What can Defiance do for an encore?
The answer will be coming soon.
While there are plenty of holes to fill, last year's Division II state baseball champions are again expected to be a top contender in the Western Buckeye League as well as the state when the season begins - weather permitting - on Saturday afternoon.
"It was a great run," DHS coach Tom Held reflected back on a memorable 2013 year in which the Bulldogs finished 31-1, captured the second state title in school history and ended 19th in the country in the final USA Today prep ratings. "The kids had an unbelievable season. They played their best baseball when they needed to."
Something the Defiance mentor looks for once again.
"There have been high expectations with this program for 35 years," Held said. "When I came here 16 years ago I didn't realize that. But that is the fun of it. This is a new challenge, a new season. The kids that got it done are in college and some are playing ball. But we have five lettermen back and four are seniors."
Seniors Austin Hancock, Dom Gentile and Derek Turner headline a roster with plenty of promise that also includes returnees Jacob Green (senior) and Wes Detter (junior).
"Team speed should be a strength, especially at the top of the order with Hancock and Gentile," Held noted. "There's decent speed throughout the lineup so we think we can run.
"We also hit it well in ACME so we think we can put runs on the board. But we have no power. Turner has the most pop, so we'll hit him in the middle of the order."
Hancock (.385, 36 runs, 22 SB), who is expected to be the ace of a deep pitching staff, will lead off and play shortstop when not on the mound. Green is expected to bat second and play center field with Gentile (.383, 34 runs, 24 SB), coming off a labrum injury, batting third and playing somewhere in the infield.
Turner (.286), a pitcher/infielder, is slated to hit clean-up with right fielder Jimmy Bauer, a junior left-handed hitter, fifth in the order. Gage Cordray, who had rotator cuff and labrum surgery in August and is 70 percent according to Held, will catch and bat sixth. Sophomore Shay Smiddy will also play infield and hit seventh.
Detter will open in left field and also play some center while batting eighth with infielder Boo Sierra rounding out the expected starting lineup.
The big stick of Robert Zeigler, now at the University of Kentucky, must be replaced after producing a .437 batting average with five home runs and 37 RBIs. Other top hitters lost to graduation include Austin Yant (.315), Dom Romero (.308) and Drake Jimenez (.321) while catcher Joe Keween (.263) leaves a big hole to fill behind the plate.
Bauer, Gentile and Torrence Hicks, a left-handed hitter, are all potential first basemen to open the 2014 campaign with Sierra, Gentile, Turner and Smiddy to play second, short or third depending on the health status of Gentile as well as who is on the mound. Sierra is expected to man the shortstop position when Hancock toes the hill with Smiddy another possibility.
"Everybody is back in the infield, it's just at different positions," Held said.
In last year's state tournament, Turner was at second, Hancock short and Gentile third.
"This is as much experience in the infield as we've ever had," Held added.
Detter, Green, Bauer and Brice Rankin lead the outfield contingent for the Bulldogs.
"Defense should be a strength," Held said. "We're pretty athletic and run pretty well."
Depth at catcher will come in the way of Tyler Weaver.
Speaking of depth, there is plenty of it when it comes to pitching. Yet, it is also the biggest concern at this time for Held, who is now 386-59 in his time at the helm of the Bulldogs.
"Pitching is our biggest question mark," said the DHS skipper, who is 589-132 in 26 years as a head coach. "We have five legit pitchers and all five have pretty good stuff, but the question is how consistent they are with their command. All but Hancock have had trouble in the past throwing strikes."
Hancock was 3-1 with a 1.42 ERA in five appearances last year for the Bulldogs, throwing 24 2/3 innings with 21 strikeouts and 15 walks.
Turner allowed just one earned run in 24 innings on the mound last season (0.29 ERA), finishing with a 5-0 record. The senior right-hander struck out 33 and walked 18.
But no other returnee threw for the state championship team, which lost the one-two punch of Zeigler and Weston Rivers to graduation. Both finished 10-0 with Rivers going 68 2/3 innings with 87 strikeouts, 12 walks and a 0.31 ERA. Zeigler tossed 62 2/3 innings, fanning 109 and walking 26 with a 0.45 ERA.
Pitchers Mazen Kanouh (1-0, 0.98 ERA, 10 appearances) and Ethan Willitzer (2-0, 2.38 ERA, five games) also graduated.
But the cupboard is far from bare for Defiance.
Michael Hendricks, Green, Smiddy and Ty Gutierrez give Held four more pitchers to consider this season along with Hancock and Turner.
Hendricks, a junior right-hander that approaches 90 mph, is getting plenty of college interest.
"He has a ton of potential," Held said of the 6-3, 215-pounder. "He's really throwing well. He's been 86-90 consistently. If it clicks for him watch out."
Green hits 85-86 on the gun, earning Top Prospect honors at a recent Prep Baseball Report showcase for current seniors.
"Jacob Green is a sleeper," Held said of the 6-0 right-hander. "He had a good summer for us, the key for him is getting ahead of hitters."
Smiddy, a 6-4 sophomore, is behind due to the long tournament run by Defiance in basketball, while Gutierrez, a 5-8 senior, threw the most innings for the Defiance ACME team in the summer's state championship run.
"We've got lots of pitching, we're just not going in with a known (standout) like Dace Kime, Tyler Burgoon, Anthony Kidston, Chad Billingsley and Jon Niese," Held said. "This is unique in we don't have that, but depth-wise this is a lot like 2008 (Kime, Justin Hancock, Richie Killion and Adam Wagner)."
The Bulldogs, which are ranked first in the state in Division II in the Prep Baseball Report preseason ratings, are scheduled to open the season with Wauseon, Findlay, Eastwood, Napoleon and Paulding before starting WBL play on Tuesday, April 8 at home with Lima Shawnee. Defiance enters that game riding a 68-game WBL winning streak.
"We play one game at a time and some how they've accumulated," Held said.
Wapakoneta, Lima Bath, Ottawa-Glandorf and Shawnee are expected to be the top contenders in the league this season.
The schedule has had a couple changes, with Parkway and Delta replaced by Lima Central Catholic and Columbus Bexley. LCC was the 2012 Division III state runners-up and finished 19-13 a year ago, while Bexley returns nearly everyone from a 20-8 squad. Games with Division I programs Findlay, Bowling Green, Whitmer and Toledo Central Catholic highlight the non-league portion of the schedule.
Schedule
3-28 Wauseon H
4-3 Findlay A
4-5 Eastwood A
4-5 Napoleon A
4-7 Paulding A
4-8 Shawnee H
4-11 Kenton A
4-12 BG A
4-12 Bryan A
4-14 LCC H
4-15 Elida A
4-17 Bath H
4-19 Fre. Ross A
4-19 Tiffin Col. A
4-21 Tinora H
4-22 Celina A
4-24 Southview H
4-25 O-G A
4-28 Fairview A
4-29 Wapak H
5-1 Tol. CC H
5-2 St. Marys A
5-3 Elmwood H
5-6 Van Wert H
5-8 Whitmer H
5-10 Bexley H
5-13 Archbold A