It might be difficult at times for the Ohio baseball coaching staff to determine which Plys brother is which, but one thing the coaches know is that the twins can pitch.
Nick and Tyler Plys are freshman hurlers for the Bobcats. They have appeared in a combined eight games, starting one apiece, but even with the small sample, their coaches believe they are ready for the future.
“They both throw hard and are outstanding pitching prospects,” Ohio coach Joe Carbone said. “The thing with twins is, if you recruit one, you better recruit both. You have to make sure that they both have the talent to be successful on the Division I level, and we feel they both do.”
The Plys brothers have been a package deal since they started playing the game, and both said they liked the idea of continuing to play together in college. A few programs gave them looks coming out of Holy Name High School in Parma, but they picked Ohio to keep the tradition of togetherness going.
“People were looking at us differently,” Nick said. “That was possibly a breaking point, but then we just decided to
come here together.”
Nick wears number 15 while Tyler wears 35. The Bobcats gave Nick his digits because they are closer to the beginning of the number scale, and his name is closer to the beginning of the alphabet than his brother’s.
Tyler was given 35 because “thirty-five” starts with “t” and so does “Tyler.”
Other than the numbers on the back of their jerseys, the Plys’ demeanors on the mound are different, pitching coach Andrew See said.
“Nick’s probably a little bit more free and easy at times, which is a benefit, but it can also lead to some control issues,” he said. “Tyler is a little bit more one-directional, which can help you throw strikes at times. They both have good arms. They are both athletic. They both have good stuff.”
Carbone has coached many sets of brothers in his 24 years with the Bobcats, most recently Brock and Ben Trimbur. But this is the first and might be the last set of twins that he has ever coached.
It will not be the last set of twins on the team, though. See said that, next season, the team will have another set of twins who look even more alike than the Plys brothers. Nate and Nick Squires will come to Athens next season after Carbone’s tenure as Ohio’s coach ends.
“Nick is an outfielder, left-handed hitter, center-fielder type guy, and his brother Nate is an infielder,” See said. “To be honest, just being around them, they’re way more identical than (the Plys).”
Sultan of the Steal
Ohio center fielder Ethan Newton broke Ohio’s all-time steals record with a swipe against Akron last weekend. That gave him 43 stolen bases in his career, and he only needed two seasons to do it after transferring from junior college.
Newton’s 23 steals this year puts him in a tie for the second-highest total for stolen bases in a season. Matt Hudik holds the single season record with 24. Newton can move into first place with some base thievery against Dayton Tuesday night at Bob Wren Stadium.
nr225008@ohiou.edu
