Tag Archives: Clay Woeste

IU Southeast’s Reynolds really likes life on the pitcher’s mound

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

Cade Reynolds played all over the field as he came up through the baseball ranks in Greensburg, Ind.
He lined up everywhere but at first base and catcher.
Then while he was a high schooler playing travel ball in the summer for Evoshield Canes Midwest, Reynolds become a pitcher-only and that’s what the right-hander has been ever since.
“I love P.O. life,” says Reynolds, who has completed two seasons at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany. “It’s awesome. I just feel more comfortable on the mound.
“I can focus on what I need to focus on. Starter or reliever, it doesn’t matter. It’s whatever the coach needs.”
Reynolds, who turns 21 in September, made 16 mound appearances (11 in relief) for the IUS Grenadiers in 2022 and post a 2-1 record and a 4.66 earned run average. He struck out 26 and walked 14 in 29 innings.
As a freshman in 2021, the righty got into 17 games (15 starts) and was 5-2 with 3.86 ERA, 49 strikeouts and 24 walks in 65 1/3 innings. He started his team’s first game in the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho.
“It was pretty nerve-wracking in the first inning,” says Reynolds, who fanned three batters before leaving in the third inning.
One of his teammates in 2021 was cousin Trevor Reynolds, who graduated from Greensburg Community High School in 2017 — three years ahead of Cade.
“We are two different styles of pitchers,” says Cade Reynolds. “He’s crafty. I’m more of a velo guy — at least at the NAIA level.”
The 5-foot-10, 195-pounder throws a four-seam fastball, sinker, change-up and curveball from a three-quarter arm slot.
Reynolds’ four-seamer got up to 92 mph his freshman year.
His sinker grip has his fingers together and is between and four-seam and two-seam grip.
The change-up is delivered with the middle finger on the left horseshoe of the ball, the ring finger on the right horseshoe and the index finger resting on the left side.
The curve is closer to a 12-to-6 than a slurve.
Ben Reel is head coach at IUS. Brandon Mattingly was the Grenadiers pitching coach in 2022.
“(Reel) is a good coach and down-to-earth,” says Reynolds. “He tells you what he thinks.
“(Mattingly) was a good guy to talk to about pitching. He was there for you all the time.”
IU Southeast, a member of the River States Conference, went 50-16 in 2021 and 40-15 in 2022. Though Reynolds and classmate Gavin Knust made an impact on the mound, there were plenty of veteran position players on those teams.
Clay Woeste, Daunte DeCello and Marco Romero were all leaders,” says Reynolds, who has two years of eligibility remaining. “It will be a lot different this coming spring. As a junior, I will have to step up.”
Born and raised in Greensburg, Reynolds went was 8 when he played for the 9U Indiana Blazers travel team. He went to the Indiana Nitro at 12U and was the with Indiana Outlaws/Evoshield Canes Midwest from 13U to 17U.
Cade credits his dedication and his father — Christopher Reynolds — for his development.
“My dad is the one that’s got to me where I am,” says Reynolds. “He’s Worked with me day in and day out since I was about 10 years old.”
The elder Reynolds played baseball for a season each at Marian University in Indianapolis and Wabash (Ind.) College as a left-handed pitcher.
Scott Holdsworth was Cade’s head coach at Greensburg Community.
“He was a good hitting coach for sure and another guy you could go to for anything,” says Reynolds, who also played tennis for the Pirates.
His senior baseball season at Greensburg was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He did pitch in the College Summer League at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind., in 2020 with the Marksmen.
Reynolds did not play in the summer of 2021, but was back in the CSL in 2022 and helped the Caleb Fenimore-managed Bag Bandits make it to the championship game (which is scheduled for 7 p.m. today — July 28 vs. the Moon Shots — though Reynolds says be will not be there with work responsibilities.
A General Studies major, Reynolds plans to become an electrician’s apprentice after graduation. A family friend is a longtime electrician.
“I’d rather not work a desk job,” says Reynolds. “A blue collar job working with my hands is the best idea for me.”
Christopher Reynolds is a production manager with PrimeLending and his wife Angie Reynolds a human resources communication manager at First Financial Bank. Besides Cade, the couple has a daughter — Sydney Reynolds (25). She is in nursing school and works at Decatur Memorial Hospital.

Cade Reynolds (Indiana University Southeast Photo)
Cade Reynolds (Indiana University Southeast Photo)

Cade Reynolds (Indiana University Southeast Photo)

Cade Reynolds (Indiana University Southeast Photo)
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Left-hander Knust enjoys late-inning relief role

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

When it comes down to crunch time, that’s when Gavin Knust wants the baseball.
The left-handed pitcher likes to be called on in the latter innings to get out of a jam or nail down a victory.
He’s done it for the past two seasons at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany.
“I enjoy being the guy the team relies on,” says Knust, 20. “I want to help the team in any way possible to win a ball game.”
In 2022, he made 22 relief appearances (16 of them scoreless) and went 4-0 with two saves, a 3.60 earned run average, 35 strikeouts and nine walks in 30 innings.
The Grenadiers finished the season 40-15 overall and 20-4 in the River States Conference. The campaign ended in the NAIA Opening Round.
As a true freshman in 2021, Knust came out of the bullpen 20 times and went 2-0 with a 3.50 ERA, 40 strikeouts and 12 walks in 36 innings.
IUS (50-16, 26-1) earned its first trip to the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, in 2021 and Knust appeared in three of four games.
Knust was 18 and pitching on one of college baseball’s biggest stages. And this after missing his senior season at Forest Park Junior/Senior High School in Ferdinand, Ind., because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 6 1/3 innings in Idaho, he yielded four hits and two runs while striking out nine and walking two.
Older guys like Daunte DeCello, Hunter Kloke, Marco Romero, Derek Wagner (a Tri-West Hendricks High School alum) and Clay Woeste (Lawrenceburg) pushed Knust to be his best.
“They were huge role models,” says Knust. “They took me under their wing and took care of me.”
All the while, the Grenadiers fed off the words of head coach Ben Reel.
“Coach Reel is a huge believer in ‘control the controllables’ — that’s all you can worry about. He tells us to play ‘our’ baseball. Don’t try to be anybody else.”
After a 5-10 start, that 2021 team went into the postseason at 40-13.
“We were the hottest team in the nation,” says Knust. “That’s all baseball is about — riding the hot streak.”
Brandon Mattingly was the pitching coach at IU Southeast in 2022.
“He’s a big believer in the mental aspect of baseball and breathing correctly,” says Knust of Mattingly. “He want you doing the same thing every pitch. Baseball is a game of repetition.
“It’s a game where you don’t want to make it more complicated that it really is.”
As a bullpen arm throwing between three-quarter and over-the-top, Knust relies mostly on a four-seam fastball, two-seamer and curveball. His four-seamer got up to 88 mph in the spring.
“(The two-seamer) runs away from the barrel,” says Knust. “The curveball is more like a slurve.”
After spending the summer of 2021 with the Ohio Valley League’s Madisonville (Ky.) Miners, Knust is now relieving for the 2022 Northwoods League’s Battle Creek (Mich.) Battle Jacks.
Through games of July 20, the southpaw had made 15 appearances (10 scoreless) and was 2-1 with a 2.60 ERA, 15 strikeouts and eight walks in 17 1/3 innings.
“It’s more about hitting my pitches, working on my spots and just becoming a better pitcher this summer,” says Knust of his in-game goals.
Caleb Lang, an assistant at Concordia University Nebraska is Battle Creek’s manager. IU Southeast faced Concordia in Lewiston in 2021.
Away from the diamond, there is also bonding and fun on a BC squad made up largely of NAIA players — including Concordia’s Joey Grabanski and Jacob Lycan and Indiana University-Kokomo’s Patrick Mills — with a few D-1’s sprinkled in.
“We’re almost getting to the point where we’re a big family now,” says Knust.
A few times, host families have allowed some of the Battle Jacks to use their boat to chill on the lake followed by cornhole and a cookout at their house.
Knust was born in Jasper, Ind., and grew up in nearby Saint Anthony.
He played T-ball at Pine Ridge Elementary in Birdseye. His only summer of travel ball came during high school with the Louisville-based Ironmen Prime.
At Forest Park, Knust played football for head coach Ross Fuhs and baseball for Jarred Howard.
“(Fuhs) was more of an understanding coach,” says Knust. “You could talk to him about anything in life. He’d always be there for you.
“(Howard) got the most out of every player and he tried to make you a better person.”
Knust, who has two years of playing eligibility left, is a Marketing major with a Professional Sales minor.
“An IU degree in marketing is one of the best you can get,” says Knust. “I enjoy talking and getting to know people.”
Gavin is the youngest of Steve and Melissa Knust’s three sons.
Ethan Knust (27) works for a concrete company. Eli Knust (25), who played baseball at Huntington (Ind.) University and against Gavin in 2021, works at Memorial Hospital in Jasper and assists Ethan with a concrete side business.
Steve Knust is a plumber. Melissa Knust is an oncology nurse at Memorial Hospital.

Gavin Knust (Indiana University Southeast Photo)

Gavin Knust (Indiana University Southeast Photo)

Gavin Knust (Indiana University Southeast Photo)

Gavin Knust (Indiana University Southeast Photo)

Notre Dame bound for Statesboro Regional; Look who conferences honored

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
Missouri State 9, Illinois State 4

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

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

Mid-American Conference Tournament
Central Michigan 11, Toledo 10

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

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

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

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

Mid-American Conference Tournament
Ball State 6, Ohio 4

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
Dallas Baptist 4, Bradley 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Horizon League
Championship
Wright State 24, Oakland 0

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

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

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

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

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

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

Woeste sets table for IU Southeast’s first NAIA World Series team

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

Clay Woeste just played in the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, where he made the all-tournament team as Indiana University Southeast’s starting second baseman and lead-off hitter.
The NAIA Ball Podcast selected righty swinger Woeste (.374, 8 home runs, 21 runs batted in, 89 runs scored, 38 stolen bases and a 1.053 OPS) as second-team All-America and Grenadiers head coach Ben Reel as National Coach of the Year.
While finishing fifth in its first World Series appearance, IUS went 50-16 overall and 26-1 in the River States Conference.
At 22, Woeste (pronounced Wee-Stee) can look back on many baseball memories.
“It was surreal,” says Woeste of playing in Lewiston. “That’s the best way to describe it.
“That’s all we ever talked about and we were finally there.”
But once the games began, it was all-business for the Grenadiers.
“We would do what you’ve been doing all year,” says Woeste. “Our guys were so special to be around.
“No matter what was thrown our way we found a way to get through it.”
During the season, shortstop Daunte DeCelllo went out with an injury and Woeste moved to that side of the infield. DeCello came back at the end of year then RSC Player of the Year Matt Monahan got hurt and missed the postseason.
Yet IUS just kept going.
“No matter what was thrown our way we found a way to get through it,” says Woeste.
Reel, who just completed his 13th campaign at the school in New Albany, has built a national power with limited resources.
“He has the ability to recruit amazing guys and he does with only one scholarship,” says Woeste. “It’s amazing.
“We work really hard in the fall and when we go out in the spring he just lets us play. We reap what we sow.”
Woeste considers his athletic quality to be the work ethic and durability that has helped him stay on the field day in and day out.
“I keep my body healthy,” says Woeste, a 6-foot-1, 195-pounder.
That body has stolen 89 bases in 97 attempts from 2018-21.
“My sophomore year I came into my own stealing bases (swiping 34-of-34),” say Woeste. “Coach Reel saw that and started leading off all the time and I was pretty much given the green light.”
Woeste was supposed to play in the Coastal Plain League in the summer of 2020 but when the COVID-19 pandemic caused that loop to shutdown he took on with the Thoroughbreds in the Louisville Collegiate League, which played most its games at Trinity High School.
This summer, Woeste is with the CPL’s Holly Springs (N.C.) Salamanders, coached by Kevin Soine.
With a double major (Professional Selling and Marketing) and a minor (Communication) already completed, he plans to return to IU Southeast for his pandemic-related extra year of baseball eligibility.
The diamond has been a big part of his life all these years. But that was not his first sport.
Clay had his hand on the throttle before he really had his hand on a bat. At 5, he was racing 50 cc machines in motocross.
His parents — Matt and Karen Woeste — moved from northern Kentucky to Aurora, Ind., so fourth grader Clay could ride on a track owned by the family of Ezra Hastings (who is now a professional motocross racer).
Since there was no motocross in the winter, Clay played basketball in the winter. His hoops coach — Bill Rose — persuaded him to play in what is now called Aurora Youth Baseball.
“I never really turned back after that,” says Woeste, who raced until 11 and placed in the top three twice and won at the Amateur National Motocross Championships at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn., then turned more and more attention to the diamond.
When he reached middle school, Woeste played for the Cincinnati Tribe travel organization.
During his high school years, he was with Reds RBI team coached by Roosevelt Barnes, father of Tribe teammate R.J. Barnes.
“We got close and I went with him,” says Clay of R.J. Roosevelt Barnes is now also the head baseball coach at LaSalle High School in Green Township, Ohio.
Woeste played briefly during his senior summer for the Midland RedHawks and then that fall with the Midland Redskins.
After attending South Dearborn schools for grades 4-8 and transferred to Lawrenceburg (Ind.) High School as a freshman and played four baseball seasons for Tigers head coach Nick Tremain.
“He was a great coach with us,” says Woeste. “My freshmen year he was more hands-on and harder. He developed us so that by the time we were seniors we just went out and played
“That’s why we were so good our senior year.”
In 2017, Lawrenceburg (31-2) won the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference and IHSAA Class 3A South Dearborn Sectional then topped Boonville 7-5 in the semifinals of the North Harrison Regional before bowing 4-2 to eventual state champion Jasper in the final.

Clay Woeste (IU Southeast Photo)
Clay Woeste hits for Indiana University Southeast during the 2021 NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho. (IU Southeast Photo)

Notre Dame advances to Super Regional; slates close for ISU, IUS

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

Notre Dame powered its way to a South Bend Regional championship and now the Irish know they will play host and No. 7 national seed Mississippi State in the NCAA Division I tournament‘s Starkville Super Regional (the Bulldogs went unbeaten in winning the Starkville Regional, which wrapped Monday, June 7).
The winner of that best-of-3 super regional series June 11-14 at Dudy Noble Field/Polk-DeMent Stadium will advance to the eight-team College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
Former Indiana University head coach Chris Lemonis is the bench boss for the MSU Bulldogs.
Link Jarrett is in his second season as head coach at Notre Dame (33-11).
The No. 10 seed Irish lashed 49 hits with 23 for extra bases and 15 home runs in beating Central Michigan 10-0, Connecticut 26-3 and Central Michigan 14-2 Friday through Sunday June 4-6 at Frank Eck Stadium in taking the South Bend Regional.
Irish senior first baseman Niko Kavadas (Penn High School graduate) belted two home runs and drove in four runs in the first win against CMU.
The lefty slugger that smacked two homers and drove in eight against UConn. In the second game against Central Michigan, Kavadas hit one homer (his school record-setting 21st of the season) with one RBI.
The other dingers rang off the bats of junior Carter Putz (4), senior Ryan Cole (3), junior Brooks Coetzee (2) and senior David LaManna.
Indiana State saw its season end at the Nashville Regional hosted by Vanderbilt. The Mitch Hannahs-coached Sycamores lost 7-6 to Georgia Tech, beat Presbyterian 9-2 and lost 9-0 to Georgia Tech.
Redshirt junior Jordan Schaffer (West Vigo High School) hit .367 with seven homers, one triple, 10 doubles, 34 runs batted in, 52 runs scored and 11 stolen bases for ISU (31-21).
Indiana University Southeast was greeted by a large crowd when it got back to New Albany after its first appearance in the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho.
Playing May 28-June 1, Ben Reel’s Grenadiers (50-16) topped against Concordia (Neb) 4-2, lost 11-5 to Central Methodist (Mo.), bested Keiser (Fla.) 9-7 and lost 14-10 to Faulkner (Ala,).
For the season, senior Matt Monahan (who missed the World Series because of injury) hit .428, junior Brody Tanksley (Bedford North Lawrence High School) drove in 70 runs and junior Clay Woeste (Lawrenceburg High School) stole 38 bases.
Georgia Gwinnett — coached by former Saint Joseph’s College (Rensselaer, Ind.) assistant Jeremy Sheetinger — won the red banner as 2021 NAIA national champions. Sheets returned to coaching this season after serving with the American Baseball Coaches Association. He hosts the Dugout Chatter Podcast Powered by Stick & Ball TV.

INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL
Records Through June 7
NCAA Division I
Ball State 38-18 (25-11 MAC)
Notre Dame 33-11 (25-10 ACC)
Evansville 28-27 (11-16 MVC)
Indiana State 31-21 (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 50-16 (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)

Niko Kavadas (U. of Notre Dame Photo)

IU Southeast gearing up for first NAIA World Series trip

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Indiana University Southeast has been oh-so close to punching its ticket to the NAIA Baseball World Series in recent years.

In 2021, the Grenadiers finally made it and will be in Lewiston, Idaho for the 10-team event, which begins May 28 and runs through June 4.

“We’ve been moving vertically over the last decade,” says Ben Reel, IU Southeast’s 13th-year head coach. “We’ve learned what wins and what doesn’t to win the big game you’ve got to have a lot of resiliency, chemistry and poise.

“That’s what we’re looking at from a recruiting standpoint — those intangibles.”

The Grenadiers have a roster with 20 players from Indiana high schools. In the final game of NAIA Opening Round Kingsport Bracket, there were five of them in the starting lineup.

In that contest against No. 1-ranked Tennessee Wesleyan, this was Reel’s batting order: Lawrenceburg’s Clay Woeste (.371, 7 home runs, 50 runs batted in, 35 stolen bases) at second base, Drew Hensley (Bedford North Lawrence) .402, 0, 15) at first base, Brody Tanksley (Bedford North Lawrence) .355, 18, 69) at catcher, Marco Romero (Caracas, Venezuela) .370, 6, 55) in right field, Derek Wagner (Tri-West Hendricks) .314, 4, 25) in left field, John Ullom (Louisville, Ky.) .361, 5, 42) in center field), Ben Berenda (Lafayette Central Catholic) .247, 0, 32) at designated hitter, Jacob Scott (Huntington Beach, Calif.) .316, 5, 53) at third base and Daunte Decello (Hamilton, Ohio) .366, 1 29) at shortstop.

“I love homegrown players,” says Reel, a native of Dillsboro, Ind., and South Dearborn High School graduate. “There’s something to be said about development.

“This is a program.”

IU Southeast prides itself in having a team full of battlers at the dish.

“We’re definitely going to grind it out at the plate,” says Reel. “We’re tough to strikeout and fast on the bases.”

As a team, the Grenadiers are hitting .332, 62 homers and  526 runs (8.4 per game) with a .949 OPS (.434 on-base percentage plus .515 slugging average).

At 48-14 (including 26 in the River States Conference), the 2021 IU Southeast team has tied the school record for single-season victories set in 2017.

But it hasn’t been all smooth sailing. 

Including being swept in a four-game home series Feb. 26-27 against Huntington (which wound up 33-16), the Grenadiers got off to a 5-10 start.

Since March 3, IU Southeast is 43-4 with win streaks of 18, 14 and six games (current).

After going 26-1 during the River States Conference regular season, the Grenadiers beat Point Park (40-16) to win the RSC tournament title.

The Kingsport (Tenn.) NAIA Opening Round saw IUS win one-run games against Warner (33-23) and No. 1-ranked Tennessee Wesleyan before another World Series berth-clinching win against the Bulldogs (53-6).

Along the way, IU Southeast has had to deal with injuries (RSC Player of the Year and New Lenox, Ill., native Matt Monahan, who hit 428 with 14 homers and 55 RBIs, went out with a season-ending ailment late) and then there’s been all the COVID-19 testing, virtual classes and other issues.

“We’ve been through a lot of trials and tribulations,” says Reel. “But it’s not about what people think you’re supposed to do, it’s about what you’re actually going to do. 

“We’ve focused on the little things. We’ve always tried to put our team in the best situation. You have to plan ahead or you’re going to plan to fail.”

The Grenadiers’ pitching strength comes from its depth. It’s not an insult to say “Johnny Wholestaff” is pitching today.

“Johnny’s alive and well down here,” says Reel. “That’s given us a lot of confidence.”

Left-hander Hunter Kloke (Henderson, Ky.) is 9-1 with a 3.01 earned run average and has made 17 mound appearances (14 starts).

Right-hander Cade Reynolds (Greensburg) is 5-2 with a 3.45 ERA with 15 appearances (13 starts).

Besides his first base duties, right-hander Hensley is 8-3 with a 5.21 ERA on the bump with 16 appearances (12 starts).

Lefty Trevor Reynolds (Greensburg) is 9-1 with a 2.81 ERA. All but three of his 22 games are in relief.

There are eight other pitches with at least 10 appearances.

The saves leaders are right-hander Jacob Frankel (Louisville, Ky.) with four at a 1-1 record, righty Brenden Bube (Lanesville) with three at 4-3 mark and right-hander Lane Oesterling (Batestville) with two and a 5-1 ledger.

“The moment has not too big for (our pitchers),” says Reel. “We’ve made some great plays defensively.

“When we need to make a play we’ve found a way to make it.”

While the NAIA World Series will be a first-time experience for Reel and his program, he will be among friends Idaho.

LSU Shreveport (La.) coach Brad Neffendorf is probably Reel’s best friend in baseball. They were groomsmen in each other’s weddings and Reel is the godfather to Kash Neffendorf.

Jeremy Sheetinger will have his Georgia Gwinett team there. Reel knows Sheets from his days at Brescia. 

Reel also counts Southeastern (Fla.) coach Adrian Dinkel as a buddy and he met Central Methodist (Mo.) coach Nate Breland this past year.

The field will also feature Concordia (Neb.), Faulkner (Ala.), Keiser (Fla.), Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) and Oklahoma Wesleyan.

Reel and his team are learning about all the travel details that goes with playing across the country.

Then there’s the fact that he came home to wife Morgan and newborn son Beckham (born April 24 and in NICU for the first seven days) and water issues at the house.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” says Reel. “I guess (my son) is my lucky charm.”

Ben Reel (Indiana University Southeast Photo)

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)

Coronavirus measures cause abrupt end to ’20 college baseball season in Indiana

RBILOGOSMALL copy

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Who saw this coming?

Because of concerns about the Coronavirus pandemic, most of the college baseball seasons in Indiana came to a premature end.

COVID-19 has caused campuses to shut down with many schools going to remote learning and social distancing practiced across the country. The NCAA, NAIA and National Junior College Athletic Association all decided to cancel their tournaments and baseball schedules have been wiped out.

“It’s been a learning curve for everybody,” says 17th-year Bethel University coach Seth Zartman. “Everything just happened so fast. It almost seems surreal.”

On Monday, March 13, the Mishawaka-based Pilots were 45 minutes from an intra-squad session when the NAIA made its announcement.

That’s when Zartman and his assistants had to inform players that the season was over.

“It’s one of the most not-fun meetings I’ve ever had to do with the team,” says Zartman, who saw his team conclude 2019-20 at 19-7, including 11-0 in the fall. “We helped them get prepared for online classes. On Tuesday, we had equipment check-in. That’s where we’re sitting at this point.

“We’ll savor what we were able to get done and accomplish and move on.”

Junior Cole Searles hit .395 (32-of-81) for Bethel. Senior Mike Wathier (Crown Point High School graduate) hit .337, belted four home runs and drove in 29 runs. Senior Kawambee Moss hit. 382 and stole 15 bases.

Senior right-handed pitcher Justin Rasmussen went 6-1 with a 2.59 earned run average and 37 strikeouts in 45 2/3 innings.

For a few years, Bethel has taken advantage of an NAIA rule which allows baseball and softball teams to scheduled counter games in the fall.

“It’s something we’ve come to appreciate,” says Zartman. “It brings a better focus to our fall season. It helps us come closer to the 55-game limit and there’s nicer weather to do it in (in the fall).”

The NCAA (D-I) and NAIA granted every current spring sport athlete an extra year of eligibility if they want to use it.

“That’s another process we’re going to have to navigate,” says Zartman. “I’m not sure how many will come back or take advantage of that at this point.”

The NCAA is expected to announce its decision on other levels by March 20.

The Bethel campus is still open, but many students including players, have decided to go home and continue course work via computer. For that reason, Zartman expects that any exit interviews he does will likely be done by phone.

Zartman, with his office away from many of the other BU employees, has been diving into paperwork he probably would not have tackled until May or June. Wife Antira is a teacher in the Jimtown system and goes in three days a week. The four Zartman children are staying home like the rest of their schoolmates.

“We’re hanging onto a new normal right now,” says Zartman.

Of the 38 college baseball programs in Indiana, 13 are in the NAIA. Besides Bethel, they include Calumet of Saint Joseph, Goshen, Grace, Huntington, Indiana Tech, Indiana Wesleyan, Indiana University Kokomo, Indiana University South Bend, Indiana University Southeast, Marian, Saint Francis and Taylor.

When the season came to a halt, No. 12-ranked IU Southeast was 18-1. The New Albany-based Grenadiers’ last game was an 11-7 win against Lindsey Wilson in Columbia, Ky., on March 11. The only loss (6-5 in eight innings) came March 4 in the first game of a doubleheader at then-No. 25 Campbellsville (Ky.).

Sophomore Daunte Decello hit .519 (27-of-51) for the Grenadiers. Junior Clay Woeste (Lawrenceburg) hit .368, belted five homers, plated 25 runs and stole 15 bases.

Junior left-hander Hunter Kloke posted a 2.45 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings.

Ben Reel, who has been IU Southeast’s head coach since 2009, is choosing to see the positives in the situation.

“I learned a lot during this time,” says Reel. “You think you’ve seen it all and done it all and you’re dead wrong.”

Reel recalls his high school psychology class and the five stages of grief and loss — denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

In talking with his network of fellow coaches, including former Grenadiers assistant Andrew Dickson (now at Yale, where the Ivy League was among the first to shut down for 2020), Reel found a recurring theme.

“We weren’t really prepared to be the middle men between our universities and our players,” says Reel. “They’re confused. They’re upset.

“You’re the point person to make sense of everything.”

Reel’s focus throughout his coaching career is to recruit people he wants to be around everyday.

“That’s what hurts the most,” says Reel. “We’re prevented from being around the people we love and that’s our players.”

Another message that Reel has bought into and that’s to use this time without daily baseball for personal growth.

“I’m going to get better at something,” says Reel. “You have time to do whatever you want do and whatever you need to do.”

NAIA

Brian Nowakowski’s Calumet College of St. Joseph Crimson Wave finished 3-11.

Sophomore Noah Miller hit .389 (14-of-36) and stole seven bases. Sophomore right-hander Zach Verta slugged two homers and drove in 11 runs while also going 2-1 as a pitcher. Junior Jake Everaert (Hebron) had a 6.50 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 18 innings.

The Alex Childers-coached Goshen Maple Leafs finished 7-11.

Senior Ben Longacre hit .361 (22-of-61). Freshman Nate Lange knocked in 12 runs and stole four bases.

Senior right-hander Braedon Evans posted a 5.75 ERA. Freshman right-hander Landon Roth went 2-0 on the mound. Sophomore right-hander Kade Gorman (Noblesville) fanned 17 batters in 18 1/3 innings.

Ryan Roth’s Grace Lancers went 6-10.

Sophomore Chris Griffin hit .415 (22-of-53). Senior David Anderson hit .315 drove in 12 runs. Sophomore Sam Newkirk smacked three homers. Freshman Patrick Danforth (Monrovia) stole four bases

Freshman Nick Stoltzfus went 2-0 on the bump. Junior Houston Haney (Westview) went 1-2 and posted a 3.46 ERA. Freshman Tanner Clark (Columbia City) whiffed 19 batters in 19 1/3 innings.

Mike Frame’s Huntington Foresters wound up at 5-7.

Junior Daniel Lichty hit .432 (19-of-44) and plated nine runs. Sophomore Langston Ginder (Fort Wayne Carroll) popped two homers. Sophomore Satchell Wilson (Lapel) stole four bases.

Senior left-hander Alex McCutcheon (Huntington North) went 2-2 as a pitcher. Senior right-hander Mason Shinabery (Bellmont) went 1-1 and produced a 1.38 ERA and fanned 25 in 26 innings.

Rich Benamin’s Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats went 10-9.

Junior Denver Blinn hit .369 (24-of-65) with four homers and 22 RBIs. Senior Tanner Killian hit .284 and belted five homers. Freshman Colby Jenkins (New Palestine) stole six bases.

Senior right-hander Conner Cantrell (Center Grove) went 3-1 on the mound. Senior left-hander Austin Swift delivered a 0.32 ERA and struck out 22 in 19 innings.

Todd Bacon’s Marian Knights finished 10-9.

Senior Shane Peisker hit .493 (34-of-69). Senior Evan Hickman (New Palestine) hit. 286 and drove in 16 runs. Four Knights — Hickman, sophomore Sean Dieppa, sophomore Caden Jones (Crawfordsville) and senior Caleb Myers (Lebanon) — rapped two homers each.

Freshman right-hander Trey Heidlage (Batesville) swiped five bases. Sophomore right-hander Ty Lautenschlager (West Vigo) went 3-0 as a pitcher. Junior right-hander Reese Wills (Hamilton Heights) fanned 28 in 18 2/3 innings.

The Saint Francis Cougars of Dustin Butcher concluded at 9-10.

Junior David Miller hit .308 (12-of-39) and stole seven bases. Senior Brady Harris (Cowan) hit .274 and collected 15 RBIs. Junior Mikhail McCowin (Fort Wayne Bishop Luers) smacked three homers. Senior Kyle DeKonick went 2-0 on the mound.

Senior left-hander Matt Fiorini (2-2) posted a 2.57 ERA and struck out 27 in 28 innings.

Kyle Gould’s Taylor Trojans went 13-5.

Sophomore Nick Rusche (New Palestine) hit .405 (30-of-74). Sophomore Ben Kalbaugh hit .379 and drove in 21 runs. Sophomore T.J. Bass (Greenwood Community) slammed six homers. Junior Jonathan Foster (Columbus East) stole six bases.

Junior right-hander Noah Huseman, senior right-hander Justin Pettit (Jennings County) and senior right-hander Tucker Waddups (Pioneer) are went 2-0 on the mound. Huseman produced a 3.00 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 21 innings.

Doug Buysse’s Indiana University South Bend Titans went 7-9.

Sophomore Logan Young (Shelbyville) hit .405 (17-of-42) with two homers and 13 RBIs. Sophomore Colin Mack (Morgan Township) stole 11 bases.

Senior left-hander Troy Cullen (Griffith) went 2-2 posted a 2.87 ERA. Freshman right-hander Robbie Berger (John Glenn) went 2-1 and fanned 19 in 18 innings.

Matt Howard’s Indiana University Kokomo Cougars finished 12-10.

Senior Austin Weiler hit .405 (30-of-74) with five homers. Sophomore Noah Hurlock (Kokomo High School) hit .344 with three homers and knocked in 19 runs. Junior Jared Heard (New Castle) hit .343 with three homers and 15 RBIs. Junior Bryce Lenz (Avon) purloined seven bases.

Junior left-hander Owen Callaghan (Hamilton Southeastern) went 3-2 and pitched to a 3.41 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings.

Kip McWilliams’ No. 11 Indiana Tech Warriors wrapped at 11-5.

Junior Mike Snyder (Fort Wayne Northrop) hit .400 (20-of-50) with 10 homers and drove in 26 runs. Sophomore Jacob Daftari (Hamilton Southeastern) hit .359 with three homers. Junior Ashtin Moxey stole three bases.

Senior left-hander Charles Dunavan went 3-0 on the mound with a 1.88 ERA. Sophomore Hayes Sturtsman (Manchester) pitched to a 1.13 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 16 innings.

NCAA D-I

The NCAA Division I College World Series — held each year since 1947 — has been called off for 2020.

The state has nine D-I baseball programs — Ball State, Butler, Evansville, Purdue, Purdue Fort Wayne, Indiana, Indiana State, Notre Dame and Valparaiso.

Rich Maloney’s RPI No. 210 Ball State Cardinals (7-9) were led offensively by sophomore Noah Navarro (Avon), who hit .377 (20-of-53) with one homer and seven stolen bases. Junior Trenton Quartermaine hit .366 (18-of-50) with 13 RBIs.

Freshman left-hander Tyler Schweitzer (Hamilton Southeastern) went 2-0 with a 3.24 ERA. Junior right-hander Kyle Nicolas (0-1, 2.74) struck out 37 in 23 innings. Senior right-hander John Baker (1-2, 2.42) fanned 27 in 22 1/3 innings.

Dave Schrage’s RPI No. 231 Butler Bulldogs (8-7) were led at the plate by junior Nick Ortega, who hit .283 (13-of-46) with 11 RBIs.

On the mound, junior right-hander Jack Myers (Indianapolis Cathedral) went 2-2 with a 4.04 ERA and whiffed 34 batters in 24 2/3 innings. Junior right-hander Connor Schultz (2-1, 3.04) fanned 26 in 23 2/3 innings.

Wes Carroll’s RPI No. 195 Evansville Purple Aces (5-11) were paced at the plate by junior Mason Brinkley, who hit .359 (14-of-39), and junior Tanner Craig (Austin), who hit .345 (20-of-58) with seven homers and 19 RBIs. Senior Troy Beilsmith stolen six bases.

Sophomore right-hander Shane Gray (1-1, 3.57) struck out 19 in 22 2/3 innings. Senior left-hander Nathan Croner (1-1, 3.26) whiffed 18 in 19 1/3 innings. Senior right-hander David Ellis (Princeton Community) went 2-1 to lead the staff in victories.

Greg Goff’s RPI No. 134 Purdue Boilermakers (7-7) saw sophomore Evan Albrecht hit .364 (16-of-44) with 14 RBIs and three stolen bases, junior Ben Nisle (Lake Central) .320 (16-of-50), senior Skyler Hunter .315 (17-of-54) with 11 RBIs. Junior Miles Simington knocked in 10.

Freshman right-hander Jett Jackson (1-0, 1.89) with 13 strikeouts in 19 innings and wins leader and sophomore right-hander Cory Brooks (2-2, 5.12) with 16 K’s in 19 1/3 innings were among the pitching leaders.

Doug Schreiber’s RPI No. 262 Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons (5-10) was guided in the batter’s box by sophomore Aaron Chapman, who hit .382 (26-of-68) with 11 RBIs and sophomore Dylan Stewart, who hit .381 (16-of-42) with five stolen bases.

Senior right-hander Cameron Boyd (Fishers) went 2-2 with a 5.87 ERA and struck out 21 in 23 innings. Sophomore left-hander Justin Miller (Homestead) went 1-1 with a 5.94 ERA and fanned 20 in 16 2/3 innings.

Jeff Mercer’s RPI No. 39 Indiana Hoosiers (9-7) were guided at bat by sophomore Grant Richardson (Fishers), who hit .424 (25-of-59) with five homers and 17 RBIs and junior Elijah Dunham (Evansville Reitz), who hit .390 (23-of-59). Junior Drew Ashley (Evansville Memorial) hit .288 with two homers and drove in 12 runs. Jordan Fucci (.283) blasted two homers and plated 14. Junior Cole Barr (Yorktown) also smacked two homers. Senior Jeremy Houston swiped a team-best three bases.

Sophomore right-hander Gabe Bierman (Jeffersonville) went 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA and struck out 24 in 22 innings. Junior left-hander Tommy Sommer (Carmel) went 2-1 with a 2.61 ERA and fanned 17 in 20 2/3 innings. Sophomore right-hander Brayden Tucker (Northview) went 2-1 with a 4.58 ERA and whiffed 10 in 19 2/3 innings.

Mitch Hannahs’ RPI No. 100 Indiana State Sycamores (8-6) were led offensively by freshman Dominic Cusumano, who hit .341 (14-of-41) and junior Jordan Schaffer (West Vigo), who hit .321 (17-of-53) with two stolen bases. Junior Miguel Rivera (.261) knocked in 11 runs and junior Brian Fuentes (.245) plated 10. Fuentes and freshman Diego Gines both belted two homers.

Freshman left-hander Cameron Edmonson (2-1, 1.96) struck out 25 in 18 1/3 innings. Senior right-hander Collin Liberatore (2-1, 4.95) whiffed 10 in 20 innings. Junior left-hander Tristan Weaver (1-1, 1.85) fanned 34 in 24 1/3 innings. Senior left-hander Tyler Grauer (0-1, 1.59) collected five saves and struck out 23 in 11 1/3 innings.

Link Jarrett’s RPI No. 31 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-2) were led at bat by junior Spencer Myers, who hit .431 (25-of-58) with 15 stolen bases and graduate student Eric Gilgenbach, who hit .370 (10-of-27). Junior Niko Kavadas (Penn) drove in 17 runs, freshman Jack Brannigan 11, Gilgenbach 10, sophomore Carter Putz 10 and junior Jared Miller 10.

Junior left-hander Tommy Vail (3-0, 2.08) produced 24 strikeouts with 17 1/3 innings while junior left-hander Tommy Sheehan (3-0, 2.70) whiffed 22 in 23 1/3 innings.

Brian Schmack’s RPI No. 152 Valparaiso Crusaders (2-10) saw senior Riley Dent hit .311 (19-of-61) with one homer and seven RBI. Juniors Troy Jones and Jonathan Temple also plated seven runs apiece. Freshman Nolan Tucker (Hanover Central) swiped four bases.

Senior right-hander Easton Rhodehouse (1-2, 3.45) struck out 20 in 15 2/3 innings.

NCAA D-II

Al Ready’s Indianapolis Greyhounds finished 12-3.

Senior and Center Grove product Will Smithey (8-of-20) and sophomore Ty Williams (10-of-25) both hit .400. Smithey has four homers, 16 RBIs and three stolen bases.

Senior left-hander Myc Witty (Lawrence North) and senior right-hander Reid Werner (Greenwood Community) were both 3-0 on the mound. Witty has a 1.59 ERA. Senior left-hander Corey Bates (1-1) has fanned 30 batters in 18 1/3 innings.

Tracy Archuleta’s Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles finished 6-8.

Senior Manny Lopez hit .356 (16-of-45) with two homers and 12 RBIs. Sophomore Lucas McNew (Borden) hit .327 with two homers and 12 RBIs. Junior Ethan Hunter (Terre Haute South Vigo) and junior Bryce Krizan (Mount Vernon of Posey) had three stolen bases apiece.

On the mound, senior right-hander Tyler Hagedorn (Evansville North) went 2-0 and senior right-hander Jacob Bowles was 2-1. Sophomore left-hander Sammy Barnett (Silver Creek) struck out 16 in 14 innings.

T-Ray Fletcher’s Oakland City Mighty Oaks finished 4-9.

Senior Devan Franz (Boonville) hit .375 (15-of-40) with a homer and 10 RBIs.

Senior right-hander Tristan Cummings (Tecumseh) went 2-2 on the mound with a 2.28 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings.

Dave Griffin’s Purdue Northwest Pride wound up 4-5.

Senior Danny Schneberger hit .308 (4-of-13). Senior Hunter Thorn (Portage) hit a homer and drove in five runs. Junior Jacob Soules stole three bases.

Freshman right-hander Hunter Robinson (New Prairie) went 2-0 on the hill. Freshman right-hander Tristan Baker (Fishers) posted a 1.50 ERA. Junior right-hander Chad Patrick (Hebron) racked up 12 strikeouts in 10 innings.

NCAA D-III

Matt Bair’s Anderson Ravens finished 6-3.

Junior Joe Moran (Anderson High School) hit .563 (18-of-32) with one homer and six stolen bases. As a right-handed pitcher, he was 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 20 innings. He is slated to be the Heartland College Athletic Conference’s first player in the prestigious Cape Cod League this summer.

Freshman Justin Reed (Martinsville) hit .286 with nine RBIs. Senior Branton Sanders (Whiteland) swiped eight bases. Junior left-hander Kasey Henderson (Cowan) was also 2-0 on the bump.

Blake Allen’s DePauw Tigers went 4-4 with sophomore Evan Barnes hitting .444 (8-of-18), freshman Kyle Boyer .375 (9-of-24) with two homers, junior Jackson Williams (Brebeuf Jesuit) .344 (11-of-32) and sophomore Kyle Callahan (Zionsville) .324 (11-of-32) with two homers and 18 RBIs.

Senior right-hander Tom Giella went 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA and nine strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings.

The Earlham Quakers of Steve Sakosits wound up at 7-3.

Junior Brian Pincura hit .346 (9-of-26) and junior Marc Gendreau .341 (15-of-44). Senior Danny Dopp homered twice and knocked in 13 runs. Senior Isaiah Shake (Bloomington South) stole nine bases.

Sophomore right-hander Aidan Talarek went 2-0 with an 0.00 ERA on the hill. Senior right-hander Kyle Gorman fanned 19 batters in 16 1/3 innings.

The Franklin Grizzlies of Lance Marshall went 5-3.

Junior Logan Demkovich (Munster) hit .500 (10-of-20) with 12 RBIs. Senior Jarrod Smith (Frankfort) batted .400 with two homers. Seniors Ryan Bixler (Lewis Cass), Brandt Pawley and Quenton Wellington (Indianapolis Bishop Chatard) had stolen three bases each.

On the mound, junior right-hander Mitch Merica (North Montgomery) finished 3-0 with a 2.57 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 14 innings.

Grant Bellak’s Hanover Panthers went 7-7.

Sophomore Charlie Burton (Columbus East) hit .353 (18-of-51) with three homers and 12 RBIs and sophomore Jake Schaefer .350 (14-of-40) with five stolen bases.

Sophomore left-hander Andrew Littlefield went 2-1 on the mound with a 3.32 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 19 innings. Junior right-hander Justin Pope (Fishers) whiffed 14 in 10 2/3 innings.

Rick Espeset’s Manchester Spartans wrapped at 2-5.

Junior Joe Henschel (Fort Wayne Carroll) hit .409 (9-of-22) with two homers and eight RBIs.

Senior right-hander Nick Rush (Terre Haute North Vigo) went 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA and had nine strikeouts in nine innings. Sophomore right-hander Zach White (Logansport) went 1-0, 1.13) and fanned eight in eight innings.

Rose-Hulman’s Jeff Jenkins earned his 800th career coaching victory March 3 against Saint Joseph’s (Maine) in Florida. His Fightin’ Engineers finished 4-3.

Freshman Andy Krajecki hit. 438 (7-of-16), sophomore Josh Mesenbrink .417 (10-of-24) and junior Luke Kluemper (Monrovia) .409 (9-of-22). Junior Shaine Mitchell (Brebeuf Jesuit) stole three bases.

Senior left-hander Luke Buehler (Guerin Catholic) went 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA and was among the pitching leaders. Sophomore right-hander Matthew Rouse racked up 12 strikeouts in 10 innings

The Trine Thunder wrapped at 9-2 under coach Greg Perschke.

Junior A.J. Mitchell hit .375 (15-of-40), Jake Conley .333 with 11 RBIs and Shayne Devine (Portage) hit .364 with 10 RBIs. Senior Nick Ricci (Crown Point) cracked the lone homer.

Junior left-hander Kyle Robinson (2-0, 0.00), sophomore right-hander Bryce Bloode (2-0, 2.93) and junior right-hander Drew Cebulak (1-0, 1.50) with 16 strikeouts in 12 innings were among the mound leaders. Robinson prepped at Crown Point and Bloode at New Prairie.

Jake Martin’s Wabash Little Giants finished 6-2.

Senior Jackson Blevins (Plainfield) hit .500 (15-of-30). Junior Andrew Jumonville (Munster) drove in nine runs. Junior Sean Smith (Peru) hit both of the team’s homers and was 2-0 on the mound. Sophomore Austin Simmers (Jasper) stole three bases.

Junior Tyler Dearing (McCutcheon) went 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA and whiffed 16 in 11 innings.

JUNIOR COLLEGE

Chris Woodruff’s Ancilla Chargers wound up 5-10.

Freshman Daniel Wright (Western) hit .350 (7-of-20). Emitt Zimmerman (Carroll of Flora) knocked in nine runs. Freshman Bryce Huntley (New Castle) swiped four bases.

Freshman left-hander Weston Record (Logansport) was the pitching workhorse, going 1-2 with a 4.07 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings.

The Ivy Tech Northeast Titans finished 6-5 under coach Lance Hershberger.

Sophomore Eric Doyle (Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger) hit .553 (21-of-38) with 11 stolen bases and freshman Robert Irgang (Wabash) .529 (9-of-17) with 10 RBIs.

Sophomore Brandon Bultemeier (Adams Central) went 2-0, 1.46 and sophomore Matt Jindra (Valparaiso) 0-0, 2.25 with 14 strikeouts in 16 innings as pitching stalwarts.

Chris Barney’s Vincennes Trailblazers went 10-5.

Sophomore Ryan Robison (New Albany) hit .404 (19-of-47) with three homers and 21 RBIs and freshman Landen Freestone (Shenandoah) .400 (12-of-30). Sophomore Jared Sermerheim (Jasper) stole eight bases.

Sophomore right-hander Nate Toone (3-0, 3.48) struck out 19 in 20 2/2 innings while left-hander Robison (2-0, 0.89) fanned 20 in 20 1/3 innings.

INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL

Final 2020 Records

NCAA Division I

Ball State 7-9 (0-0 Mid-American)

Butler 8-7 (0-0 Big East)

Evansville 5-11 (0-0 Missouri Valley)

Indiana 9-6 (0-0 Big Ten)

Indiana State  8-6 (0-0 Missouri Valley)

Notre Dame 11-2 (3-0 Atlantic Coast)

Purdue 7-7 (0-0 Big Ten)

Purdue Fort Wayne 5-10 (0-0 Summit)

Valparaiso 2-14 (0-0 Missouri Valley)

NCAA Division II

Indianapolis 12-3 (2-1 Great Lakes Valley)

Oakland City 4-9

Purdue Northwest 4-5 (0-0 Great Lakes Intercollegiate)

Southern Indiana 6-8 (1-1 Great Lakes Valley)

NCAA Division III

Anderson 6-3 (0-0 Heartland)

DePauw 4-4 (0-0 North Coast)

Earlham 7-3 (0-0 Heartland)

Franklin 5-3 (0-0 Heartland)

Hanover 7-7 (0-0 Heartland)

Manchester 2-5 (0-0 Heartland)

Rose-Hulman 4-3 (0-0 Heartland)

Trine 9-2 (0-0 Michigan Intercollegiate)

Wabash 6-2 (0-0 North Coast)

NAIA

Bethel 19-7 (2-1 Crossroads)

Calumet of Saint Joseph 3-11 (0-0 Chicagoland)

Goshen 7-11 (2-1 Crossroads)

Grace 6-10 (1-3 Crossroads)

Huntington 5-7 (3-0 Crossroads)

Indiana Tech 11-5 (0-0 Wolverine-Hoosier)

Indiana Wesleyan 10-9 (3-0 Crossroads)

Indiana University-Kokomo 12-10 (5-1 River States)

Indiana University South Bend 7-9 (0-0 Chicagoland)

Indiana University Southeast 18-1 (6-0 River States)

Marian 10-9 (0-3 Crossroads)

Saint Francis 9-10 (0-3 Crossroads)

Taylor 13-5 (1-2 Crossroads)

Junior College

Ancilla Chargers 5-10 (0-0 Michigan Community)

Ivy Tech Northeast 6-5

Vincennes 10-5 (0-0 Mid-West)

CLAYWOESTEIUS20

Clay Woeste makes a throw for the 2020 Indiana Univesity Southeast baseball team. The New Albany-based Grenadiers were 18-1 when the season came to a sudden halt because of concerns about the Coronavirus (COVID-19). (Indiana University Southeast Photo)

BETHELUNIVERSITYBASEBALL2020

Bethel University (Mishawaka, Ind.) celebrates one of its 2020 baseball victories. The Pilots went 19-7 in 2019-20. The season was shortened when the NAIA shut down because of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. (Bethel University Photo)

 

Tremain, Lawrenceburg Tigers baseball embraces grind

RBILOGOSMALL copy

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Rise and grind.

That’s what the Lawrenceburg (Ind.) High School Tigers do in the off-season and it’s paid off during the spring.

During baseball workouts, head coach Nick Tremain has his team at the gym at 6 a.m.

“In Indiana high school baseball, we only get to play about eight weeks,” says Tremain, a 1998 Lawrenceburg graduate who led his alma mater to a 21-9 overall mark and 10-4 ledger in the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference in 2018 (The 2017 Tigers went 31-2 and won the program’s 20th sectional title). “The work comes the rest of the year.”

Some schools have a big fieldhouse.

Not so for the Tigers.

“You make due with what you have,” says Tremain, who enters his seventh season as Lawrenceburg head coach in 2019. “We have an auxiliary gym with two drop-down cages. We think of it as a baseball facility. We get in as many swings as we possibly can.”

The ’18 team led the EIAC with 226 runs scored — 7.5 per game.

Why the 6 a.m. workouts?

“Nobody else is fighting for that time slot,” says Tremain. “The kids have embraced that.”

At a school of about 600 students near the boot heel in the southeast corner of the state in Dearborn County, Tremain has athletes looking to improve and compete.

“We focus on the process and grind of everyday,” says Tremain. “We’re creating a culture of doing all the little things correct.”

Since Tremain has been head coach, the Tigers have had as many as 28 players in the program for varsity and junior varsity squads.

“We keep pretty large JV teams,” says Tremain. “We make sure we play a full JV schedule to get as much work for the guys as we can and develop them.”

Tremain’s 2019 coaching staff features Guy Buddenberg as pitching coach, Mark Fette as head JV coach and Mark Turner as first base coach

Volunteers with the varsity and JV are Ryan Howard, Mark McCool and Jim Kittle.

Lawrenceburg is now an IHSAA Class 3A school, but spent many years in 2A. Tremain’s first season was the Tigers’ first in the larger class. They are in a sectional grouping with Batesville, Franklin County, Greensburg, Madison Consolidated, Rushville and South Dearborn.

Located 25 minutes from downtown Cincinnati, the Tigers can schedule Ohio and Kentucky schools.

“There’s a lot of good baseball in the tri-state area,” says Tremain. “There are good programs that are close. It helps prepare us for the postseason.”

Lawrenceburg plays varsity games on-campus at Pat O’Neill Memorial Field. The junior varsity uses nearby Lawrenceburg Conservancy District Community Athletic Park (The CAP).

Lawrenceburg Babe Ruth, Lawrenceburg Little League and travel teams play a role in developing Lawrence ballplayers. Some travel teams play in the Southwest Ohio League.

“We want to allow opportunities for a lot of kids to play,” says Tremain.

Recent Lawrenceburg graduates to move on the college diamonds include first baseman Kyle Kittle (Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati) and right-handed pitcher Jordan Houze at Thomas More University in Crestview Hills, Ky. Shortstop Clay Woeste, right-hander Grant Bradley and outfielder/right-hander Eli Helton all went to Indiana University-Southeast in New Albany.

Tremain played for Mark Knigga at Lawrenceburg High School and Lawrenceburg American Legion Post 239.

The Tigers made it the championship game of the 2A Richmond Semistate in 1998.

Assistants included Joe Vogelgesang (who followed Knigga as LHS head coach) and Jerry Schoen (who was head coach at Hauser).

After one season as JV coach under Terry Turner at Anderson High School, 2003 Indiana University graduate Tremain spent seven seasons as head coach at South Central (Elizabeth).

Vogelgesang pitched in the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays systems. Turner has won two state title at Daleville (Ind.) High School.

“I’ve been fortunate,” says Tremain. “I had some pretty good mentors.

“I’ve tried to be a sponge with those guys and pick up as much as I can.”

The multi-sport athlete is the rule rather than the exception at Lawrenceburg.

“We encourage kids to compete in as many ways as they can,” says Tremain, who teaches physical education at both the high school and middle school. “Most of them play at least two sports.

“To win at our level we need to have the best athletes in the school playing multiple sports. We work together as programs.”

The summer brings a school-wide weight regimen.

Nick is the oldest of Jack and Susan Tremain’s three children. His siblings are Nathan and Jessica.

NICKTREMAIN

Nick Tremain is entering his seventh season as head baseball coach at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) High School in 2019. He is a 1998 Lawrenceburg graduate.

 

IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series rosters released

rbilogosmall

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Rosters and coaching staffs have been chosen for the for the 44th Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South All-Star Series.

IHSBCA members have chosen members of the Class of 2017 to take part in festivities Friday through Sunday, July 14-16, at Ball State University in Muncie.

The junior showcase, all-star practices and banquet are slated for July 14 with two games July 15 and one wood-bat game July 16.

Daleville’s Terry Turner is head coach for the North with Plainfield’s Jeff McKeon is head coach for the South.

The South took all three games in 2016 at Whiting, winning 7-6 and 15-2 with metal bats on Saturday and 6-2 in the wood-bat game on Sunday. Kenton Crews of Heritage Hills was named MVP.

The series, which the North leads 64-59, began in 1975. The 2018 series is slated for South Bend.

IHSBCA NORTH/SOUTH ALL-STAR SERIES

(At Ball State University, Muncie)

Friday, July 14

8 a.m. — Junior Showcase at Ball Diamond

11:30 a.m. — North All-Star coaches report to Holiday Inn Express & Suites Muncie

12:30 p.m. — North All-Star players check-in at Holiday Inn Express & Suites Muncie

1:30 p.m. — North All-Star Pictures at the field

2 p.m. — North All Star Practice

3:30 p.m. — North All Star practice concludes, players return to Holiday Inn & Suites Muncie

1 p.m. — South All-Star coaches report to Holiday Inn & Suites Muncie

2 p.m. — South All Star players check-in at Holiday Inn & Suites Muncie

3:30 p.m. — South All Star pictures at the field

4 p.m. — South All Star Practice

5:30 p.m. — South All Star practice concludes, players return to Holiday Inn & Suites Muncie

6:40 p.m. — Leave for North-South All Star Banquet at BSU Alumni Center

7 p.m.  — Banquet begins at Alumni Center

11 p.m. — Team meetings at Holiday Inn & Suites Muncie

Midnight — Curfew

Saturday, July 15

8:30 a.m. — Breakfast at the Holiday Inn & Suites Muncie

10 a.m. — South All-Stars leave for field

10:20 a.m. — North All-Stars leave for field

10:20 a.m.  — South All-Stars batting practice on the field

11 a.m. — North All-Stars batting practice on the field

11:45 a.m.  — South All-Stars Pregame Infield

12:05 p.m. — North All-Stars Pregame Infield

12:30 p.m. — Player and coach introductions (High school coach with players)

12:53 p.m. — Ceremonial First Pitch

12:55 p.m. — National Anthem

1 p.m. — Game 1 (9 innings)

Food will be provided between games

30 minutes after Game 1 — Game 2 (9 innings)

Players will return to Holiday Inn for pizza

11:30 p.m. — Team meetings at Holiday Inn & Suites Muncie

Midnight — Curfew

Sunday, July 16

 8:30 a.m. — Breakfast at Holiday Inn & Suites Muncie

9:15 a.m.  — Check out of Hotel

9:30 a.m. — Leave for field

10 a.m. — Batting Practice in cages

11 a.m. — South All-Stars take infield

11:20 a.m. — North All-Stars take infield

11:53 a.m.  — Ceremonial First Pitch

11:55 a.m. — National Anthem

Noon — Game 3 (9 innings wood-bat game)

Players wear their high school uniforms and will be dismissed following the game

Rosters

North

Catchers

Andrew Lawvere (Eastbrook)

Nolan Metcalf (Penn)

Jimmy Shea (Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger)

First Basemen

Bryce Masterson (Noblesville)

Andrew Salmon (Elkhart Central)

Middle Infielders

Riley Tirotta (Mishawaka Marian)

Tony Carmola (South Bend St. Joseph)

Matt Homco (Rossville)

Cole Barr (Yorktown)

Third Basemen

Hunter Ryan (Hebron)

Vincent Herschberger (NorthWood)

Outfielders

Ryan Missal (Lowell)

Luke Florek (Western)

Ben Nisle (Lake Central)

Corbin Maddox (Daleville)

Flex

Brody Hardcastle (Oak Hill)

Pitchers

Garrett Schoenle (Fort Wayne Northrop)

Sean Smith (Peru)

Jackson White (Eastside)

Andy Samuelson (LaPorte)

Sean Ferguson (New Haven)

Baylee Young (Logansport)

Joe Graziano (Lake Central)

Drew  Bradford (Whitko)

Mike Madura (Munster)

Head Coach

Terry Turner (Daleville)

Assistant Coaches

Todd Farr (Eastbrook)

John Steinhilber (Hebron)

Wally Winans (Daleville)

South

Catchers

Canton Terry (South Vermillion)

Zach Britton (Batesville)

Drew Ashley (Evansville Memorial)

First Basemen

Justin Hensley (Brebeuf Jesuit)

Daylan Nanny (Plainfield)

Middle Infielders

Clay Woeste (Lawrenceburg)

Trey Kelley (Hagerstown)

Cooper Trinkle (Columbus North)

Noah Navarro (Avon)

Third Basemen

Tanner Craig (Austin)

Caleb Brenczewski (Fishers)

Outfielders

Roy Thurman (Indianapolis North Central)

Evan Aders (Jasper)

Elijah Dunham (Evansville Reitz)

Sammy Rowan (South Spencer)

Flex

Drew Hensley (Bedford North Lawrence)

Rhett Wintner (Carmel)

Pitchers

Jake Lewis (Providence)

Drey Jameson (Greenfield Central)

Garrett Welch (New Castle)

Eston Stull (Pendleton Heights)

John Nierman (Brebeuf Jesuit)

Blake Malatestinic (Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter)

Trent Johnson (Crawfordsville)

Kevin Thompson (Columbus North)

Luke Duermit (Fishers)

Head Coach

Jeff McKeon (Plainfield)

Assistant Coaches

Brad Catey (Hagerstown)

Justin Tucker (Batesville)

John Major (Columbus East)

IHSBCALOGO

The Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association held its first North/South All-Star Series games in 1975. The 2017 series is slated for Ball State University in Muncie.