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DAYTON — Matt Wilson has three years on his younger brother Kyle, but Matt didn't get the height. When he crouches down behind home plate as the University of Findlay's starting junior catcher, Matt looks even shorter compared with Kyle, a freshman outfielder.

"He's about three to four inches taller than I am," Matt said. "He's my 'big brother.' "

This is the first time Matt and Kyle have played on the same team. When they played at Shawnee High School, Kyle was on the junior varsity team when Matt was a senior.

Now they are learning from each other as teammates.

"It's easy to talk to him. It's easy to go to him," Matt said. "He helps me out as much as I help him. Growing up, he always learned from me. Now it seems like I'm taking more notes from him."

"I'm trying to show him a thing or two," Kyle said, "but he's a great guy, and he can't learn much more than he already knows."

The Wilsons have connections on the Findlay team to more than each other. Matt was a teammate a year ago with Phil Crisp, a fellow Findlay freshman.

In addition to the Wilsons and Crisp, there are six other area players on Findlay's roster: senior Ben Shelton, senior Jon Dollinger, junior Bryce Whittington and freshman Tyler Heskett of Kenton Ridge; Kyle Blessing of Northwestern; and Spencer Ferst of Graham.

All of the players appeared in a 13-3 road loss to the University of Dayton on Tuesday, March 25, at Time Warner Cable Stadium.

All of them say their shared background as teammates and opponents in the Central Buckeye Conference helps them now, and that all has to do with one man.

The recruiter

Fred Worth was on his way to Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday with the Wake Forest University baseball team when he reminisced about his former Findlay players.

"That was a hard group to leave," said Worth, now in his first year as the director of baseball operations for the Demon Deacons.

A Troy native, Worth helped recruit most of the local talent to Findlay in his 12 seasons as an assistant coach for the NCAA Division II school. His connection to the Springfield area stems from his 11-year tenure as head coach at Miami East, where he got to know coaches like Kenton Ridge's Tom Randall, Urbana's Bob Brenning, Shawnee's Gary Flora and Northwestern's Brad Beals.

"We played each other all the time," Worth said. "We became very good friends. I always respected their programs and the type of kids they turned out. Whenever they would call and say they had somebody who was good, I would want to go look at them. I knew they wouldn't waste my time."

It started with Shelton, a fifth-year senior and the program's all-time leader in assists.

"There were some really good players coming out of that area," Worth said. "We got very aggressive with them, trying to get them to come to Findlay. It worked out. We've been very happy with the Springfield group."

The players

The nine players haven't all taken the same route to Findlay or had smooth roads once they got there.

Dollinger played two years at Ball State. Blessing started his career at Sinclair Community College in Dayton.

Whittington and Dollinger have both undergone surgery for torn labrums. Shelton started 40 games as a freshman but missed his sophomore season with a herniated disc in his back.

Aside from that, Shelton has been a constant presence in the lineup. He ranks fifth in Findlay history in career games played.

"I'm not going to know what do without him there next year," Findlay head coach Troy Berry said.

Of the local players, Blessing is off to the best start at the plate this season, hitting .345 and starting all 15 games.

"He's a businesslike guy out there," Berry said. "He's not much for words, but he was elected captain, and that was because of his leadership."

The freshman have contributed as well.

Kyle Wilson has started four games and is hitting .364 in 11 at-bats.

And Heskett has picked up right where he left off in high school. About 10 months ago, he pitched eight innings and allowed just one run in his final start, a state semifinal victory for Kenton Ridge.

Heskett has started two games and is 1-0 with a 1.75 ERA in 12 innings.

"He stepped up to the challenge," Berry said, "and hasn't missed a beat since he came here."

The connection

Some of the players go way back.

Dollinger and Shelton are both 2003 Kenton Ridge graduates. Dollinger said he and Blessing played little league baseball together when they were 6 years old. In fact, there was an item in the News-Sun on Aug. 1, 1994, mentioning Dollinger and Blessing as members of the 18-0 Ace Specialties, a Pre-Peanut League team.

All these years later, that does matter.

"It's very significant," Dollinger said. "We're used to each other. We grew up playing WBLY ball together, playing high school ball. You just get to know each other. You know what everyone is capable of. It makes it a lot more fun."