Tag: College Baseball

Premier Ohio Vs Stark County Terriers WRCL Baseball Sets League Live Viewership Record

North Canton, OH- On June 2, the 2025 Western Reserve Collegiate League began with a battle between the regular season champion Stark County Terriers hosting the regular season and playoff runner-ups, Premier Ohio.

Outside of two broadcasts last year, this marks the beginning of the league having games broadcast on SmeeSports. The fans did not disappoint as 304 views were recorded live. At the time of writing, there are 444 views of the broadcast. While that number seems small, perspective shows the full story. Last season, the most viewed WRCL broadcast tallied 317 views, including playback. Expanding the stats to Summer baseball across all leagues, our record is 348 for the OPL Championship between North Coast and BHM Buckeyes.

Expanding to high school sports, which tend to get more views than travel leagues, Monday’s broadcast competed with plenty of our OHSAA broadcasts. Including a district semifinals game, all six softball games streamed on SmeeSports were outperformed by Monday’s game. Additionally, 12 high school baseball games recorded fewer views, with one (Alliance Vs Warren JFK) matching the 444 views exactly at the time of writing. Finally, five Tri-C games recorded fewer views. Adding that context, the viewership is really impressive.

Looking at the game, Premier got the opening day win 9-4 behind an impressive 16 hits. Ed Ramos put Premier on the board with an RBI double in the second. He would proceed to score from third later in the inning. RBIs from Michael Steingass, Jack Amis, Bryce Bogan, and Teagan O’Guinn added four more runs to Premier’s lead. In the bottom of the third, William Feser hit an RBI single for Stark County to put them on the board. However, the game script shows five Terriers stranded on the basepath between the second and third innings. From there, Premier held a steady lead with 9-1 being the largest it ever got.

On the mound, it was Henry Mates, Matthew Botger, Zach Barber, and Ryan Gordon holding things down. Mates got the start, throwing two innings while recording two strikeouts and earning the win. Botger followed up with two strikeouts of his own. Barber and Gordon closed the game out with one strikeout each.

As for Stark County, Mount Union sophomore (rising junior) Ty Dennison started the ballgame. This was his first start since his impressive six-inning relief outing against Catholic in the NCAA baseball tournament. Dennison earned three strikeouts but allowed six runs in a losing effort. Garret Odey and Luke Jansen finished the game off for the Terriers. Odey struck out two batters while Jansen punched out one. The big play on the mound came from Jansen as he threw out a runner at first, getting a lead.

With collegiate Summer leagues folding across Northeast Ohio, the Western Reserve Collegiate League has remained a mainstay and staple in the area. With seven top-tier teams this year, the competition will be fierce. The best way to stay connected to the league is to follow the WRCL on X at @wrclbb. The league website is also updated daily. To watch our broadcast of the game on Monday, click the link below.

Link to Stark County Terriers Vs Premier Ohio Baseball: https://www.youtube.com/live/uSvg6JRCegk?si=x4fJqU4VLnbo4nyZ

The Healthiest You Chiropractic Center Player of the Game: Quinn Marquis (3/4)

Want to sponsor our broadcasts? Contact me at nsmee00@gmail.com

The ‘Tops Continue to Roll, Putting JUCO on the Map 

Parma, OH- I don’t know about you, but Tri-C baseball is feeling 22—win 22 in a row. On Friday, the Triceratops took down Clark State 17-2 and 20-6 in two games. The defending OCCAC champions from a year ago are undefeated in conference and 23-5 overall.  

Looking back to February, Tri-C was in a completely different spot. After starting off 1-0, four losses against Cleveland Community College and one against Macomb Community College saw the Triceratops sit at 1-5. Then, the winning started. A hard-fought 7-6 win over the Monarchs, Tri-C sat at 2-6. Lorain County Community College was next—16-6 and 7-2 wins followed. After the Commodores, SUNY Broome was downed 20-4 and 5-2. Following this sweep, John Carroll’s JV squad was the next barrier. After 22-12 and 6-3 wins over the Blue Streaks, Tri-C sat with a record of 8-5.  

From there, Cuyahoga Community College dominated. Wins over LCCC, Point Park, Terra State, JCU, Lakeland Community College, Walsh, and Clark State see them with a record of 23-5. Now, a big question arises—how did this run happen? The answer is simple: hard work. In talking to Brock Miller, Joey Lehner, and Brendan Hazuda, SmeeSports learned about just how hard practices are at Tri-C.  

Tri-C Head Coach Kyle Stahlberg said, “I love what our coaching staff has done with them and what they require of them every day. Every single day, these guys show up and answer that call.” 

Lehner echoed this sentiment as he said, “Nobody works harder than us…It’s the long nights in the Winter that really define who we are.” 

In the latest win, 37 runs were scored by the Triceratops across 8 innings off offense. In other words, Tri-C averaged 4.63 runs per inning in the doubleheader. With this much dominance, the standard has been redefined. 

Hazuda told us, “It is going to get to a point where this is what we’re going to expect out of this ball club.” 

Tri-C has become more well-known over the past few years. Coach Stahlberg has gained a positive reputation for producing elite ball players. Last year alone, seven Triceratops went on to play for a Division One program.  

Miller told prospective prospects to, “Bet on yourself and take that risk.” 

Tri-C looks to complete a season sweep of Clark State on April 6th on the road. With two more wins, the Triceratops will be winners of 24 straight games. After the games against the Eagles, 14 games remain. In 2024, Tri-C went 31-15. Not only do they have a chance to improve upon that record while winning the OCCAC again, but they could also finish the regular season on a 36-game winning streak. If they do so, regionals would be destined to land at Ron Mottl Field.  

Times of change for college athletics are upon us. With NIL, the transfer portal, and JUCO eligibility adding new aspects to the game, there are so many uncertainties. Still, Cuyahoga Community College has found a way to be a consistent source of top transfer prospects. Many four-year institutions will be picking up their phones to call Coach Stahlberg about this group, a group that has their sights set upon not only an OCCAC championship but a national championship.