UNOH locals
Here are 2015 statistics for three local players with the University of Northwestern Ohio baseball team:
Brett Akins, 6-0, 210, redshirt junior, left fielder/first baseman — 37 games, 22 starts, .319 batting average, three doubles, one triple, 18 RBIs, three stolen bases
Andrew Burton, 5-10, 170, freshman, pitcher — 0-2 record, one save, 10.95 earned run average, 12.1 innings, seven strikeouts, three walks
Alex Leach, 5-10, 175, junior, shortstop — 40 games, 40 starts, .349 batting average, eight doubles, two triples, 18 RBIs, 22 stolen bases
The program has made a quick rise to NAIA baseball prominence, just like Alex Leach hoped it would.
He doesn’t need validation for his decision to attend the University of Northwestern Ohio. But it’s nice.
“I wanted to be part of a new tradition,” said Leach, a UNOH junior shortstop and Carlisle High School graduate. “There’s a lot of big schools that have tradition already built. Being able to build that from the beginning was a big reason I chose this place.”
Leach owns a .349 batting average this season and has been a fixture in the Racers’ starting lineup for three years.
He’s the leadoff hitter in a lineup that’s propelled UNOH to a 32-8 record and No. 23 national ranking. It’s the first year UNOH has cracked the Top 25.
That’s all good, of course. More impressive is the fact that this is the program’s fifth season of existence.
“It’s come through some blood, effort, sweat and tears,” said Kory Hartman, the Racers’ only head coach (137-98). “I’m blessed and very thankful to have this opportunity. It’s a compliment to my staff and administration, but these kids deserve all the credit.
“We returned a lot of guys this year. As a staff, we felt we were either going to have a really good season or a really bad season. I didn’t think there was going to be an average to us. The kids have done beautifully and competed every game.”
Redshirt junior Brett Akins, a Ross High School graduate, is another strong contributor for UNOH. He earned a Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Gold Glove as a left fielder last season.
He’s still spending most of his time in left and has started 22 games while hitting .319 in 2015. Hartman is also giving him some time at first base.
“Honestly, it’s been a blast,” Akins said. “The players that came here have been spectacular. It’s turned out the way I thought it was going to be and a lot more. And it’s still growing. I’m excited to see this place in five or 10 years.”
Akins has always taken pride in being a defensive standout in whatever sport he plays. First base is a new thing for him, but he’s taking it seriously.
“As long as I’m in the lineup, who cares?” Akins said. “As long as I can contribute, I’m fine.”
Leach has played third base, shortstop and second base during his collegiate career. He said he was a natural outfielder until he got to high school, where he played for Chris Hawkins.
“You could platoon him anywhere,” Hartman said. “He threw a bullpen the other day. We might pitch him a little bit next year. I’ve seen him goofing around as a catcher, and he’s pretty comfortable back there. His eye-hand coordination is probably good enough to play all nine positions.”
Leach had an eye-popping senior year at Carlisle, hitting .707 with a .773 on-base percentage. He thought about some Division I institutions, but opted to play NAIA ball in Lima.
“This is the first place that I visited, and I was just wowed,” Leach said. “I liked the small campus. It was like my hometown, and that’s what I was really looking for. I’m not into the big flashy stuff. I saw the best opportunities for me in what this school and program had to offer.”
Leach is the kind of player Hartman wants to attract. He wants guys with Division I ability that will choose UNOH’s size, facilities and national status over area schools like Bowling Green and Toledo.
The Racers’ complex passes the eye test, especially for a school with 4,500 students. A maroon-and-gold turf infield stands out in the fight against Ohio’s spring weather.
“Our recruiting efforts have gotten a little bit more diligently specified in what we’re looking for,” said Hartman, whose roster contains more than a dozen international players.
“We’ve gotten bigger. We’ve gotten stronger. We’ve gotten faster. If you were to take this team and play our first-year team, I’m not sure that the first-year team wins a game against these guys.”
Leach hit .297 as a freshman and .301 as a sophomore. Hartman said his development has been “neat” to watch.
“One word … gamer,” Hartman said. “He’s exactly what you look for at this level in a leadoff/shortstop type of hitter. He’s been great off the field. He’s a leader on the field.
“I could go on and on about Leach. He’s got an opportunity to leave a legacy and be one of those guys that will leave a footprint here.”
Leach leads the team with 22 stolen bases. He likes being a table setter in the leadoff spot.
“I get to be the test dummy for the rest of the guys,” Leach said. “If I get a hit or I get an out, everybody comes to me and I’m able to tell them what I saw. It’s kind of cool to be that type of leader.”
Akins received a medical redshirt after breaking the hamate bone in his right wrist (he throws right, bats left) while swinging at a pitch early in his second year at UNOH.
The left-field starter often depends on whether the opposing pitcher is a righty or a lefty.
“Akins cares,” Hartman said. “He puts in a lot of work and wants us to be successful.
“He’s a great kid on the field. He’s a great kid off the field, a good student. He’s one of those kids you want your daughter to grow up and marry.”
Akins played for Jason Rettinger at Ross. He likes to check in with his old coach when he comes home.
“I always ask Rettinger if they’re practicing,” Akins said. “I love to work with the outfielders, and hopefully the first basemen now. I think he’s going to be shocked when I tell him I’m playing first base.”
Akins and Leach both like to talk up UNOH. They’re both business administration majors who would love to play beyond college if possible.
“Making it to the major leagues is kind of unrealistic,” Akins said. “But I’ll play baseball anywhere. If I keep getting better, maybe I could play in an independent league or something like that. If not, it’ll be time to go into the real world and start making money.”
“There will be a time for this sport to stop in my life, but I don’t see that anytime soon,” Leach said. “I’m going to play it as long as I can. I’m not going to stop until somebody makes me.”
Also on the Racers’ roster is freshman pitcher Andrew Burton, a Middletown High School product.
The right-hander has a 10.95 earned run average in four appearances, but Hartman said better days are coming.
“That first year out of high school is tough,” the UNOH coach said. “You learn you can’t miss over the plate. He’s learning how to pitch, the speed of it, the strength of it.
“He started out as a weekend starter for us and got roughed up a little bit. We kind of changed our approach to put him in more situations where we think he’s going to be more successful.
“We’ll lean on him hard coming down the stretch because we’ve got a lot of games coming up. He’s only going to get better. I know it’s been rough on him and probably his family and maybe a little bit of his ego, but he’ll get through it.”
A huge weekend for the Racers is looming in Grand Rapids, Mich. First place in the WHAC will be at stake when UNOH faces second-ranked Davenport in Saturday and Sunday doubleheaders.
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