Tweet me!Brian Cleary's Bearcat baseball team finished 29-29 for the second year in a row, and if they are to get over that .500 hump in 2011, they'll need to replace one of their best players in catcher Jimmy Jacquot. The graduating senior was recently named 3rd team All-Big East and was third on the UC squad with a .292 batting average. Jacquot was also a workhorse behind the plate starting in 56 of UC's 58 games last season, but one young man hoping to pick up some of that slack in 2011 is Minford High School's Aaron Oesch.
Oesch is a bit of a workhorse himself starring in football, basketball and baseball for the Falcons, and in his spare time, he served as vice-president of the senior class. Concentrating on only one sport at UC might seem like a vacation to this recent high school graduate.
As a three year starting quarterback for Minford, Oesch led the Falcons to three straight Division V playoff appearances and was named a third team All-Ohio quarterback as well as his league's "Co-Back of the Year." Remarkably, Oesch was also named his team's "Most Valuable Player" in football, basketball and baseball.
Although Oesch was shutout for scholarship money for next season due partially to his late recruitment, his array of talents could change that quickly. As a quarterback and linebacker, Oesch brings plenty of grit and intelligence to the catching position, and at 6' 1" and 200 pounds, he certainly has adequate size. But what will separate this versatile athlete from most other college backstops is his speed. He has posted a 6.8 sixty time, which is outstanding for any position player but is blazingly fast for a catcher.
Oesch's ability to run was not lost on the Bearcat coaching staff.
"They came out to see me play last year in the state legion tournament, and they came to another game this year," said Oesch. "They said they really liked how I was able to run as a catcher."
East Carolina and Ohio University were two other Division I schools that recruited the Minford star.
Jimmy Jacquot did an outstanding job of gunning down would-be base stealers for the Bearcats, and Oesch is apparently cut from that same cloth.
"My coach said I was fifteen of seventeen in throwing people out this year."
Oesch's strong arm also meant he spent some time on the pitcher's mound where he posted an impressive 7-1 record last season.
Most clubs look for defense first when evaluating their catchers, but Oesch won't disappoint with a bat in his hands.
"I hit about .490 this year. I think it was actually .493," said Oesch. "And I had five home runs."
Living in southeastern Ohio, Oesch is surrounded by Ohio State fans, but with the help of a family member, he resisted any urge to jump on the Buckeye bandwagon and became a follower of the Bearcats. Oesch explained how UC became his dream school.
"It had a lot to do with uncle (Owen Waske) to be honest. He started taking me to games probably three or four years ago, and I really got hooked on it, especially the football stadium. I also really like the baseball stadium. It's top notch."
This kid is top notch at everything he does. He was a two year member of the prestigious National Honor Society and was sixth in his class with a 3.7 GPA.
Making the adjustment to Big East baseball won't be easy for a small town kid from Minford, Ohio, but there is no question the Bearcat baseball program got an absolute steal when it inked Aaron Oesch to a national letter of intent
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