Friday, March 23rd, 2012

Lake Campus baseball team makes debut Sunday

By Gary R. Rasberry
Photo by Gary R. Rasberry/The Daily Standard

Wright State University-Lake Campus baseball coach Rob Howell throws batting practice. The Lakers play their inaugural game on Sunday at Montgomery Field.

CELINA - After nearly a year of preparation, Rob Howell will get to do some college coaching for real beginning on Sunday.
The Wright State University-Lake Campus baseball team will make its program debut on Sunday with a doubleheader against Ashland University's club team at Montgomery Field with first pitch slated for 1:30 p.m.
After being named the first-ever coach of the program last June, Howell has been working on constructing a team.
"We've all put a lot of time into it," said Howell, a former baseball standout at Coldwater and the University of Dayton. "Obviously, that's what's needed to have a successful program. Guys have been working hard all winter and this spring. We have been building team chemistry. They've spent a lot of time together, the things you need to do, besides throwing strikes and getting outs. It's the little things on and off the field that we've been working on as a team so that when we take the field on Sunday we're ready to go."
The Lakers' team has 13 players on the roster and 12 are from the Grand Lake area. Howell will have five players from Celina, where the Lakers' mentor coached during the summer ACME season the past few years. Coldwater, Parkway, St. Henry and New Knoxville are also represented on the Lakers' first roster.
"We're hoping to generate a good fan base, because all our guys are from the area for the most part," said Howell. "... This is home to them still and we feel comfortable here. That's important for us. We think that will generate a lot of enthusiasm in the community. Hopefully, we'll get a good fan base and generate some wins for them."
In addition to playing in the Ohio Regional Campus Conference, along with teams like Ohio State-Lima, the Miami University branches in Middletown and Hamilton and Ohio University-Chillcothe, the Lakers will play against University of Northwestern Ohio (NAIA) and Urbana (NCAA Division II), along with the club team from Bowling Green State University.
"We're up for the challenge. We know what kind of challenges lie ahead," said Howell. "The guys didn't shy away from it. We had the chance to put UNOH and Urbana on the schedule and the guys were, 'Yeah. Let's play it.' It's going to give us a good test early in the season on how good we are, where we've come and where we need to go."
Howell's goal for the Lakers is to reach the ORCC tournament.
"I set the bar high, I always do," said Howell. "I expect a lot of myself as a coach, my coaching staff (Shane Gass will serve as assistant coach) and my players. Otherwise, there's no point in being here. It's about putting in the work and getting the result on the back end.
"We're going to work the whole month of April for our conference tournament in May. That's what it's all about. That's the goal: to capture an ORCC title the first year. Make some noise in the conference. Let people in the community know we're here and know what the program is all about."

2012 WSU-LC Lakers Baseball Roster:
#  Name  Pos.  Yr.  High School
1  Nick Legg  OF  FR  Celina
3  Joe Dellinger  P/OF  SO  Parkway
6  Josh Leonard  INF  SO  Celina
7  Kyle Markle  OF  FR  Celina
10  Jake Lawler  P/OF  SO  New Knoxville
12  Eric Kunkler  INF  FR  St. Henry
16  Trevor Burch  P/OF  FR  Dublin Jerome
23  Caleb Shreves  P/INF  SO  Celina
25  Jeremy Kerr  P/INF  SO  Celina
28  Bill Ray  P/INF  SO  New Knoxville
32  Jay Kleinhenz  P  FR  St. Henry
33  Aaron Rammel  C/INF/OF  FR  Coldwater
34  Keith Schoenherr  C  SR  Coldwater

2012 Lakers Schedule:
March
25  Ashland University Club (DH)  1:30
27  UNOH  4
28  Urbana University  3
April
1  Miami-Middletown (DH)  1
3  at Miami-Hamilton  3
6  BGSU Club  5
7  at Miami-Middletown (DH)  1
12  OSU-Lima  4
15  at OU-Chillcothe (DH)  1:30
17  at OSU-Lima  4
19  OSU-Lima  4
22  OU-Chillcothe (DH)  1:30
23  at Urbana University  3
24  at OSU-Lima  4
28  Miami-Hamilton (DH)  1
May
4-6  ORCC Tournament
11-13  ORCC Tournament
Additional online story on this date
Good schools, work, safety of the area attract Marshall Islands residents to Mercer County
CELINA - Many Marshall Islands natives have found a new home here due to the attractive amenities of good schools, employment opportunities, safe atmosphere and relatively low costs of living. [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
CELINA - Officials are trying to liquidate $45,300 worth of unused kitchen equipment the county purchased several years ago for the county jail.
T
Company to build 5-megawatt facility
CELINA - Investors of a proposed solar energy project in Celina want assurance that city officials won't enact a special tax against the two solar fields once constructed.
WAPAKONETA - As renovations on the Auglaize County Courthouse near completion, commissioners climbed to a rare view of the clock tower on Thursday.
A door tucked away in the back of a maintenance room on the new fourth floor leads into the original brick attic space and clock tower from 1894.
MONTEZUMA - A public hearing is set for April to discuss the proposed preservation of 512 acres of farmland from non-agricultural development.
Merc
Fatal accident
A 52-year-old Montgomery County man pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter and a stop sign violation during a Thursday morning appearance in Celina Municipal Court.
MARIA STEIN - Two meetings about new manure rules for Grand Lake Watershed farmers will be held Monday at the Maria Stein American Legion hall.
Farmers will learn what they will need to do to comply with the rules, which come into full effect in January.
NEW BREMEN - Neven Frazee will be a Fightin' Engineer when he goes next fall with the hope of becoming an electrical engineer after college.
The Ne
PEORIA, Ill. (AP) - San Diego Padres' starting pitcher Cory Luebke was also excited about his performance despite his team's losing 9-4 to the Cleveland Indians on Thursday during spring training.