Notre Dame bound for Statesboro Regional; Look who conferences honored

By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Notre Dame — the last college baseball team from Indiana left standing in 2022 — found out today (May 30) that the Irish will be in the Statesboro Regional for the 64-team NCAA Division I tournament.
The No. 2-seeded Irish (35-14) play No. 3 Texas Tech (37-20) at 2 p.m. Friday, June 3. Site host and top-seeded Georgia Southern (40-18) plays No. UNC Greensboro (34-28) at 7 p.m. Friday.
Notre Dame made it to the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
Regionals continue through June 6 with super regionals June 10-13 and the College World Series June 17-27.
Ball State made it to the “if necessary” Mid-American Conference tournament championship game against Central Michigan and lost 11-7 to wind up the season at 40-19 overall and 32-7 as MAC regular-season champions. Central Michigan earned an automatic NCAA tournament bid.
Evansville (32-24, 14-6), Indiana State (26-22-1, 10-10-1) and Valparaiso (16-32, 5-15) bowed out in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.
Seasons came to a close for Purdue (29-21, 9-12) and Indiana (27-32, 10-14) at the Big Ten tournament.
Purdue Fort Wayne (18-36, 13-15) finished up in the Horizon League tournament.
In the past few weeks, conferences have handed out postseason awards at the NCAA D-I, D-II and D-III, NAIA and junior college levels and there is a list of those below.

CONFERENCE AWARDS
NCAA D-I
Atlantic Coast: NOTRE DAME — lhp John Michael Bertrand (first team), of Ryan Cole (third team).
Big East: BUTLER— ss Travis Holt (second team), rhp Derek Drees (second team).
Big Ten: PURDUE — dh C.J. Valdez (first team), lhp Jackson Smeltz (third team), lhp Troy Wansing (freshman), of Tanner Haston (sportsmanship). INDIANA — c Matthew Ellis (third team), 1b Brock Tibbitts (freshman), ss Evan Goforth (freshman), 3b Josh Pyne (freshman), of Carter Mathison (freshman), if Tyler Doanes (sportsmanship).
Horizon: PURDUE FORT WAYNE — c Cade Fitzpatrick (second team), 3b Jack Lang (second team), rhp Rex Stills (freshman).
Mid-American: BALL STATE — lhp Tyler Schweitzer (pitcher of the year, first team), rhp Ryan Brown (freshman pitcher of the year, second team), 3b Ryan Peltier (defensive player of the year, second team, defensive), hc Rich Maloney (coach of the year), 1b Trenton Quartermaine (first team), of Zach Cole (first team, defensive), rhp Sam Klein (first team), of Amir Wright (second team), rhp Ty Johnson (second team).
Missouri Valley: EVANSVILLE — rhp Nick Smith (pitcher of the year, first team), hc Wes Carroll (coach of the year), 3b Brent Widder (first team), of Mark Shallenberger (first team), rhp Shane Gray (first team), 1b Tanner Craig (second team), ss Simon Scherry (second team), rhp Drew Dominik (second team), 2b Evan Berkey (honorable mention), of Eric Roberts (honorable mention). INDIANA STATE — ss Jordan Schaffer (first team), rhp Matt Jachec (first team, defensive), 2b Josue Urdaneta (second team), of Seth Gergely (second team, defensive), of Sean Ross (honorable mention), c Grant Magill (defensive). VALPARAISO — 2b Nolan Tucker (first team), rhp Colin Fields (second team), rhp Bobby Nowak (honorable mention), 3b Kaleb Hannahs (defensive).

NCAA D-II
Great Lakes Intercollegiate: PURDUE NORTHWEST — 2b Ethan Imlach (first team), of Ray Hilbrich (first team), c Jack Gallagher (second team), rhp Tyler Schultz (honorable mention), rhp Sam Shively (honorable mention).
Great Lakes Valley: INDIANAPOLIS — lhp Xavier Rivas (pitcher of the year, first team), ss Alex Vela (second team, sportsmanship), of Brandon DeWitt (second team). SOUTHERN INDIANA —lhp Sammy Barnett (sportsmanship).

NCAA D-III
Heartland Collegiate: FRANKLIN— c Logan Demkovich (first team), of Tysen Lipscomb (first team), rhp Nick McClanahan (pitcher of the year, first team), rhp Alex Reinoehl (first team), ss A.J. Sanders (first team), of Sean Sullivan (first team), 1b Matthew Earley (honorable mention), hc Lance Marshall (coach of the year), rhp Nick Elmendorf (sportsmanship). ROSE-HULMAN — rhp Ian Kline (first team), 1b Josh Mesenbrink (player of the year, first team), 3b Brett Tuttle (first team), 2b Colter Couillard-Rodak (second team), of Harrison Finch (second team), ss Manuel Lopez (second team), ut Adam Taylor (honorable mention), of Nathan Burke (sportsmanship). EARLHAM — dh Andrew Bradley (first team), 3b Devin Basley (second team), 2b Christian Lancianese (second team), of Nathan Lancianese (second team), rhp Aidan Talerek (second team), of Cameron McCabe (honorable mention), c Easton Embry (sportsmanship). ANDERSON— 1b Tyler Smitherman (first team), rhp Evan Doan (second team), lhp Kasey Henderson (second team), rhp Logan Nickel (second team), ss Justin Reed (second team), of Grahm Reedy (second team), of Jake Stank (newcomer of the year, second team), mif T.J. Price (honorable mention), c Tyler Young (sportsmanship). HANOVER — of Andrew Littlefield (first team), c Charlie Burton (second team), 1b Alex Christie (second team), rhp Charlie Joyce (second team), of Eric Roudebush (honorable mention), 3b/1b Jacob Dupps (sportsmanship). MANCHESTER— lhp Carter Hooks (first team), ut Rocco Hanes (second team), dh/ut Harrison Pittsford (second team), rhp/if Zach White (honorable mention, sportsmanship).
Michigan Intercollegiate: TRINE— rhp Josh Hoogewerf (second team), of Brenden Warner (second team).
North Coast: DEPAUW— 1b Kyle Callahan (first team), of Nick Nelson (first team), lhp Michael Vallone (first team), 2b Cameron Macon (second team), ss Evan Barnes (honorable mention), 3b Brian May (honorable mention), of/ut Danny Glimco (honorable mention). WABASH — 2b Austin Simmers (first team).

NAIA
Chicagoland: Calumet of St. Joseph — dh Bubba Davenport (second team), of Gabriel Quinones (second team). INDIANA UNIVERSITY SOUTH BEND— 2b Jake Vanderwoude (first team), c Kole Miller (second team).
Crossroads: TAYLOR — c/of T.J. Bass (player of year, first team), rhp Luke Shively (pitcher of the year, first team), rhp/of Kaleb Kolpein (newcomer of the year, second team), rhp Noah Huseman (first team), if Nick Rusche (first team, gold glove), of Conner Crawford (second team), 1b Kade VanderMolen (gold glove). INDIANA WESLEYAN — if Denver Blinn (first team), c Bryce Ginder (first team), if Lucas Goodin (first team), rhp Hunter Hoffman (first team), ut Evan Salmon (first team, gold glove), c Colby Jenkins (gold glove). HUNTINGTON — 3b Daniel Lichty (first team, gold glove), of/rhp Ian McCutcheon (first team), mif Satchell Wilson (second team). MARIAN — if Matteo Porcellato (first team), 1b Bryce Davenport (second team), of J.J. Rivera (second team, gold glove), Dion Wintjes (gold glove). SAINT FRANCIS — of-dh David Miller (first team), if/of/c Alec Brunson (gold glove). BETHEL— rhp Frank Plesac (first team), c Dominic Densler (second team), if/rhp Jeremy Wiersema (second team), if/rhp Ty Mickiewicz (gold glove). GRACE — rhp Evan Etchison (second team), rhp Hunter Schumacher (second team). GOSHEN — of Jenner Rodammer (second team, gold glove)
River States: INDIANA UNIVERSITY SOUTHEAST — 3b Trevor Campbell (player of the year, first team, gold glove), lhp Hunter Kloke (pitcher of the year, first team), hc Ben Reel (coach of the year), c Brody Tanksley (first team, gold glove), 2b Clay Woeste (first team, gold glove), of Marco Romero (first team, gold glove), rhp Lane Oesterling (second team), of Derek Wagner (second team), ut Brandon Boxer (second team), if Daunte DeCello (gold glove, Champions of Character). INDIANA UNIVERSITY KOKOMO — lhp Owen Callaghan (first team), of Patrick Mills (first team), lhp J.T. Holton (second team), 1b Noah Hurlock (second team), ss Riley Garczynski (second team), of Jack Leverenz (second team), dh Jared Heard (second team), if Matt Iacobucci (Champions of Character). OAKLAND CITY — ss Chandler Dunn (first team), of Noah Baugher (second team), if Austin Morris (Champions of Character).
Wolverine-Hoosier: INDIANA TECH — rhp Hayes Stutsman (first team), c Manuel Ascanio (second team), of Ashtin Moxey (second team), ut Trevor Patterson (gold glove), ss Jayden Reed (gold glove, second team), 2b Mike Snyder (second team), if Michael Oliger (Champions of Character).

Junior College
Michigan Community College: MARIAN’S ANCILLA — if Rylan Huntley (first team), if Josh Ledgard (honorable mention).
Mid-West: Vincennes — ss Peyton Lane (second team), ut Colton Evans (second team).

INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL
Records Through May 29
NCAA D-I
Ball State 40-19 (32-7 MAC)
Notre Dame 35-14 (16-11 ACC)
Evansville 32-24 (14-6 MVC)
Purdue 29-21 (9-12 Big Ten)
Indiana State 26-22-1 (10-10-1 MVC)
Indiana 27-32 (10-14 Big Ten)
Butler 20-35-1 (4-16-1 Big East)
Purdue Fort Wayne 18-36 (13-15 Horizon)
Valparaiso 16-32 (5-15 MVC)

NCAA D-II
Southern Indiana 21-28 (10-14 GLVC)
Indianapolis 21-31 (11-13 GLVC)
Purdue Northwest 18-21 (7-17 GLIAC)

NCAA D-III
Franklin 29-14 (13-5 HCAC)
Rose-Hulman 28-13 (12-6 HCAC)
Earlham 26-13 (12-6 HCAC)
DePauw 22-17 (12-6 NCAC)
Wabash 20-19 (4-14 NCAC)
Anderson 20-21 (11-7 HCAC)
Hanover 16-22 (10-8 HCAC)
Trine 14-23 (9-12 MIAA)
Manchester 10-27 (6-12 HCAC)

NAIA
Taylor 41-18 (26-10 CL)
Indiana University Southeast 40-15 (20-4 RSC)
Indiana Tech 32-21 (13-7 WHAC)
Indiana Wesleyan 31-23 (23-13 CL)
Oakland City 31-23 (11-11 RSC)
Huntington 27-23 (21-15 CL)
Marian 27-27 (17-19 CL)
Saint Francis 27-28 (15-21 CL)
Indiana University-Kokomo 26-22 (16-7 RSC)
Bethel 25-29 (19-17 CL)
Grace 17-33 (10-26 CL)
Calumet of Saint Joseph 16-32 (11-18 CCAC)
Indiana University South Bend 16-32-1 (9-20-1 CCAC)
Goshen 11-39 (6-30 CL)

Junior College
Vincennes 25-32 (15-19 MWAC)
Ivy Tech Northeast 16-19
Marian’s Ancilla 8-40 (6-22 MCCAA)

Week of May 23-29
NCAA D-I
Tuesday, May 24
Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament
Pittsburgh 12, Georgia Tech 6
North Carolina State 11, Wake Forest 8
North Carolina 9, Clemson 2

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
Missouri State 9, Illinois State 4

Wednesday, May 25
Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament
Pittsburgh 6, Louisville 5
Florida State 13, Virginia 3
North Carolina State 9, Miami 6

Horizon League Tournament
Youngstown State 6, Purdue Fort Wayne 0
Northern Kentucky 3, Illinois-Chicago 2

Mid-American Conference Tournament
Central Michigan 11, Toledo 10

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
Indiana State 8, Valparaiso 0
Missouri State 5, Southern Illinois 1
Evansville 9, Indiana State 1

Thursday, May 26
Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament
Georgia Tech 9, Louisville 4
Notre Dame 5, Florida State 3
Virginia Tech 18, Clemson 6

Big Ten Conference Tournament
Penn State 5, Iowa 2
Rutgers 10, Purdue 3
Maryland 6, Indiana 5
Michigan 7, Illinois 5

Horizon League Tournament
Wright State 18, Northern Kentucky 4
Oakland 2, Youngstown State 0

Mid-American Conference Tournament
Ball State 6, Ohio 4

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
Dallas Baptist 4, Bradley 3

Friday, May 27
Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament
Notre Dame 3, Virginia 0
Wake Forest 16, Miami 3
North Carolina 10, Virginia Tech 0

Big Ten Conference Tournament
Iowa 5, Purdue 4
Rutgers 5, Penn State 4
Indiana 8, Illinois 1
Michigan 15, Maryland 8

Horizon League Tournament
Youngstown State 11, Northern Kentucky 7
Wright State 14, Oakland 3
Oakland 4, Youngstown State 2

Mid-American Conference Tournament
Toledo 13, Ohio 5
Ball State 9, Central Michigan 7

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
Southern Illinois 8, Indiana State 2
Missouri State 19, Bradley 3
Evansville 21, Dallas Baptist 2

Saturday, May 28
Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament
North Carolina 7, Notre Dame 2
North Carolina State 8, Pittsburgh 3

Big Ten Conference Tournament
Iowa 11, Penn State 3
Indiana 6, Maryland 4 (11 inn.)
Iowa 7, Michigan 3
Rutgers 14, Indiana 2

Horizon League
Championship
Wright State 24, Oakland 0

Mid-American Conference Tournament
Central Michigan 10, Toledo 7
Central Michigan 12, Ball State 3

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
Southern Illinois 7, Dallas Baptist 5
Missouri State 7, Evansville 6
Southern Illinois 8, Evansville 5

Sunday, May 29
Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament
Championship
North Carolina 9, North Carolina State 5

Big Ten Conference Tournament
Michigan 13, Iowa 1
Championship
Michigan 10, Rutgers 4

Mid-American Conference Tournament
Championship
Central Michigan 11, Ball State 7

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
Southern Illinois 9, Missouri State 6
Championship
Missouri State 13, Southern Illinois 3

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Ball State to host MAC tournament; Notre Dame at ACC; Evansville, Indiana State, Valparaiso at MVC; Purdue, Indiana at Big Ten; Purdue Fort Wayne at Horizon

By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

With a four-game sweep at Miami (Ohio) during the week of May 16-22, Ball State earned the right to host the four-team Mid-American Conference baseball tournament May 25-28 in Muncie.
The Cardinals are one of eight teams from Indiana going into NCAA Division I conference tournaments this week.
Ball State (38-17), the MAC regular-season champions for the first time since 2014, is the top seed, followed by Central Michigan No. 2, Toledo No. 3 and Ohio No. 4.
BSU is 7-3 in its last 10 games. The Rich Maloney-coached Cardinals are 18-4 at Ball Diamond at First Merchants Ballpark Complex.
Twelve teams will compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament May 24-29 in Charlotte, N.C. Pool play is May 24-27. No. 4 seed Notre Dame (33-13) is in Pool D with No. 5 seed Virginia and No. 9 seed Florida State.
Link Jarrett is the Notre Dame head coach. The Irish are 7-3 in their last 10.
The eight-team Big Ten Conference tournament is slated for May 25-29 in Omaha, Neb.
Maryland is the No. 1 seed, Rutgers No. 2, Iowa No. 3, Illinois No. 4, Michigan No. 5, Penn State No. 6, Greg Goff-coached Purdue (29-19) No. 7 and Jeff Mercer-coached Indiana (25-30) No. 8.
The Boilermakers are 4-6 in their last 10, the Hoosiers 5-5.
The eight-team Missouri Valley Conference tournament is scheduled for May 24-28 in Springfield, Mo. Southern Illinois is the No. 1 seed, followed by Wes Carroll-coached Evansville (30-22) No. 2, Dallas Baptist No. 3, Bradley No. 4, Mitch Hannah-coached Indiana State (25-20-1) No. 5, Missouri State No. 6, Illinois State No. 7 and Brian Schmack-coached Valparaiso (16-31) No. 8.
The Purple Aces are 6-4 in their last 10, the Sycamores 3-6-1 and Beacons 3-7.
The six-team Horizon League tournament May 25-28 in Dayton, Ohio. Wright State is the No. 1 seed. Oakland is No. 2, Illinois-Chicago No. 3, Doug Schreiber-coached Purdue Fort Wayne (18-35) No. 4, Youngstown State No. 5 and Northern Kentucky No. 6.
The Mastodons are 5-5 in their last 10.
Notre Dame is No. 17 in the D1Baseball.com RPI. Ball State is No. 70, Evansville No. 86, Indiana State No. 99, Indiana No. 115, Purdue No. 124, Valparaiso No. 210, Butler No. 238 and Purdue Fort Wayne No. 258.
Automatic bids go to the winners of the MAC, ACC, Big Ten, MVC and Horizon tournaments and more. There are 31 automatic bids and 33 at-large picks that will be made by NCAA Division I Baseball Committee. The tournament bracket for the 64-team event will be revealed at noon Eastern Time May 30 on ESPN2.
Butler (20-35-1) did not qualify for the four-team Big East Conference tournament, which is May 26-29 in Mason, Ohio.
Bulldogs head coach Dave Schrage concluded his 38-year career with a 6-4 victory Saturday against Seton Hall. He recently announced his retirement.
Taylor (41-18) and Indiana University Southeast (40-15) both went 1-2 and bowed out at separate NAIA Opening Round sites — the Kyle Gould-coached Trojans in the Upland Bracket and the Ben Reel-coached Grenadiers in the Santa Barbara Bracket.
Earlham (26-13) lost twice at NCAA Division III regional at Lynchburg, Va. The Steve Sakosits-coached Quakers qualified by winning the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament.
Vincennes (25-32) saw its season end with two losses in the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Mid-West Athletic Conference tournament in Normal, Ill. Chris Barney is the VU Trailblazers coach.

INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL
Records Through May 22
NCAA D-I
Ball State 38-17 (32-7 MAC)
Notre Dame 33-13 (16-11 ACC)
Evansville 30-22 (14-6 MVC)
Purdue 29-19 (9-12 Big Ten)
Indiana State 25-20-1 (10-10-1 MVC)
Indiana 25-30 (10-14 Big Ten)
Butler 20-35-1 (4-16-1 Big East)
Purdue Fort Wayne 18-35 (13-15 Horizon)
Valparaiso 16-31 (5-15 MVC)

NCAA D-II
Southern Indiana 21-28 (10-14 GLVC)
Indianapolis 21-31 (11-13 GLVC)
Purdue Northwest 18-21 (7-17 GLIAC)

NCAA D-III
Franklin 29-14 (13-5 HCAC)
Rose-Hulman 28-13 (12-6 HCAC)
Earlham 26-13 (12-6 HCAC)
DePauw 22-17 (12-6 NCAC)
Wabash 20-19 (4-14 NCAC)
Anderson 20-21 (11-7 HCAC)
Hanover 16-22 (10-8 HCAC)
Trine 14-23 (9-12 MIAA)
Manchester 10-27 (6-12 HCAC)

NAIA
Taylor 41-18 (26-10 CL)
Indiana University Southeast 40-15 (20-4 RSC)
Indiana Tech 32-21 (13-7 WHAC)
Indiana Wesleyan 31-23 (23-13 CL)
Oakland City 31-23 (11-11 RSC)
Huntington 27-23 (21-15 CL)
Marian 27-27 (17-19 CL)
Saint Francis 27-28 (15-21 CL)
Indiana University-Kokomo 26-22 (16-7 RSC)
Bethel 25-29 (19-17 CL)
Grace 17-33 (10-26 CL)
Calumet of Saint Joseph 16-32 (11-18 CCAC)
Indiana University South Bend 16-32-1 (9-20-1 CCAC)
Goshen 11-39 (6-30 CL)

Junior College
Vincennes 25-32 (15-19 MWAC)
Ivy Tech Northeast 16-19
Marian’s Ancilla 8-40 (6-22 MCCAA)

Week of May 16-22
NCAA D-I
Tuesday, May 17
Purdue Fort Wayne 4, Butler 2
Murray State 3, Evansville 2
Indiana 12, Illinois State 7
Notre Dame 14, Northwestern 4

Thursday, May 19
Ball State 7, Miami (Ohio) 4
Evansville 9, Valparaiso 2
Iowa 30, Indiana 16
Indiana State 10, Dallas Baptist 6
Miami (Fla.) 6, Notre Dame 1
Maryland 14, Purdue 7

Friday, May 20
Ball State 4, Miami (Ohio) 2
Ball State 11, Miami (Ohio) 1
Seton Hall 3, Butler 1
Valparaiso 8, Evansville 4
Iowa 12, Indiana 0
Indiana State 11, Dallas Baptist 10
Notre Dame 5, Miami (Fla.) 0
Maryland 18, Purdue 7
Purdue Fort Wayne 6, Akron 5
Akron 7, Purdue Fort Wayne 6

Saturday, May 21
Ball State 13, Miami (Ohio) 2
Butler 6, Seton Hall 4
Iowa 2, Indiana 1
Dallas Baptist 2, Indiana State 2
Miami (Fla.) 16, Notre Dame 7
Akron 11, Purdue Fort Wayne 0

NCAA D-III
Friday, May 20
NCAA Regional
At Lynchburg, Va.
Birmingham-Southern (Ala.) 8, Earlham 2
Lynchburg (Va.) 7, Salve Regina (R.I.) 3

Saturday, May 21
NCAA Regional
At Lynchburg, Va.
Salve Regina (R.I.) 7, Earlham 6
Birmingham-Southern (Ala.) 11, Lynchburg (Va.) 2

Sunday, May 22
NCAA Regional
At Lynchburg, Va.
Salve Regina (R.I.) vs. Lynchburg (Va.)
Championship
Birmingham-Southern (Ala.) 10, Salve Regina (R.I.) 2

NAIA
Monday, May 16
NAIA Opening Round
Upland Bracket
Bryan (Tenn.) 15, Columbia (Mo.) 9
Northwestern Ohio 12, Taylor 8
Southeastern (Fla.) 9, Bryan (Tenn.) 5

Santa Barbara Bracket
IU Southeast 22, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 4
Westmont (Calif.) 6, Antelope Valley (Calif.) 0

Tuesday, May 17
NAIA Opening Round
Upland Bracket
Taylor 3, Columbia (Mo.) 2
Southeastern (Fla.) 9, Northwestern Ohio 6
Bryan (Tenn.) 6, Taylor 1

Santa Barbara Bracket
Antelope Valley (Calif.) 4, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 1
Westmont (Calif.) 9, IU Southeast 3

Wednesday, May 18
NAIA Opening Round
Upland Bracket
Bryan (Tenn.) 7, Northwestern Ohio 4
Championship
Southeastern (Fla.) 9, Bryan (Tenn.) 5

Santa Barbara Bracket
Antelope Valley (Calif.) 3, IU Southeast 2
Championship
Westmont (Calif.) 12, Antelope Valley (Calif.) 0

Junior College
Wednesday, May 18
Mid-West Athletic Conference Tournament
Danville Area 6, Vincennes 3
Parkland 2, Lewis & Clark 1
Lincoln Land 10, Illinois Central 0
Illinois Central 5, Lewis & Clark 3

Thursday, May 19
Mid-West Athletic Conference Tournament
Heartland 7, Danville Area 0
Lincoln Land 5, Parkland 0
Illinois Central 7, Danville Area 6
Parkland 6, Vincennes 5

Friday, May 20
Mid-West Athletic Conference Tournament
Heartland 8, Lincoln Land 4
Illinois Central 12, Parkland 3
Lincoln Land 11, Illinois Central 1

Saturday, May 21
Mid-West Athletic Conference Tournament
Championship
Heartland 4, Lincoln Land 2

Taylor’s Gould, Indiana Wesleyan’s Benjamin, Bethel’s Zartman, DePauw’s Allen reach milestones; Ball State sweeps Central Michigan

By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Three Indiana-based Crossroads League head coaches reached victory milestones as the regular season came to a close the week of April 25-May 1.
Taylor’s Kyle Gould earned his 600th win, Indiana Wesleyan’s Rich Benjamin his 500th and Bethel’s Seth Zartman his 400th.
The eight-team Crossroads League tournament is slated for May 6-10 at Taylor. Mount Vernon Nazarene won the regular-season title. Seeds 2-8 are Taylor, Indiana Wesleyan, Huntington, Bethel, Spring Arbor and Saint Francis. The 2022 season came to a close for CL members Grace and Goshen.
Indiana Southeast swept three River States Conference games from Midway and Oakland City went 3-0 in conference play against Ohio Christian.
The six-team RSC tournament featuring Indiana Southeast, Indiana University Kokomo and Oakland City is May 5-8 in Chillicothe, Ohio.
Indiana Tech went 2-0 against Northwestern Ohio in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference games.
The WHAC tournament first round is May 5-6 with No. 5 seed Indiana Tech, No. 1 Northwestern Ohio (host) and No. 6 Concordia in Pod B. The championship round is slated for May 9-10. The tournament winner receives the second automatic qualifier to the NAIA national tournament. If it is the conference champion, then the runner up of the tournament will receive the second berth.
NCAA Division I Ball State (29-14, 23-4) ran its win streak to eight and took over the lead in the Mid-American Conference with a four-game sweep of visiting Central Michigan. The Chippewas had won 22 straight MAC games prior to Friday’s loss to the Cardinals.
Four-game conference series against Kent State, Ohio and Miami remain on BSU’s regular-season slate. The MAC tournament is schedule for May 25-28.
Notre Dame (28-10, 13-8) won two of three games in an Atlantic Coast Conference series against Boston College. The Irish are No. 8 in the D1Baseball.com RPI.
Evansville (24-18, 9-3) took all three Missouri Valley Conference games from Bradley.
Purdue (25-14, 6-7) went 2-1 vs. Michigan and Indiana (20-24, 6-9) 2-1 against Illinois in a pair of Big Ten Conference series.
NCAA Division II Southern Indiana split four Great Lakes Valley Conference games against Missouri Science & Technology.
NCAA D-III Franklin won both Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference contests against Transylvania.
Also in the HCAC, Hanover was 2-0 against Transylvania and 1-1 vs. Defiance, Rose-Hulman 2-0 against Bluffton, Manchester 1-1 vs. Mount St. Joseph and Earlham and Anderson split a two-game series.
The five-team HCAC tournament is scheduled for May 12-15 at Kokomo Municipal Stadium.
Wabash went 1-1 against Hiram in North Coast Athletic Conference play. The four-team NCAC tournament is May 12-14 in Chillicothe, Ohio.
By beating Anderson Wednesday, DePauw’s Blake Allen got his 100th career victory as a head coach.

INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL
Records Through May 1
NCAA D-I
Ball State 29-14 (23-4 MAC)
Notre Dame 28-10 (13-8 ACC)
Purdue 25-14 (6-7 Big Ten)
Evansville 24-18 (9-3 MVC)
Indiana State 22-13 (7-5 MVC)
Indiana 20-24 (6-9 Big Ten)
Butler 18-26-1 (2-9-1 Big East)
Valparaiso 14-25 (3-9 MVC)
Purdue Fort Wayne 12-30 (9-13 Horizon)

NCAA D-II
Indianapolis 20-25 (11-9 GLVC)
Purdue Northwest 18-17 (7-13 GLIAC)
Southern Indiana 17-28 (6-14 GLVC)

NCAA D-III
Franklin 25-11 (10-4 HCAC)
Rose-Hulman 22-10 (11-5 HCAC)
Earlham 21-9 (10-4 HCAC)
Wabash 20-13 (4-10 NCAC)
DePauw 17-15 (8-6 NCAC)
Anderson 17-17 (9-5 HCAC)
Hanover 16-18 (10-6 HCAC)
Trine 14-20 (9-9 MIAA)
Manchester 8-25 (4-10 HCAC)

NAIA
Taylor 36-16 (26-10 CL)
Indiana University Southeast 35-13 (20-4 RSC)
Indiana Tech 31-19 (13-7 WHAC)
Indiana Wesleyan 30-21 (23-13 CL)
Oakland City 28-19 (11-11 RSC)
Indiana University-Kokomo 26-20 (16-7 RSC)
Saint Francis 26-26 (15-21 CL)
Marian 25-25 (17-19 CL)
Bethel 25-27 (19-17 CL)
Huntington 24-21 (21-15 CL)
Grace 17-33 (10-26 CL)
Calumet of Saint Joseph 16-30 (11-18 CCAC)
Indiana University South Bend 15-30-1 (9-20-1 CCAC)
Goshen 11-39 (6-30 CL)

Junior College
Vincennes 19-25 (9-13 MWAC)
Ivy Tech Northeast 15-18
Marian’s Ancilla 8-36 (6-18 MCCAA)

Week of April 25-May 1
NCAA D-I
Monday, April 25
Ball State 15, Northern Illinois 1

Tuesday, April 26
Indiana 9, Butler 1
Belmont 8, Evansville 2
Michigan State 8, Notre Dame 2
Purdue 6, Valparaiso 5 (10 inn.)

Wednesday, April 27
Indiana 3, Illinois State 1
Michigan State 7, Purdue Fort Wayne 4

Friday, April 29
Ball State 7, Central Michigan 1
Connecticut 8, Butler 7 (10 inn.)
Evansville 6, Bradley 5
Indiana 7, Illinois 6
Missouri State 7, Indiana State 6
Boston College 7, Notre Dame 4
Purdue 18, Michigan 4
Illinois-Chicago 7, Purdue Fort Wayne 3
Southern Illinois 4, Valparaiso 0

Saturday, April 30
Ball State 6, Central Michigan 4
Ball State 10, Central Michigan 7
Connecticut 14, Butler 7
Evansville 8, Bradley 7
Illinois 18, Indiana 10
Missouri State 11, Indiana State 4
Notre Dame 11, Boston College 5
Purdue 12, Michigan 4
Illinois-Chicago 4, Purdue Fort Wayne 2
Southern Illinois 15, Valparaiso 12

Sunday, May 1
Ball State 4, Central Michigan 3
Connecticut 17, Butler 4
Evansville 15, Bradley 4
Indiana 11, Illinois 7
Indiana State 8, Missouri State 1
Notre Dame 16, Boston College 10
Michigan 13, Purdue 2
Illinois-Chicago 21, Purdue Fort Wayne 5
Valparaiso 11, Southern Illinois 10

NCAA D-II
Tuesday, April 26
Ohio Dominican 13, Indianapolis 3
Ohio Dominican 2, Indianapolis 1
Kentucky Wesleyan 11, Southern Indiana 7

Wednesday, April 27
Purdue Northwest 3, Wisconsin-Parkside 1
Wisconsin-Parkside 5, Purdue Northwest 0

Friday, April 29
Illinois-Springfield 15, Indianapolis 2
Wayne State 23, Purdue Northwest 4
Southern Indiana 12, Missouri S&T 9

Saturday, April 30
Indianapolis 9, Illinois-Springfield 8
Illinois-Springfield 11, Indianapolis 1
Wayne State 9, Purdue Northwest 2
Wayne State 9, Purdue Northwest 2
Southern Indiana 7, Missouri S&T 6
Missouri S&T 5, Southern Indiana 1

Sunday, May 1
Illinois-Springfield 11, Indianapolis 10 (10 inn.)
Purdue Northwest 11, Wayne State 10
Missouri S&T 5, Southern Indiana 1
Missouri S&T 12, Southern Indiana 9

NCAA D-III
Monday, April 25
Webster 5, Franklin 1
Webster 7, Franklin 1
Calvin 15, Trine 5

Tuesday, April 26
DePauw 12, Rose-Hulman 8
Hanover 19, Transylvania 7
Hanover 20, Transylvania 13
Huntington 10, Manchester 1

Wednesday, April 27
DePauw 11, Anderson 10
Denison 15, Hanover 8
Indiana Tech 15, Manchester 5
Rose-Hulman 5, Greenville 2

Friday, April 29
Earlham 7, Anderson 4
Anderson 7, Earlham 6

Saturday, April 30
Franklin 9, Transylvania 6
Franklin 5, Transylvania 4
Hanover 5, Defiance 1
Defiance 8, Hanover 4
Manchester 9, Mount St. Joseph 6
Mount St. Joseph 8, Manchester 7
Albion 8, Trine 4
Trine 3, Albion 1
Wabash 8, Hiram 6
Hiram 6, Wabash 5 (11 inn.)

Sunday, May 1
Marietta 13, Hanover 0
Rose-Hulman 3, Bluffton 0
Rose-Hulman 10, Bluffton 7
Trine 10, Albion 3

NAIA
Tuesday, April 26
IU Kokomo 7, Grace 2
Huntington 10, Manchester 1
St. Francis (Ill.) 9, Indiana Tech 8
Indiana Tech 10, St. Francis (Ill.) 2
IU Southeast 11, Cumberlands 9
Kentucky State 2, Oakland City 0
Kentucky State 2, Oakland City 0

Wednesday, April 27
Calumet of St. Joseph 5, Trinity International 4
Calumet of St. Joseph 6, Trinity International 1
Indiana Tech 15, Manchester 5
St. Francis (Ill.) 2, IU South Bend 1
St. Francis (Ill.) 6, IU South Bend 2

Thursday, April 28
IU Southeast 3, Midway 2
IU Southeast 8, Midway 7
Oakland City 3, Ohio Christian 2 (11 inn.)

Friday, April 29
Bethel 7, Saint Francis 4
Saint Francis 5, Bethel 4
Roosevelt 20, Calumet of St. Joseph 6
Roosevelt 5, Calumet of St. Joseph 2
Goshen 10, Spring Arbor 6
Spring Arbor 10, Goshen 3
Taylor 9, Grace 0
Taylor 16, Grace 0
Mount Vernon Nazarene 13, Huntington 0
Mount Vernon Nazarene 17, Huntington 16
IU Kokomo 8, Point Park 5
Point Park 5, IU Kokomo 4
IU Southeast 12, Midway 6
IU South Bend 12, Lincoln 7
Indiana Wesleyan 9, Marian 2
Indiana Wesleyan 11, Marian 3
Oakland City 10, Ohio Christian 9
Oakland City 7, Ohio Christian 6

Saturday, April 30
Bethel 5, Saint Francis 3
Bethel 2, Saint Francis 1
Roosevelt 4, Calumet of St. Joseph 1
Spring Arbor 13, Goshen 6
Spring Arbor 11, Goshen 9
Taylor 19, Grace 11
Taylor 9, Grace 8
Mount Vernon Nazarene 5, Huntington 0
Mount Vernon Nazarene 7, Huntington 0
Indiana Tech 8, Northwestern Ohio 1
Indiana Tech 5, Northwestern Ohio 2
Point Park 7, IU Kokomo 5
IU South Bend 15, Lincoln 6
Lincoln 1, IU South Bend 0 (10 inn.)
Indiana Wesleyan 8, Marian 3
Marian 8, Indiana Wesleyan 5

Junior College
Tuesday, April 26
Lincoln Trail 12, Vincennes 7

Thursday, April 28
Kellogg 11, Marian’s Ancilla 0
Kellogg 6, Marian’s Ancilla 0

Saturday, April 30
Kellogg 13, Marian’s Ancilla 2
Vincennes 17, Lewis & Clark 7
Lewis & Clark 11, Vincennes 4

Ball State’s Maloney reflects on milestone victory No. 900

By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

When Ball State swept a doubleheader Saturday, April 23 at Northern Illinois it allowed Cardinals head coach Rich Maloney to reach the 900th victory of his career.
Maloney is in his 27th season as a college head coach with two stints at Ball State (1996-2002 and 2013-present) and one at Michigan (2003-12).
Ball State (24-14 overall, 18-4 in the Mid-American Conference) went on to win, Sunday, too. Game 4 of the series was slated for today (April 25). Maloney has won 580 games with the Cards.
“I have had the great privilege of coaching so many outstanding young men and coaching alongside so many outstanding assistants,” said Maloney Saturday. “Milestones like this give us a time to reflect on the many relationships built through the years.
“What a blessing!”
Ball State — which got wins from starters Tyler Schweitzer (Hamilton Southeastern High School graduate) and Ty Johnson (Lawrence North), both 6-2 in 2022, Saturday and Sunday — is chasing first-place Central Michigan (27-10, 21-1) in the MAC.
There are more coaching victory milestones on the horizon for NAIA Taylor’s Kyle Gould (597), NAIA Indiana Wesleyan’s Rich Benjamin (498), NAIA Bethel’s Seth Zartman (397), NAIA Marian’s Todd Bacon (195) and NCAA Division III DePauw’s Blake Allen (98).
The best weeks among the state’s 38 college baseball programs April 18-24 belonged to NAIA Indiana Tech at 6-0, NCAA Division-I Notre Dame at 5-0, NCAA Division III Wabash at 5-1, NAIA Calumet of St. Joseph at 5-1 and NAIA Oakland City 4-1.
Notre Dame won midweek games against Valparaiso and Purdue Fort Wayne and swept three from Atlantic Coast Conference foe Wake Forest. The Irish (26-8, 11-7) are tied with Louisville atop the ACC Atlantic Division. ND is No. 2 in the D1Baseball.com RPI behind Tennessee (37-3). Evansville is No. 67, Indiana State. No. 91, Ball State No, 123, Indiana No. 135, Purdue No. 163, Valparaiso No. 202, Butler No. 208 and Purdue Fort Wayne No. 237.
Indiana State (21-11 overall and tied for first in the Missouri Valley Conference at 6-3) tied a school record with six home runs in Sunday’s 12-9 loss to Evansville — two by Aaron Beck (Evansville Harrison) and one each by Tyler Nelson (Chesterton), Jordan Schaffer (West Vigo), Sean Ross and Keegan Watson (New Palestine).
Indiana Tech (27-18, 13-7 in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference) won four WHAC games Saturday and Sunday by a combined 66-27. The Warriors and others are looking up conference leader Northwestern Ohio (32-9, 19-1).
Wabash (19-12) is now 4-4 in away games after a doubleheader split at Oberlin and twin bill sweep at Anderson.
Calumet of St. Joseph (14-27) earned all its wins for the week on the road. The same is true for Oakland City (25-17). The Mighty Oaks have already won eight more games in 2022 than 2021.

INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL
Records Through April 24
NCAA D-I
Notre Dame 26-8 (11-7 ACC)
Ball State 24-14 (18-4 MAC)
Purdue 22-13 (4-6 Big Ten)
Indiana State 21-11 (6-3 MVC)
Evansville 21-17 (6-3 MVC)
Butler 18-22-1 (2-6-1 Big East)
Indiana 16-23 (4-8 Big Ten)
Valparaiso 13-22 (2-7 MVC)
Purdue Fort Wayne 12-25 (9-9 Horizon)

NCAA D-II
Indianapolis 19-20 (10-6 GLVC)
Purdue Northwest 16-13 (5-9 GLIAC)
Southern Indiana 15-25 (4-12 GLVC)

NCAA D-III
Franklin 23-9 (8-4 HCAC)
Earlham 20-8 (9-3 HCAC)
Rose-Hulman 19-9 (9-5 HCAC)
Wabash 19-12 (4-9 NCAC)
Anderson 16-15 (8-4 HCAC)
Hanover 13-15 (7-5 HCAC)
DePauw 13-15 (6-6 NCAC)
Trine 12-18 (7-7 MIAA)
Manchester 7-22 (3-9 HCAC)

NAIA
Taylor 32-16 (22-10 CL)
Indiana University Southeast 31-13 (17-4 RSC)
Indiana Tech 27-18 (13-7 WHAC)
Indiana Wesleyan 27-20 (20-12 CL)
Indiana University-Kokomo 25-17 (15-5 RSC)
Oakland City 25-17 (8-11 RSC)
Saint Francis 25-23 (14-18 CL)
Marian 24-22 (16-16 CL)
Huntington 22-18 (20-12 CL)
Bethel 22-26 (16-16 CL)
Grace 16-29 (10-22 CL)
Calumet of Saint Joseph 14-27 (9-15 CCAC)
Indiana University South Bend 12-27-1 (6-17-1 CCAC)
Goshen 10-36 (5-27 CL)

Junior College
Vincennes 18-23 (8-12 MWAC)
Ivy Tech Northeast 15-18
Marian’s Ancilla 8-32 (6-14 MCCAA)

Week of April 18-24
NCAA D-I
Tuesday, April 19
Western Michigan 14, Ball State 12
Butler 6, Northern Kentucky 5
Miami (Ohio) 9, Indiana 7
Indiana State 12, Illinois 6
Notre Dame 5, Valparaiso 1
Illinois-Chicago 9, Purdue 6

Wednesday, April 20
Butler 7, Dayton 2
Notre Dame 12, Purdue Fort Wayne 2

Friday, April 22
St. John’s 8, Butler 6
Indiana State 7, Evansville 6
Indiana 8, Nebraska 7
Belmont 3, Purdue 2
Notre Dame 8, Wake Forest 3
Purdue Fort Wayne 4, Northern Kentucky 2
Purdue Fort Wayne 4, Northern Kentucky 3

Saturday, April 23
Ball State 13, Northern Illinois 0
Ball State 6, Northern Illinois 1
St. John’s 8, Butler 7 (10 inn.)
Evansville 14, Indiana State 0
Indiana 8, Nebraska 1
Notre Dame 21, Wake Forest 3
Belmont 11, Purdue 1
Purdue Fort Wayne 10, Oakland 2
Oakland 10, Purdue Fort Wayne 2
Missouri State 14, Valparaiso 2
Missouri State 9, Valparaiso 4

Sunday, April 24
Ball State 9, Northern Illinois 5
Butler 12, St. John’s 12, tie
Evansville 12, Indiana State 9
Nebraska 19, Indiana 7
Belmont 8, Purdue 6
Oakland 10, Purdue Fort Wayne 9 (10 inn.)
Missouri State 6, Valparaiso 1
Notre Dame 13, Wake Forest 12
Northern Kentucky vs. Purdue Fort Wayne

NCAA D-II
Tuesday, April 19
Grand Valley State 10, Purdue Northwest 5
Purdue Northwest 5, Grand Valley State 4
Kentucky Wesleyan 4, Southern Indiana 14

Friday, April 22
Indianapolis 9, Davenport 1

Saturday, April 23
Davenport 12, Indianapolis 10
Davenport 18, Indianapolis 6
Lewis 10, Southern Indiana 9
Southern Indiana vs. Lewis
Purdue Northwest 22, Wisconsin-Parkside 0
Purdue Northwest 18, Wisconsin-Parkside 5

Sunday, April 24
Lewis 15, Southern Indiana 3
Lewis 8, Southern Indiana 5

NCAA D-III
Tuesday, April 19
Anderson 11, Bluffton 4
Bluffton 6, Anderson 0
Wittenberg 11, DePauw 10
DePauw 4, Wittenberg 3
Rose-Hulman 12, Franklin 10
Rose-Hulman 10, Franklin 4
Defiance 4, Manchester 2
Manchester 12, Defiance 11 (11 inn.)
Trine 22, Adrian 14
Wabash 8, Ohio Weselyan 2
Wabash 3, Ohio Weselyan 2

Wednesday, April 20
Indiana Tech 14, Manchester 4

Saturday, April 23
Anderson 8, Defiance 5
Anderson 7, Defiance 6
DePauw 16, Hiram 0
DePauw 11, Hiram 0
Earlham 8, Rose-Hulman 6
Earlham 11, Rose-Hulman 2
Franklin 5, Mt. St. Joseph 4
Franklin 14, Mt. St. Joseph 4
Hanover 10, Bluffton 8
Bluffton 13, Hanover 3
Calvin 7, Trine 3
Trine 7, Calvin 2
Oberlin 3, Wabash 2
Wabash 15, Oberlin 12 (10 inn.)

Sunday, April 24
Wabash 14, Anderson 5
Anderson 21, Wabash 6
Rose-Hulman 16, Wilmington 9
Manchester 5, Trine 4

NAIA
Monday, April 18
Calumet of St. Joseph 19, Lincoln 4
Calumet of St. Joseph 15, Lincoln 5
Grace 10, Marian 8
Marian 8, Grace 3

Tuesday, April 19
IU South Bend 8, Calumet of St. Joseph 4
Indiana Tech 18, Saint Francis 1
Oakland City 4, Bethel (Tenn.) 2
Oakland City 1, Bethel (Tenn.) 0

Wednesday, April 20
Siena Heights 4, Goshen 0
Siena Heights 6, Goshen 3
Indiana Tech 14, Manchester 4
Georgetown (Ky.) 4, IU Kokomo 3

Thursday, April 21
Spring Arbor 7, Bethel 5
Bethel 3, Spring Arbor 2
Mt. Vernon Nazarene 7, Grace 5
Mt. Vernon Nazarene 4, Grace 2
Indiana Wesleyan 11, Taylor 7
Taylor 6, Indiana Wesleyan 3

Friday, April 22
Huntington 15, Goshen 12
Goshen 6, Huntington 4
IU Southeast 10, IU Kokomo 3
Roosevelt 6, IU South Bend 5
Marian 6, Saint Francis 5
Marian 5, Saint Francis 1
Brescia 4, Oakland City 2

Saturday, April 23
Bethel 7, Spring Arbor 6
Bethel 12, Spring Arbor 10
Huntington 16, Goshen 12
Huntington 18, Goshen 3
Mt. Vernon Nazarene 11, Grace 10
Mt. Vernon Nazarene 7, Grace 3
Indiana Tech 20, Siena Heights 3
Indiana Tech 16, Siena Heights 1
IU Kokomo 12, IU Southeast 11
IU Southeast 18, IU Kokomo 2
Roosevelt 15, IU South Bend 3
Roosevelt 9, IU South Bend 5
Taylor 11, Indiana Wesleyan 1
Indiana Wesleyan 9, Taylor 5
Marian 11, Saint Francis 10
Saint Francis 13, Marian 8
Oakland City vs. Brescia
Oakland City vs. Brescia

Sunday, April 24
Indiana Tech 9, Lourdes 8
Indiana Tech 21, Lourdes 15

Junior College
Tuesday, April 19
Muskegon 3, Marian’s Ancilla 2
Muskegon 4, Marian’s Ancilla 3
Vincennes 5, Lincoln Trail 4 (10 inn.)

Wednesday, April 20
Lansing 14, Ivy Tech Northeast 0
Lansing 5, Ivy Tech Northeast 3

Friday, April 22
Wabash Valley 11, Ivy Tech Northeast 5
Wabash Valley 13, Ivy Tech Northeast 2
Kalamazoo Valley 10, Marian’s Ancilla 1
Kalamazoo Valley 1, Marian’s Ancilla 0
Vincennes 11, Illinois Central 3
Illinois Central 5, Vincennes 4

Saturday, April 23
Wabash Valley 12. Ivy Tech Northeast 1
Wabash Valley 14, Ivy Tech Northeast 4
Marian’s Ancilla 6, Kalamazoo Valley 5
Marian’s Ancilla 11, Kalamazoo Valley 9
Vincennes 11, Illinois Central 10
Illinois Central 9, Vincennes 1

Sunday, April 24
Ivy Tech Northeast 14, Trine JV 4
Ivy Tech Northeast 5, Trine JV 2

Earlham’s Bradley enjoys five-homer day; Taylor’s Bass belts 13th

By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Earlham junior Andrew Bradley belted five home runs in a doubleheader sweep of visiting Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference foe Defiance April 6.
The clean-up hitter launched two dingers each in the first and third innings of a 40-7 Game 1 rout. In Game 2, he circled the bases in the third frame as the Quakers won 12-3. The games were contested at Randal R. Sadler Stadium.
For the week of week of April 4-10, NCAA Division III Earlham went 3-1 and is 16-6 overall and 5-1 in the HCAC.
Earlham is in three-way tie atop the conference standings with Franklin (20-6 overall) and Anderson (13-10).
NAIA Taylor went 3-1 on the week and moved to 27-11 overall and 17-5 in the Crossroads League, which ties the Trojans for first place with Mount Vernon Nazarene.
Taylor junior T.J. Bass (Greenwood Community) has raised his season totals to 13 home runs and 60 runs batted in.
With two wins Sunday against Point Park, first-place Indiana University Southeast moved to 24-10 overall and 12-2 in the River States Conference.
Heading into Game 3 of the Point Park series today (April 11), Grenadiers coach Ben Reel has 499 career victories.
Indiana Tech has won five straight. The Warriors are 18-15 overall and 6-4 in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference.
In NCAA Division I, Purdue (20-7 overall, 2-4 in the Big Ten) took two of three games from visiting Indiana (12-17, 2-3) at Alexander Field.
Game 1 Saturday saw the Boilers roll 17-0. Redshirt junior left-hander Jackson Smeltz (McCutcheon) gave up one hit in eight innings with 13 strikeouts.
In Sunday’s doubleheader, the Hoosiers prevailed 10-3 with freshman Brock Tibbitts cracking his seventh homer of 2022.
Purdue outlasted Indiana 16-15 in the nightcap. Redshirt sophomore Cam Thompson smacked a three-run homer and drove in four runs for the Boilers. Thompson paces the team with 10 circuit clouts.
Notre Dame pushed its win streak to eight games. The Irish (20-5 overall, 8-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) are 6-1 at Frank Eck Stadium, including 4-0 this past week.
D1Baseball.com has Notre Dame No. 3 nationally in RPI. Indiana State is No. 60, Ball State No. 103, Evansville No. 119, Purdue No. 133, Indiana No. 156, Butler No. 187, Valparaiso No. 206 and Purdue Fort Wayne No. 230.
Purdue Fort Wayne is on a season-best four-game win streak after besting Michigan once and Wisconsin-Milwaukee three times.

INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL
Records Through April 10
NCAA D-I
Purdue 21-7 (3-4 Big Ten)
Notre Dame 20-5 (8-4 ACC)
Indiana State 19-8 (5-1 MVC)
Ball State 18-12 (12-2 MAC)
Evansville 15-16 (1-2 MVC)
Butler 15-17 (1-2 Big East)
Indiana 12-18 (2-4 Big Ten)
Valparaiso 11-16 (0-3 MVC)
Purdue Fort Wayne 8-22 (5-7 Horizon)

NCAA D-II
Indianapolis 13-17 (7-5 GLVC)
Southern Indiana 13-17 (2-6 GLVC)
Purdue Northwest 11-8 (0-4 GLIAC)

NCAA D-III
Franklin 20-6 (5-1 HCAC)
Earlham 16-6 (5-1 HCAC)
Anderson 13-10 (5-1 HCAC)
Rose-Hulman 12-7 (3-3 HCAC)
Wabash 12-8 (0-5 NCAC)
DePauw 10-12 (3-3 NCAC)
Hanover 9-14 (4-4 HCAC)
Trine 8-13 (3-1 MIAA)
Manchester 5-14 (2-4 HCAC)

NAIA
Taylor 27-11 (17-5 CL)
Indiana University Southeast 24-10 (12-2 RSC)
Indiana University-Kokomo 20-14 (10-3 RSC)
Oakland City 20-16 (6-10 RSC)
Saint Francis 20-17 (9-12 CL)
Indiana Wesleyan 19-18 (14-10 CL)
Indiana Tech 18-15 (6-4 WHAC)
Huntington 17-13 (15-7 CL)
Marian 15-19 (7-13 CL)
Bethel 15-23 (9-13 CL)
Grace 14-21 (8-14 CL)
Indiana University South Bend 10-23 (4-13 CCAC)
Calumet of Saint Joseph 8-23 (3-11 CCAC)
Goshen 7-25 (4-18 CL)

Junior College
Vincennes 15-16 (6-6 MWAC)
Ivy Tech Northeast 11-10
Marian’s Ancilla 6-24 (4-6 MCCAA)

Week of April 4-10
NCAA D-I
Tuesday, April 5
Notre Dame 5, Butler 2
Evansville 8, Indiana 4
Purdue 17, Northern Illinois 14
Wisconsin-Milwaukee 3, Valparaiso 2
Wisconsin-Milwaukee 8, Valparaiso 3

Wednesday, April 6
Indiana State 10, Purdue 6 (10 inn.)
Purdue Fort Wayne 6, Michigan 3

Friday, April 8
Oregon 13, Ball State 7
Villanova 13, Butler 3
Southern Illinois 14, Evansville 4
Notre Dame 4, Clemson 1

Saturday, April 9
Ball State 3, Oregon 2
Oregon 10, Ball State 4
Villanova 6, Butler 4
Evansville 6, Southern Illinois 2
Purdue 17, Indiana 0
Indiana State 2, Valparaiso 0
Notre Dame 8, Clemson 1
Purdue Fort Wayne 5, Wisconsin-Milwaukee 4
Purdue Fort Wayne 7, Wisconsin-Milwaukee 0

Sunday, April 10
Oregon 7, Ball State 6
Butler 11, Villanova 3
Southern Illinois 14, Evansville 5
Indiana 10, Purdue 3
Purdue 16, Indiana 15
Indiana State 15, Valparaiso 8
Indiana State 11, Valparaiso 8
Notre Dame 9, Clemson 3
Purdue Fort Wayne 7, Wisconsin-Milwaukee 6

NCAA D-II
Tuesday, April 5
Purdue Northwest 5, Indianapolis 1
Indianapolis 3, Purdue Northwest 0

Friday, April 8
Indianapolis 12, Missouri A&T 4
Southern Indiana vs. Illinois-Springfield

Saturday, April 9
Indianapolis 14, Missouri A&T 8
Illinois-Springfield 9, Southern Indiana 2
Illinois-Springfield 19, Southern Indiana 2

Sunday, April 10
Missouri A&T 14, Indianapolis 5
Missouri A&T 15, Indianapolis 7
Illinois-Springfield 9, Southern Indiana 1
Illinois-Springfield 6, Southern Indiana 2

NCAA D-III
Tuesday, April 5
Bluffton 4, Manchester 3
Bluffton 11, Manchester 2
Adrian 9, Trine 5

Wednesday, April 6
Anderson 10, Franklin 5
Franklin 9, Anderson 2
Earlham 40, Defiance 7
Earlham 12, Defiance 3
Rose-Hulman 18, Hanover 15
Hanover 10, Rose-Hulman 3
Wittenberg 5, Wabash 2 (11 inn.)

Thursday, April 7
Denison 13, DePauw 2
Denison 12, DePauw 2

Sunday, April 10
Anderson 13, Mount St. Joseph 9
Anderson 11, Mount St. Joseph 0
DePauw 7, Oberlin 3
DePauw 16, Oberlin 10
Hanover 3, Earlham 1
Earlham 7, Hanover 3
Franklin 10, Defiance 2
Franklin 7, Defiance 4
Rose-Hulman 5, Manchester 2
Rose-Hulman 22, Manchester 9
Kalamazoo 5, Trine 2
Kalamazoo 18, Trine 5
Kenyon 5, Wabash 1
Kenyon 10, Wabash 4

NAIA
Monday, April 4
Bethel 10, Marian 6
Bethel 12, Marian 11
Calumet of Saint Joseph 7, Trinity International 3
Mount Vernon Nazarene 8, Goshen 4
Mount Vernon Nazarene 6, Goshen 2
Indiana Wesleyan 11, Grace 4
Grace 4, Indiana Wesleyan 2
Taylor 13, Saint Francis 7
Taylor 8, Saint Francis 3

Tuesday, April 5
IU Kokomo 6, Indiana Tech 5 (8 inn.)
Judson 4, IU South Bend 3
Judson 15, IU South Bend 10

Wednesday, April 6
Indiana Tech 15, Wright State-Lake 2

Thursday, April 7
Ivy Tech Northeast 12, Indiana Tech JV 3
Indiana Tech JV 6, Ivy Tech Northeast 5
Mount Vernon Nazarene 7, Saint Francis 6
Saint Francis 8, Mount Vernon Nazarene 3
Vincennes 12, Oakland City JV 5

Friday, April 8
Huntington 3, Indiana Wesleyan 2
Indiana Wesleyan 10, Huntington 8

Saturday, April 9
Marian 7, Grace 5
Grace 12, Marian 2
Huntington 17, Indiana Wesleyan 7
Huntington 2, Indiana Wesleyan 1
Trinity Christian 5, IU South Bend 4 (9 inn.)
Trinity Christian 10, IU South Bend 5
Taylor 5, Spring Arbor 3
Spring Arbor 4, Taylor 3

Sunday, April 10
Goshen 4, Bethel 2
Goshen 5, Bethel 2
St. Ambrose 14, Calumet of Saint Joseph 4
St. Ambrose 11, Calumet of Saint Joseph 3
West Virginia Tech 8, IU Kokomo 6
West Virginia Tech 2, IU Kokomo 0
IU Southeast 6, Point Park 5
IU Southeast 5, Point Park 3
Indiana Tech 4, Cleary 0
Indiana Tech 12, Cleary 5
Midway 3, Oakland City 2
Oakland City 14, Midway 0

Junior College
Tuesday, April 5
Ivy Tech Northeast 21, Glen Oaks 7

Thursday, April 7
Ivy Tech Northeast 12, Indiana Tech JV 3
Indiana Tech JV 6, Ivy Tech Northeast 5
Vincennes 12, Oakland City JV 5

Friday, April 8
Mid-Michigan 8, Marian’s Ancilla 0
Marian’s Ancilla 3, Mid-Michigan 2

Saturday, April 9
Marian’s Ancilla 4, Mid-Michigan 3 (8 inn.)
Mid-Michigan 8, Marian’s Ancilla 3
Frontier 7, Vincennes 5

Sunday, April 10
Vincennes 2, Frontier 1

Veteran baseball coach Smith assisting travel ball space with Diamond Allegiance

By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Tracy Smith became a head coach in NCAA Division I baseball at 30.
For the next quarter century, the Indiana native taught the game and developed relationships with players, families and others.
Smith grew up in Kentland — a small town of less than 2,000 folks in Newton County — learning fundamentals from Donald “Tater” Blankenship and then playing baseball and basketball for Denny Stitz at South Newton High School.
Other mentors include (college baseball coach) Jon Pavlisko, (minor league manager and coach) Brad Mills and Bill Harford, (Miami University Middleton basketball coach) Jim Sliger and (father-in-law and former MUM athletic director) Lynn Darbyshire.
Tracy and wife Jaime have three sons — Casey (as in Casey At The Bat), Ty (as in Ty Cobb) and Jack (as in Jackie Robinson) — and are grandparents.
Smith, who played at Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) and in the Chicago Cubs system, led programs at Miami Middletown, Miami and Indiana University — taking to the Hoosiers to the College World Series and receiving National Coach of the Year honors in 2013 — before becoming head coach at Arizona State University. Not including the COVID-19-shortened 2020 campaign, he took the Sun Devils to four NCAA regional appearances in six seasons. His ASU teams won 201 games.
In June 2021, Smith was let go at Arizona State. He saw it as an opportunity to focus his energy on a venture called Diamond Allegiance — an organization dedicated to reimagining travel baseball. He had been serving on its board for a couple of years.
“I looked at it as my way of giving back to help the game of baseball bigger and more impactful than maybe the 35 guys in the locker room that I’ve coached over my entire career,” says Smith of his reason for diving in full-time with Diamond Allegiance. “I’ve been working hard and pulling in some of my friends.
“You’ve got this army of former professional players and big league players that want to give back to the game as well.”
Smith, 56, is CEO for Diamond Allegiance and works with an Executive and Advisory Board committee that features current collegiate coaches Erik Bakich (University of Michigan) and Kevin O’Sullivan (University of Florida) and former Oregon State University coach Pat Casey. Matt Gerber is head of player business and development. Two-time softball gold medalist and ESPN analyst Michele Smith is also board member.
The OSU Beavers won three CWS titles on Casey’s watch (2006, 2007 and 2018) while O’Sullivan’s Gators reigned in 2017.
According to its website, Diamond Allegiance “helps members run better businesses, augments their player development capabilities, provides more career opportunities for coaches, reduces the cost for families/players, and increases participation of underrepresented communities. We generate this impact through a powerful mix of partnerships, services, technology, and philanthropy.”
Partners include Canes Baseball, the Indiana Bulls and many more.
Says Smith, who grew up playing Babe Ruth ball and for Remington (Ind.) American Legion Post 280: “As a coach you’re always on the receiving end of kids coming up through the travel ball system. I don’t want to say the system was broken because it’s not. People in the travel ball business do an unbelievable job. The industry itself has become more of a showcase/exposure industry and not as much development.
“We want to focus on the development piece.”
Diamond Allegiance, which was officially launched at the American Baseball Coaches Association Convention in Chicago in January, offers a 12-month development system with text designed by Bakich that is currently not on the market.
At Chicago came the first chance for feedback from the baseball industry. High school coaches without access to travel baseball in their areas approached asking if they can tap into Diamond Allegiance resources.
“They will have access to a version of what we’re doing,” says Smith.
A predictive mechanism powered by CURVE, which creates a score taking into account brain, ball and body data that tells how high a player might go is another Diamond Allegiance perk.
Partners receive the ability to reach college conferences and coaches, push content to their coaches and team while building brand and culture. There is also access to top baseball industry leaders and the best tech providers.
Sandy Ogg, a CEO developer for Fortune 500 companies who Smith met through former Indiana University senior associate athletic director and current Diamond Sports Foundation CEO Tim Fitzpatrick, is part of Diamond Allegiance.
Members get marketing and branding services and assistance with their businesses.
“Owners can run better businesses and be more efficient in those practices,” says Smith. “They can make money that they’ll reinvest into creating and providing opportunities for kids who can’t afford to play.
“I’m very passionate and have always been very passionate about creating opportunities for kids who can’t be a part of it. When you look at our rosters over time we’ve tried to have a diverse roster. We really made a conscious effort to beat the bushes to find kids to play.”
The idea is to provide value and assistance in making important decisions.
“I see the amount of money families spend on getting their kid a college scholarship,” says Smith. “On a $5,000 college scholarship they’re spending $20,000 a year.
“We want to provide direction. It’s OK to spend that money, but let’s spend it wisely.”
Diamond Sports Foundation allows families an opportunity to apply for help to offset or — in some cases — totally fund the travel ball experience.
Diamond Allegiance will share knowledge to help guide parents and players through this recruiting process
“There’s this myth out there that if you don’t play Power Five baseball (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC) that in some way, share or form you have failed. I’ve always hated that,” says Smith. “Anytime I would talk to groups, families and kids I would say every one of you can play beyond high school. There’s a place for you to do that. You just have to find the right fit.
“One of the things we’re going to be doing with Diamond Allegiance is giving families and kids true direction so that they can reach their aspiration.”
Knowing that others have attempted to do the same thing, Smith addresses question about the Diamond Allegiance difference.
“We’ve got a really, really good group of people that are passionate about making this game better,” says Smith, who has been talking with up to 10 travel programs a week. “You have people that are motivated to do right and do well by the game.
“It will not fail.”
To learn more, visit diamondallegiance.com. To apply for a partnership, email hello@diamondallegiance.com.

A video on the Diamond Allegiance organization.

Tracy Smith, former head baseball coach at Miami University Hamilton, Miami University (Oxford, Ohio), Indiana University and Arizona State University, is now CEO for Diamond Alliance, a group which assists in the travel ball world. (Arizona State University Photo)

Shelbyville alum Lux producing for Duke Blue Devils

BY STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Damon Lux has made his way to everyday player in his senior season at Duke University in Durham, N.C.
A 2018 graduate of Shelbyville (Ind.) High School, Lux has been starting for the Blue Devils baseball team in center field and batting anywhere from No. 4 to No. 6 in the batting order through the first eight games of the 2022 season.
Heading into a March 4-6 home series against Bucknell, Lux has driven in seven runs in 30 at-bats with five coming in a Feb. 19 game against Virginia Military Institute (the righty swinger went 2-of-3 with three-run home run).
“I like that I get a lot of chances to score some guys,” says Lux of hitting in the middle of the order for the Atlantic Coast Conference squad. “I consider myself to be an RBI hitter.”
Lux, a 6-foot-1, 200-pounder, finds himself really bearing down in those situations.
“It’s made me focus to be a much tougher out and putting the ball in play whenever there’s guys in scoring position,” says Lux. “It’s having great plate discipline, not swinging on pitches out of the zone and fouling off pitches.
“I still have a lot of work to do.”
Coming into this season, Lux had played in 42 games with his lone start coming as a designated hitter in a 2021 game against Liberty.
Lux was a center fielder for much of his time in high school and travel ball. He prefers the middle of the outfield to the corners.
“I like playing center,” says Lux. “I have a lot of room to roam and move. It makes it easier to get good reads on balls. (In in left field or right field) you have to worry about the wall.
“Some of the farthest throws on the baseball field (come from center field). I’d like to think I have a pretty solid arm.”
Lux has spent his whole Duke career with head coach Chris Pollard, associate head coach Josh Jordan and assistant/hitting coach Jason Stein.
“I really enjoy playing for Coach Pollard,” says Lux. “We’ve developed a really good relationship the last four years. We can trust each other. We can lay it out on the table. We can talk about anything.
“Coach Jordan and I have built a relationship over the last four years as well. He was tough starting out. When I was a freshman, he picked on me and gave me some tougher skin.
“I like how Coach Stein is kind of a players’ coach. He lets players have the freedom to personalize their swings and approach at the plate. He doesn’t micro-manage.”
Lux spent the past three summer in collegiate wood bat leagues. He was with the Kalamazoo (Mich.) Growlers of the Northwoods League in 2021, the Local Legends of the College Summer League at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind., in 2020 and the Bismarck (N.D.) Larks of the Northwoods League in 2019.
Duke has been feeding players to the Growlers, including Lux’s roommate Jake Topolski.
“I enjoyed (Kalamazoo) Coach (Cody) Piechocki,” says Lux. “He knows a lot about the game.”
Lux is a Sociology major who is also working toward a certificate in Markets and Management Studies and is due to graduate from Duke in May.
“What I enjoy most about Sociology is the broadness of topics we discuss in class — from from how we interact in society to the medical field to anything in-between,” says Lux. “It’s to be determined if I will go for a fifth year. I would definitely love the opportunity (to play pro ball).”
Unless that chance comes this summer, Lux expects to pursue an internship while preparing for “the real world.”
Lux came into the world in Indianapolis and grew up in Shelbyville with a brief move to Illinois and back. He played in the Shelby County Babe Ruth League then travel ball with the Indiana Bandits, Indiana Travelers and then the Indiana Bulls from 14U to 17U. His 17U head coach was Sean Laird.
“He was extremely energetic and passionate about the game,” says Lux of Laird.
Lux was a four-year varsity player at Shelbyville High. Scott Hughes led the Golden Bears his first three years and Royce Carlton was head coach his senior year.
Hughes was Lux’s Biology teacher in eighth grade.
“He’s an overall great guy and easy person to talk to,” says Lux of Hughes. “He’s a mentor who helped me with anything I needed.
“Coach Carlton was very passionate about the team and winning, which I admired. I loved his energy.”
On the football field — in a program led by Patrick Parks — Lux was a wide receiver for three seasons then a running back as a senior. Combined receiving and rushing, he had more than 4,000 yards 2014 to 2017.
“(Parks) was very knowledgeable about the game of football and how to make guys stronger and better athletes,” says Lux. “He was a game. He knew what he was doing.
“He helped me hit the ground running when I got into high school and started playing football. I’ll be grateful for that the rest of my life.”
Lux played basketball as a freshman and sophomore then decided to focus more time on developing in baseball.
Damon (22) is the middle child of Jared and Leigh Lux between sisters Anastasia (24) and Alex (19).

Damon Lux homers for Kalamazoo (Mich.) Growlers.

Damon Lux (Duke University Photo)

Damon Lux (Duke University Photo)

Damon Lux (Duke University Photo)

Damon Lux (Duke University Photo)

Damon Lux (Duke University Photo)

Damon Lux (Duke University Photo)

Damon Lux (Duke University Photo)

Notre Dame’s Wallace talks about coaching the bases

By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Notre Dame baseball generated plenty of base path traffic in 2021 — Rich Wallace’s second season in the third base coach’s box for the Irish.
ND led the Atlantic Coast Conference in on-base percentage (.379), runs scored per game (7.06) and runs batted in per game (6.55).
Wallace talked about coaching the bases for the South Bend Cubs Foundation Coaches Club Tuesday, Feb. 8 in the Pepsi Stadium Club at Four Winds Field.
Wallace has been coaching the bases for almost half his life. He started as a 22-year-old graduate assistant at the University of Central Florida in the first base box. At 24, he began coaching third.
Over the years, he’s learned to be ready for all situations.
“One thing that I always try to do is prepare enough that I can become invisible,” says Wallace. “I do enough work with our guys and with the scouting that nobody even notices me out there.”
Wallace looks at coaching the bases from both internal and external perspectives.
“At Notre Dame we practice base running and I practice base coaching more than any place I’ve ever been,” says Wallace, who is on a staff led by Link Jarrett. “We’ll never run the bases without both base coaches out there for our drills.
“Good base runners do not need help. The problem is they’re very hard to find and are getting harder to find.
“We’re on the bases (as coaches) all the time to get to know (the runners) — the way they run, the types of jumps, what they screw up and what they’re good at.”
Runners also get accustomed to Wallace and first base coach Brad Vanderglas.
“I have a different cadence from another third base coach they’ve had,” says Wallace. “I have different mannerisms.”
There is also creativity in the Notre Dame practice plan that allows for base running work.
“Anything that we feel is going to come up in a game or something we’ve screwed up before or might screw up we do it live,” says Wallace. “You have to have some tough skin to make it through base running because it happens so fast.
“But if you don’t put them in those situations there’s really no way they can handle it.”
Communication between coaches and players is key.
“The language needs to be the same from the head coach to the first base coach to myself so that (players) are not hearing one thing from the first base coach and it sounds like something different from me and something different from (Coach Jarrett),” says Wallace.
The Irish use a wristband system.
“We have more things in our offensive package than you could possibly imagine,” says Wallace, who notes that ND has nine different ways to bunt. “We haven’t missed a sign in three years.”
Not that the execution has always been right 100 percent of the time. But no signs have been missed.
When Wallace yells out instructions, it’s always “yes, yes, yes or no, no, no.”
“I never say ‘go’ because ‘go’ sounds like ‘no,’” says Wallace. “Make sure that you practice hand signals.”
Verbal signals are just a single word — one for advance and another to go back.
Wallace addressed spacing for base coaches. NCAA Division I rules say the coach must be touching the coaches box and the time of the pitch, but can move after that.
“Then you can be as far north (toward the outfield) and as close to the dugout as you want from that spot,” says Wallace. “Use your space. I think about what might possibly happen and I put myself in position (to make a decision where the runner will be able to see me).”
With no runners on-base, Wallace likes to get as deep as possible in anticipation of a triple.
“Everything else in the field (runners) are making their own decisions,” says Wallace. “If the ball gets in the corner then I’ll help them.
“If there’s a runner on second, I’ll be down the line as far as I can.
“I want to make sure I can see the runner and both middle infielders. Depending on where the umpire is, you adjust from there.”
Coaches also help the runner read the pitcher’s pick-off move. There’s also the back-pick attempt by the catcher.
Wallace says it blows his mind when a first base coach lets a runner get picked off with the first baseman playing behind him.
“There’s really nothing else for you to do except tell the runner what is happening behind him,” says Wallace. “So (the back-pick) should never happen.”
Wallace says its the first base coach’s job to gather information on things that will help the runner like pitcher’s grip, rhythm of delivery, catcher’s set-up and arm strength, defensive positioning and more.
The coach communicates this to the dugout without tipping anything to the opponent.
As a third base coach, Wallace is always looking for “chinks in the armor” of the opponent.
“Is there something out there I can see that’s going to allow us to exploit them and do something pretty cool that the guys enjoy themselves and score runs?,” says Wallace.
External preparation includes watching the opponent warm up to study outfielders’ arms, cut-off systems, speed of players and more.
Wallace addressed the Coaches Club in 2019 about recruiting.
Jarrett talked about what it means to be a coach in January 2022.
Notre Dame opens the 2022 season Feb. 18 against Manhattan in Deland, Fla. The first ACC game is March 11 at North Carolina State. The Irish’s first home game is slated for March 15 against Valparaiso.
Performance consultant Dr. Amber Selking will be the guest speaker at the next South Bend Cubs Foundation Coaches Club meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 29.

Rich Wallace (University of Notre Dame Photo)

Broughton enjoys coaching life as Clemson volunteer

By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Jared Broughton is heading into his ninth season as a college baseball coach in 2022.
It will be his third as a volunteer assistant at Clemson (S.C.) University on the staff of Tigers head coach Monte Lee.
Broughton, 32, is a 2008 graduate of Indianapolis Lutheran High School (where he played for uncle Dick Alter) and played at Vincennes (Ind.) University and University of Dayton.
He began his coaching career at two NCAA Division III schools — first Earlham College in Richmond, Ind., then Piedmont College in Demorest, Ga. (2017-19).
What’s the D-I volunteer life like?
“I would say it’s great because I can really focus on just coaching the players,” says Broughton, who attended the 2022 American Baseball Coaches Association Convention in Chicago. “It’s kind of great to be at a place like Clemson being a volunteer because I just really show up and I’ve got some of the best players in the country to work with.”
The Atlantic Coast Conference member went 25-27 overall and 17-11 in the ACC in 2021. The 2022 season is to open Feb. 18 at home against Indiana University. Clemson is to visit Notre Dame April 8-10.
While Broughton does not directly involved in recruiting, he does help facilitate campus visits and shows them around the baseball facility which features Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
Broughton coordinates baseball camps at Clemson (the next one begins Jan. 16) and that is the primary source of his income.
As now structured, NCAA D-I baseball has three paid coaches — head coach and two assistants. Volunteers put in as many — if not more hours — than anyone on the staff.
“The last few years there’s been some really big-time coaches that have spoken up about it and how we’re underfunded and that the (full-time) coach-to-player ratio is the lowest in any sport.
“I think that with more conversation and more awareness for what volunteers out there do it’s going to help when legislation comes up again.”
Having coached in the D-I and D-III worlds, what does Broughton see as the big differences?
“It’s just what motivates a player,” says Broughton. “At the ACC level and a Clemson, our guys are very motivated by becoming professionals and their development is huge. Eventually, they have the ability and dream about becoming a Major League player.
“In Division III, a lot of kids are there as a student because they want to go to that particular school. They’re there to play baseball for the love of the game.”
Even with the differences, Broughton says players at Clemson face some of the same matters they do at Earlham or Piedmont.
“They’re still 18 to 22 years old and they’re battling confidence issues and flaws in their game,” says Broughton. “At the D-I level, especially at a place like Clemson, we have an amazing budget and technology and there is the manpower. At the small college level, you wear a lot of hats within the program.”
Besides a coaching staff of Lee, Broughton, Bradley LeCroy and Andrew See, Clemson’s baseball support staff includes a director of operations (Brad Owens), director of player development (Ben Paulsen), special assistant to the head coach (Matt Heath), athletic trainer (Travis Johnston), strength and conditioning coach (Rick Franzblau), director of equipment (Mike Wilson), bullpen catchers (Carter Fricks and Barrett Winter) and student managers (Tommy Tsimbinos, Bryson Gault, Jake Machado, Wilson Mullis and Bowen Gault).
While these other folks can’t hit fungos, throw batting practice or do other coaching on the field, they are valuable. They’re like another set of eyes and help break down data for coaches and players.
Time will tell, but Broughton does allow himself to peer into the future.
“I definitely have aspirations to be a head coach,” says Broughton. “I want to stay at the Division I level right now. That’s kind of where it’s at. I really do love the competition. I love the caliber of players I get to work with.
“I’m trying to take advantage of this great opportunity.”

Clemson University volunteer assistant baseball coach Jared Broughton at the 2022 American Baseball Coaches Association Convention in Chicago. (Steve Krah Photo)

Notre Dame’s Jarrett talks about what it means to be a coach

By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

In Link Jarrett’s second season as head baseball coach at the University of Notre Dame he led the Fighting Irish to 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title and an NCAA Tournament berth.
Notre Dame went 34-13 overall and 25-10 in the ACC and Jarrett was selected as Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association (Midwest), D1Baseball.com and the ACC.
Jarrett, who established his system for Notre Dame baseball in the fall of 2019, spoke to the South Bend Cubs Foundation Coaches Club Tuesday, Jan. 11 at Four Winds Field. His audience included youth, high school and college coaches.
A collegiate coach since 1999, Jarrett talked about what it means to carry that title.
“There’s still expectation in that level that you have because you do the things to help (players) figure out how to be successful,” said Jarrett.
In his experience, a coach should do the following:

• Be accessible.
• Study and Communicate.
• Use Video, Chart, Compete, Score It.
• Learn what motivates.
  • Instruct, Motivate, Inspire.
    Jarrett said being accessible means being there 45 minutes before practice for extra hitting cage work. It’s something that ND volunteer assistant Brad Vanderglas, who was in attendance Tuesday, knows well since he is the first coach to arrive at the office each day and the last to leave.
    As for studying and communicating, it’s about giving players the right information.
    “If you’re giving them the wrong information it’s not going to work,” said Jarrett. “You’re not going to ultimately be as successful as you would want. The older players start to figure out what works and what doesn’t.
    “If you want them to listen, you better give them the right stuff. You have an obligation to give them the right information. (You must) study what they do and how they do it and use your resources.”
    Jarrett suggests that something like a quick phone video of a player’s swing at practice and a review can be very helpful.
    To promote competition, especially during the winter months of what can be tedious indoor work, Jarrett keeps score with some of the drills.
    Motivation is not a cookie-cutter kind of thing.
    “It’s just one at a time and pushing the right buttons,” said Jarrett. “Like some guys can take being crawled on a little bit and some you might have to sandwich what you’re trying to message in between two good things so they don’t melt down.
    “If you’re not accessible and you don’t study and communicate, how can you learn what each guy needs and then give the right instruction?”
    J.T. Jarrett, Link’s son, is a fifth-year player at North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack’s head coach Elliott Avent, who constantly sends strong motivational and inspirational messages.
    Jarrett considers belief a part of inspiration.
    “Sometimes (players) have to think that they’re better than they are,” said Jarrett. “You almost can make them believe that they’re going to win just telling them that if we do this the right way — man — you guys we’re gonna win and win big. It’s almost a self-fulfilling prophecy.
    “If you can get them to buy in and understand that this you can do. That confidence, that swagger, that belief when they walk out there, it does matter.”
    Jarrett gave a presentation at the 2020 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association State Clinic on “Building Complete Hitters” and he shared many offensive pointers at Tuesday’s gathering.
    Among the concepts that he broke down was hitting approach.
    Jarrett, who was part of an ABCA virtual coaching clinic on hitting approach in 2020, defines approach as “a mental and physical strategy to competitive success.”
    Each hitter must develop their own approach. One size does not fit all.
    What made sense for lefty slugger Niko Kavadas did not necessarily apply to other hitters in the Irish lineup in 2021.
    The coach says there is no universal way to finish a swing. Hitters must be able adjust for hard stuff and off-speed pitches.
    “We’re just trying to flush up as many balls as we can flush up and (hitters) know that,” said Jarrett. “The line drive is the ticket. Kavadas (a Penn High School graduate who hit 22 home runs and was drafted by the Boston Red Sox) missed some and they go out (to the opposite field). The hard ground ball and the hard fly ball are productive. But the goal in this is to how hard can you hit it on a line.”
    Looking for his ND hitters to do damage, Jarrett says a .400 on-base percentage is elite in major college baseball and he wants his club to average seven runs per game and make a third of all hits to go for extra bases — something that’s not easy at Frank Eck Stadium where the wind tends to always be a factor.
    “Somebody’s got to step on some balls because you don’t get enough opportunities against good pitching to string together 12 singles,” said Jarrett, who saw the 2021 Irish average post a .379 team OBP with 7.06 runs per game and 166 extra-base hits (36.8 percent).
    Notre Dame opens the 2022 season Feb. 18 against Manhattan in Deland, Fla. The first home game is slated for March 15 against Valparaiso.
  • The next South Bend Cubs Foundation Coaches Club session in the Pepsi Stadium Club (second floor) at Four Winds Field is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 8. Notre Dame’s Rich Wallace will talk on base coaching. All are invited. Admission is free.

Link Jarrett (University of Notre Dame Photo)