By STEVE KRAH
At 6-foot and 155 pounds, Justin Bultemeier is not one of the bigger pitchers on the college baseball scene.
But the determined right-hander has applied what he’s learned and it has landed him another opportunity following two seasons of junior college ball.
Bultemeier, who turns 21 in July, is headed to NCAA Division II Tiffin (Ohio) University (where Joe Wilkins is Dragons head coach) after pitching for Ivy Tech Northeast Community College in Fort Wayne, Ind., in 2022 and 2023.
“It took a lot of work,” says Bultemeier. “Not being biggest guy or the throwing the hardest I had to learn to pitch.”
Like brother Brandon Bultemeier before him, Justin became a Ivy Tech Titans. Javier DeJesus was his pitching coach.
“I learned a crazy amount from him,” says Bultemeier. “My time with him is something I’m never going to forget. It’s something I will never take for granted. I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for him. He helped me in an incredible way.
“Mechanically, he helped me move more efficiently and stay healthy. Mentally, he helped me learn the game of pitching, the game of baseball to just how to set up hitters, how hitters think and to maintain the best mindset on the bump.”
Titans head coach Connor Wilkins also gets credit for his impact.
“He really taught us the overall mindset with baseball — not only how to be the best player but to be a great man after college. He taught us about integrity and how we should live our lives on and off the baseball field.”
Brandon Bultemeier (a 5-foot-9, 140-pound righty heading into his third season at Indiana University-Kokomo in 2023-24 while pursuing a Master of Business Administration after earning an Accounting degree) and younger brother Justin have both been underdogs during their diamond days.
“We’ve always been on the smaller side,” says Justin. “We were overlooked with each of our recruiting processes.
“We’ve both fed off that and out-worked a lot of people to get where we’re at.”
In 2023, Brandon Bultemeier made 16 mound appearances (all in relief) and went 4-1 with a 3.18 earned run average, 12 strikeouts and nine walks in 22 2/3 innings. Justin Bultemeier pitched in 11 mound games (9 starts) and went 4-3 with four complete games, one shutout, a 2.45 ERA, 53 strikeouts and 17 walks in 55 innings.
Tiffin coaches came to see him against Lakeland Community College in March and were impressed.
“The decision process was tough,” says Justin Bultemeier of where to go after Ivy Tech. “I prayed a lot over it. I trusted God in my decision.
“I feel good with where I’m at now.”
After earning an associate degree, Bultemeier says he intends to pursue an Exercise Science degree at Tiffin then go into a three-year doctorate program in Physical Therapy.
Born in Fort Wayne, Bultemeier grew up in Decatur, Ind., and played on youth teams in Hoagland, Monmouth and Monroe and some travel ball with the Berne (Ind.) Bears and Monroe-based Indiana Bandits.
Bultemeier played one full varsity season at Adams Central Middle/High School in Monroe — his final prep campaign in 2021. He played a few varsity games as a freshman and sophomore and COVID-19 pandemic took away the 2020 season.
Dave Neuenschwander was the Jets head coach.
“I appreciate everything he’s done for me,” says Bultemeier. “He helped me get to this point in my journey. Everyone that has been a coach for me has helped me in some sort of way. He gave me the opportunity to grow as a senior on the mound.
“That’s where I found my passion for pitching.”
The summer after high school, Bultemeier played for an 18U team in a Fort Wayne league. In 2022 and 2023, he’s been with the Grand Lake Mariners (Celina, Ohio) in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League.
Throwing from a high three-quarter arm slot, Bultemeier uses a four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, sinker, curveball, slider and change-up.
The four-seamer sits and 87-88 mph and has topped out at 92.
He mixed the two-seamer with the sinker — a pitch taught to him by DeJesus which runs into right-handed hitters and has a lot of late movement.
“It tunnels off my fastball very well,” says Bultemeier.
The curve is closer to 1-to-7 than 12-to-6.
The slider became part of the mix in the last one and a half.
“It’s become one of my better pitches to get strikeouts, swings and misses and weak contact,” says Bultemeier.
His “circle” change dives away from left-handed hitters.
Terry Bultemeier — father of Justin and Brandon — played baseball at Bellmont High School in Decatur and Southeastern Louisiana University and is now an insurance agent in New Haven, Ind. Mother Angie Bultemeier is a loan processor in Berne.
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