHS: Contact hitting, mix of youth and experience
WEAKNESSES: Pitching depth, lack of catching experience
SEASON OUTLOOK: “We are a young team that will focus on improving fundamentals.”
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: BBC Opener: April 10 – Edon (H)