It was their plan all along.
Twin freshmen Nick and Nate Squires, natives of Plain City, Ohio, had a plan in place during their senior year of high school that they’d play together if and when they competed at the collegiate level.
When former coach Joe Carbone offered both brothers scholarships and the chance to play together, along with the facilities and campus, that made it clear to the twins that Ohio was the place they wanted to play.
The two were three-sport athletes in high school and were winners at whatever they put their minds to.
In football, with Nick as the safety and Nate as the quarterback, they led Jonathan Alder High School to a 12-1 record in their final season, finishing as the runner-up in their regional final.
Their basketball team finished 21-2 during Nick and Nate’s senior year and Alder’s baseball team won two division titles and a state final with the twins as contributors.
But when it came to choosing a sport, the decision was easy for them.
“Obviously baseball’s our best sport,” Nick said. “We loved all three, but being smaller guys, basketball wasn’t going to work out. With football, we loved it, but the Division I offers were in baseball.
“It’s the game we love, so it’s the game we decided to play in college.”
And it was also the game their father Jeff played while attending Toledo when Carbone was an assistant for the Rockets.
The brothers enjoy the opportunity to follow in their father’s footsteps and play collegiate baseball in the Mid-American Conference.
“He’s been a big influence and is probably the reason we love baseball so much,” Nick said. “We see him play at a Division I school in the MAC and then we get offered by Ohio.”
Both of the Squires twins have been thrust into starting roles this season, with Nick patrolling the outfield and Nate manning second base; junior second baseman Garrett Black is still sidelined with an injury.
“For Nick, he was a guy that we thought would play quite a bit in the outfield,” Smith said. “Nate’s been asked to come in and fill in and he’s done a good job. … I admire the effort that he’s given. It’s been tough on him to be asked to be put in that position, but he’s done it. He’s given everything he can give us.”
Besides sharing starting roles in Ohio’s lineup, the twins also share a room and a good deal of their time together, whether it be at practice or hanging out around campus.
“We’re good friends,” Nate said. “A lot better friends than most brothers are, because I see a lot of brothers fighting all the time.”
The Squires aren’t the only twins on the team, as sophomores Nick and Tyler Plys joined the program last season.
When it comes to similarities, the Squires think they’re similar to the Plys twins in all but two aspects.
“I think they’re a little smarter,” Nate said. “I don’t know if they have as much common sense as us, but they’re the smarter twins. But we’re both a lot alike. There aren’t that many differences.”
As Ohio enters conference play, the twins feel they have realized their role on the team and will do whatever is necessary to help the team win.
“You just want to help your team whatever way you can,” Nick said. “Wherever coach puts you in at, as a freshman, it’s your job to do the best you can.”
ch203310@ohiou.edu
