Calvary Christian’s baseball squad has a talented lineup this season, with a batting average over .300 and a team ERA under 3.00. But the Cougars’ most intriguing statistic isn’t about averages — it’s about family.
With three brothers and their father as head coach, the Cougars might be the most family-oriented high school ballclub in the area. A quarter of the active roster shares the same last name. If you count the coaching staff, there are five Ruwes associated with the team.
Senior twins Cal and Josh Ruwe have been rounding the bases together their whole lives. But now, they’re stepping up to the plate alongside their youngest brother, Nate, a seventh grader taking his first swings at varsity competition.
“This is the first time the three of us have been teammates,” said Josh, a shortstop and pitcher. “It’s been a lot of fun.”
While their dad, Brad Ruwe, settles into his debut season as skipper, he’s got extra backup in the form of another one of his sons, 21-year-old Luke. Just like Josh and Cal, he’s also a twin. As an assistant coach, Luke helps keep the clubhouse chemistry strong, proving that leadership runs just as deep as athletic talent in this baseball-loving family.
“It’s a really neat opportunity,” said Cal, who pitches and plays first base. “I love playing with my twin brother. He’s a really good baseball player. My little brother, it’s so much fun watching him learning and making plays. It’s fun being around my dad and one of my older brothers, too.”
For the Ruwes, the 2025 baseball season isn’t just another year in the dugout. It’s a family reunion with bats and gloves. The sport isn’t just about home runs and highlight plays — it’s about home itself. The Ruwes not only hit the field together for baseball games and practice, but they also hit off a batting tee in the basement between practices in a specially netted 40-foot-long area in their Hebron home.
If team chemistry counts for anything, the Cougars might have found a secret weapon in the ties that bind. They have already eclipsed last season’s win total. With more to come, the Cougars see themselves as a serious team, not just a family-focused novelty at a high school with only 60 boys.
“We preach not backing down,” Brad Ruwe said. “Play with attitude and effort and a competitor’s heart and you’ll have no regrets.”
The Cougars, despite the size of their school and the team, are enjoying their best season in three years with a 13-5 record. At one point, they won 11 of 13 games with a five-game winning streak. At 6-0 atop the Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference Division III standings, the Cougars have proven their grit, and the numbers are impressive.
With nine games scoring in double figures, a .308 team batting average, and a 2.98 ERA and three shutouts on the mound, Calvary Christian is receiving great hitting and stellar pitching from a unit that numbers just 12 active players. Some of them had never played organized baseball before this season.
“Over the years, my brother and I have literally been at lunch tables and in the halls,” Josh said. “We’ve been asking guys if they want to play for the baseball team.”
With four middle schoolers on the squad, the Cougars’ seriousness begins with practice because it has to. The Cougars then trot it out onto the field in games with no excuses.
“It’s true that it’s harder to win at a smaller school but one of the things we talk about is, you bring to the game the attitude you practice,” said Brad Ruwe, a former ballplayer at Xavier University. “School size doesn’t matter. What matters is doing your best no matter what.”
Helping set the example are his sons.
Cal and Josh are fraternal twins and at first glance look nothing like each other. Cal is a 6-foot-7 family anomaly so in control of his extra-large frame that he also plays soccer at Calvary Christian. His father is 6-3 but Cal passed him in height long ago and there are pencil marks on the pantry doorjamb at home to prove it.
Cal is the baseball team’s ace with a 2-0 record and one save. He has 49 strikeouts, ranking among the state top 50, in 29 innings pitched. He sports a 1.79 ERA. He’s also hitting .340. His ability to play both ways earned him preferred walk-on status next season for the Virginia Military Institute baseball team.
“He’s got a good, deceptive motion,” his father said. “He’s so long and lanky, it seems like he’s halfway to home plate when he releases the ball.”
The 6-foot-1 Josh is one of the most productive soccer players in Calvary Christian history with nearly 100 combined goals and assists. He scored an area-best and ranked fifth in the state with 38 goals as a senior. But he’s heading to Wilmington to play college baseball. At one point this season for the Cougars, he was leading the area in hitting, giving him a chance to earn a rare two-sport distinction.
Josh is still in the local batting race with a .532 average which ranks 15th in Kentucky. He ranks ninth statewide in runs scored, 17th in triples and 21st in hits. He also pitches, with a 3-3 record and 4.50 ERA. His 53 strikeouts rank in the state top 40. Both brothers rank among Kentucky’s leaders in strikeouts per seven innings. Josh is third at 15.9 and Cal is 12th at 12.5.
While the Ruwes headline the story, the Cougars’ depth runs deeper. Luke Corbin, Case Craddock, Adam Curtis and Finn Zachary have all stepped up, each hitting over .300 and making a major impact on both sides of the ball. Zachary is batting .452. Corbin is among state leaders in runs. Craddock (4-1) is pitching to a 1.91 ERA and Corbin (4-0) is at 3.07, just ahead of Curtis (3.50).
“We’ve hit, but pitching is our strength,” coach Ruwe said. “And I would say our attitude is a strength. I was assistant coach for two years before this, and I’ve seen a lot of improvement.”
Though his batting average needs work against pitchers much older, Nate Ruwe’s discipline at the plate and his athleticism are paying off. His on-base percentage over .300 and his ability to man centerfield shows he’s already adapting to varsity competition.
“It’s not so much about getting him experience as much as it is we need him,” coach Ruwe said. “We have three guys who are injured.”
Such a fate might have rocked a lesser team, but the Cougars have prevailed despite their size. The only 10th Region school smaller in enrollment is Augusta. Everybody else is at least twice the size. The school’s 37th District rivals Campbell County and Scott are much bigger and even district rival Bishop Brossart is more than twice as big.
“We have aspirational goals and realistic goals,” coach Ruwe said. “Winning the district and the All “A” Classic are aspirational goals. In conference, we have an opportunity to win Division III this year, but it’s rare.”
Having five family members involved with a small-school baseball team is also rare. But the Cougars are pulling it off with unexpected success.
“It’s cool being with my sons on the baseball field,” coach Ruwe said. “It’s very rewarding watching them improve and winning and having fun. That’s what it’s all about.”
