In 2012, Bowsher won its first City League baseball championship in 38 years when they topped Start 4-1 in the league’s playoff title game at Bowman Park.
As they take the field this season, the Rebels are favored to end a much shorter drought, by capturing the school’s third City baseball crown.
Bowsher got the nod in a preseason poll of CL coaches, taking three of the five first-place votes, in the poll to edge three-time defending champion Start, which received the other two first-place votes. Rogers was third in the poll, followed by Waite, and Woodward.
“It’s good to have the other teams give you the nod, but it also adds a little pressure for our guys, which is all right,” Bowsher Coach D.J. Eckhart said of being picked first. “It’s definitely going a little smoother [this year] because we’ve got five starters back, and they know what to expect and how I like to do things.
“The big step I’d like to see is some leaders on the field [to emerge]. That’s one thing we didn’t really have last year. Early on, I’ve seen a difference in that regard. They are some guys who are trying to take that role, and we’ve got some younger guys who will have to contribute.”
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The greatly diminished City League baseball membership is back up to five varsity teams this season, as Woodward has returned to play a full league schedule.
Last year, the Polar Bears and Scott each played a predominantly junior varsity schedule, with a few varsity matchups.
The Bulldogs will repeat that routine this spring.
The league was reduced from 12 to six baseball teams for the 2012 season after former members Central Catholic, Clay, St. Francis de Sales, St. John’s Jesuit, and Whitmer all departed to join the Three Rivers Athletic Conference, and former Toledo Public Schools entry Libbey had closed following the 2010-11 school year.
Back to the future, Bowsher and Start resume their personal battle for league supremacy this year, each with prominent former Start players leading the way.
Eckhart, a catcher on Start’s 31-0 state championship team of 1994, begins his second season as Bowsher’s head coach after previously guiding St. John’s Jesuit (2009-11). Eckhart played on three Spartan teams that reached the Division I state final four (1993-95).
Jason Wanner, the top pitcher on Start’s 1997 state runner-up team, begins his first season as head coach at his alma mater after serving as an assistant coach at under longtime coach Chris Hardman at Ottawa Hills since 2000.
When Wanner was a varsity pitcher-outfielder at Start (1997-98), the Spartans were 56-3 overall.
Now, the two battle as coaches to lead their teams in a quest for CL titles.
Here’s a look at the teams in predicted order of finish:
Bowsher (12-14, 5-1 CL last season) returns five starters plus another letter winner, but with only two seniors, still has a young roster.
Leading the way for the Rebels will be seniors Jeff Hutt (pitcher-infielder), who was 6-3 with a 2.56 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 63 innings last season, and Mike Mizick (first base-catcher), who batted .340 a year ago.
Also back as starters are juniors Rodney Ray (P-outfielder, 3-4, 3.74 ERA, 38 strikeouts), Charles Quinn (shortstop-P-C,), and three-sport athlete Bryce Mitchell (OF), who also starred on Bowsher’s football team and played on the Rebels’ CL-championship basketball squad.
“Our pitching should be good enough that, if we can make the routine plays and scratch a few runs across, we should give ourselves a chance to win a good amount of games,” Eckhart said. “We must continue to improve as the season progresses if we are going to compete for a championship.
“Winning a league title is important to us, and when tournament time comes that is certainly when you want to be playing your best baseball. The key to us having a chance is our guys on the mound being able to perform. They certainly have the capability of doing that, but time will tell.”
Start (11-16, 5-1) returns seven starters plus another letter winner from a team that won a third straight CL title last year.
Back as starters are seniors Noah Childress (P-IF), who led the league in batting last season at .427 and drove in 31 runs, Ethan Pennywitt (P-OF, .337, 15 RBIs, 3-1 pitching), Dalton Couture (IF), Justin Nunnally (P-IF) and Zack Miller (C), and juniors Tyler Peek (IF) and Chris Hale (P-OF, .289). Childress and Pennywitt were each first team All-City.
“Everyone in our program, form parents and players to coaches and administrators, is working diligently trying to reestablish our place as a perennial Division I district championship contender,” Wanner said. “We will play small ball, move runners, and play good defense.”
Rogers (12-12, 2-4), under third-year coach Ken Rossler, returns six starters plus one other letter winners in a bid to challenge favorites Bowsher and Start for the first CL baseball title in school history.
The Rams bring back seniors Jacob Frohlich (1B-P, 4-4, 3.19 ERA), Demetrius Powell (OF, .313), and Austin Bailey (OF), juniors T.J. Shinaul (3B-P, .355, 22 RBIs) and Cesar Avila (utility, .324, 4-1, 1.86 ERA), and sophomore Mateo Cordero (C).
Rogers will count on experienced pitching and baserunning speed as strengths.
“We look to be competive and compete for a league title,” Rossler said. “We look to improve in all facets of the game.”
For Waite (0-25, 0-6) and second-year coach John Segura, there is absolutely no direction to go but up after suffering through a winless season in 2015. And, there is reason for optimism in that quest, as the Indians return four starters and four other letter winners, most of whom worked on improving their games during summer-league play, fall baseball, and in preseason workouts.
Returning as starters are seniors Brandon Wagner (OF-P) and Deon Williams (OF-DH), junior Jace Gutierrez (P-SS), and sophomore Ancelmo Padilla (P-IF).
“Last year we were very inexperienced,” Segura said. “But a lot of these guys played a full summer schedule, played fall ball, and have been in the cages a lot during the preseason. The participation has been great.
“We’re looking to compete in the City League, and I believe we’re going to be all right. We should be competitive, and our strong points will be pitching and defense. They’ve put in a lot of work, and the interest is there.”
Woodward returns to the league as a full-time varsity team this season under second-year coach Ryan Glaze, whose Polar Bears were 10-10 playing a split varsity-JV schedule last year.
Program numbers are up from 19 to 29, so Woodward will have both varsity and JV teams this season. Leading the varsity will be seniors Carlie Martin (CF) and DaRon Johnson (LF), junior Demorrus Bankston (P-3B), and sophomore Burrow Alexander (C).
“We will be over .500,” Glaze said. “We’re improving, and we will surprise some people. We’re a work in progress, but we have some good sophomores and juniors.”
Contact Steve Junga at: sjunga@theblade.com, or 419-724-6461 or on Twitter @JungaBlade.
First Published March 23, 2016, 4:42 a.m.
