Tourney time here in NAIA, NCAA D-III; many teams close seasons

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

The 2021 NAIA Opening Round baseball tournament begins Monday, May 17 and three Indiana teams will be involved.

No. 2 seed Indiana Wesleyan (43-12) and No. 5 Indiana Tech (31-25) are part of the five-team Marion (Ind.) Bracket at Indiana Wesleyan.

IWU, coached by Rich Benjamin, won the regular-season and tournament titles in the Crossroads League.

Indiana Tech, coached by Kip McWilliams, was the regular-season champion in the Wolverine-Hoosier Conference.

No. 2 seed Indiana University Southeast (45-14) will be one of five teams competing in the Kingsport (Tenn.) Bracket.

IU Southeast, coached by Ben Reel, was the regular season and tournament champion in the River States Conference.

The NAIA season has ended for Taylor (37-20), Saint Francis (34-22), Huntington (33-16), Indiana University-Kokomo (28-20), Marian (25-29), Indiana University South Bend (24-24), Oakland City (17-27), Bethel (15-39), Grace (12-31), Calumet of Saint Joseph (7-29) and Goshen (3-34).

The 34 wins is a single-season school record for Saint Francis and Panthers coach Dustin Butcher.

Franklin (25-12), Earlham (23-18) and Anderson ( 20-17) were among teams winning opening round series and making it to the five-team finals in the NCAA Division III Heartland Collegiate Conference tournament.

Transylvania and Bluffton will be the other two teams. The tourney is to conclude Sunday, May 23.

The 2021 season is over for Indiana’s other D-III programs — Rose-Hulman (23-14), Hanover (20-20), Manchester (19-22), Wabash (18-15), DePauw (15-21) and Trine (6-28).

NCAA D-III teams Indianapolis (27-21), Southern Indiana (24-20) and Purdue Northwest (11-22) have also seen their slates come to a close.

Ivy Tech Northwest (31-25) lost 2-1 to Kellogg in a three-game National Junior College Athletic Association Regional in Battle Creek, Mich., and wrapped its season.

Max Flock homered three times and collected five hits and six runs batted in as Vincennes swept a doubleheader from Spoon River and made the Mid-West Athletic Conference tournament May 20-23 in Normal, Ill.

NJCAA member Ancilla (6-29) has concluded its season.

NCAA Division I Notre Dame (26-10) was idle in Atlantic Coast Conference play and yet the Irish earned the program’s first regular season title since 2006 by winning the ACC Atlantic Division.

ND has one more ACC series May 20-22 at Virginia Tech before the conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C.

Indiana (24-12, 24-12) is second in the Big Ten Conference to Nebraska (25-11, 25-11). The Hoosiers have eight more conference games remaining. There will be no Big Ten tournament.

Ball State (32-16, 23-9) holds a slight lead on Central Michigan (32-17, 23-10) at the top of the Mid-American Conference standings. 

BSU has a May 21-23 road series against Ohio and May 28-30 home series with Miami (Ohio) before the postseason.

The eight-team Missouri Valley Conference tournament is scheduled for May 25-29 in Carbondale, Ill. Right now Dallas Baptist (31-13, 16-4) and Indiana State (25-15, 12-8) are the top two seeds with Evansville (26-24, 9-14) No. 6 and Valparaiso (14-29, 9-15) No. 7.

INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL

Records Through May 16

NCAA Division I

Ball State 32-16 (23-9 MAC) 

Notre Dame 26-10 (22-10 ACC) 

Indiana State 25-15 (12-8 MVC) 

Evansville 26-24 (9-14 MVC) 

Indiana 24-12 (24-12 Big Ten) 

Valparaiso 14-29 (9-15 MVC) 

Purdue 11-24 (11-24 Big Ten) 

Butler 11-22 (5-12 Big East) 

Purdue Fort Wayne 10-32 (7-25 HL) 

NCAA Division II

Indianapolis 27-21 (19-13 GLVC) 

Southern Indiana 24-20 (18-14 GLVC) 

Purdue Northwest 11-22 (5-19 GLIAC) 

NCAA Division III

Franklin 25-12 (23-12 HCAC)

Rose-Hulman 23-14 (23-12 HCAC)

Earlham 23-18 (21-18 HCAC)

Anderson 20-17 (20-17 HCAC)

Hanover 20-20 (20-18 HCAC) 

Manchester 19-22 (19-20 HCAC) 

Wabash 18-15 (9-6 NCAC) 

DePauw 15-21 (8-8 NCAC) 

Trine 6-28 (6-17 MIAA) 

NAIA

Indiana University Southeast 45-14 (26-1 RSC) 

Indiana Wesleyan 43-12 (28-4 CL) 

Taylor 37-20 (24-12 CL) 

Saint Francis 34-22 (23-13 CL) 

Huntington 33-16 (23-13 CL) 

Indiana Tech 31-25 (16-6 WHAC) 

Indiana University-Kokomo 28-20 (16-10 RSC) 

Marian 25-29 (17-19 CL) 

Indiana University South Bend 24-24 (19-11 CCAC) 

Oakland City 17-27 (10-17 RSC) 

Bethel 15-39 (12-24 CL) 

Grace 12-31 (9-23 CL) 

Calumet of Saint Joseph 7-29 (7-20 CCAC) 

Goshen 3-34 (2-26 CL) 

Junior College

Ivy Tech Northeast 31-25 

Vincennes 23-29 (11-21 MWAC) 

Ancilla 6-29 (2-18 MCCAA) 

Conferences

NCAA Division I

Big Ten

Atlantic Coast (ACC)

Big East 

Horizon (HL)

Mid-American (MAC)

Missouri Valley (MVC)

NCAA Division II

Great Lakes Valley (GLVC)

Great Lakes Intercollegiate (GLIAC)

NCAA Division III

Heartland Collegiate (HCAC)

Michigan Intercollegiate (MIAA)

NAIA

Crossroads League (CL)

Chicagoland Collegiate (CCAC)

Wolverine Hoosier (WHAC)

River States Conference (RSC)

Junior College 

Mid-West Athletic (MWAC)

Michigan Community College (MCCAA)

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Ivy Tech gives Hershberger 10th postseason title; other tourneys under way

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Ivy Tech Northeast (30-23) swept a National Junior College Athletic Association sub-regional series against Lakeland over the weekend.

The Great Lakes Region 12 tournament will be hosted by the highest seed.

In the second season of the program (2019), Ivy Tech went 33-14. For now, that is the school victory record.

The 2021 sub-regional win was also the 10th postseason championship of Titans boss Lance Hershberger’s college coaching career.

He had earned two NAIA independent sectionals (1996, 1998), one conference tournament title (2000), five consecutive NAIA regional crowns (1998-2002) and one NAIA super regional title (2001) at Indiana Tech prior to Saturday’s feat for Ivy Tech.

Hershberger’s 55 postseason victories is the most all-time among college baseball coaches in Indiana.

Indiana University Southeast (43-14) has made it to championship game of NAIA River States Conference tournament.

By going 3-1 Thursday through Saturday, the Grenadiers earned the right to meet Point Park Monday (May 10) for the right to move on to the NAIA Opening Round.

With a RSC tournament loss to IU Southeast, Indiana University Kokomo (28-20) saw its 2021 season come to a close. Point Park put out Oakland City (17-27).

The top six seeds — Indiana Wesleyan (41-12), Taylor (36-19), Huntington (33-14), Saint Francis (34-21), Mount Vernon Nazarene (29-18) and Marian (25-28) — are still alive in the NAIA Crossroads League tournament at IWU in Marion, Ind. 

Play began Friday and resumes Monday, May 10. The championship will be Tuesday, May 11 (Wednesday, May 12, if necessary). 

With each win, Saint Francis adds to its single-season school record for victories.

With a 10-inning Saturday loss to Saint Francis, Bethel (15-39) concluded its season.

Indiana Tech (31-25) went 1-2 in the NAIA Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament and now awaits the NAIA Opening Round pairings.

Indiana University South Bend (24-23) went 1-1 in its first two games of the NAIA Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament and was slated to play again Monday, May 10 in Joliet, Ill.

Next up for NCAA Division II Indianapolis (21-19) and Southern Indiana (22-18) is the eight-team Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament, slated for Thursday-Sunday, May 13-16 at Lindenwood in St. Charles, Mo.

The first part of the two-tier NCAA Division IIII Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament has been set.

Best-of-3 series are slated for Friday-Saturday, May 14-15 with No. 10 seed Defiance (6-31) at No. 1 Transylvania (26-10), No. 9 Mount Saint Joseph (12-26) at No. 2 Franklin (23-12), No. 8 Bluffton (16-22) at No. 3 Rose-Hulman (23-12), No. 7 Manchester (19-20) at No. 4 Earlham (21-18) and No. 6 Hanover (20-18) at No. 5 Anderson (20-17).

A five-team double-elimination tournament will follow May 20-23 at the best remaining seed after Round 1.

Fifth-year senior Danny Dopp is now the career hits leader at Earlham. His 194 — reached in Saturday’s doubleheader against Manchester — surpass the 192 of Nate Lynch, who played for the Quakers 2014-17. 

DePauw (15-21) saw its season wrap Saturday in non-conference D-III play against Washington University of St. Louis.

NCAA Division I Indiana (23-10, 23-10) went 2-0 against Rutgers and 1-1 against Nebraska in Piscataway, N.J., and hold a 1/2-game lead on Michigan for the lead in the Big Ten Conference standings. IU is slated to play three at Michigan Friday-Sunday, May 14-16.

Even with a 1-2 series against Florida State, Notre Dame (25-10, 22-10) is well ahead of Louisville (26-15, 16-10) for the lead in the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

By splitting a four-game series at Central Michigan, Ball State (30-14, 21-7) remains 1 game behind first-place CMU in the Mid-American Conference standings.

Indiana State (24-12, 11-5) went 3-1 in a Missouri Valley Conference series at Missouri State. The Sycamores trail MVC front-runner Dallas Baptist by 2 games.

With a win in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader at Youngstown State, Purdue Fort Wayne gave Mastodons head coach Doug Schreiber the 500th win of his collegiate coaching career. 

Because of health concerns within the Northwestern program, the Northwestern at Purdue series was postponed.

Purdue has worked an arrangement with Ohio State to add a Tuesday, May 11 game at Alexander Field.

INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL

Records Through May 9

NCAA Division I

Ball State 30-14 (21-7 MAC) 

Notre Dame 25-10 (22-10 ACC) 

Indiana State 24-12 (11-5 MVC) 

Evansville 23-23 (6-13 MVC) 

Indiana 23-10 (23-10 Big Ten) 

Valparaiso 13-25 (8-12 MVC) 

Purdue 11-20 (11-20 Big Ten) 

Butler 10-19 (4-9 Big East) 

Purdue Fort Wayne 10-28 (7-21 HL) 

NCAA Division II

Southern Indiana 22-18 (18-14 GLVC) 

Indianapolis 21-19 (19-13 GLVC) 

Purdue Northwest 11-21 (5-18 GLIAC) 

NCAA Division III

Franklin 23-12 (23-12 HCAC) 

Rose-Hulman 23-12 (23-12 HCAC) 

Earlham 21-18 (21-18 HCAC) 

Anderson 20-17 (20-17 HCAC) 

Hanover 20-18 (20-18 HCAC) 

Manchester 19-20 (19-20 HCAC) 

Wabash 18-15 (9-6 NCAC) 

DePauw 15-21 (8-8 NCAC) 

Trine 6-26 (6-17 MIAA) 

NAIA

Indiana University Southeast 43-14 (26-1 RSC) 

Indiana Wesleyan 41-12 (28-4 CL) 

Taylor 36-19 (24-12 CL) 

Saint Francis 34-21 (23-13 CL) 

Huntington 33-14 (23-13 CL) 

Indiana Tech 31-25 (16-6 WHAC) 

Indiana University-Kokomo 28-20 (16-10 RSC) 

Marian 25-28 (17-19 CL) 

Indiana University South Bend 24-23 (19-11 CCAC) 

Oakland City 17-27 (10-17 RSC) 

Bethel 15-39 (12-24 CL) 

Grace 12-31 (9-23 CL) 

Calumet of Saint Joseph 7-29 (7-20 CCAC) 

Goshen 3-34 (2-26 CL) 

Junior College

Ivy Tech Northeast 30-23 

Vincennes 19-27 (7-19 MWAC) 

Ancilla 6-29 (2-18 MCCAA) 

Conferences

NCAA Division I

Big Ten

Atlantic Coast (ACC)

Big East

Horizon (HL)

Mid-American (MAC)

Missouri Valley (MVC)

NCAA Division II

Great Lakes Valley (GLVC)

Great Lakes Intercollegiate (GLIAC)

NCAA Division III

Heartland Collegiate (HCAC)

Michigan Intercollegiate (MIAA)

NAIA

Crossroads League (CL)

Chicagoland Collegiate (CCAC)

Wolverine Hoosier (WHAC)

River States Conference (RSC)

Junior College 

Mid-West Athletic (MWAC)

Michigan Community College (MCCAA)

Taylor, IU Southeast, Marian, UIndy, Indiana Wesleyan among streaking teams

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

As winter has turned to spring, the hottest college baseball programs in the state — based on current win streaks — are at Taylor, Indiana University Southeast, Marian, Indianapolis and Indiana Wesleyan.

Among NAIA squads, there’s the Taylor Trojans (21-6) with 14 straight wins, IU Southeast Grenadiers (17-11) and Marian Knights (15-8) with eight each and Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats (21-8) with five. NCAA D-II’s UIndy Greyhounds (7-7) have six straight triumphs (including a 4-0 weekend series vs. Truman).

Among regulars, Conner Crawford (.357 with three home runs) paces the Taylor offense. Anderson High School graduate Joe Moran (5-2, 2.45 earned run average) is the Trojans’ top moundsman.

Brody Tanksley (.392 with seven homers) leads IU Southeast batters. Drew Hensley (4-2) is tops in pitching wins. Both are Bedford North Lawrence alums.

Hitter Matteo Porcellato (.329) and pitcher Kole Aping (4-0) have contributed to Marian’s success. Aping is a Beech Grove graduate.

M.J. Stavoia (.411) and Jon Young (4-0) are IWU stalwarts.

By the way, Crossroads League frontrunners Indiana Wesleyan (12-0) and Taylor (10-0) are slated to meet April 9 and 10 in doubleheaders at IWU.

Brandon DeWitt (.475) and Greenwood Community grad Reid Werner (2-1) have been key performers for Indianapolis.

Taylor (4-0 vs. Mount Vernon Nazarene), IU Southeast (3-0 at Ohio Christian), Marian (2-0 vs. Spring Arbor), UIndy (4-0 vs. Truman) and Indiana Wesleyan (4-0 at Goshen) are all coming off weekend series wins as are NAIA members Oakland City (11-11) 3-0 vs. Rio Grande and NCAA D-II’s Purdue Northwest (6-3) 3-0 vs. Wisconsin Parkside.

NCAA D-I series victors included Indiana State (11-6) 3-1 at Alabama-Birmingham, Indiana (9-2) 2-1 vs. Purdue, Notre Dame (9-3) 2-1 vs. Duke, Ball State (9-8) 3-1 vs. Western Michigan, Evansville (9-10) 2-1 at Butler and Purdue Fort Wayne (7-8) 3-1 vs. Oakland.

Max Wright is hitting .339 with four homers for Indiana State. Geremy Guerrero (4-0, 1.14) has been the Sycamores’ top pitcher.

Evansville Memorial graduate Drew Ashley (.395) and Carmel alum Tommy Sommer (2-0, 1.40) are among those who have shined for Indiana.

Ball State has been sparked by Adam Tellier (.429) and John Baker (2-1, 1.11).

Kenton Crews (Heritage Hills alum) became the first Evansville player during the NCAA D-I era to hit for the cycle when he produced a single, double, triple and home run in Sunday’s win at Butler.

Notre Dame played its first home games since 2019. Irish hitters led so far in 2021 by Jared Miller (.380 with three homers). Niko Kavadas (Penn graduate) is hitting .302 with seven homers. Starter John Michael Bertrand and reliever Liam Simon are both 3-0.

Purdue Fort Wayne regular and Hamilton Southeastern product Jack Lang (.354) is among the Mastodons’ leaders as is Jacob Myer (3-0, 1.61).

At the NCAA D-III level, Hanover (6-2) went 2-0 vs. Mount St. Joseph, Wabash (7-5) 4-0 vs. Trine, Anderson (6-4) 3-1 for the weekend — 1-1 at Earhlam Saturday and 2-0 vs. Bluffton Sunday.

INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL

Records Through March 21

NCAA Division I

Indiana State 11-6 (0-0 MVC) 

Indiana 9-2 (9-2 Big Ten) 

Notre Dame 9-3 (9-3 ACC) 

Ball State 9-8 (3-1 MAC) 

Evansville 9-10 (1-3 MVC) 

Purdue Fort Wayne 7-8 (4-4 HL) 

Valparaiso 4-9 (0-0 MVC) 

Butler 3-4 (0-0 Big East) 

Purdue 2-9 (2-9 Big Ten) 

NCAA Division II

Indianapolis 7-7 (6-2 GLVC) 

Purdue Northwest 6-3 (0-0 GLIAC) 

Southern Indiana 4-10 (2-6 GLVC) 

NCAA Division III

Earlham 7-3 (7-3 HCAC) 

DePauw 7-6 (0-0 NCAC) 

Hanover 6-2 (6-2 HCAC) 

Franklin 5-3 (5-3 HCAC) 

Wabash 7-5 (0-0 NCAC)

Rose-Hulman 4-3 (4-3 HCAC) 

Anderson 6-4 (6-4 HCAC) 

Manchester 3-7 (3-7 HCAC) 

Trine 0-9 (0-0 MIAA) 

NAIA

Indiana Wesleyan 21-8 (12-0 CL) 

Taylor 21-6 (10-0 CL) 

Indiana University Southeast 17-11 (8-0 RSC) 

Huntington 15-5 (8-4 CL) 

Marian 15-8 (8-2 CL) 

Saint Francis 14-11 (6-6 CL) 

Oakland City 11-11 (4-5 RSC) 

Indiana University-Kokomo 9-12 (3-6 RSC) 

Indiana Tech 8-13 (0-1 WHAC) 

Grace 8-13 (5-7 CL) 

Indiana University South Bend 6-12 (2-2 CCAC) 

Bethel 5-20 (2-10 CL) 

Calumet of Saint Joseph 1-11 (1-1 CCAC) 

Goshen 0-17 (0-12 CL) 

Junior College

Vincennes 12-6 (2-2 MWAC) 

Ivy Tech Northeast 10-12 

Ancilla 4-11 (0-0 MCCAA) 

McIntyre expects his McCutcheon Mavericks to play with confidence

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Tristan McIntyre was proud to be associated with McCutcheon High School baseball even before he pulled on a Mavericks uniform.

That emotion continued as McIntyre played for Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Jake Burton and helped the West Lafayette-based Mavs win an IHSAA Class 4A state championship in his senior year of 2003.

“He had pride in the program and invested a lot of time and energy in making this one of the better programs in the state,” says McIntyre of Burton. “That has resonated down through everyone who has come through and played for him.”

As a youngster, Tristan attended McCutcheon baseball camps. Older cousins Jake McIntyre (Class of 1996) and Nick McIntyre (Class of 1999) played for the Mavs. McCutcheon was a state runner-up in 1994 and state champion in 1999.

Tristan grew up as the only child of Roger and Shirley McIntyre (now deceased) in Stockwell, Ind., which is about 10 miles southeast of McCutcheon, and got his diamond start in the PONY Baseball (which is now Shetland for 6U, Pinto for 8U, Mustang for 10U, Bronco for 12U, Pony for 14U, Colt for 16U, Palomino for 18U and Thorobred 23U). Gary Christopher was the coach.

As he progressed, the young McIntyre played for teams based at James E. Cole Elementary, Lauramie Township and then Wainwright Middle School.

In high school, McIntyre played in the Colt World Series in Lafayette. After that came Lafayette American Legion Post 11, coached by Jim Watson and Dan Yeoman.

McIntyre played three seasons for the Boilermakers (2005, 2006 and 2008). He redshirted his freshman year (2004) and because of injury missed another season (2007).

The 2008 Boilers went 21-10 in Big Ten Conference play and featured future big leaguer and current Korea Baseball Organization star Josh Lindblom as the closer.

McIntyre remembers Lindblom hitting 100 mph on the radar gun at Northwestern, the only time he’s been around someone who hit triple digits.

“We knew that if we could get the ball to him with the lead it was pretty much ‘game over,’” says McIntyre of Lindblom, a graduate of Harrison High School in Lafayette. “His stuff was just so electric.

“(New Haven High School graduate) Matt Bischoff was a starting pitcher that had really good command and could go out there and give us seven or eight innings every start (in 2008).

“We had a lefty out of the bullpen — (Hammond Bishop Noll Institute grad) Andy Loomis — who was lights out that year as well.”

McIntyre was an assistant coach at Bluffton (Ohio) University for two seasons (2009 and 2010) and on the Purdue coaching staff for six seasons (2011-16).

That means the McIntyre both played for Doug Schreiber at Purdue and coached with him at both Purdue and McCutcheon. T-Mac was a part of the Mav coaching staff the past two seasons under Schreiber.

“It’s his knowledge of the game,” says McIntyre of one attribute he appreciates about Schreiber. “He’s been in so many good experiences throughput his career. I just try to be a sponge and soak that in.

“And he’s one of the most competitive guys I’ve ever been around. As a player and a coach, it inspired you to want to work hard and compete and find ways to get guys better and find a way to win.”

With Schreiber leaving to become head baseball coach at Purdue Fort Wayne, McIntyre was recently named head coach of the Mavs and has been reinforcing the culture during fall limited contact workouts.

“We want to take a lot of pride in the opportunity represent McCutcheon and coming out here with a purpose everyday,” says McIntyre. “Ultimately, we want to be able to play the game with confidence and break the game down to a series of one-pitch-at-a-time.

“If we do that over and over again, I think we’ll find ourselves in a lot of ball games with a chance to win.”

McIntyre, 34, takes over a program that went 22-6 and played in the 4A Lafayette Jeff Sectional championship game in 2019.

The coach sees the best chance to keep having success is by limiting the extra outs and offensive opportunities for opponents.

“Stylistically, we want to take care of the baseball whether that’s on the mound or defensively,” says McIntyre, who counts Brandon Fulk, Ryan Wides, Dustin Anthrop and Jake McIntyre among his assistants with the hopes of filling a couple more slots with Schreiber and (Crawfordsville High School head football coach) Kurt Schlicher moving on.

Fulk leads the JV team and is assisted by Anthrop, who is president of McCutcheon Youth Baseball League with Fulk as vice president. Wides works with catchers and outfielders. Jake McIntyre is a McCutcheon social studies teacher.

Nick McIntyre, who is now an assistant at the University of Toledo, was a role model for a young Tristan.

“(Nick) was someone I always looked up to. No. 1, he was talented. No. 2, he was always a competitive guy,” says McIntyre. “As a kid it was fun to be around him. He’s a high energy guy and obviously knows the game.”

As coaches, Tristan and Nick have been able to bounce ideas off one another. While Tristan was a hitter and a pitcher in high school, he has moved toward the pitching side of things while Nick’s focus has been offense.

“He knows the mindset of the hitter and he’s always been very open as far as giving me tips and things along those lines,” says Tristan.

Away from baseball, Tristan and wife Andrea are the parents of daughter Clara (4). His day job is finance and operations manager at Gutwein Law in Lafayette.

“To be able to do this in general it takes the support of a lot of people,” says McIntyre. “First and foremost is my wife. She has to be very understanding and patient. Having her on-board is tremendous.

“(Gutwein) has been very gracious to me and flexible with my schedule.”

Tristan McIntyre, a 2003 McCutcheon High School graduate and a Mavericks assistant for the past two seasons, is now head baseball coach at his alma mater. He also played and coached at Purdue University and coached at Bluffton (Ohio) University. (Steve Krah Photo)

 

Franklin Community, Hanover grad Miller now coaching at Tusculum

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Todd Miller’s baseball coaching path has taken him to the eastern part of the Volunteer State.

A graduate of Franklin (Ind.) Community High School in 2002 and Hanover (Ind.) College in 2006, Miller is in his first season as an assistant at Tusculum University, an NCAA Division II school in Greeneville, Tenn.

Recruiting coordinator and assistant coach is charge of hitting, base runners and infielders are duties for Miller, who was hired in the summer of 2018.

He joined Brandon Steele, a former Tusculum assistant who was promoted when Doug Jones resigned as head baseball coach to concentrate on his duties as Pioneers athletic director.

Associate head coach Todd Ireland and graduate assistants John Topoleski and Hayden Pewitt round out the coaching staff.

Tusculum (24-14 through April 4) is part of the South Atlantic Conference (with Anderson of South Carolina, Carson-Newman, Catawba, Coker, Lenoir-Rhyne, Lincoln Memorial, Mars Hill, Newberry, Queens of Charlotte and Wingate).

The Pioneers play home games at Pioneer Park, a stadium owned by the school and also used by the short-season Appalachian League’s Greeneville Reds (Cincinnati Reds affiliate).

“We have, arguably, the best facilities in Division II baseball,” says Miller. Tusculum has indoor covered batting cages. A clubhouse, weight room, video lab and coaches offices are all underneath the stadium. A nearby building is used for defensive work.

Prior to Tusculum, Miller served four seasons as an assistant to Chris Anderson at Belmont (N.C.) Abbey College and four campaigns as an assistant to Jim Gantt at Cattawba College (Salisbury, N.C.).

Anderson played for Gantt at Catawba and joined Miller in turning the Crusaders’ fortunes around.

“We had a lot of success there,” says Miller.

After going 25-25 in 2015 (Miller’s first season), Abbey was 40-14  with a No. 2 national ranking (best in program history) in 2018 (Miller’s last).

“(Gantt) is one of the best coaches I’ve ever been around — bar none,” says Miller. “He’s got a fantastic program. He does a great job of developing players. He’s truly winner.”

Miller was a part of winning teams for the Indians. During his time there, Catawba won three conference titles and qualified for regional play three times. The program’s first regional crown and D-II College World Series berth in Cary, N.C., came in 2012.

He was an assistant at his alma mater, Hanover, and helped head coach Shayne Stock in 2009 and 2010. Those were also the junior and senior seasons for brother Adam Miller (Hanover Class of 2010). Their sister, Jessica (Class of 2012), was also a student there at the time.

Two seasons at Bluffton (Ohio) University, where James Grandey was head coach, came right after Miller graduated from Hanover.

In March 2007, Miller was involved in a tragic highway accident in Atlanta. Bluffton was on its way to Florida on its southern trip when a crash took the lives of seven people, including five players.

“I was thrown from the bus,” says Miller. “I went through the front windshield.

“I had four broken bones in my back, a skull fracture and a broken jaw.”

Head coach Grandey was hurt even worse and stayed weeks in a hospital before going back to Ohio.

At 22, Miller became temporary head coach.

“I was talking to guys about losing their best friend and roommate,” says Miller. “We had a team meeting after all the funerals. We said we can play this year if you’d like or not. Nobody is going to judge you either way.

“The team decided it wanted to play and do its best. We played the rest of that season with heavy hearts.”

The first game after the fatal accident was a loss, but the Beavers scored five runs — one for each lost player.

“That was symbolic,” says Miller, who recalls that the outreach locally and nationally was tremendous.

After a month after the accident, Tiffin University (located about 45 minutes from Bluffton) held a Purple Day (in honors of Bluffton’s school colors) and raised $13,000.

He was still dealing with physical and mental issues when Miller met one of the Tiffin students that were a part of the effort. A year later, they went on a date and are now married with three children.

Todd and Leigh Miller have Madeline (6), Brooks (3) and Boone (almost 10 months).

“It shows you that even through that tragedy, there can be a silver lining,” says Miller.

Bluffton is where Miller received his masters degree in business administration and formed a bond with Grandey.

“He’s been a teacher, mentor and friend to me through the years,” says Miller.

He played four seasons at Hanover — the first three for Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Dick Naylor and the last for Shayne Stock.

“I enjoyed Coach Naylor very much,” says Miller. “He was very organized and demanded excellence everyday — not only in the game but it practice.

“He was a winner. He was always able to get the best out of you. He was hard on you. But you had to read through the message a little bit. It was what he said not how he said it.”

Miller also played football at Hanover. He was a three-sport athlete in high school, spending his winters with basketball.

At Franklin Community, Miller’s baseball coaches were Jeff Mercer Sr. and Mark Pieper.

Jeff Mercer Sr. is the father of Indiana University head coach Jeff Mercer Jr., a Franklin Community graduate and two years younger than Todd Miller. The Miller and Mercer families are long-time friends.

Miller is an American Baseball Coaches Association member and regular attendee of the ABCA Convention in January (the 2020 event is slated for Nashville).

“The ABCA is a must-attend for anybody serious about baseball,” says Miller. “I pick up something new every year.

“It’s relevant for all stages of coaching — youth, high school, college and professional.”

Miller also coached three summers with the Indiana Bulls travel baseball organization, leading a 14U squad for two years and a 15U team for one. Brother Adam assisted for all three seasons. He also got help from Ben Kleber, who is now head coach at Trinity Christian High School in Seymour, Ind.

One of the players on those Bulls team was Drew Ellis, who went on to play at Jeffersonville High School and the University of Louisville and is now in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization (he begins 2019 at Double-A Jackson, Tenn.).

Todd Miller (left), a graduate Franklin (Ind.) Community High School and Hanover (Ind.) College, is in his first season as an assistant baseball coach at Tusculum University in Greeneville, Tenn. (Tusculum University Photo)

Todd Miller is an assistant baseball coach at Tusculum University in Greeneville, Tenn. His duties include recruiting coordinator and he is in charge of hitters, base runners and infielders. (Tusculum University Photo)

Alum Murdock makes sure DeKalb Barons respect the game

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Tim Murdock grew up in a baseball-loving family and played for some demanding coaches.

Murdock brings those qualities to his position as head baseball coach at DeKalb High School in Waterloo, Ind. He just finished his fourth season as the leader of the program after six seasons as an assistant.

Tim is the youngest of three sons belonging to Jim and Carolyn Murdock.

“Dad was born and raised in Philadelphia and taught me the love of the game,” says Tim Murdock of his late father. “It was a great upbringing.”

Oldest son Mark Murdock is newspaper reporter, second son Matt  Murdock a college professor and Tim Murdock teaches English and Social Studies at DeKalb in addition to his baseball coaching duties.

A 1987 DeKalb graduate, Tim played for head coach Bill Jones, an Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association founder and Hall of Famer.

What was it like playing for Coach Jones?

“At the time, it was demanding,” says Murdock. “In hindsight, it was a very rewarding experience.

“He wanted us performing well under pressure and physical demands and playing with respect for the game.

“He’s major influence on the way I coach today.”

A few years ago, DeKalb retired the No. 24 worn for decades by Jones and is posted at Baron Field.

Steve Harp was a longtime Jones assistant and also made an impact on Murdock.

“He taught us about playing the game the right way and held kids accountable,” says Murdock, who also helped Harp coach the Barons junior varsity. “He had the communication skills and could relate to the players. His strategies and X’s and O’s were impeccable.”

Murdock coached with then replaced Chris Rhodes as the fifth head coach in Barons history.

“He was good at developing the whole player,” says Murdock of Rhodes, who is now DeKalb athletic director. “He believed in off-season weight room training and being mentally tough.

“He was always putting (players) in pressure situations in practice and not lowering any types of expectations.

“The players had to meet his expectations.”

Murdock does the same things with his DeKalb teams.

The Barons compete in the Northeast Eight Conference (along with Bellmont, Columbia City, East Noble, Huntington North, Leo, New Haven and Norwell). Conference teams play each other once during the regular season on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

DeKalb played in the IHSAA Class 4A Fort Wayne Carroll Sectional in 2018. Others in the five-team field were Carroll, East Noble, Fort Wayne Northrop and Fort Wayne Snider.

The Barons have won 19 sectional all-time — the last in 2002. DeKalb last took a regional crown in 1998. There were semistate trophies earned in 1977 and 1980. The 1977 team was a state finalist and the 1980 squad state champions.

Alec Brunson, a catcher on the 2018 team bound for Purdue Fort Wayne, played in the IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series in South Bend.

Jimmy Long, who was an IHSBCA All-Star in 1998, is one of Murdock’s assistant coaches.

Two others from the DeKalb Class of 2018 — Dane Mettert (Bluffton University in Ohio) and Jackson Pyck-Hontz (North Central College in Illinois) — are also headed for college baseball. Other recent grads to go that route are Collin Bice (2015) and Quinton Rumsey (2016) at Manchester University.

Murdock gets involved in the recruiting process by pointing interested players toward websites like FieldLevel as well as showcases and camps.

“I do a lot of networking at the (IHSBCA) State Clinic in January,” says Murdock.

Prior to DeKalb, Murdock spent five years teaching and coaching baseball at Eastside High School in Butler, Ind. — the last four as head coach. He did not play baseball in college and went to both Indiana State University and Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne (now Purdue Fort Wayne).

In 2017, the IHSAA adopted a pitch count rule (1 to 35 pitches requires 0 days rest; 36 to 60 requires 1 day; 61 to 80 requires 2 days; 81 to 100 requires 3 days; and 101 to 120 requires 4 days).

Murdock says he rarely had a pitcher approach the top of the limit, but the rest requirements has sometimes caused “unintended consequences” for his team and for others.

When possible, teams are more likely to try to win by 10 runs in five innings to save pitches.

“Coaches who would normally go station-to-station will try to score as many rules as possible,” says Murdock. “In the old days that would be considered disrespecting the game.

“If you have a stretch of six games in seven days, to save pitching is a big deal.”

Auburn (Ind.) Little League develops future and current DeKalb players as well as a number of travel baseball organizations.

“Kids see quality competition and they’re playing a lot of games,” says Murdock of travel ball. “They’re showcase their talents as individuals.”

DeKalb High School head baseball Tim Murdock (right) meets with Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian assistant after the Barons played the Braves.

 

Here’s a look back at 2018 IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series in South Bend

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

The 2018 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association All-Star Series is in the books.

Despite wet weather in South Bend, Ind., many of the best players from around the state got a chance to show what they can do on the diamond —  first with the annual Junior Showcase Friday, July 21 and then the recent graduates took to Four Winds Field for three games following a Friday night banquet featuring keynote speaker Greg Kloosterman and the announcement of Roncalli’s Nick Schnell as IHSBCA Player of the Year.

A scheduled doubleheader Saturday became a rain-shortened game. That led to a 9 a.m. Sunday doubleheader.

Three IHSBCA founders were remembered during the weekend. There was a pregame ceremony Saturday to posthumously honor Jim Reinebold and Ken Schreiber.

Declaring, “This ones for you Grandpa!!” on Twitter, Fort Wayne Carroll’s Hayden Jones went out and took MVP honors for the North/South Series in memory of a Bill Jones.

The North coaching staff was head coach Steve Stutsman (Elkhart Central) plus assistants Steve Asbury (Elkhart Central), Shane Edwards (Oak Hill), John Huemmer (Mishawaka) and Lonnie Weatherholt (Elkhart Central).

Coaching the South was head coach Shawn Lyons (New Palestine), Jason Combs (Decatur Central), Zach Payne (Lanesville) and Curt Welch (Castle).

Ryan Fagan and Anna Roberts served as trainers.

Umpires were Tony Gaugler, Bob Lichtenberger, Jay Miller and Corey Stewart in Game 1, Mike Alberts, Terry Baker, Kevin Kirsch and Eric Erb in Game 2 and Laird Salmon, Zach Sliwa, Bob Schellinger and Steve Kajzer in Game 2.

The 45th North/South Series is planned for one week after the IHSAA State Finals in Madison, Ind.

2018 IHSBCA NORTH/SOUTH

ALL-STAR SERIES

(At Fort Winds Field, South Bend)

Saturday, July 21

North 8, South 4 (rain-shortened in 5th inning)

S 201 1 — 4 4 5

N 602 x — 8 6 4

Sunday, July 22

South 8, North 4

(Wood Bat Game)

N 000 040 0 — 4 5 2

S 130 040 — 8 12 0

North 8, South 0

S 000 000 0 — 0 4 0

N 214 010 x — 8 8 1

MVP: Hayden Jones (Fort Wayne Carroll).

Offensive Stats (AB R H RBI)

Pitching Stats (IP H R ER BB SO)

North

Kollyn All (McCutcheon HS/Butler) — G1 — DNP; G2 — C 2 0 0 0; G3 — C 1 0 0 0.

Chandler Banic (LaPorte HS/Ball State) — G1 — DNP; G2 — SS 0 0 0 0, P 1 0 0 0 0 2; G3 — P 1 0 0 0 0 0 3

Robbie Berger (John Glenn HS/Lincoln Trail CC) — Participated, but did not play.

Ryan Bolda (Crown Point HS/Indiana) — G1 — DNP; G2 — P 1 0 0 0 2; G3 — P 1 0 0 0 1 0

Ty Bothwell (Boone Grove HS/Indiana) — G1 — DNP; G2 — DNP; G3 — PR 0 0 0 0

Alec Brunson (DeKalb HS/Purdue Fort Wayne) — G1 — DH 2 0 0 0; G2 — C 1 0 0 0; G 3 — C 0 1 0 0

Eric Doyle (Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger HS/Ivy Tech Northeast) — G1 — DNP; G2 — SS 2 1 1 1; G3 — SS 1 0 0 0

Justin Graves (Lake Central HS/Purdue Northwest) — G1 — DNP; G2 — 2B 3 0 0 0; G3 — 2B 2 0 1 0

Ashton Guyer (Western HS/Purdue) — G1 — DNP; G2 — P 1 0 0 0 2 1; G3 — PR 0 1 0 0, P 1 1 0 0 2 3

Jay Hammel (South Newton HS/Quincy) — G1 — DNP; G2 — 1B 1 0 0 1; G3 — 1B 1 0 0 0

Riley Hershberger (Logansport HS/Danville Area CC) — G1 — DNP; G2 — 3B 1 1 0 0; G3 — 3B 1 0 1 0

Hayden Jones (Fort Wayne Carroll HS/Mississippi State) — G1 — C 3 1 3 2; G2 — DH 3 0 1 2; G3 — C 1 0 1 1 (double)

Payton Kerr (Penn HS/IUPUI) — G1 — SS 3 1 1 2; G2 — SS 1 0 0 0; G3 — SS 0 2 0 0

Ethan Larason (Maconaquah HS/Indiana) — G1 — DNP; G2 — P 1 4 4 4 2 0; G3 — P 1 1 0 0 0 0

Jacob Marin (Lafayette Central Catholic HS/Marian) — G1 — P 1 1 1 1 2 1; G2 — DNP; G3 — DH 1 0 0 0

Ian McCutcheon (Huntington North HS/Huntington) — G1 — RF 2 1 0 1; G2 — PR 1 1 0 0;  G3 — RF 1 1 0 1

Matthew Meyer (Westfield HS/Sinclair CC) — G1 — 3B 2 2 2 2; G2 — 3B 0 0 0 0; G3 — 3B 2 0 0 0

Pat Mills (Western HS/Olney Central) — G1 — 1B 3 0 0 0; G2 — 1B 1 0 1 0 (triple); G3 — 1B 2 0 1 1

Benji Nixon (Plymouth HS/Indiana) — G1 — 2B 0 1 0 0; G2 — 2B 0 0 0 0; G3 — 2B 2 1 1 1

Tyler Owens (Noblesville HS/Northwood) — G1 — LF 3 1 0 0; G2 — DNP; G3 — LF 0 0 0 0

Riley Perlich (Fort Wayne Carroll HS/Wright State) — G1 — P 3 3 3 1 1 1; G2 — DNP; G3 — DH 1 0 0 0

Austin Peterson (Chesterton HS/Purdue) — Participated, but did not play.

Hayden Schott (Culver Military Academy/Cypress College) — G1 — DNP; G2 — RF 2 1 0 0; G3 — LF 2 1 1 1

Sullivan Swingley (Yorktown HS/Bethel) — G1 — DNP; G2 — P 1 2 0 0 0 1; G3 — P 1 1 0 0 1 0

Clay Thompson (Andrean HS/Oakland U.) — G1 — CF 2 0 0 1; G2 — LF 2 0 0 0; G3 — CF 3 1 0 0

Wes Transier (Oak Hill HS/Ivy Tech Northeast) — G1 — PR 0 0 0 0; G2 — CF 3 0 2 0; G3 — LF 2 0 1 0

Alex Voss (South Bend St. Joseph HS/Butler) — G1 —DNP; G2 — DNP; G3 — P 2 1 0 0 2 1

Landon Weins (Frankton HS/Morehead State) — G1 — PR 0 1 0 0; G2 — P 2 6 4 4 1 2; G3 — DH 1 0 0 0

South

Luke Albright (Fishers HS/Kent State) — G1 — P 2.1 5 8 2 3 3; G2 — DNP; G3 — DNP

Jake Andriole (Guerin Catholic HS/Purdue) — Participated, but did not play.

Zyon Avery (Ben Davis HS/Ohio U.) — G1 — C 1 1 0 0; G2 — DH 2 0 1 0; G3 — DH 1 0 0 0

Aaron Beard (Tecumseh HS/Danville Area CC) — G1 — PH 1 0 0 0; G2 — 2B 2 0 0 0; G3 — 2B 2 0 2 0

Riley Bertram (Zionsville HS/Michigan) —  G1 — 3B 2 1 2 1 (triple); 2 1 1 1 (double); 3B 2 0 0 0 0, P 1 0 0 0 0 0

Case Eisenhut (Northeast Dubois HS/Undecided) — G1 — 2B 1 0 0 0; G2 — PH 1 0 0 0; G3 — 2B 1 0 0 0

Ethan English (Jeffersonville HS/Indiana Wesleyan) — G1 — 1B 1 0 0 1; G2 — RF 1 0 0 0; G3 — 1B 2 0 0 0

Tyler Finke (Columbus North HS/Snead State) — G1 — PR 0 0 0 0; G2 — PR 0 1 0 0; G3 — PR 0 0 0 0

Drew Hasson (Columbus East HS/Northern Illinois) — G1 — DNP; G2 — P 1 2 2 2 2 0; G3 — PH 1 0 0 0

Eli Helton (Lawrenceburg HS/IU Southeast) — G1 — RF 2 0 0 0; G2 — RF 3 0 1 0; G3 — PH 2 0 1 0 (double)

Cameron Holycross (Lapel HS/Indiana State) — G1 — P 1 1 0 0 2 5; G2 — DNP; G3 — P 1 1 2 2 2 2

Chase Hug (Pike HS/Olney Central) — G1 — DNP; G2 — 1B 3 0 1 0; G3 — DH 2 0 0 0, P 1 2 1 1 2 1

Lucas McNew (Borden HS/Southern Indiana) — G1 — DH 1 0 0 0; G2 — C 1 1 0 0; G3 — C 0 0 0 0

Sam Meek (Hauser HS/Bluffton) — G1 — DNP; G2 — DNP; G3 — P 0.1 2 0 0 2 1

Caleb Meeks (Evansville Memorial HS/Evansville) — G1 — CF 2 1 1 0; G2 — CF 4 1 1 0 (double); G3 — CF 0 0 0 0

Zach Messinger (Castle HS/Virginia) — DNP; DNP; G2 — PH 1 0 0 0; G3 — DNP

Dillon Olejnik (Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter HS/Marian) — G1 — DNP; G2 — C 2 1 2 0; G3 — C 1 0 0 0

Matthew Panagouleas (South Vermillion HS/Indiana State) — G1 — DNP; G2 — PH 1 0 0 0; G3 — P 1.1 1 1 1 2 1

Alan Perry (Seymour HS/Cedarville) — G1 — DNP; G2 — 2 1 0 0 0 1; G3 — DNP

Ryan Robison (New Albany HS/Vincennes) — G1 — LF 1 0 0 0; G2 — 1B 1 0 1 0;  G3 — RF 2 0 0 0

Chase Springmeyer (Greensburg HS/Cedarville) — G1 — DNP; G2 — LF 3 1 2 1; G3 — LF 2 0 0 0

Sam Steimel (Sullivan HS/Evansville) — G1 — DNP; G2 — SS 2 0 0 0; G3 — PR 1 0 0 0

Joey Weller (Union County HS/Thomas More) — G1 — DNP; G2 — P 2 0 0 0 0 2; G3 — DNP

Jackson Wynn (Danville HS/Parkland) — G1 — DNP; G2 — PH 0 0 0 0, P 1 1 0 0 0 0; G3 — PH 0 0 0 0, P 1.1 2 0 0 1 3

Craig Yoho (Fishers HS/Houston) — G1 — SS 2 1 1 0 (double); G2 — SS 1 1 1 1 (double); G3 — SS 2 0 1 0

Trever Zink (Forest Park HS/Olney Central) — G1 — DNP; G2 — 3B 2 1 1 1; G3 — 3B 2 0 0 0

Scorekeepers: Bill & Sue Forgey of Huntington, Ind.

Commemorative plague for founder Jim Reinebold at 2018 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South Series in South Bend. (Steve Krah Photo)

Commemorative plague for founder Ken Schreiber at 2018 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South Series in South Bend. (Steve Krah Photo)

Elkhart Central and North head coach Steve Stutsman makes his parting remarks at 2018 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South Series in South Bend. (Steve Krah Photo)

Making out the Game 3 lineup for Game 3 of the 2018 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South Series in South Bend are (from left): New Palestine’s Shawn Lyons, Decatur Central’s Jacob Combs, Castle’s Curt Welch and Lanesville’s Zach Payne. (Steve Krah Photo)

A T-shirt to commemorate the 2018 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South Series in South Bend. (Steve Krah Photo)

Organization, persistence help Buckingham, South Adams Starfires enjoy baseball success

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Brad Buckingham sweats the details.

It is not unusual for the 11th-year head baseball coach at South Adams High School in Berne, Ind., to spend an hour crafting his practice plan.

Buckingham, a 1998 South Adams graduate, played for and later coached one season under former Starfires head coach and Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Dean Stahly.

Looking back, Buckingham sees how Stahly, who led South Adams from 1971-2008, had a knack for organization.

“It may sound crazy, but I want to make sure each of those players are on the move so they’re not bored and get the instruction they need so they can grow as a player,” says Buckingham. “With limited resources and limited coaches, you’ve got to be creative in that regard.”

South Adams had 33 players for varsity and junior varsity schedules this spring.

At Bluffton College (now Bluffton University) in Ohio, Buckingham played four years for Greg Brooks and gained an appreciation for persistence.

“In baseball, a lot of bad things happen and a lot of good things happen and you still keep going,” says Buckingham, who also was head coach at Frankton High School for five seasons in Madison County, Ind. The Eagles were 2A state runners-up in 2003. “You have to stay the course and keep going.”

Buckingham has taken that knowledge and applied it. This spring, it’s helped South Adams win a second straight IHSAA sectional title (the ninth in program history and second in a row) and earn a spot in the Class 2A Whiting Regional. The IHSBCA No. 2-ranked Starfires play Hammond Noll at 10 a.m. CST, followed by Eastside vs. Boone Grove. The regional final is slated for 6 p.m. CST.

At 27-2, the 2018 South Adams squad has already tied the 1982 state finalist team (27-6-1) for the school’s most single-season baseball victories ever. The school also produced a state runner-up in 1972.

The Starfires are led on the mound and at the plate by junior Grant Besser. The left-handed pitcher/shortstop has a 9-0 record with six saves to go along with a .511 batting average, six home runs, two triples and 16 doubles.

The South Adams mound staff also features sophomore left-hander Collin Shaffer (6-1), freshman right-hander Adam Besser (6-0), senior right-handers Austin Davidson (3-0, 3 saves) and Mark Cleary (3-1, 1 save).

When not pitching, Shaffer plays first base and Cleary is the team’s starting catcher.

Besides Besser, Cleary (.412) and senior second baseman Joe Stuber (.396) are the top offensive threats.

No current players have yet made college baseball commitments. South Adams graduates Collin Affolder (Bethel College) and Chandler Ingle (Goshen College) just finished their collegiate careers. Blake Fox (Bluffton University) wound up his in 2017.

Buckingham’s coaching staff includes Craig McKean (former head coach at Southern Wells for 10 years before coming back to his alma mater), Jim Buckingham (Brad’s father), Branden Alberson, Chad Mitchell and Blade Rheinhart.

South Adams belongs to the Allen County Athletic Conference (along with Adams Central, Bluffton, Heritage, Jay County, Southern Wells and Woodlan).

South Adams plays its home games on-campus at Harry F. Anderson Field. The facility named for the school’s first athletic director and a former baseball coach just got new pro-style brick dugouts last year.

A fundraising campaign brought in around $90,000 for the project.

“They’re pretty neat,” says Buckingham. “We took a lot of measurements at Parkview Field (in Fort Wayne).”

The Starfires try to do projects each year to improve Anderson Field.

“That’s foundational in our prorgam,” says Buckingham. “We want to make it a hangout place for our players — something they want to come to. That’s something we have control over. We don’t have control over how much talent we have.”

The South Adams Youth League, which has a 12-person board that Buckingham and Starfires head softball coach Jessie O’Dell both sit on, is a feeder system for the high school.

Brad Buckingham is an eighth grade math teacher at the high school while wife Ashley Buckingham is a physical education instructor and head volleyball coach at the high school. The couple have four children (one boy and three girls) — Duke (8), Emmaline (6), Elizabeth (4) and Everly (who turns 2 next week).

The Buckingham family celebrates a 2018 IHSAA sectional baseball championship for South Adams. Brad and Ashley are in the back. In the front (from left): Duke, Everly, Emmaline and Elizabeth. Brad Buckingham is in his 11th season as Starfires head coach.

‘Little things’ key to success for Long, Hauser Jets baseball

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Nathan Long has set the standard high for his Hauser Junior/Senior High School Jets.

A 2004 graduate of the school in Bartholomew County, Long is carrying on the way Jerry Schoen led the program for two decades.

After a season leading the Cincinnati Flames travel team, Long was a varsity assistant to Schoen for five seasons before taking over the Jets for the 2017 season. He had been a manager and a player for Schoen before going to college.

“Day in and day out, we’re making kids accountable,” says Long, who was an Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association all-state third baseman in 2004. “It’s about making kids get from start to finish.

“We’re focusing on the little things that are very important in the game of baseball.”

Among those things are always hustling on and off the field, running out every batted ball and improving through tee work, short-hop drills and more.

The approach had Hauser off to an 8-2 start in 2018 and a No. 1 ranking among IHSAA Class 1A baseball teams.

The recognition may bring more fans to the ballpark, which is appreciated, but Long is not placing too much stock in the polls.

“We have great community backing here,” says Long. “We don’t talk about rankings. It’s way too early to buy into that ranking. There’s a lot of baseball to be played.”

Hauser, located in Hope, Ind., is a member of the Mid-Hoosier Conference (along with 3A’s Indian Creek and 1A’s Edinburgh, Morristown, North Decatur, South Decatur, Southwestern of Shelbyville and Waldron).

Each team plays 12 conference games. The MHC stages home-and-home series on Thursdays and Fridays.

Long, who was a pitcher at Hauser and for four years at the College of Mt. St. Joseph in Cincinnati (now known as Mt. St. Joseph University), sets his pitching rotation around conference games.

“There’s pitchers and then there’s throwers in my mind,” says Long, who joins with Mike Flack (seventh year in the program) and Doug Johnson (second year in the program) to guide a group of 18 players in varsity and junior varsity action. “I try to develop my kids into pitchers.

“Being a small school, we lean on some kids who don’t have a lot of experience on the mound. When we do our pitching and throwing drills, we do it as a whole team. Sometimes we find kids we didn’t know could pitch.”

Long agrees with the parameters of the IHSAA pitch count rules (1 to 35 pitches requires 0 days rest; 36 to 60 requires 1 day; 61 to 80 requires 2 days; 81 to 100 requires 3 days; and 101 to 120 requires 4 days).

“The days off amount is right on,” says Long. “As a coaching staff, we do go down the schedule and pick the games we want certain kids to pitch.”

Working with athletic director Ron Hounshell, Long crafts a challenging non-conference schedule.

“The better the competition, the better we’re going to be,” says Long, who already has or will have his squad square off against 4A’s East Central and Shelbyville, 3A’s Batesville, Greensburg and Lawrenceburg, 2A’s Austin, Henryville and Milan and 1A’s Indianapolis Lutheran, Jac-Cen-Del and Trinity Lutheran.

Hauser played in the Shawe Memorial Sectional in 2017 and now finds itself with a slightly different group (including Jac‐Cen‐Del, North Decatur, Oldenburg Academy, Rising Sun and South Decatur). Jac-Cen-Del looks to be the sectional host this year.

The Jets have won four sectional titles (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007), four regional crowns (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007) and one semistate championship (2005). The 2005 Jets were 1A state runners-up to Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian.

Hauser, part of Flatrock-Hawcreek School Corporation, plays its games on-campus on property that Schoen helped transform into a fine facility.

So far, wet weather has only taken away one game from the Jets.

“Our field drains fairly well,” says Long. “We’re able to play sometimes when other schools can’t.

“We take pride in our facilities. Our student-athletes work hard keeping it ready to play.”

Hauser’s roster sports four seniors (Jon Hatton, Jacob Johnson, Jordan Johnson and Sam Meek) and five juniors (Kameron Lawson, Jacob Luken, Sean Miller, Aaron Mee and Beau McKinney). Meek plans to play baseball at Bluffton (Ohio) University.

Besides Long at Mt. St. Joseph and Doug Johnson at Kankakee (Ill.) Community College, Hauser has sent number of players on to college over the years. Among them are Michael Shea, Joe Lange and Will Rose at Ancilla College, Jay McNicolas and Tim Munn at Anderson University, Tony Flack, Nathan Bryant, Jared Compton and Jared Schoen at Franklin College, Kyle Lawson, Rory Thayer and Brooks Bailey at Hanover College, Josh Gates at Illinois Valley Community College, Jared Turner at Indiana University Southeast, Jon Shaw at Trine University, Adam Newman and Aryn Ross at the University of Indianapolis, Reid Thayer and Nathan Branum at Vincennes University and Scott Henderson at Wabash Valley College in Illinois.

Henderson swiped a Hauser program-record 91 bases from 1998-91. Ross, who wore a Jets uniform 2003-06, swatted the most home runs (22).

On the mound, Tony Flack (28 from 2001-04) and Lawson (26 from 2004-07) ranked 1-2 in victories. Flack struck out a record 301 batters while Lawson whiffed 286.

Feeding the high school program are Hope Summer Playground, Babe Ruth and various travel ball organizations.

Long is part of a Hope-based family business — Indiana Custom Fabrication. Nathan is the son of John and Lisa Long and older brother of Nick Long.

Nathan and Stephanie Long have three children — daughters Emma (6) and Addison (2) and son Ike (5 months).

Nathan Long, a 2004 Hauser Junior/Senior High School graduate, is in his seventh season as a baseball coach for the Jets in 2018 — the second as head coach.