Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Coach: Clay Rolf, fifth year
Last year: 3-21 (1-7 TAAC)
Key returning players: Ryan Kovacs (Jr., 1B); Bryceson Laurell (Jr., C/OF); Jayden Zuraski (So., C/3B)
In its final season in the Toledo Area Athletic Conference, Northwood would like to return to its winning ways and go out with a bang.
Coach Clay Rolf's Rangers only return three starters - Ryan Kovacs, Bryceson Laurell and Jayden Zuraski.
Last season, Kovacs hit .231 and Laurell finished with a batting average of .227.
The pitching staff includes Laurell, Ethan Leonard, Gabe Hicks, Jaxon Marlowe, Evan Rodriguez, and Brett Reichow.
Reichow, who plays center field when he's not pitching, is the leadoff hitter. Following him is Laurell, who usually catches. Leonard, who also plays short, hits third. Zuraski, who plays third, is the cleanup hitter.
Kovacs, who plays first and hits fifth, is followed by Rodriguez, leftfielder Mason Hurley, second baseman Marlowe, and rightfielder Hicks.
"Our goal is to consistently get better every game," Rolf said. "We have three to four freshmen that will regularly be in our lineup and pitching. I am excited to watch them grow and learn high school baseball at the varsity level."
Now in his fifth season leading the Rangers, Rolf brings with him a great deal of credibility. He is a 2010 graduate of Eastwood, where he played football, basketball and baseball for the Eagles before playing football and baseball for BGSU.
Rolf sees Ottawa Hills as the favorite and Toledo Christian as the second-best team in the TAAC, followed by Northwood, Cardinal Stritch and Emmanuel Christian.
Next season, the Rangers will join the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division, and Ottawa Hills will follow them the season after.
Rolf likes the decision the OHSAA made during the offseason to expand the baseball tournament from four to seven divisions.
"It will give more teams an opportunity to make a tournament run," he said. "I am excited to see the competition it creates."
