The varsity Ada baseball team, from left, Row 1: Ethan Lawrence, Levi Green, Kaine Fisher, Max Puerto, Aiden Ritchie. Row 2: Mason Wibley, Blake Zoladz, Andrew Allen, Tyler Stauffer, Braylon King, Gavin Guyton. Row 3: Brody Rister, Jacob Szippl, Grady Curtis, Logan Fleece, Connor McKean. Row 4: Dylan Marshall, Kale Pedersen, Wesley Mowery, Sam Neiswander. Back: assistant coach Sean Anderson, assistant coach Kyle Francis, head coach Toby Smith. PHOTO Cort Reynolds
By Cort Reynolds
The 2024 Ada High School varsity baseball team enters its second season under the driven leadership of veteran mentor Toby Smith.
Ada finished the second half of last season strongly, ending up 9-15 overall and 0-8 in the Northwest Conference.
The Bulldogs won five of their last seven games, and defeated Cory-Rawson in the sectional semifinals before being eliminated by top seed McComb.
“We have our first JV team in something like 15 years this season, so we are excited about that,” said Smith. “We have 23 players on the roster.”
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Just over half of the roster is composed of a deep and promising freshman class.
“We are a very young team with a lot of baseball potential,” Smith warned. “We will have to learn on the fly, but by the end of the season we hope to be playing our best.”
The Bulldogs will have to restock their pitching staff. Ada graduated its top two hurlers in a pair of honorable mention All-NWC players - Spencer Wall and Roman Snyder.
Wall and Snyder also manned the key shortstop position.
Ada will have a deeper, but less experienced pitching staff this season. “We are not short on arms, but we are short on experience,” Smith offered.
The Bulldogs return six lettermen from 2023, and have no seniors on the roster.
Athletic junior Levi Green batted leadoff and will likely move to shortstop this spring from second base. “Levi will also pitch some,” said Smith.
Lanky sophomore Mason Wibley is the top returning hurler. He also will play outfield and designated hitter.
Speedy junior outfielder Kaine Fisher will move to center field and patrol that key position. He is a promising hitter and fielder.
Junior first baseman Max Puerto is also back as a starter. He is a solid line-drive hitter.
Tall junior pitcher Ethan Lawrence is another top returnee. Sophomore Aiden Ritchie is the sixth letterman back in the fold.
“We lost almost all of our pitching from last year and most of our hitting,” Smith noted. “But we have some live arms that are young.
“We will struggle on the mound and with hitting,” Smith admitted, "especially early in the spring. Our strength will be defensively.
“We think we have enough talent, it is just a matter of how quickly we mature,” he added.
Freshman Tyler Stauffer and Logan Fleece are promising southpaw hurlers. Xavier White is one of three sophomores on the squad.
Athletic freshmen Andrew Allen and Blake Zoladz are among the 11-man frosh class. Brody Rister, Connor McKean, Kale Pedersen, Sam Neiswander, Dylan Marshall, Gavin Guyton, Matthew Walker, Cobe Harris and Braylon King round out the roster.
Lincolnview won the 2023 NWC title with an unblemished 8-0 mark behind Player of the Year Dane Ebel.
Crestview and Columbus Grove tied for second at 6-2. Allen East and Bluffton ended up in a 4-4 knot for fourth place, followed by Delphos Jefferson and Leipsic at 3-5 apiece.
Spencerville finished eighth at 2-6, with Ada last at 0-8. Next spring, the Bulldogs will be a member of the Blanchard Valley Conference after 60 seasons in the NWC.
Ada last won the NWC baseball title in 1968.
“We have 10 JV games scheduled,” Smith noted.
The Bulldogs open their campaign March 25 at home vs. county rival Hardin Northern. The league opener is April 4 vs. visiting Spencerville.
“I hope to see a progression from game one to game 25 like we have seen from practice one to now,” said Smith a few days before the season opener.
