Competition continues to drive right-hander Dillon

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

Michael Dillon thrives on the big moment.
He is the one that wants the baseball in his hand while standing in the middle of the diamond with the game on the line.
A right-handed pitcher, Dillon has fed his fire the past two springs as the closer at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“They put me in that role mainly because I like to compete,” says Dillon. “I can’t slip up and I have to be in-control.
“They saw that in me when I stepped on-campus.”
A 2019 graduate of Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers, Ind., Dillon hurled the first four innings of the championship game as the Royals won the Indiana High School Athletic Association Class 4A state title his senior season.
The Hamilton County Player of the Year and first-team all-Hoosier Crossroads Conference performer went 9-1 with 79 strikeouts in 63 1/3 innings and was chosen for the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South All-Star Series in Madison.
A varsity player from sophomore year on, Dillon was on team’s led by Scott Henson and Jeremy Sassanella (as a senior).
Dillon got to compete with and against older HSE Henson-coached talent, including Class of 2018’s Sam Bachman (now in the Los Angeles Angels system) and Carter Lohman (who pitched at the University of Louisville) and 2016’s Matt Gorski (now in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization) and Andrew Bohm (who pitched at Purdue University).
“Coach Sassanella had a style of coaching where we knew he loved us and he was going to battle for us,” says Dillon. “He was able to push us but also let us (as seniors) take the ship as far as we wanted to go.”
Among Dillon’s classmates was Tyler Schweitzer (now in the minors with the Chicago White Sox) and Jack Dewolf.
“We just loved to compete,” says Dillon. “We had that teammate-brotherhood rivalry.”
Dillon began his college career at Xavier University in Cincinnati, playing for Musketeers head coach Billy O’Conner.
“I really enjoyed it there,” says Dillon. “Xavier plays one of the toughest schedules in the country. I wanted to compete against the best.”
The pitcher did not get into action in 2020 — a season cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. He was going to play in the College Summer League at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind., but got COVID and never got back into it.
He has trained at PRP Baseball in Noblesville, Ind., every winter in high school and some beyond.
In 2021, he made 14 mound appearances (all in relief) and was 0-0 with one save, a 3.10 earned run average, 21 strikeouts and 18 walks in 20 1/3 innings.
After the season, Dillon began exploring other opportunities and went into the Transfer Portal.
That summer he was going to play in the CSL, but decided to focus on his next stop while working at Pro-X Athlete Development in Westfield with Jay Lehr.
Lehr played baseball and football at Carmel (Ind.) High School with John Dillon — Michael’s father — and is a close family friend.
“He helped me a ton with mechanics and just getting my arm back on-time,” says Michael Dillon of Lehr.
After viewing Dillon’s video on Twitter, the Nova Southeastern coaching staff — led by Laz Gutierrez — reached out and he wound up with the NCAA Division II Sharks.
“The Sunshine State Conference is no joke,” says Dillon, who turned 22 in February. “There’s a ton of stars in this league to play with and against and the location is hard to beat.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time here and that’s why I’m coming back for that fifth year.”
In his first campaign at NSU (2022), Dillon made 21 trips to the bump (all in relief) and was 1-1 with 14 saves, a 1.73 ERA, 22 strikeouts and six walks in 26 innings for a team that went 36-17 overall, 17-13 in the SSC and competed in the NCAA D-II South Regional.
In the summer of 2022, Dillon joined the California Collegiate League’s Orange County Riptide (Irvine, Calif.).
This spring, Dillon — fighting through elbow fatigue — made 15 appearances (14 in relief with one mid-week start) and was 2-2 with five saves, 4.95 ERA, 18 strikeouts and 12 walks and 20 innings.
The Sharks went 26-23 overall and 15-15 in the conference.
“Last year started out hot,” says Dillon of a squad that began 17-0 and ranked No. 1 in the country. “This year we were hit by injuries and other things.
“Every returning guy is hungrier now.”
His summer of 2023 plans as of now do not call for playing in games. “This summer I’ll be lifting and getting my body right,” says Dillon. “I’m going to perfect my change-up.”
He plans to stay in Fort Lauderdale and is taking summer classes to complete his Entrepreneurship degree.
“I’d like to be my own boss someday,” says Dillon.
In the fall, he begins work on a graduate certificate program while getting ready for the 2024 season.
Will he close or start?
“It depends on what our team needs,” says Dillon. “I’m into filling any role.”
Dillon, who is 6-foot and 180 pounds, keeps hitters off-balance with his breaking ball command. He employs a four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, slider, curveball and change-up. The former middle infielder delivers from a high three-quarter arm slot.
His four-seamer has been clocked at Nova Southeastern at 88 to 91 mph.
He “grew to love” his two-seamer this spring — a pitch that usually travels 87 to 89 mph.
Since about third grade, Dillon’s put-away pitch has been his slider.
“I can throw it in any count,” says Dillon. “It’s more of slurve. When mine’s on it has really late, sharp break (at 79 to 82 mph). I like to land it and throw a sharper one later in the count. I usually get my swing-and-misses on those.
“I use the curve to change the eyes of the hitters.”
Born in Carmel, Dillon spent his younger years between Carmel, Fishers and Louisville before landing back in Fishers.
He was in rec ball with the Fisher HSE Cats and was coached by his father from third grade until high school. He then played for the Indiana Prospects and the last two summers of travel ball for the Midwest Astros.
John and Kelly Dillon have three children — Michael, Hannah and Brooke. John Dillon is in medical sale. Kelly Dillon is a project manager. Hannah Dillon is in medical school at Indiana University. Brooke Dillon (Hamilton Southeastern Class of 2023) is headed to Florida Atlantic University in the fall. Both girls played volleyball at HSE.

Michael Dillon pitches for Xavier U. in 2021.

Michael Dillon. (Nova Southeastern University Photo)

Michael Dillon. (Xavier University Photo)

Michael Dillon. (Xavier University Photo)

Michael Dillon. (Orange County Riptide Photo)

Michael Dillon. (Orange County Riptide Photo)

Michael Dillon.

2019 IHSAA Class 4A state champions — Hamilton Southeastern.

Michael (left) and John Dillon.

Michael Dillon. (Nova Southeastern University Photo)

Michael Dillon. (Nova Southeastern University Photo)

Lefty Lohman competes way to Dodgers organization

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

Competition.
It’s one of the things Carter Lohman likes most about baseball.
As a left-handed pitcher, the 2018 Hamilton Southeastern High School graduate enjoys the challenge of facing hitters.
In four seasons at the University of Louisville (2019-22), he appeared in 38 games (30 in relief) and went 3-4 with a 5.59 earned run average, 62 strikeouts and 52 walks in 58 innings.
The Cardinals went 134-65-1 during Lohman’s time with the program, including 51-18 and a College World Series appearance in 2019.
Each season was preceded by the Omaha Challenge — a series of competitions to get the team ready for the season and focused on the goal of ending the season at the CWS.
For a week or two, the red and black teams took part in swimming, tire flips, 100-meter dashes, lifting and running and more. There was a truck push around the Kentucky State Fairgrounds.
Lohman was in the individual top 10 and on the winning team a couple of times.
In high school, he played four varsity seasons (all but his junior year as a pitcher-only) for then-HSE head coach Scott Henson and the Royals did the Victory Challenge (the IHSAA State Finals are at Victory Field) early in the spring semester.
“It helped make us mentally and physically tougher,” says Lohman. “(Coach Henson) pushed everyone to get the most out of themselves on the field. Our practices were scheduled nicely. There was no lollygagging. That was our time to get better.
“At the same time he knew that baseball is fun so let it be fun.”
He struck out 125 batters during his prep career and was ranked as Indiana’s top left-handed pitcher by Perfect Game. He also earned two football letters at HSE.
Lohman has also enjoyed development at PRP Baseball at Mojo Up Sports Complex in Noblesville, Ind., working with Greg Vogt, Anthony Gomez and others and going against other players on Fridays.
“It’s a good atmosphere for competing and getting better,” says Lohman.
Dan McDonnell is Louisville’s head coach. Lohman worked closely with associate head coach/pitching coach Roger Williams.
“He did not take a cookie-cutter approach (to each pitcher),” says Lohman of Williams, who has been at the U of L for 16 seasons. “The emphasis was on learning the game and becoming a better player.”
Lohman learned about things like bunting scenarios and first-and-third situations.
“I could go for days talking about pitch sequencing,” says Lohman. “You can use your pitches in different ways to get the batters out.”
Lohman’s been good enough at it to get paid for it.
The 22-year-old southpaw was signed Aug. 1 as a minor league free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers is now at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz., throwing regular bullpen sessions and expecting to make his pro debut soon in the Arizona Complex League.
Lohman, a 6-foot-2, 210-pounder, throws from a high three-quarter arm slot.
His four-seam fastball has gotten up to 96 mph. His two-seamer has similar velocity with more horizontal movement to the arm side as opposed to the glove side for the four-seamer.
To get more feel for the pitch, Lohman positions his index finger to throw a “spike” curve ball.
Thrown harder than his curve, his slider has more horizontal break.
His uses a “circle” grip for his change-up.
Born in Indianapolis on Christmas Day 1999, Carter is the oldest of Northwestern High School graduates Brian and Andrea Lohman’s four children.
Brian Lohman, a sales engineer, played baseball and football in high school and lettered as a defensive back at Purdue University (1992-95).
Andrea Lohman, an actuary, was a high school cheerleader.
Griffin Lohman, 21, is a right-handed pitcher at Purdue. Ava and Sydney have played volleyball at HSE.
The Lohman brothers were teammates briefly during Carter’s senior year of high school and with the Tropics of the 2021 College Summer League at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind.
What was it like growing up with a ball-playing brother?
“The biggest thing was playing catch,” says Carter. “We eventually passed up our dad so we had no one else to throw with.”
Carter played recreation ball in Fishers until 8 then travel ball for the Fisher Cats, Indiana Bulls and Evoshield Canes (now Canes Midwest) at 16U and 17U.
He met Jared Poland around 10 while both were on the Bulls. Right-hander Poland went on to pitch at Indianapolis Cathedral High School and was selected in the sixth round of the 2022 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Miami Marlins.
“We definitely talk about (pitching),” says Lohman of some of his conversations with Poland.
Lohman played briefly with the Indiana Nitro in the summer of 2018 before joining other freshmen on the Louisville campus. He had a short stint in the Cape Cod Baseball League with the Orleans Firebirds in 2019 and was with the CSL’s Snapping Turtles in 2020.
In May, Lohman earned a degree in Exercise Science.
“I’ve always been interested in how the body moves,” says Lohman. “It can help me on the field.”
Away from baseball, the knowledge gives Lohman many options including athletic trainer, strength and conditioning coach and physical therapist.
But now it’s about competing on the pitcher’s mound.

Carter Lohman at the University of Louisville. (Bryan Green Photo)

Brothers Carter and Griffin Lohman with Tropics of 2021 College Summer League at Grand Park.

Carter Lohman signs pro baseball contract. (Los Angeles Dodgers Photo)

Alum Seitz gets his chance to run the Hamilton Southeastern Royals program

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

Kory Seitz has some points of emphasis as the new head baseball coach at Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers, Ind.
“Out of the gate we’ve got to get stronger and have a little more grit,” says Seitz. “We are going to live in the weight room.
“I’m going to be a little less baseball and a little more that.”
Seitz, a 1996 HSE graduate who has been on the Royals coaching staff the last 18 years under four head coaches (Curry Harden, Scott Johnson, Scott Henson and Jeremy Sassanella), has witnessed a huge uptick in strikeouts by the program’s hitters in recent seasons and sees a solution.
“We’ve been overthinking things,” says Seitz. “It’s going to be different. They’re not going to be told they have to swing a certain way. The kids have to relax and be comfortable in their own skin.”
Seitz spent his entire pre-college career in the Hamilton Southeastern system. His father Ken Seitz was HSE head baseball coach for 25 years and is a member of the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. The elder Seitz was also the school’s athletic director for 25 years and was IHSBCA State Clinic chairman for 15.
Kory, a former infielder who played for Bob Morgan at Indiana University, describes his father’s coaching style.
“My dad’s not a yeller,” says Kory. “He built relationships with kids. When he did get loud he got a lot better response. If you’re constantly on the negative side they’re going shut down.
“There’s a reason guys come back 30 years later at alumni night.”
Seitz uses a phrase from HSE head football coach Mike Kelly which also fits.
“You can’t make withdrawals without making deposits with kids,” says Seitz. “They know that you care about them.”
The Royals play and practice on Ken Seitz Field.
Since his retirement as head coach, Ken Seitz (who is married to Kathy with a daughter, Kristy) has served several years as an assistant and is on Kory’s varsity staff along with pitching coach Owen Callaghan (HSE Class of 2017), who just finished his fifth year at Indiana University-Kokomo and was the Cougars’ Friday starter in 2022.
“He is mature beyond his years on the baseball side,” says Seitz of Callaghan, who follows Harden as the man in charge of Royals pitchers
There is one opening at the varsity level.
HSE fields two junior varsity teams — Royal and White. Coaches include Ken Shepherd, Mason Love, John Gibbons and Brian Harrison.
Hamilton Southeastern (enrollment around 3,475) is a member of the Hoosier Crossroads Conference (with Avon, Brownsburg, Franklin Central, Fishers, Noblesville, Westfield and Zionsville).
HCC teams play two-game series.
“I love the competition,” says Seitz of the conference. “Playing against the best puts you in the best come tournament time.”
The Royals were part of an IHSAA Class 4A sectional grouping in 2022 with Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Westfield and Zionsville. HSE has won 15 sectional titles — the last in 2019. The team went on to win a 4A state championship, edging Columbus East 3-2 in the finale with a run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Eight of the 12 players to appear in that game were seniors, including starter pitcher Michael Dillon and reliever Tyler Schweitzer.
Right-hander Dillon ranked No. 2 among all NCAA Division II pitchers in saves with 14 for Nova Southeastern University (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) in 2022. Lefty Schweitzer went 11-2 at Ball State and was selected in the fifth round of the 2022 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Chicago White Sox.
Among other recent alums to move on to college baseball are Matt Gorski (Class of 2016) at Indiana University (drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2019), Carter Poiry (Class of 2016) at Western Illinois (later Lincoln Trail College, Morehead State University and Quinnipiac University), Sam Bachman (Class of 2018) to Miami (Ohio) University (drafted in the first round in 2021 by the Los Angeles Angels), Carter Lohman (Class of 2018) at the University of Louisville (drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2022), Andrew Morlen (Class of 2018) at Anderson University, Lake Land College and Delta State University, Rutger Poiry (Class of 2018) at Lincoln Trail College and Eastern Kentucky University, Greyson Droste (Class of 2019) at the University of Akron, Cole Graverson (Class of 2020) at Butler University and Griffin Lohman (Class of 2020) at Purdue University.
There are no college commitments yet among current players.
Seitz looks at a number of returning pitchers who logged innings for HSE in 2022, including the Class of 2023’s Brady Strawmyer, Eli Lantz, Griffen Haas and Ty Bradle and the Class of 2024’s Ethan Lund. Lund and Haas are left-handers. The rest of right-handers.
“Growing up in this program and working under different coaches,” says Seitz. “I know a lot of these kids really well.
“I know what we have coming.”
Started three years ago, the Royals Baseball Club serves as kind of feeder for HSE. It is run as a separate entity from the school. Beginning at 13, teams play a full travel ball schedule from March to July.
Kory’s oldest son, Kam Seitz (Class of 2024), played for the 16U RBC Select team this summer.
“In our district kids have a choice of which high school they want to go to — HSE or Fishers,” says Seitz. “(With the RBC), we get get to know who are kids are. Our whole coaching staff involved in their winter workouts and are in-charge of teams if possible.
“We don’t have junior high baseball here. This is our way of connecting with those kids and building a relationship with them.”
Besides being a coach, Seitz is a realtor/broker for Keller Williams Realty.
“It’s easy for me to want to promote this area,” says Seitz.
Kory and wife Heather also have twins in the Class of 2027 — Karson (baseball) and Haleigh (softball).

Kory Seitz (Hamilton Southeastern High School Photo)

Hamilton Southeastern, Eastern Kentucky grad Poiry considering future on, off diamond

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

Armed with experience and his undergraduate degree, Rutger Poiry is looking for his next collegiate baseball experience.
“I’m looking at all options, all opportunities and just seeing what’s out there and what’s coming my way,” says Poiry, a catcher who is looking to be a graduate transfer after earning a bachelor’s in Criminal Justice from Eastern Kentucky University and appearing in one game with the NCAA Division I EKU Colonels in 2022 (he redshirted in 2021 after appearing in 36 games over two seasons at Lincoln Trail College in Robinson, Ill.).
Poiry, a 5-foot-10, 194-pounder, is weighing his options while playing for the third straight year in the College Summer League at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind. He was with the Moon Shots in 2020 and 2021 and is with the Local Legends in 2022.
Grand Park is about 18 miles from Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers, where he graduated in 2018.
Two of his classmates were right-hander Sam Bachman (now pitching in the Los Angeles Angels system) and lefty Carter Lohman (who pitched the past four seasons at the University of Lousville).
Scott Henson — then the HSE Royals head coach — also used Poiry on the mound.
“He pushed us work hard in whatever we’re doing,” says Poiry of Henson.
Carter Poiry — Rutger’s brother — graduated from Hamilton Southeastern in 2016 and was also at Lincoln Trail. He pitched for Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Ct., as a graduate student in the spring of 2022.
Priory considers work ethic and a team-first mentality to be his top attributes as an athlete.
“It’s just being a great teammate,” says Poiry. “You know, helping any team I’m involved with in any way I can.”
To make himself better in the batter’s box, Poiry has been working for the past two-plus years with Benny Craig of Feel Good Hitting in Carmel, Ind.
“He’s helped me change my mental game,” says Poiry of Craig, a San Diego native who played D-I and pro baseball and coached in the Cape Cod Baseball League. “He puts a big emphasis on the classroom. It’s thing you can do to be proactive towards hitting without hitting.
“He gives you a couple of little things to just focus on. He does what works best for certain guys because every guy’s different.”
Poiry was born in Naperville, Ill., and moved to the HSE area as he was starting school.
He played for the Cats during his first days of organized baseball then was one of the of the first Indiana Nitro travel teams.
Rutger is the youngest of Randy and Rhonda Poiry’s four children (two girls and two boys), following Taylor, Harper and Carter.
“I was always in the back seat on my way to a sporting event,” says Rutger of his childhood in an athletic family. “My parents have always just been very supportive of all their kids. They wanted us to try every sport that we could.
“I enjoy being the youngest. I’m thankful that I had some older siblings kind of shape me and develop me as a person.”
Randy Poiry is regional sales director for Boulart, based in Quebec. Rhonda Poiry, a Saint Joseph’s College graduate, is a nurse.
Taylor played soccer at Parkland College in Champaign, Ill., and graduated from Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis. Harper was on the soccer team at Ball State University and graduated from Indiana University.
Rutger, who is considering a masters degree in criminal justice, victimology, business or business administration, became interested in law enforcement by being around a Fishers police officer while at junior high.
“He just made this impression,” says Poiry, who could see himself as a police officer, state trooper or FBI agent.

Rutger Poiry (Eastern Kentucky University Photo)

Rutger Poiry (Steve Krah Photo)

Chesterton alum Peterson shining at UConn; others making D-I impact outside Indiana

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

Friday night starter Austin Peterson has been sitting batters down at a consistent pace so far in 2022.
The 6-foot-6 senior right-handed pitcher has made four starts for the University of Connecticut and was 2-0 with 44 strikeouts and five walks in 24 2/3 innings heading into the Week of March 14-20.
A 2018 Chesterton (Ind.) High School graduate, Peterson played at Purdue and Wabash Valley College before winding up at UConn.
Peterson is more than one of 120 players from Indiana high schools (or hometowns) on NCAA Division I rosters outside the state. Many are key contributors.
Freshman right-hander Casey Sorg (Floyd Central) sported a 1.59 ERA in five mound appearances for Bellarmine, a squad with nine Indiana products on a team led by Jeffersonville alum Larry Owens.
Sophomore outfielder Carson Husmann (South Central of Union Mills) was hitting .318 with two home runs and 11 runs batted in for Bradley.
Senior outfielder Damon Lux (Shelbyville) had driven in 12 runs for Duke.
Redshirt junior right-hander Blake Malatestnic (Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter) was 3-0 with a 2.82 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 22 1/3 innings for Eastern Illinois.
Sophomore second baseman Tim Borden II (Providence) was hitting .316 with four homers and 11 RBIs for Georgia Tech.
Freshman outfielder Jared Comia (Hanover Central) was hitting .283 with two homers and eight RBIs for Illinois.
Redshirt senior catcher/first baseman Nolan Metcalf (Penn) was hitting .306 with nine RBIs for Kansas.
Senior right-hander Jack Myers (Indianapolis Cathedral) had 16 strikeouts in 19 innings for Kennesaw State.
Sophomore left-hander Michael Dunkelberger (South Bend Saint Joseph) was 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA for Lipscomb.
Senior right-hander Jared Poland (Indianapolis Cathedral) was 1-1 with 1.38 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 13 innings for Louisville.
Redshirt sophomore J.J. Woolwine (Fishers) was hitting .439 with one homer and eight RBIs and freshman right-hander Luke Leverton (Seton Catholic) was 1-0 with 1.00 ERA and nine strikeouts in innings for Miami (Ohio).
Senior shortstop Riley Bertram (ZIonsville Community) was hitting .293 with one homer and 11 RBIs for Michigan.
Sophomore outfielder Roman Kuntz (New Prairie) was hitting .370 with three homers and 10 RBIs for Morehead State.
Freshman right-hander Landon Kruer (Providence) was 1-0 with 1.59 ERA for Navy.
Redshirt junior outfielder Trevyn Moss (Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran) was hitting .274 with one homer, one triple and 14 RBIs for Northern Kentucky.
Redshirt junior shortstop Xavier Haendiges (Salem) was hitting .353 for Ohio.
Junior right-hander Bayden Root (Kokomo) was 1.0 with a 2.61 ERA in six appearances for Oklahoma State.
Senior right-hander Cameron Pferrer (Carmel) was 1-0 with a 3.12 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings for Saint Louis.
Freshman Nick Mitchell (Carmel) was hitting .357 with eight RBIs for Western Illinois.
Junior infielder/outfielder Matthew Meyer (Westfield) was hitting .260 with one homer and 11 RBIs for Western Kentucky.
Senior outfielder Ryan Missal (Lowell) was hitting .257 with four homers and 11 RBIs for Western Michigan.
Sophomore first baseman Julian Greenwell (Columbus East) was hitting .310 with one homer and nine RBIs.
There’s several more coaches with Indiana prep roots — head coach Billy Gernon (New Albany) and associate head coach Adam Piotrowicz (John Glenn) at Western Michigan, head coach Eric Wedge (Fort Wayne Northrop) at Wichita State and assistants Jared Broughton (Indianapolis Lutheran) at Clemson, Nick McIntyre (McCutcheon) at Toledo, Justin Parker (Fort Wayne Wayne) at South Carolina, Matt Reida (Western) at Alabama and Bobby Rinard (Mishwawaka Marian) at Dixie State.

INDIANA D-I PLAYERS OUTSIDE STATE
2022
Alabama
So. IF Bryce Eblin (Center Grove)
Volunteer Assistant Coach Matt Reida (Western)

Alabama State
Fr. RHP/IF Kyler McIntosh (Columbus North)

Bellarmine
Jr. RHP/IF Drew Buhr (Austin)
Sr. RHP Jon Cato (Floyd Central)
Sr. RHP/DH Ethan English (Jeffersonville)
So. RHP Cody Medley (New Albany)
Fr. RHP/IF Casey Sorg (Floyd Central)
Jr. RHP Adam Spalding (Floyd Central)
Jr.. LHP Steven Thom (New Albany)
Redshirt Fr. 3B Webster Walls (Clarksville)
Jr. RHP Joe Wilkinson (Providence)
Head Coach Larry Owens (Jeffersonville)

Belmont
Graduate Student RHP Dusty Baird (Perry Meridian)
So. IF Brodey Heaton (Castle)

Bradley
So. OF Carson Husmann (South Central of Union Mills)

Campbell
Redshirt So. UT Jack Ellis (Jeffersonville)

Cincinnati
So. RHP Max Bergmann (Hometown — Georgetown, Ind. — St. Xavier, Ky HS)
So. RHP Aiden Bradbury (Carmel)
So. RHP Jose Guzman (Ben Davis)
Fr. RHP Garrett Harker (Lebanon)
Redshirt Fr. IF Kerrington Cross (Brownsburg)
Fr. RHP Blake Lemmon (Chesterton)
So. LHP Conner Linn (Western)
Fr. LHP Andrew Neff (Mooresville)
Fr. LHP Tommy O’Connor (Mooresville)

Clemson
Redshirt Fr. OF/C Patrick Farrissee (South Bend Saint Joseph)
Volunteer Assistant Coach Jared Broughton (Indianapolis Lutheran)

Connecticut
Sr. RHP Austin Peterson (Chesterton)

Dallas Baptist
So. RHP Jacob Young (Bloomington South)

Dartmouth
So. RHP Shane Bauer (Brebeuf Jesuit)

Dayton
So. RHP Parker Bard (Westfield)
Redshirt Fr. IF Nick Lukac (Fishers)
So. OF Anthony Steinhardt (Lawrence Central)

Dixie State
Assistant Coach Bobby Rinard (Mishawaka Marian)

Duke
Sr. OF Damon Lux (Shelbyville)

East Tennessee State
So. RHP Cade Carlson (University)
Sr. C Kyle Richardson (Zionsville Community)

Eastern Illinois
Redshirt So. LHP Jalen Cardinal (Vincennes Lincoln)
So. LHP Aaron Chao (Angola)
Jr. OF Bryce Hayman (Michigan City)
So. C Grant Lashure (Fort Wayne Bishop Luers)
Redshirt Jr. C/1B Tarron Lawson (Danville Community)
Redshirt Jr. RHP Blake Malatestnic (Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter)
Jr. RHP Jesse Wainscott (Perry Meridian)

Eastern Kentucky
Redshirt So. C Rutger Poiry (Hamilton Southeastern)

Eastern Michigan
Fr. RHP Dom Anderson (Hagerstown)
So. IF Cory Taylor (Shelbyville)

Georgia Tech
So. IF Tim Borden II (Providence)

Illinois
Fr. OF Jared Comia (Hanover Central)
Jr./Sr. C Ryan Hampe (Hometown — Crown Point, Ind. — Sandburg HS)
Fr. RHP Calvin Shepherd (Lawrence North)

Illinois State
Redshirt Fr. OF Jonathan Sabotnik (Crown Point)

Illinois-Chicago
Jr. RHP Chris Torres (Chesterton)

Jacksonville State
So. IF Kody Putnam (Evansville Central)

Kansas
Redshirt Sr. C/1B Nolan Metcalf (Penn)

Kennesaw State
Sr. RHP Jack Myers (Indianapolis Cathedral)

Lipscomb
So. LHP Michael Dunkelberger (South Bend Saint Joseph)

Louisville
Fr. C Austin Bode (Columbus North)
Sr. LHP Carter Lohman (Louisville)
Sr. RHP Jared Poland (Indianapolis Cathedral)

Miami (Ohio)
So. C Dalton Back (Columbus East
Fr. LHP Tyler Galyean (University)
So. IF Easton Good (Lewis Cass)
Fr. RHP Luke Leverton (Seton Catholic)
Redshirt Fr. RHP/IF Aaron Massie (Evansville Reitz)
Redshirt Fr. RHP Patrick Mastrian IV (Indianapolis Bishop Chatard)
Fr. C/IF David Novak (Zionsville Community)
Redshirt So. OF J.J. Woolwine (Fishers)

Michigan
Sr. IF Riley Bertram (Zionsville Community)
Fr. MIF Camden Gasser (Southridge)
Sr. IF Jack Van Remortel (Carmel)

Michigan State
Jr. RHP/IF Conner Tomasic (Lake Central)
Redshirt Fr. C Christian Williams (Carmel)

Middle Tennessee State
So. RHP Dustin Sprong (Indian Creek)
So. C Mason McLeod (Greensburg)

Mississippi
Jr. RHP Matt Parenteau (Guerin Catholic)

Morehead State
Jr. RHP Luke Helton (Whiteland)
So. RHP Grant Herron (Center Grove)
So. OF Roman Kuntz (New Prairie)
Jr. RHP Joe Rotkis (South Bend Saint Joseph)

Murray State
Redshirt So. RHP Ryan Fender (Crown Point)
Fr. IF Kyle LaVanchy (North Posey)
Redshirt Jr. LHP Hayden Wynja (Heritage Christian)

Navy
Jr. C/IF Kiel Brenczewski (Fishers)
Fr. RHP Landon Kruer (Providence)

Northern Illinois
Jr. RHP Drew Hasson (Columbus East)

Northern Kentucky
Redshirt Jr. OF Trevyn Moss (Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran)
Jr. RHP Drew Switzer (Hamilton Southeastern)

Northwestern
First-Yr. RHP Grant Comstock (Valparaiso)

Ohio
Redshirt Jr. IF Xavier Haendiges (Salem)
Fr. RHP Brady Linkel (South Ripley)

Oklahoma State
Jr. RHP Bayden Root (Kokomo)

Quinnipiac
Graduate Student RHP Carter Poiry (Hamilton Southeastern)
Jr. OF Sean Swenson (Brebeuf Jesuit)

Radford
Jr. RHP Johnny Maynard (Griffith)

Saint Louis
So. C Nolan Bowser (Mt. Vernon)
Jr. LHP Grant Fremion (Guerin Catholic)
Sr. RHP Cameron Pferrer (Carmel)

South Carolina
Assistant Coach Justin Parker (Fort Wayne Wayne)

South Carolina-Upstate
Fifth-Yr. C Damon Maynard (Greenwood Community)

Southeastern Louisiana
Sr. OF/IF Tyler Finke (Columbus North)

Southern Illinois-Edwardsville
Jr. RHP Alex Scherer (Indianapolis Cathedral)

Texas A&M
Assistant Coach Michael Earley (Anderson)

Toledo
So. RHP Camryn Szynski (Penn)
Assistant Coach Nick McIntyre (McCutcheon)

Towson
Sr. IF Nolan Young (Mississinewa)
Head Coach Matt Tyner (Coached at Butler)

Vanderbilt
Jr. RHP Michael Doolin (Andrean)
Fr. OF J.D. Rogers (Carmel)

Virginia
Graduate Student LHP Brian Gursky (Granger, Ind. — IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.)

Virginia Military Institute
Fr. IF Nathan Bingman (Brebeuf Jesuit)

Virginia Tech
Sr. RHP Ryan Metz (Fishers)

Western Illinois
Fr. OF Nick Mitchell (Carmel)
Fr. IF/OF C.J. Richmond (Park Tudor)

Western Kentucky
Jr. IF/OF Matthew Meyer (Westfield)

Western Michigan
So. RHP Hayden Berg (Penn)
Redshirt So. IF/LHP Bobby Dearing (Lafayette Harrison)
Sr. OF Ryan Missal (Lowell)
So. RHP Ryan Watt (Mishawaka)
Head Coach Billy Gernon (New Albany)
Assistant Coach Adam Piotrowicz (John Glenn)

Wichita State
Head Coach Eric Wedge (Fort Wayne Northrop)

Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Redshirt So. IF Tommy Benson (Chesterton)

Wright State
Sr. RHP Aaron Ernst (Carmel)
Fr. RHP Chris Gallagher (Indianapolis Cathedral)
So. LHP/OF Julian Greenwell (Columbus East)
Fr. IF Parker Harrison (Columbus East)
Jr. RHP Riley Perlich (Fort Wayne Carroll)
So. OF Jake Shirk (Fort Wayne Carroll)

Xavier
Jr. RHP Cooper Williams (Heritage Christian)

South Bend ready to shine for 2018 IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series July 20-22

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Downtown South Bend will be the site as some of the best high school baseball the state has to offer gather for the 2018 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South All-Star Series.

Activities are planned for Friday through Sunday, July 20-22 at Four Winds Field — home of the Midwest League’s South Bend Cubs. The stadium is at 501 W. South St.

On July 20, teams will practice at Four Winds (North 1:15 to 3 p.m. EST and South 3 to 4:45) and have a 7 p.m. banquet in the Great Room at Century Center featuring guest speaker Greg Kloosterman. Century Center is at 120 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

There will also be the annual IHSBCA Junior Showcase from 9 a.m. EST to 1 p.m.

The North and South clash in a doubleheader on July 21 and a single wood-bat game July 22.

On July 21, South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg is scheduled to greet fans and players beginning at 11 a.m. EST. The IHSBCA will honor two founders — Jim Reinebold and Ken Schreiber — prior to first pitch around noon.

Martin’s Supermarkets will provide box lunches to the teams between games. After the second game, players will be treated to pizza but can eat elsewhere in the South Bend-Mishawaka area with their families.

Peggs in downtown South Bend will feed the players breakfast.

On July 22, the game is slated for noon EST with players wearing their high school uniforms.

Game admission is $5 each day and the banquet is $25 ($15 for 10-and-under) — all payable at the door.

Commemorative T-shirts will sell for $10 and $15 apiece depending on size.

DoubleTree By Hilton Hotel South Bend will house players, coaches and the IHSBCA leadership. The hotel is at 123 N. St. Joseph St.

Most parents and fans will stay at Aloft Hotels South Bend or Courtyard By Marriott South Bend-Mishawaka.

The all-star rosters below reflect players who have accepted invitations. Some may not be able to play because of injury.

Elkhart Central’s Steve Stutsman will be head coach for the North squad.

The South’s coaching staff will be headed by New Palestine’s Shawn Lyons.

New Level Broadcasting plans to webcast throughout the all-star weekend with remotes at the Junior Showcase noon to 1 p.m., practice 1 to 2 p.m. and banquet 7 p.m. on July 20 and games 11 a.m. pregame on July 21 and 11:30 a.m. pregame on July 22. The broadcast team will be Bob Stambazze, Craig Wallen, Mark Lowry and Mike Ganger.

2018 IHSBCA NORTH/SOUTH

ALL-STAR SERIES

(At South Bend)

North Roster

Pitchers

Chandler Banic (LaPorte)

Robbie Berger (John Glenn)

Ryan Bolda (Crown Point)

Tyler Bothwell (Boone Grove)

Ashton Guyer (Western)

Ethan Larason (Maconaquah)

Jake Marin (Lafayette Central Catholic)

Riley Perlich (Fort Wayne Carroll)

Austin Peterson (Chesterton)

Sullivan Swingley (Yorktown)

Alex Voss (South Bend St. Joseph)

Landon Weins (Frankton)

Catchers

Kollyn All (McCutcheon)

Alec Brunson (DeKalb)

Hayden Jones (Fort Wayne Carroll)

First Basemen

Jay Hammel (South Newton)

Pat Mills (Western)

Middle Infielders

Eric Doyle (Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger)

Justin Graves (Lake Central)

Payton Kerr (Penn)

Benji Nixon (Plymouth)

Third Basemen

Riley Hershberger (Logansport)

Matt Meyer (Westfield)

Outfielders

Ian McCutcheon (Huntington North)

Tyler Owens (Noblesville)

Hayden Schott (Culver Academies)

Clay Thompson (Andrean)

Flex

Wes Transier (Oak Hill)

Head Coach

Steve Stutsman (Elkhart Central)

Assistant Coaches

Steve Asbury (Elkhart Central)

Shane Edwards (Oak Hill)

John Huemmer (Mishawaka)

Trainer

Ryan Fagan (Oak Hill)

South Roster

Pitchers

Luke Albright (Fishers)

Jake Andriole (Guerin Catholic)

Drew Hasson (Columbus East)

Cameron Holycross (Lapel)

Carter Lohman (Hamilton Southeastern)

Sam Meek (Hauser)

Zach Messinger (Castle)

Matthew Panagouleas (South Vermillion)

Alan Perry (Seymour)

Joey Weller (Union County)

Catchers

Zyon Avery (Ben Davis)

Lucas McNew (Borden)

Dillon Olejnik (Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter)

First Basemen

Ethan English (Jeffersonville)

Chase Hug (Pike)

Middle Infielders

Aaron Beard (Tecumseh)

Case Eisenhut (Northeast Dubois)

Sam Steimel (Sullivan)

Craig Yoho (Fishers)

Third Basemen

Riley Bertram (Zionsville)

Trever Zink (Forest Park)

Outfielders

Eli Helton (Lawrenceburg)

Caleb Meeks (Evansville Memorial)

Ryan Robison (New Albany)

Chase Springmeyer (Greensburg)

Flex

Tyler Finke (Columbus North)

Head Coach

Shawn Lyons (New Palestine)

Assistant Coaches

Jason Combs (Decatur Central)

Zach Payne (Lanesville)

Curt Welch (Castle)

Trainer

Anna Roberts (South Bend St. Joseph)

 

HSE, Henson looking to play the best to prepare for the postseason

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Take a look at the 2017 Hamilton Southeastern High School baseball schedule.

With 18 games in the always ultra-competitive Hoosier Crossroads Conference (three-game series vs. Avon, Brownsburg, Fishers, Noblesville, Westfield and Zionsville), non-conference games against perennial powers like Brebeuf, Carmel and Roncalli and out-of-state encounters against Louisville (Ky.) Ballard, Louisville (Ky.) Trinity and Metamora Township (Ill.), there are no breathers for the Royals.

And that’s the way fifth-year head coach Scott Henson and the HSE diamond community want it. A stacked regular season can only help come postseason.

“(Our players) truly believe they’re more prepared for the sectional than any other team in the state,” says Henson. “You have to be prepared or else you’re going to be taking an early exit.”

As is Henson’s habit, he is taking his Fishers-based team for an early-season test when the Royals play April 6-8 in the Super Prep Series in the Louisville area (HSE was there two years ago and was rained out at Cincinnati Moeller in 2016 when both teams were atop their respective state polls).

Ballard features All-American outfielder/right-hander pitcher Jordon Adell who may be drafted this spring before ever stepping on the field for the University of Louisville. HSE junior left-hander Carter Lohman has committed to U of L.

“This gives us a measuring stick early in the season,” says Henson. “We also get to stay in a hotel and have some team bonding.”

Henson says he wishes the IHSAA would back off its travel rules which limit teams from going more than 300 miles from the border or playing any teams outside that radius.

“We’ve talked to the Louisville organizers,” says Henson. “We can’t play certain teams.”

This spring will mark the third season of a conference format that more closely reflects a college-like schedule and many HSE players do have aspirations of playing college baseball.

“That three-game series is pushing us to the next level,” says Henson, noting that the HCC has been represented in the Class 4A IHSAA State Finals two of the last three seasons (Noblesville winning in 2014 and Zionsville finishing as runner-up in 2016). “We think we’re the best baseball conference in the state.”

While they want to beat each other between the lines, the coaches in the HCC are also friendly and are known to get together for gatherings or seek each other out at clinics.

Henson says the three-game series forces teams to develop pitching (there were 17 NCAA Division I pitchers in the conference in 2016) and really think about strategy.

“You’re getting a better sense who is the best overall team,” says Henson. “That’s the nature of baseball. You’ve got to do it more than just one night. That’s why the World Series is seven games. They want to see who the best team is over time.”

Entering his 15th season as a high school baseball coach, Henson spent two seasons as head JV coach at HSE before taking over the top spot. Before that, he was the hitting coach for four years at Northern Nash High School in Rocky Mount, N.C., after leaving coaching and going into the business world.

Henson was an assistant for four seasons (1995-98) at his alma mater, Pendleton Heights, where he worked for Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Bill Stoudt.

“Coach Stoudt had a pretty big influence on my life,” says Henson, who played baseball and football for the man at Pendleton and graduated in 1991 before going on to play college baseball at the University of Indianapolis and IUPUI and one season of pro ball with the independent Frontier League’s Richmond Roosters. “It seems he was always in my ear.”

Henson just went through cuts at HSE and usually gets a call every year from Stoudt telling him how this time of the year is both the greatest and the worst.

“I’ve got to tell these kids they don’t get to come and play ball anymore,” says Henson. “It’s tough sometimes.”

At a school of 3,200 students, Henson had 97 try out for 50 spots his first season. Since then, he’s had to cut 25 to 30 players each spring.

“I start preparing the guys for this back in October or November,” says Henson. “I tell them, I’d like to keep all of you. You have a passion for the game.’”

The reality is there are only so many spots.

Henson has seen some players cut once or twice and come back and make the squad.

Through it all, there’s a lesson.

“You are going to go through life with things that are tough,” says Henson. “If you get knocked down, you’ve got to get back up and make the best of situations. You rely on your teammates and buddies to put you in a good spot.”

The emphasis at HSE is daily improvement. A coaching staff that includes Kory Seitz, Ken Seitz, Curry Harden, Jeff Mendenhall, Tyler Underwood, Seth Story, Jake Straub, Seth Paladin and Matt Nash reinforces that mantra with varsity, junior varsity and freshmen squads.

“We want to get better everyday,” says Henson. “Work to be your best when you need to be your best.”

The Royals have won 14 sectionals and all of them are represented on the current staff. In their tenures as HSE head coach, IHSBCA Hall of Famer Ken Seitz claimed nine sectionals, Harden took three and Henson has two (2013, 2015).

Henson has a few other ideas about how to make Indiana high school baseball better.

“I’d love to see us have access to the kids a little more,” says Henson. “Right now, there are periods when we can only work with two kids at a time per coach. There’s a reason travel baseball is becoming more and more important. (Those coaches) have unlimited access.

“I understand the idea behind the rule, but it’s antiquated. We’re missing opportunities.

Henson says the experience could be a little bit better.

“Seeding the tournament would go a long ways,” says Henson. “And we get too caught up in making things geographically feasible.”

If getting the best competition means traveling a few hours, so be it. That’s what it was like in North Carolina, where they do not have an all-comers postseason like Indiana and play a best-of-three championship series.

It’s all about making baseball better.

Scott Henson is entering his fifth season as head baseball coach at Hamilton Southeastern High School in 2017.