Castle excited for first managerial experience

CELINA - Cody Castle has excelled as a pitching coach thus far in his brief tenure as a college baseball assistant coach.

Grand Lake Mariners general manager Mike Goldschmidt is hopeful that Castle can continue that success in his first managerial position this summer in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League.

Castle was named the 10th manager of the Mariners in December to replace Goldschmidt, who is now Grand Lake's general manager and president.

"Cody has a history of success and I've known him for 15-plus years and know his family really well," said Goldschmidt. "He has a lot of energy and passion for the game of baseball and he has won wherever he has been and played a big part in that success."

Goldschmidt was Castle's manager for two years at Sinclair Community College in Dayton. Castle earned all-conference honors as a pitcher in 2002 and 2003 while leaving the two-year program as the school's all-time leader in wins.

Castle was then a standout at Ashland University before playing professionally for four years in the Frontier League (three years with Florence Freedom) and Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball (one year with Quebec Capitales). Castle was an All-Star closer with the Freedom and helped the Capitales win their league title in 2009.

Castle just finished his third season as Marietta's pitching coach following three years as an assistant pitching coach at Ashland. Marietta had the nation's leading ERA in 2011 (1.74) and 2012 (2.35).

Along with being Grand Lake's manager, Castle will work closely with the Mariners' pitching staff.

"I'm really excited about being with the Grand Lake Mariners. I will be the manager, but I'm also looking forward to working with the pitchers, since that's my expertise," said Castle. "It's my first managerial experience, but I know it will be a great experience for me. I pride myself on being a competitor. I like to win and I want to win with the Mariners. I want us to play winning baseball and help our guys get better as individual players while they are here for the summer. My ultimate goal is for all of our players to improve as baseball players and become better people off the field."

Jeremy Jakubowski, who played in the GLSCL with the Licking County Settlers in 2011, will serve as Castle's assistant coach. He played college baseball at Shawnee State University and has been a graduate assistant for Oklahoma Panhandle State University the past two seasons. He also played last summer in the Prospect League for the Danville Dans.

"Jeremy will work more with the offensive side of the game this summer," said Castle. "We are both really excited to be with the Mariners this summer and ready to get to work."