Re-booted Michiana Brewers serve prep seniors, college players and more

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

The Mishawaka (Ind.) Brewers — a baseball team co-founded in the 1990’s by Shawn Harper and Alex Parker — took 2021 off and has rebranded as the Michiana Brewers.
It is an organization works to provide an opportunity for high school seniors, collegiate baseball players and recent college graduates to play competitive ball with home fields in north central Indiana.
With a focus on players in or about to enter college baseball with some former minor leaguers in the mix, the Michiana Brewers — renamed to reflect the wide area where the team gets players — will compete in the National Amateur Baseball Federation’s Major Unlimited Division and play an independent schedule. The South Bend semi-pro league consists of only two teams — the Brewers and South Bend Royals.
Under the guidance of manager Harper and pitching coach/assistant Chuck Bowen, the Brewers plan to play around 30 games from Memorial Day weekend to second week of August in 2022.
There’s typically one weeknight game (often on Friday) and a doubleheader or tournament on Saturday or Sunday.
The season opener is to be a home game with the Fort Wayne Jackers. A home-and-home series is planned with the Chicago Suburban Baseball League’s Beecher Muskies.
The 2022 Charlie Blackburn Major Division NABF World Series is to be played in Battle Creek, Mich.
Harper and Bowen place the level of play on the Brewers’ schedule at just below summer wood bat circuits like the Northwood League.
The Brewers recently secured Rex Weade Stadium at Harris Township Park in Granger, Ind. — home of Indiana University South Bend baseball — as one home field and hopes to also host games at John Glenn High School in Walkerton, Ind., and other locales.
Now that a home field has been secured, the recruiting process has begun.
Two John Glenn graduates — Calumet College of Saint Joseph baseball player Michael Machnic and Holy Cross College basketball player Billy Harness — have committed to the Brewers for the upcoming season.
Harper (a 1991 graduate of South Bend John Adams High School who played for Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Len Buczkowski then played for and managed the Indiana University South Bend club team) and Bowen (a 2007 graduate of John Glenn where played for John Nadolny and went on to play two years for Joe Yonto at Ancilla College in Donaldson, Ind.) recently met with and received support from IUSB head coach Doug Buysse and South Bend Cubs Foundation executive director, 1st Source Bank Performance Center director and former South Bend Silver Hawks manager Mark Haley.
Harper says he plans to carry a roster of up to 25 with some pitcher-only players. In the past, position players paid $200 to participate with pitcher-onlys paying $100. Sponsorships are being sought to cover team expenses.
Commitment is something Harper expects from his players.
“On the day of game, I want them to ask themselves if they are excited and can’t wait to get to the field,” says Harper. “If they are torn. If there’s a conflict at all, don’t play.
“In 16 years I’ve never forfeited one game. I’m very proud of that.”
Harper accepts players to miss 25 percent of the time as long they communicate that with him.
In October, Harper was inducted into the National Semi-Pro Baseball Hall of Fame in Evansville, Ind., after being nominated by former South Bend Senators manager and the man he replaced as South Bend semi-pro league president — Ron Milovich.
The best ways to contact are the Michiana Brewers Facebook page or by calling Harper at (574) 514-2028 or Bowen at (574) 780-0696.

Michiana Brewers (formerly Mishawaka Brewers)

Dix ‘walks in his purpose’ with Region Legion Expos, Calumet New Tech

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

Ray Dix III is using baseball and education to help youngsters in northwest Indiana.
A 2001 Merrillville High School graduate and former East Chicago American Legion Post 369 player, Dix guides to diamond programs for the Region Legion Expos (E.C. Post 369/Lake Station Post 100) and Calumet New Tech High School in Gary.
“Post 369 is near and dear to my heart,” says Dix. “Bob Castillo, (father) Alonzo Olvera and (son) Juan Olvera kept it going for a long time.”
Dix expresses his gratitude to the late Joe Kusiak.
“My organization does not exist without Joe,” says Dix of the man who died in 2019. “He made it his personal mission to make sure some inner city kids got the same opportunities as suburban kids.”
The Region Legion Expos are a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization. Each player is charged $200, but can sell $1 raffle tickets throughout the season to off-set the cost.
“We don’t turn kids away because of money,” says Dix. “I accept anything they come up with.”
Dix notes that there was an Chamber of Commerce event with Gary native and former big leaguer and Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer LaTroy Hawkins.
Initiatives by the Gary SouthShore RailCats, Home Field Advantage and MLB’s Reviving Baseball In Inner Cities (RBI) were gaining traction before the pandemic.
The Region Legion Expos are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Each player is charged $200, but can sell $1 raffle tickets throughout the season to off-set the cost.
“We don’t turn kids away because of money,” says Dix. “I accept anything they come up with.”
The 2021 season marks the fifth for the Region Legion Expos and there are senior (19U) and junior (17U) squads. While recent rains have taken games away, both teams scheduled around 20 regular-season games.
Most senior games have been played at the Kenny Lofton Baseball Complex in East Chicago with junior games at the former Lake Station Little League.
In the future, Dix expects that the Region Legion Expos will play home games at Calumet New Tech (the field was built on the campus just a few years ago) and renovated E.J. Block Stadium in East Chicago. Tim Stoddard played for Post 369 and East Chicago Washington High School (later consolidated into East Chicago Central) at Block on his way to the majors.
RLE are in the Michiana League along with Bristol Post 143, Highland Post 80, South Bend Post 151 and Valparaiso Post 94 in Indiana, Stevensville Post 568 and Three Oaks Post 204 in Michigan and Palos Park Post 1993 in Illinois.
“We hope to grow the league,” says Dix, who is assisted by East Chicago Central High School head coach Jimmy Flores. “We stay away from days that Babe Ruth games are scheduled to give kids more chances to play baseball.”
The plan is for league coaches to meet this fall to map out an even larger schedule for next season.
“We hope to get more Legion teams,” says Dix. “We’re growing every year. We have more junior teams.
“When I played 20 years ago almost everybody had a Legion team. It’s great competition. We don’t see a bad team all summer. Nobody’s bad. That’s what I love about it.”
The 2021 junior sectional (Post 369/100 Region Legion Expos, Post 100 Region Riptide, South Bend Post 151, South Haven Post 502 Blaze and Valparaiso Post 94) is scheduled for July 8-11 at Hobart.
The senior sectional (Post 369/100 Region Legion Expos, Highland Post 80, South Haven Post 502 Blaze and Valparaiso Post 94) is slated for July 15-18 at Highland.
While the COVID-19 pandemic took away what was going to be Dix’s first season at Calumet in the spring of 2020, the Legion team had an abbreviated season without a state tournament last summer.
“We were wiping down everything,” says Dix. “We had no (COVID) cases.”
The ’21 Calumet New Tech Warriors had 15 players on the roster. Dix was assisted by former Gary Roosevelt and Bowman Academy head coach Kevin Bradley (who had Dix as an assistant at Bowman) plus Daniel Wendrickx and scorekeeper Steve Heck.
This week after the Region Legion Expos played Palos Heights the two sides went through an actual handshake line — something not allowed during the high school season in the spring though teams tipped their caps at the end of games.
“I didn’t know how much I missed the handshake line,” says Dix. “We show each other respect for what you just went through.
“Even at the MLB level, guys shake hands with (their teammates).”
The Region Legion Expos have sent Gary West graduates Antonio Reed (Clark Atlanta University) and Zamare Vincent (Calumet College of Saint Joseph), Merrillville alums Thomas Butler (Ancilla College and University of Indianapolis), Darius Kendall (Purdue University Northwest) and Thomas Smith (Bethel University) and Portage grads Shayne Devine (Trine University) and Kody McGuire (Goshen College) on to college baseball while Christian Ayala (Hammond Bishop Noll) and Dylan Coty (Merrillville baseball and basketball) have received offers.
“I’ve been very fortunate to have some talented players,” says Dix, who has watched others stay out of trouble, go on to trade schools and become productive citizens.
Dix, son of former Gary and current Fort Wayne minister Ray Dix Jr., and retired secretary Jewel Cody and grandson of former steelworker and court bailiff Ray Dix Sr., makes sure players are making their grades and get SAT preparation assistance.
He is three semesters from his education degree, which he will likely complete at Purdue University Northwest.
“If I get to teach high school and coach baseball I will not work for the rest of my life,” says Dix. “I will be walking in my purpose and be forever grateful.”
Dix says area youth coaches and organizers at all levels try to stick to together for the good of the kids.
“The goal to always have a safe space,” says Dix. “We all see the writing on the wall.
“We don’t want to see it die.”
It’s people like Bentley Ellis at Glenn Park Babe Ruth/Cal Ripken in Gary and Tracy Brough, president of Calumet Region Little League, which in 2021 included Duneland Park, Lake Station and Roosevelt Park and had about 150 players at all ages. Bradley, Ellis and Brough are on the CRLL board.
“We’re a feeder group for American Legion ball,” says Brough. “Players age out of Little League (4 to 16) and can keep playing.”
During the offseason, a group called the Gary United Baseball Collaborative was formed to meet in the offseason and discuss options for area youth.
“We see how can we increase the opportunities for kids with their skill levels, training and experiences,” says Brough. “We cross-post (on social media) and communicate in the offseason so (players and their families) know what’s going on.”
At Merrillville High, Dix played two seasons for Fenton Macke and two for Zac Wells.
“Other than with Coach Castillo, I have not learned more on the mental side of baseball than I did in the few conversations I had with Coach Macke,” says Dix. “He had an amazing way of getting young people to think the game. This is how you stay in the lineup.
“That is what you want once you get to the high school level and beyond. You find your niche and work it and that trickles to life. That stuck with me as a 14-year-old kid.”
Dix admires Macke and current Washington Township head baseball coach Randy Roberts — men who know what its like to each at the middle school level and coach high schoolers.
“If you have them from sixth grade on, they already know what you want (in high school),” says Dix, who plans add a middle school baseball at Calumet in the fall. “They know the style.
“Everything is about relationship-building.”
Wells, who also coached Ray’s little brother Rahdric Dix (Merrillville Class of 2007 who went on to play at Butler University and the University of Southern Indiana), was a three-sport start for the Pirates who had the ability to break down the intricacies of an athletic task.
“Absolute tactician,” says Dix of Wells. “He had that Innate ability to show you the technical part of the game.
“I use his hitting methods to this day.”
Rahdric was Ray III’s first trainee and he’s had many since. Dix indicates that he would like to eventually be able to direct a program that includes players as young as 8.
“It’s about being able to create uniformity and consistency,” says Dix.

Ray Dix III (left) celebrates a Region Legion championship with his team.

Ray Dix III, Gary Chamber of Commerce president Chuck Hughes and former big league pitcher LaTroy Hawkins appear at a Chamber event prior to Gary native Hawkins being inducted into the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Baseball organizers in northwest Indiana collaborate as evidenced by Calumet Area Little League president Tracy Brough (left) and Region Legion Expos manager and Calumet New Tech High School head coach Ray Dix III.

Ray Dix III at U.S. Steel Yard in Gary, Ind., home of the indepedent pro baseball Gary SouthShore RailCats. He is the manager of the Region Legion Expos and head coach at Calumet New Tech High School.

IU Southeast dodges elimination at NAIA World Series; Notre Dame, Indiana State get NCAA bids

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Indiana University Southeast was a winner in its first-ever NAIA Baseball World Series game. 

The Grenadiers beat Concordia (Neb.) 4-2 Friday, May 28 in Lewiston, Idaho.

The next day IUS fell 11-5 to Central Methodist (Mo.) and played in an elimination game Monday, May 31 against Keiser (Fla.). 

IU Southeast (50-15) was a 9-7 winner in that one. The Grenadiers  face Faulkner (Ala.) today (June 1).

The NAIA Word Series continue until June 4.

Notre Dame and Indiana State are the teams from the state making the NCAA Division I tournament (the draw for the Road to Omaha was announced Monday).

After beating Virginia Tech 8-0 and losing to Virginia 14-1 at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C., the Irish will host the South Bend Regional. It will be the first time postseason baseball has been at ND since 2004.

Each regional field features four teams, playing in a double-elimination format. All 16 regionals are scheduled to be conducted from Friday, June 4 to Monday, June 7 (if necessary).

Notre Dame (30-11) plays Central Michigan (40-16) at 1 p.m., followed by Connecticut (33-17) against Michigan (27-17) at 7. Irish head coach Link Jarrett was named the ACC Coach of the Year.

Indiana State went 3-2 at the Missouri Valley Conference tournament in Carbondale, Ill. — beating Illinois State 5-2 and Southern Illinois 11-8, losing to Dallas Baptist 10-1, beating Southern Illinois 9-7 then losing to Dallas Baptist 12-8 (in 11 innings).

The Sycamores are in the Nashville Regional. Georgia Tech (29-23) plays Indiana State (30-19) at 1 p.m. Friday while Vanderbilt (40-15) takes on Presbyerian (22-21) at 7.

Indiana State earned its 11th NCAA postseason appearance in program history and the third under head coach Mitch Hannahs.

Ball State (38-18) swept a four-game Mid-American Conference home series with Miami (Ohio). The Cardinals did not hear their name called Monday.

Nor did Indiana (26-18). The Hoosiers went 1-2 in a Big Ten Conference series at Maryland.

Purdue (16-26) wrapped the season with one win against Penn State and a doubleheader split against Minnesota in a Big Ten pod weekend.

The 2021 season also closed at the MVC tournament for Valparaiso (16-35) and Evansville (28-27). Valpo went 2-2 and UE 1-1 in Carbondale.

INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL

Records Through May 23

NCAA Division I

Ball State 38-18 (25-11 MAC) 

Notre Dame 30-11 (25-10 ACC) 

Evansville 28-27 (11-16 MVC) 

Indiana State 27-17 (14-10 MVC) 

Indiana 26-18 (26-18 Big Ten)

Purdue 14-25 (14-25 Big Ten) 

Butler 14-23 (8-13 Big East) 

Valparaiso 16-35 (9-19 MVC) 

Purdue Fort Wayne 11-35 (8-28 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 25-14 (23-12 HCAC) 

Earlham 25-20 (21-18 HCAC) 

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

Anderson 23-19 (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 50-15 (26-1 RSC) 

Indiana Wesleyan 44-14 (28-4 CL) 

Taylor 37-20 (24-12 CL) 

Indiana Tech 35-27 (16-6 WHAC) 

Saint Francis 34-22 (23-13 CL) 

Huntington 33-16 (23-13 CL) 

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 24-31 (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)

Notre Dame top seed in ACC; Indiana State No. 2 in MVC

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Notre Dame (29-10, 25-10) has earned the No. 1 seed for the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. 

The event is slated for May 25-30 in Greensboro, N.C.

The Irish meet No. 12 seed Virginia Tech in Tuesday’s second game. ND’s current four-game win streak includes a three game weekend sweep at Virginia Tech.

Penn High School graduate and Notre Dame first baseman Niko Kavadas heads to Carolina with 16 home runs and 49 runs batted in.

Missouri Valley Conference tournament play begins and Indiana State (27-17, 14-10) goes in as the No. 2 seed while Evansville (28-26, 11-16) is No. 7 and Valparaiso (14-33, 9-19) No. 8.

Games will be played May 25-29 at Southern Illinois-Carbondale.

The Sycamores receive a first-round bye to Day 2 while UE (vs. Illinois State) and Valpo (vs. Missouri State) play on the first day.

Indiana State overcame an 8-0 deficit to win 13-10 at Evansville Saturday to secure the No. 2 seed in the eight-team tourney behind Dallas Baptist (33-15).

Left-hander Geremy Guerrero is 9-1 with a 1.92 earned run average and catcher Max Wright has 14 homers and 37 RBIs for the Sycamores.

Ball State (34-18, 25-11) won its first two games then lost two in a Mid-American Conference series at Ohio. The Cardinals wrap the MAC season May 28-30 with four games against Miami (Ohio) in Muncie.

Nick Powell (.353) leads BSU in hitting. Right-hander John Baker (7-3, 2.45) has been the No. 1 starting pitcher.

Indiana (24-16, 24-16) has lost the first three games of its Big Ten Conference pod series, dropping two to Nebraska and one to Ohio State in Bloomington. The Hoosiers host the Buckeyes again today (May 24).

A 9-8 loss for Purdue (14-25, 14-25) at Minnesota Sunday kept the Boilermakers from a four-game sweep of the Golden Gophers. 

A three-team pod (Purdue, Penn State, Minnesota) in West Lafayette is slated for May 27-29.

The 2021 season came to a close for both Butler (14-23 overall, 8-13 in the Big East Conference) and Purdue Fort Wayne (11-35 overall and 8-28 in the Horizon League).

The five-team finals of the NCAA Division III Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament saw Transylvania emerge as champions.

Transy bested Earlham (25-20, 21-18) in the final game. Bluffton knocked out Anderson (23-19, 20-17). A loss to Anderson eliminated Franklin (25-14, 23-12).

Indiana Tech (35-27) and Indiana Wesleyan (44-14) both bowed out in NAIA Opening Round play in the Marion Bracket.

Vincennes (24-31) saw its slate finish in the junior college Mid-West Athletic Conference tournament.

Of the state’s 38 college baseball programs, eight are still playing. There’s seven in NCAA Division I and there’s one in NAIA.

Indiana University Southeast (48-14) earned its first trip to the NAIA College World Series, which is May 28-June 4 in Lewiston, Idaho.

More on the Grenadiers’ special season can be found here.

INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL

Records Through May 23

NCAA Division I

Ball State 34-18 (25-11 MAC) 

Notre Dame 29-10 (25-10 ACC) 

Evansville 28-26 (11-16 MVC) 

Indiana State 27-17 (14-10 MVC) 

Indiana 24-16 (24-16 Big Ten)

Purdue 14-25 (14-25 Big Ten) 

Butler 14-23 (8-13 Big East) 

Valparaiso 14-33 (9-19 MVC) 

Purdue Fort Wayne 11-35 (8-28 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 25-14 (23-12 HCAC) 

Earlham 25-20 (21-18 HCAC) 

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

Anderson 23-19 (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 48-14 (26-1 RSC) 

Indiana Wesleyan 44-14 (28-4 CL) 

Taylor 37-20 (24-12 CL) 

Indiana Tech 35-27 (16-6 WHAC) 

Saint Francis 34-22 (23-13 CL) 

Huntington 33-16 (23-13 CL) 

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 24-31 (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)

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)

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)

College baseball heading down stretch for Indiana teams

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Baseball season has ended at some Indiana colleges and is winding down for others.

NCAA Division III Wabash concluded its 2021 campaign and DePauw has one more doubleheader Saturday, May 8. The two-team North Coast Athletic Conference tournament finals does not include the Little Giants or Tigers.

There’s another weekend of the regular season in the D-III Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference before the postseason — best-of-3 opening round games May 14-16 followed by final series qualifiers May 20-23.

There’s another weekend series in the NCAA D-II Great Lakes Valley Conference before the tournament May 13-16 in Missouri.

D-II Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference member Purdue Northwest is to wrap its season May 7-9.

The NAIA Crossroads League tournament is May 7-12. The top eight in the 10-team circuit play are to participate. Indiana Wesleyan (39-12, 28-4) is the regular-season champion. 

The NAIA Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament, which features Indiana University South Bend, begins May 7. The Titans are coming off a three-game home sweep of St. Ambrose.

Regular-season champion Indiana University Southeast (40-13, 26-1) — which owns a 12-game win streak — plus Indiana University-Kokomo (28-18, 16-10) are two of the four teams in the River States Conference tournament May 6 in Chillicothe, Ohio.

The NAIA Wolverine-Hooser Conference’s Indiana Tech (31-23, 16-6) split a Monday conference doubleheader with Lawrence Tech. The WHAC tournament starts May 6.

In NCAA D-I, Indiana (20-9, 20-9) is tied with Michigan atop the Big Ten standings with a 2-1 series win against Iowa.

Notre Dame (24-8, 21-8) leads the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference and is coming off a three-game sweep of North Carolina. The Irish have won six straight.

After a 3-1 weekend at Bowling Green, Ball State (28-12, 19-5) is second to Central Michigan in the Mid-American Conference standings.

Indiana State’s series against Bradley was canceled because of COVID-19 issues within the Bradley program. ISU (21-11, 8-4) is second in the Missouri Valley Conference.

A May 4 doubleheader awaits Ivy Tech (27-21) before the National Junior College Athletic Conference playoffs.

INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL

Records Through May 3

NCAA Division I

Ball State 28-12 (19-5 MAC) 

Notre Dame 24-8 (21-8 ACC) 

Indiana State 21-11 (8-4 MVC) 

Evansville 21-21 (6-13 MVC) 

Indiana 20-9 (20-9 Big Ten) 

Purdue 11-20 (11-20 Big Ten) 

Valparaiso 11-23 (6-10 MVC) 

Butler 10-17 (4-7 Big East) 

Purdue Fort Wayne 9-25 (6-18 HL)

NCAA Division II

Southern Indiana 22-18 (16-12 GLVC) 

Indianapolis 19-17 (17-11 GLVC) 

Purdue Northwest 9-20 (3-17 GLIAC) 

NCAA Division III

Rose-Hulman 21-11 (21-11 HCAC) 

Franklin 19-11 (19-11 HCAC) 

Anderson 19-16 (19-16 HCAC) 

Hanover 19-16 (19-16 HCAC) 

Wabash 18-15 (9-6 NCAC) 

Earlham 18-17 (18-17 HCAC) 

Manchester 17-18 (17-18 HCAC) 

DePauw 15-19 (8-8 NCAC) 

Trine 6-23 (6-14 MIAA) 

NAIA

Indiana University Southeast 40-13 (26-1 RSC) 

Indiana Wesleyan 39-12 (28-4 CL) 

Taylor 35-18 (24-12 CL) 

Saint Francis 33-20 (23-13 CL) 

Huntington 31-14 (23-13 CL) 

Indiana Tech 31-23 (16-6 WHAC) 

Indiana University-Kokomo 28-18 (16-10 RSC) 

Marian 24-27 (17-19 CL) 

Indiana University South Bend 23-22 (19-11 CCAC) 

Oakland City 17-27 (10-17 RSC) 

Bethel 15-37 (12-24 CL) 

Grace 12-31 (9-23 CL) 

Calumet of Saint Joseph 7-28 (7-19 CCAC) 

Goshen 3-34 (2-26 CL) 

Junior College

Ivy Tech Northeast 27-21 

Vincennes 18-26 (6-18 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)

Championship weekend for Indiana Wesleyan, IU Southeast

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

It was a title-taking kind of weekend for two of Indiana’s NAIA baseball programs.

Indiana Wesleyan (39-12, 28-4) earned its first Crossroads League regular-season championship since 2018 while going 3-1 at Wildcat Field against Grace.

With a three-game sweep of Midway at Koetter Sports Complex, Indiana University Southeast (36-13, 23-1) won its third straight River States Conference regular-season title.

The longest current win streaks among the state’s 38 college baseball programs belong to IU Southeast (8), Ball State (5), Rose-Hulman (5), Saint Francis (5), Indiana (4) and  Manchester (4).

With an 11-inning win in Game 2 Saturday, Saint Francis (32-16, 22-10) capped a four-game Crossroads League sweep at Taylor. Junior right-hander Michael Vochelli worked the last five shutout innings as the winning pitcher.

In NCAA Division I, Niko Kavadas took his home run bat on the road as Notre Dame (20-8, 18-8) went 2-1 in an Atlantic Coast Conference series at Boston College.

The senior lefty slugger and Penn High School graduate pounded homer Nos. 14 and 15 in helping the Irish come back to win 13-9 in Game 3. He is among the national leaders.

Ball State (25-11, 16-4) enjoyed a four-game home sweep against Mid-American Conference foe Northern Illinois that included John Baker becoming the Cardinals’ all-time strikeout leader. 

The senior right-hander fanned eight Huskies to raise his career total to 359 — No. 1 among active NCAA D-I pitchers and passed Bryan Bullington on Ball State’s K list.

Bats did some loud talking and pitchers were stingy as Indiana (18-8, 18-8) took all three Big Ten contest against visiting Minnesota. The Hoosiers outscored the Golden Gophers 39-5. 

Drew Ashley (3) and Grant Richardson (2) led the way as IU collected nine hits in Game 1 to support winner Tommy Sommer (11 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings).

Morgan Colopy (3), Collin Hopkins (3) and Ashley (2 with a homer) led the way as Indiana rapped 10 hits in Game 2 and Braden Scott (who faced one batter in relief) notched the victory.

Colopy (3 with a homer), Hopkins (3), Cole Barr (3), Richardson (2 with a homer) and Paul Toetz (2) guided a 17-hit outburst in a 23-1 Game 3 rout and Gabe Bierman (11 K’s in six innings) picked up the win.

Butler (9-16, 4-7) went 2-1 in Big East Conference home series against Villanova.

After 25 road games to the start the season, Valparaiso (8-21, 3-9) came home to Emery G. Bauer Field and won three of four Missouri Valley Conference games against Southern Illinois. Games 1 and 2 on the new turf came on walk-off wins.

NCAA Division II Indianapolis (17-15, 15-9) outscored McKendree 26-4 to win the three last three games of a Great Lakes Valley Conference series at Greyhound Park. Junior lead-off man Trey Smith went 3-for-4 with a homer, four RBIs and three runs scored in the 13-2 finale.

NCAA D-III Rose-Hulman (16-10, 16-10) swept two Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheaders — Friday against Bluffton and Sunday at Earlham. In Game 2 against the Quakers, the Fightin’ Engineers scored the decisive run in the eight inning.

Manchester (15-16, 15-16) went 3-0 in an HCAC series at Defiance.

The National Junior College Athletic Association postseason is fast-approaching.

Division II sub-regionals begin May 7.

Ancilla and Ivy Tech Northeast are in Region 12 and Vincennes in Region 24.

INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL

Records Through April 25

NCAA Division I

Ball State 25-11 (16-4 MAC) 

Indiana State 21-11 (8-4 MVC) 

Notre Dame 20-8 (18-8 ACC) 

Evansville 20-18 (5-10 MVC) 

Indiana 18-8 (18-8 Big Ten) 

Purdue 10-18 (10-18 Big Ten) 

Butler 9-16 (4-7 Big East) 

Purdue Fort Wayne 9-21 (6-14 HL) 

Valparaiso 8-21 (3-9 MVC) 

NCAA Division II

Southern Indiana 20-16 (16-12 GLVC) 

Indianapolis 17-15 (15-9 GLVC) 

Purdue Northwest 9-16 (3-13  GLIAC) 

NCAA Division III

Wabash 18-13 (9-6 NCAC) 

Rose-Hulman 16-10 (16-10 HCAC) 

Anderson 16-12 (16-12 HCAC) 

Earlham 16-13 (16-13 HCAC) 

Hanover 16-15 (16-15 HCAC) 

Franklin 15-9 (15-9 HCAC) 

Manchester 15-16 (15-16 HCAC) 

DePauw 12-17 (5-7 NCAC) 

Trine 6-19 (6-10 MIAA) 

NAIA

Indiana Wesleyan 39-12 (28-4 CL) 

Indiana University Southeast 36-13 (23-1 RSC) 

Taylor 33-16 (22-10 CL) 

Saint Francis 32-16 (22-10 CL) 

Huntington 25-13 (18-12 CL) 

Indiana Tech 25-22 (11-5 WHAC) 

Indiana University-Kokomo 24-17 (12-9 RSC) 

Marian 21-24 (14-16 CL) 

Indiana University South Bend 17-21 (13-10 CCAC) 

Oakland City 17-24 (10-14 RSC) 

Bethel 13-33 (10-20 CL) 

Grace 12-31 (9-23 CL) 

Calumet of Saint Joseph 5-26 (5-17 CCAC) 

Goshen 3-34 (2-26 CL) 

Junior College

Ivy Tech Northeast 25-20 

Vincennes 17-23 (5-15 MWAC) 

Ancilla 6-25 (2-14 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)

IU-Kokomo runs win streak to seven; Plesac fans 14

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Jared Heard’s two-out single in the bottom of the seventh inning helped Indiana University-Kokomo (22-16, 10-8) to a walk-off 2-1 baseball victory against Brescia Saturday, April 17 at Kokomo Municipal Stadium.

It was the Cougars’ seventh straight victory — the longest current streak among Indiana’s 38 collegiate programs.

By beating Brescia 8-1 in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, IUK gave head coach Matt Howard his 100th career victory.

Indiana Wesleyan (36-11, 25-3) built a three-game lead in the Crossroads League standings  with a four-game sweep of Huntington. The Wildcats have won six in a row.

Frank Plesac pitched a seven-inning complete game with 14 strikeouts as Bethel (13-30, 10-18) completed a four-game sweep of visiting Crossroads League foe Goshen and ran the Pilots’ win streak to five.

Indiana State (20-8, 7-1) finally played games at Bob Warn Field after opening the season with 24 on the road. The Sycamores swept a four-game Missouri Valley Conference series against Valparaiso.

Ellis Hanna II drove in four runs in a 12-1 win in the series finale. ISU has won five straight.

Clay Woeste collected nine hits, scored nine runs and drove in seven as Indiana University Southeast (32-13, 20-1) racked up 41 runs in a three-game River States Conference series sweep at West Virginia Tech. 

IUS also got eight hits, four runs and eight RBIs from Marco Romero, five hits, three runs and six RBIs from Derek Wagner, seven hits, four runs and five RBIs from Matt Monahan and five hits, seven runs and five RBIs from Brody Tanksley.

The Grenadiers have won four in a row.

Purdue (9-15, 9-15) ran its win streak to four by beating Michigan State twice and Illinois once during a three-team Big Ten Conference pod in Champaign, Ill.

Joe Moran smashed three homer runs as Taylor (33-12, 22-6) wrapped a four-game Crossroads League sweep of visiting Spring Arbor. Moran pushed his season homer total to 12.

INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL

Records Through April 18

NCAA Division I

Ball State 21-11 (11-4 MAC) 

Indiana State 20-8 (7-1 MVC) 

Evansville 19-15 (4-7 MVC) 

Notre Dame 18-7 (16-7 ACC) 

Indiana 15-8 (15-8 Big Ten) 

Purdue 9-15 (9-15 Big Ten) 

Purdue Fort Wayne 9-18 (6-14 HL) 

Butler 7-15 (2-6 Big East) 

Valparaiso 5-20 (0-8 MVC) 

NCAA Division II

Southern Indiana 19-13 (15-9 GLVC) 

Indianapolis 13-13 (11-7 GLVC) 

Purdue Northwest 8-13 (2-10  GLIAC) 

NCAA Division III

Earlham 16-11 (16-11 HCAC) 

DePauw 16-12 (7-5 NCAC) 

Wabash 16-12 (7-5 NCAC) 

Hanover 16-13 (16-13 HCAC) 

Franklin 15-7 (15-7 HCAC) 

Anderson 15-10 (15-10 HCAC) 

Rose-Hulman 12-10 (12-10 HCAC) 

Manchester 12-16 (12-16 HCAC) 

Trine 5-16 (5-7 MIAA) 

NAIA

Indiana Wesleyan 36-11 (25-3 CL) 

Taylor 33-12 (22-6 CL) 

Indiana University Southeast 32-13 (20-1 RSC) 

Saint Francis 28-16 (18-10 CL) 

Huntington 24-12 (17-11 CL) 

Indiana University-Kokomo 22-16 (10-8 RSC) 

Indiana Tech 21-20 (8-4 WHAC) 

Marian 19-24 (12-16 CL) 

Indiana University South Bend 16-18 (12-7 CCAC) 

Oakland City 15-23 (8-13 RSC) 

Bethel 13-30 (10-18 CL) 

Grace 11-28 (8-20 CL) 

Calumet of Saint Joseph 4-25 (4-14 CCAC) 

Goshen 3-34 (2-26 CL) 

Junior College

Ivy Tech Northeast 18-18 

Vincennes 16-19 (4-12 MWAC) 

Ancilla 6-21 (2-10 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)

IU Southeast on 15-game win streak; Notre Dame’s Kavadas has 11 homers

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Indiana University Southeast is the hottest college baseball program in the state.

Through April 4, Ben Reel’s Grenadiers (24-11 overall, 15-0 River State Conference) had won 15 straight. 

IUS, based in New Albany, has won at least 31 games every season since 2008 not including the COVID 19 pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign when the NAIA-member Grenadiers went 18-1 overall and 6-0 in the RSC.

At seven, Evansville (16-11) has the longest current win streak among Indiana’s NCAA Division I schools. It is last full season — 2019 — the Purple Aces went 24-29.

Indiana Wesleyan (29-10) has rolled since an 0-7 start to 2021. Rich Benjamin’s Wildcats could soon match or surpass the 37 wins of the 2018 and 2016 IWU teams.

A clash of the NAIA Crossroads League’s top two teams is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, April 9-10 when Taylor (17-3 in the league) visits Indiana Wesleyan (18-2) for a pair of doubleheaders.

Taylor (28-9) has won its last four games after dropping three of four at Huntington. Excepting 2021, Kyle Gould’s Trojans won at least 32 every year since 2009.

Saint Francis (22-13, 13-7 Crossroads League) has reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since 2013.

Leaving out 2020, Huntington (20-8, 13-7 Crossroads League) has now won at least 20 each season since 2014.

The longest current winning streak among the state’s NCAA Division II programs belongs to Southern Indiana with seven. Tracy Archuleta’s Screaming Eagles won the last three games of a four-game series at Mayrville then swept four games from Missouri-St. Louis in Evansville.

Notre Dame left-handed slugger Niko Kavadas (Penn High School graduate) slammed 24 home runs in 393 at-bats his first three seasons with the Fighting Irish. 

In 58 2021 at-bats, Kavanda has already bashed 11 circuit clouts.

INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL

Records Through April 4

NCAA Division I

Evansville 16-11 (1-3 MVC) 

Ball State 15-9 (6-2 MAC) 

Indiana State 13-7 (0-0 MVC) 

Notre Dame 12-5 (11-4 ACC) 

Indiana 11-7 (11-7 Big Ten) 

Purdue Fort Wayne 9-14 (6-10 HL) 

Butler 5-9 (0-0 Big East) 

Valparaiso 5-16 (0-4 MVC) 

Purdue 4-13 (4-13 Big Ten) 

NCAA Division II

Indianapolis 11-9 (9-3 GLVC) 

Southern Indiana 10-11 (9-7 GLVC) 

Purdue Northwest 6-7 (0-4 GLIAC) 

NCAA Division III

Earlham 12-7 (12-7 HCAC) 

Anderson 10-8 (10-8 HCAC) 

Wabash 10-8 (3-1 NCAC) 

Hanover 10-10 (10-10 HCAC) 

Franklin 9-5 (9-5 HCAC) 

Rose-Hulman 9-8 (9-8 HCAC)

Manchester 9-10 (9-10 HCAC) 

DePauw 8-10 (1-3 NCAC) 

Trine 0-13 (0-4 MIAA) 

NAIA

Indiana Wesleyan 29-10 (18-2 CL) 

Taylor 28-9 (17-3 CL) 

Indiana University Southeast 24-11 (15-0 RSC) 

Saint Francis 22-13 (13-7 CL) 

Huntington 20-8 (13-7 CL) 

Marian 17-17 (10-10 CL) 

Indiana University-Kokomo 15-16 (7-8 RSC) 

Indiana University South Bend 13-14 (9-4 CCAC) 

Oakland City 13-17 (6-9 RSC) 

Indiana Tech 12-17 (1-3 WHAC) 

Grace 9-20 (6-14 CL) 

Bethel 7-28 (4-16 CL) 

Calumet of Saint Joseph 3-18 (1-6 CCAC) 

Goshen 3-24 (2-18 CL) 

Junior College

Ivy Tech Northeast 17-16 

Vincennes 14-13 (4-8 MWAC) 

Ancilla 6-17 (2-6 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)