Migration
All-Europe baseballDivision I powers Ramstein, Patch claim seven spots on All-Europe baseball first team
Stars and Stripes
June 13, 2014
Patch center fielder Dylan Wagner watches to see if a well hit ball to center field drops in the Panthers' 2-1 loss in the final game of the DODDS-Europe baseball championships Saturday. (Matt Millham/Stars and Stripes)
Division I rivals Ramstein and Patch dominate the 2014 All-Europe baseball selections, released this week by DODDS-Europe athletic director Karen Seadore, much the way they dominated the spring season.
Champion Ramstein boasts four first-teamers among its five overall selections, led by senior third baseman and title-game hero Matt Sharpy. Fellow senior Robert Navarro, junior catcher Antonio Ortiz and sophomore pitching ace Jon Oswald round out the Royals’ first-team ranks.
Patch matched Ramstein with five overall selections, including three first-teamers. Ryan Marshall, Andrew Buxkemper and Dylan Wagner, each versatile pitching, hitting and defensive threats, comprise the Panther wing of the first team.
Repeat Division II champion Naples was rewarded with three overall selections and two first-team nods in juniors Jonny Bray and George Shaffer.
Those three powerhouse programs gobbled up nine of the available 12 spots on the first team. The remaining slots went to Lakenheath catcher Ben Ciero, SHAPE pitcher and power hitter Clay Coon and Vicenza utility man Levi Martin.
While All-Europe teams are generally heavy on seniors, this year’s baseball squads skewed towards underclassmen. The first team included just four 12th-graders, while the second team had just two in Ansbach’s Austin Benton and SHAPE’s Austen Eperjesi. A total of eight sophomores made one of the teams, though no freshmen made the cut.
First team
C Ben Ciero, Lakenheath (Jr.)
3B Matt Sharpy, Ramstein (Sr.)
P/2B Jon Oswald, Ramstein (Soph.)
OF Robert Navarro, Ramstein (Sr.)
C Antonio Ortiz, Ramstein (Jr.)
UTIL Ryan Marshall, Patch (Sr.)
UTIL Andrew Buxkemper, Patch (Jr.)
C/P Dylan Wagner, Patch (Soph.)
P/INF Clay Coon, SHAPE (Sr.)
1B George Shaffer, Naples (Jr.)
P/INF Jonny Bray, Naples (Jr.)
UTIL Levi Martin, Vicenza (Jr.)
Second team
CF Kory McKinney, Naples (Jr.)
SS/P Louis Veazey, Vicenza (Soph.)
UTIL Jon Gasporra, Sigonella (Soph.)
UTIL Trent Weldon, AFNORTH (Soph.)
SS/P Bailey Ward, Ansbach (Soph.)
P/3B Austin Benton, Ansbach (Sr.)
P/INF Austen Eperjesi, SHAPE (Sr.)
UTIL Garrett Becker, Patch (Jr.)
SS/P Parker Boyle, Patch (Soph.)
OF Brennan Granger, Ramstein (Soph.)
UTIL Dylan Blackmon, Wiesbaden (Jr.)
UTIL Kurt Hall, Vilseck (Jr.)