March 24, 2016 at 6:45 p.m.
New season is finally here
Line Drives
The days are getting longer.
There hasn’t been snow for quite some time.
The temperature is climbing day by day.
Spring is here.
With that comes a new sports season — my favorite — and a new batch of things to get excited about on the field, court, course and track.
Fort Recovery’s baseball and softball teams kick off their 2016 seasons on Saturday (they both host Ansonia for a doubleheader at 11 a.m.), and the rest of the teams will be close behind in the following weeks.
Here’s a few things to look forward as we spring into the sports season.
Back to state
The bar is set high in Fort Recovery. The baseball team is coming off its first berth in the state finals since 1953, and coach Jerry Kaup and his team have made it their goal to get back.
The Indians return one of the school’s most prolific pitchers in Jackson Hobbs, who tied the school record for wins in a season with 11 and broke his own mark with a 0.76 ERA. He also had 52 strikeouts and just two losses.
Fort Recovery will, however, have to replace three important offensive pieces — Mitchell Stammen, Derek Backs and Cole Wendel — but a host of youngsters should complement the five seniors well on the diamond this year.
Keep streaking
Jay County’s girls tennis team won its third consecutive sectional championship last season, and winning a fourth could be quite a challenge.
Out of the seven varsity roster spots, only three players return.
Senior Kyra Braun is likely to slide up to the No. 1 singles spot to replace the departing Jessica Kerrigan. Last year’s No. 2 doubles team of Abby Reier and Abby Saxman are back for their senior seasons and will move up to No. 1 doubles. They’ll fill the hole left by Emily Westgerdes and Faith Parr, both of whom graduated.
But then things get tricky for the Patriots.
Shelby McClain saw some varsity action last year and could be a candidate for one of the two open singles spots, as could Megan Johnson. Other returnees from last year’s team are Kayla and Audrey Dirksen, Emily Reier, Sydney Baughman, Katy Hamilton and Brittani Snell.
Replacing more than half of the varsity lineup will be difficult for coach Susan Garringer and the Patriots, but Jay County has a large number of players capable of filling those roles.
Everyone’s back
Jay County’s boys golf team returns all five of its varsity players from last year’s team that finished fifth at sectional.
Junior Jay Houck was the top golfer for most of last season, and he missed advancing to regional by one stroke. Graham Haines played mostly from the No. 2 spot, and he will be looking for a solid senior campaign.
Juniors Kyler Hudson and Nick Hayden also had their shining moments on the course last year, as did sophomore Collin Haines, Graham’s brother.
The Patriots were third in the Allen County Athletic Conference tournament in 2015, behind departing conference champion Leo and three strokes back of Bluffton. With the squad coach Butch Gray has returning, Jay County should be able to make a run at a conference title.
Making regional as a team shouldn’t be out of the question either.
Time to repeat
The South Adams girls track team claimed the Allen County Athletic Conference title last season by edging newcomer Jay County by two points.
Sophomores Addie Wanner and Olivia Von Gunten each won a pair of individual championships, including Wanner’s conference-record time of 15.67 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles. Also back is defending 400 dash champ Caroline Kloepper, who was also part of the winning 4x400 relay team.
Kylie Grabau, a senior, leads a trio of Starfire throwers that coach Clint Anderson says he is hoping will have a good season. Grabau was third in discus and sixth in shot put at the conference meet as a junior.
Those are just a few examples of things to look forward to when spring sports kick off in the coming weeks. Each team has its own goals and aspirations when the season begins, and following along as they chase them should be fun.
It is also nice to get back outside after being cooped up inside all winter.
Also, be on the lookout for The Commercial Review’s spring sports preview section, which includes team photos, schedules and stories on the upcoming seasons. It will be published Wednesday.
There hasn’t been snow for quite some time.
The temperature is climbing day by day.
Spring is here.
With that comes a new sports season — my favorite — and a new batch of things to get excited about on the field, court, course and track.
Fort Recovery’s baseball and softball teams kick off their 2016 seasons on Saturday (they both host Ansonia for a doubleheader at 11 a.m.), and the rest of the teams will be close behind in the following weeks.
Here’s a few things to look forward as we spring into the sports season.
Back to state
The bar is set high in Fort Recovery. The baseball team is coming off its first berth in the state finals since 1953, and coach Jerry Kaup and his team have made it their goal to get back.
The Indians return one of the school’s most prolific pitchers in Jackson Hobbs, who tied the school record for wins in a season with 11 and broke his own mark with a 0.76 ERA. He also had 52 strikeouts and just two losses.
Fort Recovery will, however, have to replace three important offensive pieces — Mitchell Stammen, Derek Backs and Cole Wendel — but a host of youngsters should complement the five seniors well on the diamond this year.
Keep streaking
Jay County’s girls tennis team won its third consecutive sectional championship last season, and winning a fourth could be quite a challenge.
Out of the seven varsity roster spots, only three players return.
Senior Kyra Braun is likely to slide up to the No. 1 singles spot to replace the departing Jessica Kerrigan. Last year’s No. 2 doubles team of Abby Reier and Abby Saxman are back for their senior seasons and will move up to No. 1 doubles. They’ll fill the hole left by Emily Westgerdes and Faith Parr, both of whom graduated.
But then things get tricky for the Patriots.
Shelby McClain saw some varsity action last year and could be a candidate for one of the two open singles spots, as could Megan Johnson. Other returnees from last year’s team are Kayla and Audrey Dirksen, Emily Reier, Sydney Baughman, Katy Hamilton and Brittani Snell.
Replacing more than half of the varsity lineup will be difficult for coach Susan Garringer and the Patriots, but Jay County has a large number of players capable of filling those roles.
Everyone’s back
Jay County’s boys golf team returns all five of its varsity players from last year’s team that finished fifth at sectional.
Junior Jay Houck was the top golfer for most of last season, and he missed advancing to regional by one stroke. Graham Haines played mostly from the No. 2 spot, and he will be looking for a solid senior campaign.
Juniors Kyler Hudson and Nick Hayden also had their shining moments on the course last year, as did sophomore Collin Haines, Graham’s brother.
The Patriots were third in the Allen County Athletic Conference tournament in 2015, behind departing conference champion Leo and three strokes back of Bluffton. With the squad coach Butch Gray has returning, Jay County should be able to make a run at a conference title.
Making regional as a team shouldn’t be out of the question either.
Time to repeat
The South Adams girls track team claimed the Allen County Athletic Conference title last season by edging newcomer Jay County by two points.
Sophomores Addie Wanner and Olivia Von Gunten each won a pair of individual championships, including Wanner’s conference-record time of 15.67 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles. Also back is defending 400 dash champ Caroline Kloepper, who was also part of the winning 4x400 relay team.
Kylie Grabau, a senior, leads a trio of Starfire throwers that coach Clint Anderson says he is hoping will have a good season. Grabau was third in discus and sixth in shot put at the conference meet as a junior.
Those are just a few examples of things to look forward to when spring sports kick off in the coming weeks. Each team has its own goals and aspirations when the season begins, and following along as they chase them should be fun.
It is also nice to get back outside after being cooped up inside all winter.
Also, be on the lookout for The Commercial Review’s spring sports preview section, which includes team photos, schedules and stories on the upcoming seasons. It will be published Wednesday.
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