Friday, March 31, 2000
Baseball Preview: Div. II-II-IV
No. 1 Badin reloads with offense, pitching
BY DAVE SCHUTTE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
When voting in The Cincinnati Enquirer's Division II-III-IV preseason baseball poll, Badin coach Mark Maus didn't include the Rams. But 10 of the 14 coaches placed the "favorites hat' on a Badin team that has averaged 21 victories a season and won two Division II state championships during the past 10 years.
Loveland, McNicholas, Ross and Madeira round out the top five.
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DIVISION II-IV POLL
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1. Badin (10) 118
2. Loveland (2) 106
3. McNicholas (1) 88
4. Ross 79
5. Madeira (1) 64
6. Roger Bacon 59
6. Norwood 55
8. Kings 46
9. Purcell Marian 36
10. New Richmond 24
Others: Clermont Northeastern 16, Batavia 14, Turpin 12, Taylor 11, Wyoming 10, Little Miami 8, Cincinnati Country Day 8, Hillsboro 7, Indian hill 6, Franklin 5, Lebanon 4, Bethel-Tate 3, St. Bernard 3, Mariemont 2, Edgewood 2, Northwest 2, Summit Country Day 2, Western Brown 2, Finneytown 1.
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Here's a look at the top 10:
1. Badin: This could be one of the Rams best offensive teams in years with Dominic Frankey (.412), Adam Kuzma (.372), Luke Bowling (.305) and Dustin Forney (.424) the mainstays.
Sean McGowah (3-0, 2.45 ERA) and Forney (2-0, 1.97 ERA) will anchor a young pitching staff that will also rely on Joe Becker and Jason Hunt.
“We return three-fourth of the infield, plus Adam (Kuzma) in center field,” Maus said. “McGowah, Forney, Hunt and Becker have varsity innings but have not thrown a lot at this level.”
2. Loveland: Pitching will be one of the Tigers strengths with juniors Adam Wilkinson, Mike Patterson, Mike Deathrage, Kevin Grubb and Ryan Douglas joining senior Josh Wustman and Jon Andre.
Glen Este transfer Blake Porter, outfielder Paul Riesenberg, four-year starter Blake Betz and third year catcher Nate Engel will provide the offensive punch.
“We must replace four-year starter Larry Schildmeyer and all city pitcher John Hembree,” coach Dave Evans said. “Pitching depth will be one of our strengths.”
3. McNicholas: Strong pitching will be the strength of a Rocket team that lost seven-of-nine starters to graduation.
“We have seven good arms,” coach Willy Corbett said. “But, we'll be inexperienced at six-of-eight positions and winning early games will be important in order to gain confidence.”
The pitchers Corbett is relying on include Matt Kaiser, Jon Cremons and Chuck Moore.
4. Ross: First year coach Jay Lytle inherited a team loaded with pitching depth and a strong infield.
The Minges brothers, Justin and Scott, will be the mainstays of a pitching staff that also includes Kevin Hutson, Lonnie Lack, Matt Wyant, and Dominic Bogolo. Catcher Derrick Ramsey is also back.
“Defensively, we'll be very strong at catcher, shortstop (Hutson), second (Frank Russo) and center field (Bogolo),” Lytle said. “Our pitching is very deep but inexperienced.”
5. Madeira: The defending Division III state champion Mustangs will have a tough time repeating unless the young pitchers quickly take it to the next level.
However, coach Jack Kuzniczci will field a strong offensive team with Tim Dooley (.383), John Elfring (.414), Tim Disbennett .327), Rick Ramirez (.352) and Mike Novakov (.449) the catalyst.
Defensively, Madeira will also be strong with virtually the entire infield back. Pitching is the major concern with Dooley (4-1), Jeff Bookout (0-0) and Chris Crawford (1-0) the mainstays.
6. Roger Bacon: Pitcher Chris Hunt and infielder/outfielder Joe Gering are the Spartans only returning starters although outfielder Andy Holt saw limited action during the tournament.
However, look for seniors Matt Moll and Dan Mouch, along with a group of talented players up from the JV team, to develop into a strong unit.
7. Norwood: Although the Indians lack depth and numbers, they will field another strong offensive team that lacks pitching experience.
Steve Pickerill (.358 batting average), Mike Marksbury (.312), Blair Murphy (.241) and Adam Bryce (.368) will provide the offense for pitchers Matt and Mark Marksbury, Chad McQueen, Donnie White and Jeff Runion.
8. Kings: The Knights may be overrated at this point in the season but counting out any team coach by veteran Gary Schiering has been a mistake in past seasons.
With only one returning letter winner (Jeromy Osborne), Kings may struggle early due to a lack of experience as reflected by a roster that includes only four seniors and five juniors.
9. Purcell Marian: The Cavaliers may be the most underrated team in the top 10.
Coach Tom Nerl is not only blessed with outstanding speed, he also has five solid hitters in Mike Smith, Kyle Matuszek, Vince berry, Rick Sweeney, Nate Staley and E.J. Simmon.
“Our speed is outstanding with four guys who run 4.5 or better in the 40,” Nerl said. “Our weaknesses are inexperience at catcher and first base.”
10. New Richmond: The Lions will be an explosive offensive team with Casey Poynter (..430 batting average) and Nathan Burns (.310) the top returning players.
However, a lack of experience, especially in the pitching department, could be tough to overcome.
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