Edison State’s Baseball and Softball Seasons Kick Off

Edison State Community College’s baseball and softball teams returned to the field this past weekend. The first softball matches took place on Friday, March 1, while the baseball season kicked off on Saturday, March 2.

Tyler Koch returns as Head Coach for his sixth season with the Charger baseball program, with a 69-67 overall record and a 40-29 conference record.

During Koch’s first season in 2019, the Chargers set a school win record with 25 overall wins and 15 conference wins. They finished second in the conference, earning a bid to the Sub-Regional Tournament, the highest finish in school history.

In 2022, the Chargers finished fourth in the conference, qualifying and winning the Sub-Regional Championship, defeating Bryant & Stratton and Ivy Tech-Northeast. The team reached the NJCAA Region XII District Tournament for the first time in school history. Koch’s Chargers advanced to the NJCAA Region XII Final Four after dominating Clark State in Round 1 of the NJCAA Region XII District Tournament.

Koch has sent over 25 student-athletes to four-year institutions to continue their education and athletic careers.

“Edison State baseball has one of the toughest schedules in Division II, Region XII,” said Koch. “The Chargers open the 2024 season with 20 straight home games. We’ll host several Michigan teams, including nationally ranked Kellogg Community College, Grand Rapids Community College, Mott Community College, Macomb Community College, Schoolcraft Community College, and St. Clair County Community College. Then we have the challenging OCCAC gauntlet.”

The Chargers return to the field with 11 sophomores and 17 freshmen.

“Our returning sophomores all had solid action as freshmen and look to lead the Chargers during the 2024 season,” Koch said.

The Chargers also have a strong incoming freshman class with a few transfers, including Erik Witherspoon from Frontier Community College, Landon Clark from Oakland University, and Damian Lopez from Amarillo College.

The Chargers kicked their season off on Saturday, March 2, and Sunday, March 3, when they won three out of four matches against St. Clair Community College on their home field. They’ll open conference play on Wednesday, March 6, when they host Terra State.

Greg Cox, Nate Fasnacht, and Layne Riley join Koch in leading the baseball team this season as assistant coaches.

Cox is returning to Edison State’s baseball program for the sixth year and has coached for the New Bremen ACME team, New Bremen High School, Wright State University–Lake Campus, and Indiana University South Bend. He also competed nationally and internationally in men’s fastpitch softball as part of the International Softball Conference for 15 years.

Fasnacht and Riley enter their first season as assistant coaches with the Chargers. Fasnacht finished his playing career with the Edison State baseball team in 2023.

Miranda Huddle is entering her second year with the Edison State softball program and her first year as head coach. Prior to Edison State, she coached for three years as an assistant softball coach at Miami East High School, picking up a Three Rivers Conference Co-Champions title and a state final four appearance in the 2022 season. She also has five years of experience coaching travel ball, two as a head coach and three as an assistant coach.

Huddle was a four-year member of the Ohio Northern University softball team, where they were Ohio Athletic Conference Champions and NCAA Regional Runners-Up in her final season in 2018.

“The Lady Chargers have worked hard preparing for the 2024 spring season,” Huddle said. “After finishing the 2023 season with a school record of 29 wins and making it to the Division II Great Lakes District tournament for the second consecutive season, the Lady Chargers bring back a talented sophomore class ready to make the 2024 season better than the last.”

The Lady Chargers return to the field with four sophomores and 13 freshmen.

“Anna Quinn is the sole pitcher to return after posting a 5-1 record last season with 31 innings pitched and 13 strikeouts,” said Huddle. “Incoming freshmen Allison Davis, Erika Gostomsky, and Kaycie Albers will join Quinn in the circle.”

Catcher Audrey Fyffe returns for a second season after finishing 10th on the NJCAA Division II leaderboard with a 0.540 batting average and 18th on the NJCAA Division II leaderboard with a 0.570 on base percentage. Newcomers Kyra Vermillion, Shay Swick, and Ashlyn Chatterton join Fyffe behind the plate.

“Kaela May also returns for a second season after playing every inning of the 2023 season at third base. Finishing out the returning sophomore class is Alison Cox, who contributed to the Charger defense both in the infield and outfield this past season,” Huddle continued.

Additional freshmen looking to make an impact on the 2024 season are Maliyah Simpson, Elise McCann, Jaycee Taylor, Gracee Cassidy, Autumn Franks, and Kayla Day.

“We’ve positioned ourselves for a competitive schedule to prepare to compete in the OCCAC,” said Huddle.

The softball team will play 49 regular season games in 2024, with 23 scheduled on their home field. They played their first games at home on Friday, March 1, and Saturday, March 2, winning all three matches against St. Clair Community College. The Lady Chargers will host Owens Community College in their first conference matches of the season on Friday, March 15.

Assistant coaches Brad Huddle and Kaitlin Poeppelman join Head Coach Miranda Huddle in leading the softball team. Both enter their first season with the Lady Chargers, bringing numerous years of coaching experience to the program.

Edison State’s baseball, softball, basketball, and volleyball teams compete in the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) and are Division II members of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). For the latest news, upcoming games, and complete rosters, visit athletics.edisonohio.edu.

Photos (provided): 2024 Charger Baseball Team: Row 1 (L to R): Troy Taylor, Ryan Schloss, Dylan Sanders, Drew Boyle, Cayden Borchers, Landon Clark, Nate Roberts, Luke Brockman, Caleb Wurster, Axel Diaz, Andrew Baileys; Row 2 (L to R): Nathan Wooley, Eli Donnan, Brock Adams, Nathan Mentzel, Jayden Watkins, Anthony Alvarado-Javier, Jiovanii Delgado, Kelvin Reinoso, Erik Witherspoon; Row 3 (L to R): Damian Lopez, Austin Montz, Ben Randall, Caleb Lambdin, Byson Arthur, Bladin Malone, Ayden Vollmer, Grant Harris; 2024 Lady Charger Softball Team: Row 1 (L to R): Ashlyn Chatterton, Shay Swick, Gracee Cassidy, Alison Cox, Autumn Frank, Kayla Day, Jaycee Taylor; Row 2 (L to R): Maliyah Simpson, Audrey Fyffe, Kyra Vermillion, Anna Quinn, Kaycie Albers, Erika Gostomsky, Kaela May, Else McCann, Allison Davis

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2024 Baseball Roster

# Name                                     Position                        Year     High School

1 Ryan Schloss                           Outfield                        So        Sidney

2 Caleb Wurster                         Outfield                        So        Indian Lake

3 Troy Taylor                            Pitcher                          So        Tippecanoe

4 Nathan Mentzel                       Infield                           So        West Clermont

5 Byson Arthur                          Infield/Outfield              Fr         Dublin Scioto

6 Dylan Sanders                         Infield                           Fr         Fort Loramie

7 Jiovanii Delgado                      Catcher                         Fr         Cleveland

8 Caleb Lambdin                        Pitcher                          Fr         Milford

9 Cayden Borchers                     Pitcher/Outfield             Fr         Vandalia Butler

10 Anthony Alvarado-Javier        Pitcher                          Fr         Springfield Commonwealth Academy

11 Kelvin Reinoso                      Infield                           Fr         Busche Academy

12 Bladin Malone                       Infield                           Fr         Eminence Independent

13 Andrew Baileys                     Pitcher/Utility                Fr         Tippecanoe

14 Luke Brockman                     Pitcher/First Base           So        Newport Central Catholic

15 Landon Clark                        Outfield                        Fr         Mount Vernon

16 Jayden Watkins                     Infield                           Fr         Vandalia Butler

17 Drew Boyle                           Pitcher                          So        Valley View

19 Grant Harris                          Infield                           So        Miamisburg

21 Damian Lopez                       Catcher                         So        Presbyterian Academy

22 Ben Randall                          Pitcher                          Fr         Sunlake

23 Ayden Vollmer                      Pitcher                          Fr         Milford

24 Austin Montz                        Pitcher                          So        Centerville

27 Brock Adams                        Pitcher                          So        Ross

29 Nathan Wooley                      Infield                           So        Miami East

30 Axel Diaz                             Pitcher/Outfield             Fr         Springfield Commonwealth Academy

33 Erik Witherspoon                   Infield                           Fr         St. Charles Preparatory

34 Eli Donnan                            Outfield                        Fr         Troy

38 Nate Roberts                         Catcher                         Fr         Dayton Dunbar

Head Coach: Tyler Koch

Assistant Coach: Greg Cox

Assistant Coach: Nate Fasnacht

Assistant Coach: Layne Riley

2024 Softball Roster

# Name                         Position                        Year     High School

1 Erika Gostomsky         Pitcher/Utility                Fr         Covington 

2 Jaycee Taylor              Infield                           Fr         Hamilton 

3 Gracee Cassidy            Outfield                        Fr         Xenia

5 Maliyah Simpson         Outfield                        Fr         Kenton Ridge 

8 Audrey Fyffe               Catcher/Infielder            So        Kenton Ridge

10 Kaycie Albers            Pitcher/Infielder             Fr         Minster

12 Autumn Frank           Infield                           Fr         Tecumseh 

17 Kayla Day                 Outfield                        Fr         Mechanicsburg 

20 Alison Cox                Infield/Outfield              So        Triad

22 Shay Swick               Catcher/Utility               Fr         Bradford 

23 Kaela May                Infield                           So        Tippecanoe

24 Anna Quinn               Pitcher/Utility                So        Tippecanoe

26 Allison Davis            Pitcher/First Base           Fr         East Central 

27 Kyra Vermillion         Catcher/Infielder            Fr         Lima Shawnee 

28 Ashlyn Chatterton      Catcher/Infielder            Fr         Carlisle

40 Elise McCann            Infield/Outfield              Fr         Troy

Head Coach: Miranda Huddle

Assistant Coach: Brad Hubble

Assistant Coach: Kaitlin Poeppelman

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