Aaron Gretz and Kris Goodman have played on the same teams since they were 10. But next year they'll suit up as Big Ten baseball rivals.
That hasn't sunk in yet.
"We've never played [against] each other in anything, besides scrimmages," said Gretz, who will suit up for Ohio State while Goodman heads to Iowa. "It's going to be pretty weird."
Living only four blocks apart, Gretz and Goodman gave Apple Valley a great run. Both were part of the Eagles' 2010 Class 2A high school hockey state tournament team, with Gretz in goal and Goodman at forward. But it's their baseball talent that earned them a shot at Division I competition.
Jeremy Hendrickson served his first season as Eagles head coach after previously spending six years as the junior varsity skipper. When Gretz came in as a freshman, Hendrickson knew he didn't belong. Coaches bumped him up to varsity after just a couple of weeks, and he became a four-year linchpin.
"He's just been a staple -- offensively, defensively -- and his leadership is exactly what you want in a captain, especially a senior player," Hendrickson said.
The cleanup hitter might say he had a down year at the plate with a .322 batting average and 19 RBI, but that's already improved in his Ohio summer baseball league, where the Buckeyes initially noticed him.
As a catcher, Gretz is supreme. He registered a pop time -- from catcher's glove to infielder's glove at second base -- of 1.92 seconds. Anything under 2.0 is very rare at the high school level.
