News Releases

Owens Express Baseball Opens Home Season Against Heidelberg University JV, March 15

PERRYSBURG TOWNSHIP, Ohio – Owens Community College men’s baseball will open its 2013 home season against Heidelberg University JV on Friday, March 15. The game will begin at 1:30 p.m.

All home games are played at the College’s Baseball Complex on the Toledo-area Campus. Owens is located on Oregon Road in Perrysburg Township.

Owens men’s baseball program finished the 2012 season with a 19-35 overall record and in fourth place in the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (8-16 record).

Early in the 2012 season, Owens has a compiled a 2-6 overall record following games played in South Carolina. The Owens baseball program is led by first-year Head Coach Devin Taylor. His Assistant Coaches are John Parisho and Zach Tanner.

“We have a great group of student-athletes focused on working hard every day they set foot on the field,” explained Taylor. “Our goal is to continue to improve and ultimately be playing our best baseball at the end of the season.”

The Express has nine players returning from last year’s team, including Ryan Horvath of Madison Heights, Mich. (Lamphere H.S.), Nate Manis of Port Huron, Mich. (Port Huron Northern H.S.) and Dane Davis of Romeo, Mich. (Romeo H.S.).

In 2012, Horvath, a sophomore infielder, was one of three members of the Express lineup to compile at least a .300 batting average. He finished with a .304 batting average and collected 28 runs and 25 RBIs. Manis, a sophomore infielder and outfielder, led the team in stolen bases with 29 and compiled a .262 batting average. Davis is a sophomore pitcher and earned OCCAC Academic All-Conference honors. Last year, he posted a 5-2 record with a 3.21 earned run average.

In addition, Express returning players include Justin Elder of Seven Mile, outfield (Edgewood H.S.); Nick Collins of Chicago, infield (Rich Central H.S.); Logan Shullick of Norwalk, second base/shortstop (Norwalk H.S.); Austin Legate of Strongsville, catcher/third base (Strongsville H.S.); Sean Koerber of Harper Woods, Mich., pitcher (Grosse Pointe North H.S.), and Garrett Scott of Genoa, pitcher/outfield (Genoa H.S.).

First-year players to the Express men’s baseball program are Nolan Rao of Toledo, catcher/second base (Whitmer H.S.); Jordan Hill of Whitby, Canada, pitcher (Sinclair Secondary School); Dominic Bucci of Sarnia, Canada, shortstop/second base (St. Patrick’s Secondary School); Dru Sebastian of Fort Wayne, Ind., pitcher (Blackhawk Christian H.S.); Alex Samson of Orrville, second base/shortstop (Orrville H.S.); Kody McCall of Trenton, outfield (Edgewood H.S.); Anthony Perez of Orrville, third base/pitcher (Orrville H.S.); Nick Morrow of Fairfield, pitcher (Fairfield H.S.); Luke Whelpton of Brandon, Canada, pitcher (Vauxhall H.S.); Ardian Selmani of Sylvania, utility (Southview H.S.); Sam Hackney of Trenton, pitcher (Edgewood H.S.); Benjamin Breymier of Indianapolis, catcher (North Central H.S.); Riaz Baksh of Mississauga, Canada, pitcher/third base/outfield (Mississauga Secondary School); Michael Fry of Bellevue, pitcher (Bellevue H.S.); Nick Street of Rockford, Mich., pitcher (Rockford H.S.), and Austin Cowan of Hendersonville, Tenn., first base/catcher (Station Camp H.S.).

Owens Community College is an accredited two-year, state-assisted institution of higher education that has served Northwest Ohio since 1965. With a commitment to providing small classes, personal attention and unmatched affordability, the College serves the diverse academic needs of credit and non-credit students on the Toledo-area and Findlay-area campuses, as well as at the Arrowhead Park Learning Center in Maumee and the Learning Center at The Source in downtown Toledo. Owens offers associate degrees that transfer to baccalaureate degrees in the Arts and Sciences and over 130 technical program areas in Agriculture, Business, Health Sciences, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Skilled Trades, and Engineering and Transportation Technologies. Owens students also can earn the first two years of a bachelor’s degree with a smooth transfer to any area four-year college or university. For more information, visit www.owens.edu.