Prep Baseball Report

Division II Team Of The Week: Week 3 - Jonathan Alder


Bruce Hefflinger
PBR Ohio Senior Writer

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Division II Team Of The Week: Week 3 - Jonathan Alder

PLAIN CITY - Craig Kyle believed that Jonathan Alder had “a chance to be really special” this season. The Prep Baseball Report Division II Team of the Week is living up to those expectations with an 11-0 start to the season.

“Coming into the season I knew we had a great core of returning starters that had gained invaluable experience last year,” noted Kyle, whose Panthers lost in the districts to eventual state Final Four participant Bishop Hartley. “The combination of them and some very talented newcomers I believed would give this team a chance to be really special and a tough out during the tournament.

“What really has stood out to me so far this year is that our team is very close and are ultimately more focused on being about something bigger than themselves. We've had major injuries happen to two of our best players before the season where our guys didn't make excuses and had that next man up mindset. It’s truly amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit!”

This past week Alder beat Bellefontaine 8-1 and 11-10, surviving a 10-run inning, and followed it up with a 7-5 victory over Indian Lake and 11-1 win over Licking Valley.

“Our pitching has really led us throughout the early part of the season,” explained Kyle, whose staff has a team ERA of 1.15. “Ashton Martin has two shutouts and has not given up an earned run. Specifically this past week, Greg Kennedy was really good on the mound for us against a really good Licking Valley team.”

Kennedy, a junior right-hander, allowed just four hits and one walk while striking out five to improve to 2-0 with a 1.90 ERA.

Martin is 3-0 with 22 Ks and yet to permit an earned run while junior Garrett Roach is 2-0 with 11 strikeouts and a 0.70 ERA. Sophomore right-hander Tyler Barton is 2-0 with a 1.02 ERA.

“The talent of our depth, especially on the mound, has been something that has stood out to me so far this year,” related Kyle, whose Pioneers are rated 11th in the PBR Top 25 Power Poll and third in Division II. “I knew we had talented young players but until they actually prove they can do it in a varsity game you just never know for sure.”

There is more that the Alder coach has liked to date.

“One of the things you never know as a coach going into a season is how your team will handle adversity until it actually happens to them,” Kyle pointed out. “I've learned over the course of our 11 games and going through some major injuries that our guys have the mindset of not worrying so much about what happens to them but more on what their response will be to it.”

Two players the Alder coach pointed to as coming through when it counts are seniors Andrew Harp and Brennan Nichols.

“They have both had huge two-out run-scoring hits for us this year in some pretty big spots in games,” Kyle noted.

Harp is hitting .414 on the season with 10 RBIs while Nichols, a catcher committed to Calumet College of St. Joseph, has driven in 13.

Left-handed hitting senior Hank Shoemaker tops the squad in batting at .447 with a team-high 17 hits along with seven RBIs while Martin, a sophomore shortstop/RHP committed to Ohio State, is averaging .405 with eight runs driven in. Sophomore Grant Horne has contributed a dozen hits and brought home 10.

“The formula to winning in high school baseball is to not beat yourself and to make the routine plays in clutch situations,” Kyle said. “I really feel like the team that plays the best catch wins. We will need to continue to throw strikes, make the routine plays and have quality at-bats, especially in two-out runners in scoring position situations, to be successful down the stretch.

“Ultimately, though, the overall success of the rest of our season is going to come down to if we can get and stay healthy and if we can be fully committed to where our feet are!”

Two games with Tecumseh and a matchup with North Union are on tap this week before a rematch with Bishop Hartley on Saturday at Alder.

A Look Back At The 2022 Season:

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To view the 2022 Ohio Spring Scout Blog, click here.

A Look Back At The 2021 Season:

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To view the 2021 Ohio Spring HS Report, click here.

To view the OHSAA Baseball Tournament Roundup, click below.

To View the 2021 PBR All-State Teams click below:

To view the 2021 Preseason All-State Teams, click below:

To view the Weekly Team Rankings, click below:

To view the 2021 Ohio Spring Scout Blog, click below:

A Look Back At What Would've Been The 2020 Season:

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A Look Back At The Last Decade:

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A Look Back At The 2019 Season:

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A Look Back At The 2018 Season:

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A Look Back At The 2017 Season:

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To view the 2017 Preseason All-State Teams, click below.

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