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By Dylan Hefflinger and PBR Staff
Ohio Editor in Chief/NW Scout

Top 12 Stories for The Year 2014

PBR Ohio started up on May 3rd, 2011 as seen here. From that day, Chris Valentine has had a goal to promote high school baseball in Ohio at the highest level possible. Chris has been able to do this thanks to the help of parents, coaches, and the talented players throughout the state of Ohio.

Chris has also built a staff that has the drive to make Ohio one of, if not the top viewed website for Prep Baseball Report as well as put on some of the best showcases in the nation to help promote the high school talent that resides in the Buckeye State.

Dylan Hefflinger, PBR Ohio Editor in Chief/NW Scout, along with JD Heilmann, PBR Ohio Director Scouting take a look back at the year in review and put together a list of the top stories for 2014.

To start off the countdown, we chose a piece that touches JD, the Midland Baseball Organization, and the city of Cincinnati at heart, as one of the most well respected men in all of baseball passed away this year.

To follow that up we looked at "The Recruiting Trail" which updates where all the prospects across the state have been visiting, who they are getting attention from, and who they have committed to.

After that we looked at the "Cam Varga Experience" as well as a story about Adam no longer being a "One-Man Wolfpack".

Then we took an in-depth look at a heartfelt story of losing a brother and a great young man. After that was a look at the 26 players from Ohio that were drafted and then a look at the new Scouting Director, JD Heilmann.

Now we look at the 2014 dominance that was Bloom-Carroll.

Each day we will reveal the next story on the list. A hint for the next story are the words "D-III Shocker".

A rundown of the stories: Note: We will be conducting a Twitter contest to vote on the top 12 stories for 2014 once the 12 stories have been posted.

• A Tribute to Papa Joe Hayden
• The Ohio Recruiting Trail
• The Cam Varga Experience
• Adam No Longer A "One-Man Wolfpack"
• Montoya ATV Accident Brings Family Closer
• 26 Ohio Players Selected in 2014 MLB Draft
• JD Heilmann Takes Over as Scouting Director

The Bloom-Carroll Bulldogs are Dominant In 2014

In 2014 the Bloom-Carroll Bulldogs proved that the state Final Four run of 2013 was no fluke.

A year ago, the Bulldogs reached the Final Four for the first time since 1974 and advanced to the state championship game for the first time in the school's history.

However, the first trip to the state title game ended in heart-breaking fashion as the Bulldogs fell to Wheelersburg (who were back-to-back D-III State Champions) as seen in this story.

Now in 2014, Bloom-Carroll had a couple things to overcome. For one, the Bulldogs were moving up in competition to Division II after being a D-III program for years. Also having made it to state in 2013, the returning players on the team had some added pressure to make it back to Columbus.

Bloom-Carroll started out the season as the number two team in the preseason (behind defending state champion Defiance).

However, after just one week of baseball, B-C jumped to the number one spot and never relinquished the reign at the top of the mountain.

The Bulldogs won 20 games in a row before falling 5-1 to rival Bishop Watterson.

After a few hiccups at the end of the regular season, it looked as though the Bulldogs weren't playing their best ball heading into the tournament.

Entering the tournament at 22-3, Bloom-Carroll started the post-season off on the right foot with a 10-0 blanking of Columbus Brookhaven.

The next four games matched the Bulldogs up against four quality teams.

In the district semifinals, B-C blanked No. 21 ranked Sparta Highland 5-0 thanks to a five run fifth inning and a dominating performance by Corey Stanley (Fairleigh Dickinson commit, pictured right) as seen here.

In the district finals, 6-foot-6 RHP Sam Bordner (Louisville commit) and the Bulldogs avenged their first loss of the season, defeating No. 17 ranked Bishop Watterson 7-2 as seen here.

The district crown was the fourth in a row and fifth title in head coach Brian Thacker's nine years at the helm.

Now it was time for regionals, and once again the Bulldogs had some stiff competition in Jackson, who came in with just three losses on the season, and Dover, who was rated all season until the final regular season rankings.

In the regional semifinal, B-C cruised to a 12-0 win over Jackson before blanking Dover 2-0 to advance to the state Final Four at Huntington Park in Columbus.

At state, Bloom-Carroll looked like the most impressive team in the entire state as the Bulldogs outscored their two opponents 19-0 while outhitting the opposition 22-6.

In the state semifinals, B-C was pitted against the number three ranked team, Sandusky Perkins. The matchup on paper was great as we had number one vs. number three and two D-1 pitchers in Bordner (pictured right) and Braun Miller (previously an Ohio State commit but now uncommitted).

But the matchup on paper did not translate to the field as B-C jumped out to a 9-0 lead after just two innings en route to a 10-0 win in six innings as seen here.

Now it was time for the state title game against fellow Columbus area team, number seven ranked Jonathan Alder, the D-II state runner-up.

Once again the Bulldogs proved that no team compared to Bloom-Carroll in 2014 as the Bulldogs blanked Alder 9-0 to capture their first state championship in school history as seen here.

Now that coach Thacker and the Bloom-Carroll Bulldogs have one state title under their belt, who says they can't do it again next year. I can tell you one guy who will not say that, and that is me. I will be ranking the Bulldogs number one heading into next season as B-C returns a plethora of talent including Bordner, Stanley, Roger Danison (Xavier commit, pictured right), Seth Paszke, Tristen Epp and Bailey Freas among others.

As I said Bloom-Carroll will be preseason ranked number one in D-II in 2015, to view the final rankings for 2014 please click here.