2025 Highland County Baseball Preview

HILLSBORO INDIANS
Frontier Athletic Conference (FAC)
Head Coach: Ben Miller (2nd year)
2024 Overall Record: 4-22 (1-9 FAC)
Last Conference Championship: 2019 (FAC)

The 2025 Hillsboro Indians are looking to show improvement from the 2024 season in ’25, as this season they return to the ballpark with renewed energy.

The Indians last season finished 4-22 overall and were 1-9 in the Frontier Athletic Conference. This season, the Indians have head coach Ben Miller returning for a second year, as he continues to build the Hillsboro baseball program.

Hillsboro’s roster for ’25 includes (via MaxPreps.com): Nate Lane (junior), Dylan Bender (junior), Zack Brown (junior), Wesley Bailey (senior), Cylas Everetts (junior), Luke Holland (senior), Gavin Greer (senior), Brayden Hunter (senior), Walker Pence (junior), Brayden Oberrecht (junior), Jack Cornele (junior), Brady Juillerat (junior) and Jeven Hochstuhl (junior).

Last season, the Indians averaged nearly four ruins per game and allowed 7.6 runs per game. In ‘24, the Indians had wins against Goshen, McClain, East Clinton and Georgetown.

The Indians’ non-conference schedule this season includes: Vinton County, Western Brown, Fayetteville, Waverly, Fairfield, Wooden Bat Classic at Whiteoak (two games), Clinton-Massie, Williamsburg, North Adams, Batavia, Circleville, Blanchester, East Clinton, Eastern, Goshen and Clermont Northeastern.

No stats were submitted from last season.

Hillsboro’s season opener is now scheduled for Saturday, March 29 at home vs. Western Brown at 11 a.m. Their game for Friday, March 28 at Vinton County was postponed.

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MCCLAIN TIGERS
Frontier Athletic Conference (FAC)
Head Coach: Donnie Ary (1st year)
2024 Overall Record: 10-16 (3-7 FAC)
Last Conference Championship: 2010 (SCOL)

The 2025 McClain Tigers have a new head coach this season, as MHS graduate Donnie Ary starts his rebuild of the McClain program that last won a conference championship in 2010.

The Tigers are coming off a season in 2024 where they were 10-16 overall, and they finished 3-7 in the Frontier Athletic Conference, but this year is a new era for McClain on the diamond as they work to improve the team day by day.

Seniors for the Tigers are Cohen Six, Connor McCune and Alex Perie. The juniors are Easton Ary, Eli Douglas, Carson Chandler and Colton McNeal. There are no sophomores on the roster.

Freshmen for MHS are Connor Chandler, Hunter Peabody, Hudson Lovett, Kolton Lamb, Hayden Cornell, Matthew Cummins, Landen McNeal and Kamden Penwell.

Six is a four-year starter, and last season he batted .359 with one home run, 21 RBI. On the mound as a pitcher, he was 4-0 with a 3.11 ERA.

McCune is also a four-year player who last season batted .302 at the plate.

Ary and Douglas are both three-year players, while fellow juniors Carson Chandler and Colton McNeal are new to the team.

McClain this season is scheduled to play the following non-conference teams: Fairfield, Piketon, Huntington, Amanda-Clearcreek, Westfall, Southeastern, Paint Valley, Logan Elm, Waverly, North Adams, Wilmington, Clinton-Massie, Fayetteville, Unioto and Western Brown.

The Tigers are scheduled to open the ’25 season Saturday, March 29 on the road in Leesburg against the Fairfield Lions at 11 a.m.

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LYNCHBURG-CLAY MUSTANGS
Southern Hills Athletic Conference (SHAC)
Head Coach: James Flowers (2nd year)
2024 Overall Record: 15-9 (11-2 SHAC, Div. II)
Last Conference Championship: 2019 (SHAC, Div. II)

The Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs return a team that were district runners-up last season, as most players from that roster are back to have more success this spring.

Coached by second-year head coach James Flowers, the Mustangs finished 15-9 overall and 11-2 in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference, where they were second place in the Div. I portion of the conference standings.

This season, the Mustangs’ seniors are Cole Wells, Christian Flowers, Asher Faust, Josiah Burns, Braedon West, Cody Bell, Caden Faust, Austin Bell and Jay Cordrey.

Juniors for LCHS are Elam Faust, Ryan Creditt and Caden Boone. The sophomores for the Mustangs are Aric Slack, Max Baker and Trevor Niehaus.

Freshmen for Lynchburg-Clay are Tanner Roberts, Quin Wells, Kristian Beachy and Harley Lewis.

Returning hit leaders for LCHS are:  Cole Wells (39), West (22), Burns (20), Niehaus (20), Flowers (18), Elam Faust (16), Austin Bell (16) and Cody Bell (16).

Returning run leaders are: Burns (27), West (21), Cole Wells (18), Niehaus (17), Austin Bell (16), Cody Bell (16) and Elam Faust (16).

Lynchburg-Clay’s RBI leaders returning from last season are Cole Wells (28), Flowers (17), West (13), Austin Bell (11), Cody Bell (11), Burns (10), Elam Faust (9) and Niehaus (7). Cole Wells last season also led LCHS in batting average at .534 in 73 at-bats (24 games).

This season, the non-conference opponents for the Mustangs are: Clinton-Massie, Southeastern, Zane Trace, East Clinton, Unioto, Blanchester, Portsmouth, Williamsburg and Bethel-Tate.

This season, Lynchburg-Clay is scheduled to face Clinton-Massie in a season-opening doubleheader Saturday, March 29 at LCHS starting at 11 a.m.

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FAIRFIELD LIONS
Southern Hills Athletic Conference (SHAC)
Head Coach: Kyle Zimmerman (4th year)
2024 Overall Record: 21-5 (12-1 SHAC Div. II)
Last Conference Championship: 2024 (SHAC Div. II)

The Fairfield Lions lost a good number of the players from their district championship team from last season, but they still return a talented group of baseball players coached by fourth-year head coach Kyle Zimmerman, as they were 21-5 a season ago, Division II champions of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference.

The 2025 Lions team has the following seniors: Corey Zimmerman, Otis Cockerill, Blaine Fauber and Zane Matthews.

Juniors for FHS are Ben Miller, Heath Flint and Zach Ahsaruk. The sophomores for the Lions are Caleb Rice, Cameron Miller and Van Bennington. Fairfield’s lone freshman is Anderson Humphreys.

Returning from last season, hit leaders for FHS are Matthews (39), Fauber (16) and Zimmerman (13).

Fairfield’s RBI leaders returning from last season are Matthews (30), Fauber (18), Zimmerman (7) and Cockerill (4).

Returning run leaders for FHS are: Matthews (33), Fauber (21), Zimmerman (8), Rice (4) and Cockerill (3).

Also last season for FHS, Matthews had 19 steals and batted .513 in 76 at-bats.

The Lions’ non-conference opponents are McClain, Hillsboro, Clinton-Massie, Williamsburg, Western, Paint Valley, Trimble, East Clinton, Unioto, Miami Trace, Greeneview, Wilmington, Portsmouth Notre Dame and Allen East.

Fsairfield is scheduled to open the ’25 season on Saturday, March 29 at home vs. the McClain Tigers at 11 a.m.

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WHITEOAK WILDCATS
Southern Hills Athletic Conference (SHAC)
Head Coach: Chris Veidt (34th year)
2024 Overall Record: 17-8 (9-4 SHAC Div. II)
Last Conference Championship: 2023 (SHAC DIv. II)

Last season, the Whiteoak Wildcats finished 17-8 overall and 9-4 in the Division II Southern Hills Athletic Conference standings.

The season, with Hall of Fame head coach Chris Veidt entering his 34th season at the helm of Whiteoak the Wildcats want to move forward from where they were a year ago.

The Wildcats have the following seniors: Camron Storms, Wyatt Ruark, Zander Roades, Jacen Applegate and Jackson Tedford.

WHS has no juniors on the roster, and the sophomore class consists of Christian Hite, Abraham Flader, Keian Moon-Stone, Izayah Clift, Jacob Kiley, Caden Butler, Jonah Michael, Charlie Starks and Cole Mason.

Freshmen for the Wildcats are Jacob Gibson, Kellen Limon, Rowan Roades and Hayden Stratton.

Returning hit leaders from last season are: Zander Roades (31), Kiley (15), Michael (14), Applegate (13) and Flader (10).

Return runs leaders are: Zander Roades (29), Michael (13), Clift (9), Flader (8), Storms (8), Applegate (7) and Hite (5).

The returning leaders in RBI from a season ago are: Kiley (14), Flader (13), Applegate (11), Michael (11) and Zander Roades (9).

Zander Roades also returns with 28 steals from last season, and Storms had 10 steals in ’24. Roades also in 77 at-bats had a .403 batting average last season. Kiley in 36 at-bats last season batted .417.

Non-conference opponents for WHS are South Webster, Paint Valley, Deb’s Wooden Bat Classic (two teams), Green, Western Latham, Miller, Symmes Valley, Felicity, Eastern Meigs, Lucasville Valley, South Gallia and New Richmond.

The Wildcats start the 2025 season on the road with a doubleheader at South Webster starting at noon.

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