SPRING 2019 BASEBALL PITCHER: Jake Gehring South Range

South Range pitcher Jake Gehring committed to Ohio State as a pitcher during the offseason. He made the decision early so he could focus on baseball.

The move paid off.

Gehring, a sophomore, followed up his breakout season in 2018 with another stellar year.

The right-hander helped lead the Raiders to the Division III district finals. He went 8-0 in 11 appearances. He pitched five complete games and finished with a 1.13 ERA.

Gehring is 16-2 in his first two years at South Range.

“[The college commitment] is something that makes you want to work harder,” Gehring said. “Now you have more on your plate and more you have to fulfill. You almost gotta back it up so you work a little harder.”

The 2019 season was his first full year as the Raiders’ ace. He took the top spot in the pitching staff during South Range’s postseason run to a state title last season.

Gehring said South Range coach Jim Hanek’s confidence in him helped ease him into the leadership role.

“Just his confidence in me helps boost my confidence in myself because he’s been through most of it,” Gehring said. “He’s been through it all and he’s seen a lot of great players.”

Gehring is playing for Release Baseball 17U in Cleveland. He plays with teammate Trey Pancake and fellow Ohio State pitching commit Gavin Bruni from Alliance.

“I decided to play travel this year, just do something else and do something new,” Gehring said. “Go meet new kids and kids that I could play with in the future.”

Gehring said playing for Release already has shown him areas of the game he needs to improve. He said the goal next year is to “become a cleaner more polished pitcher.

“Even playing in the summer, some of my weaknesses have already been shown,” Gehring said. “Like kids getting hits off me or 0-2 and I leave a curveball hanging, kids can flair it out and get hits — little stuff like that.

“The higher you get up in this game, the smaller the adjustments are, but those are the harder adjustments — the smaller ones.”

Gehring said his family and friends have taken some of the pressure off pitching over the last two seasons.

“Hard work and dedication. It’s a lot of fun playing with my buddies and my friends every night,” Gehring said. “Just have fun, relax and you don’t really realize what’s going on around you.”