Wollenzin has Evansville hitters focused on discipline, timing

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Matt Wollenzin came back for his second stint as a University of Evansville baseball assistant in the summer of 2022 and guided Purple Aces hitters in 2023.

Wollenzin, who was on the UE staff in 2016 and 2017 guiding catchers and helping with hitters, the approach in 2024 will remain much the same. 

“We want our guys to understand what pitches they can hit well, what pitches they can do damage on and what pitches they struggle with,” says Wollenzin, 32. “We want to hit strikes hard. We’re firm believers that the better the strike (zone) discipline the more you’re going to get on-base and more you’re going to be able to drive the baseball and do damage.

“Mechanically, everyone has a different skill set and a different set of strengths and weaknesses. We talk a lot about timing. We want to be waiting on fastballs. If we can hit the heater, that’s when we’re at our best.”

Wollenzin has his players working on these things using a steady mix of feel-good and situational batting practice and more-difficult game-like conditions that put hitters in compete mode. There’s also front toss and tee work.

New to the program is a Spinball iPitch Smart Pitching Machine that can be set up for the exact pitch metrics the team will face.

“That’s been a huge deal for us,” says Wollenzin. “We’ve been using the Driveline Baseball Smash Factor Balls with that. In-season, you can show them a 95 mph fastball. But the guys are going to blow up their hands if they use it all the time (using regular baseballs). It’s the same ball flight (with Smash Factor Balls) and they’re a little nastier from a stuff standpoint.”

Video is also a big part of the equation. Hitters can view all their at-bats from multiple angles. 

“We preach to the guys to watch the guys in the big leagues, compare it to what you’re doing and just be students of the game,” says Wollenzin. “The more you watch what’s happening it’s going to make the adjustments that are necessary.”

The 2023 Evansville squad went 37-24 overall and 15-12 in the Missouri Valley Conference and hit .254 as a team with 81 home runs, 14 triples, 95 doubles, 337 runs batted in, 363 runs scored and a .796 OPS (.364 on-base percentage plus .432 slugging average). UE hitters walked 312 times and struck out 500 over 2,059 at-bats.

“I wouldn’t say we’re OK with striking out by any means,” says Wollenzin. “That can kill a lot to innings and take the pressure off the defense. We want to apply pressure at all times. At the same time, it is going to happen when you hit for a lot of power. 

“This year we’ve keyed in on cutting that down a little bit. We’re trying to take away from the boom-or-bust mentality as an offense. We just want to swing at good pitches.”

In his graduate season in 2023, Eric Roberts (Hamilton, Ohio) hit .295 with 21 homers, 58 RBIs and a .622 slugging average while earning all-MVC and American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-Midwest Region first team honors. 

Roberts is not back in 2024, but a number of top Aces return, including all-conference picks Chase Hug (.311/14/55; .576) and Kip Fougerousse (.288-13-47; .496) plus Simon Scherry (.267-3-23; .379), Brent Widder (.238-5-28; .378), Ty Rumsey (.232-8-16; .389), Brendan Hord (.208-5-30; .360) and Mark Schallenberger (.209-4-13; .345).

Hug (a graduate of Pike High School in Indianapolis), Widder (Sheboygan, Wis.), Hord (Lexington, Ky.) and Schallenberger (St. Louis, Mo.) are grad students, Fougerousse (Linton-Stockton) and Scherry (Heritage Hills) seniors and Rumsey (Evansville North) a junior in 2024.

Wollenzin says Hug, Widder and Schallenberger were not in the peak of health in 2023.

“All of those guys who were not quite themselves last year can combine to make up for the loss of Eric Roberts in the lineup,” says Wollenzin.

The coach reports that fall workouts were productive.

“We tried to replicate the spring season as best as we could from a practice and game standpoint, which means Mondays off, practice Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and intrasquads on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”

Evansville saw three opponents in the fall — Wabash Valley College, University of Southern Indiana and the Toronto Mets.

Wollenzin said the regular hitters showed out against the first two foes and other players were able to get in the lineup in against the foreign opponent.

“I think we’re going to have some serious depth that we didn’t necessarily have last year,” says Wollenzin. “We’ve got a lot of confidence in 12 to 14 position players.”

Post-holiday break classes resumed at Evansville on Monday, Jan. 8 and the Aces saw their first live at-bats this past weekend.

Wollenzin is part of a staff that features Wes Carroll as head coach, Tyler Shipley as pitching coach/recruiting coordinator, Griffin McCormick as volunteer assistant and Jarrett Blunt as graduate assistant.

“(Carroll) just brings a great environment,” says Wollenzin, who is in his second go-round with the Aces field boss. “Guys want to show up and work every single day. He’s continuously gotten better at his own craft, too. 

“He lacks complacency as a coach. He tries to find ways to help guys whether on the analytic or culture side of things. He cares a lot about his players and there’s something to be said for that.”

Wollenzin grew up in the Denver suburb of Lakewood, Colo., and graduated from Green Mountain High School, where he was an all-stater, in 2010. His head coach at the end of his Rams days was Brad Madden. 

“When it’s a fun competitive environment and you were around people who are just as much as you do you’re going to greater interest in the sport and all the nuances of it,” says Wollenzin. “Coach Madden created an environment that made me want to do this at the next level and make me want get into it as a career.

“Every stop along the way I’ve been around good people who cared about you and the game and helping you get where you wanted to be.”

As a lefty-swinging catcher, Wollenzin played at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn., (2011-14), earning National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Freshman All-American mention, and served one season as a graduate assistant (2015) with Gary McClure as Governors head coach.

“Win at all costs,” says Wollenzin of McClure’s approach. “He was the ultimate competition. The guy loved to win. He would do anything to win. We brought home three (Ohio Valley Conference) championships. I have nothing but great things there with Coach McClure.”

Wollenzin earned a Healthcare Management undergraduate degree and master of Healthcare Administration from Austin Peay, the latter in 2016.

During his first time at Evansville, Wollenzin spent his summers in Mankato, Minn., with the Northwoods League’s Mankato MoonDogs and was later the team’s manager.

He also joined the coaching staff at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato (2018-22) — the last two years as associate head coach to Vikings head coach Ryan Kragh.

“He trusted me from Day 1 when he was the (manager) of the MoonDogs and with Bethany, too,” says Wollenzin of Kragh. “I could do my own thing.

“He gave me a lot of control. That’s where you learn a lot about yourself as a coach — what you do well and what you do not do well. If it wasn’t for him I don’t think I’d be where I am right now. I owe him a lot for that.”

Kragh valued relationships and so does Wollenzin.

“Players don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care,” says Wollenzin. “Although it’s cliche, it’s 100 percent true.

“It’s something I’ve tried to replicate in my coaching career.”

This past Thanksgiving, Wollenzin and Sarah Duwenhoegger got engaged with an eye on a wedding next winter. The couple met in Mankato in 2019.

Matt Wollenzin. (University of Evansville Photo)

Matt Wollenzin. (University of Evansville Image)

Leverton going from NJCAA World Series runner-up Wabash Valley to Western Kentucky

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Luke Leverton has pitched a baseball for teams based in Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and North Carolina and is bound for Kentucky — all before his 21st birthday.

The 6-foot-1, 215-pounder right-hander was born and raised in Richmond, Ind., and attended Seton Catholic Schools from start to graduation in 2021.

In high school, Leverton was a slugger and star pitcher for the Dave Marker-coached Cardinals and selected to part of the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches North/South All-Star Series after his senior season.

He made three appearances for the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League’s Richmond Jazz that summer then headed to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. 

With the Redhawks in 2022, Leverton appeared in 16 games (11 in relief) with a 5.36 earned run average, 35 strikeouts and 19 walks in 45 1/3 innings. He split that summer between the Richmond Jazz and Coastal Plain League‘s Wilmington (N.C.) Sharks.

He transfered to Wabash Valley College in Mount Carmel, Ill.

In 2023, the righty made 22 mound appearances (19 in relief) and went 4-4 with five saves, a 3.98 ERA, 58 strikeouts and 17 walks in 52 innings.

Leverton, who turns 21 in February, delivers five pitches from a high three-quarter arm slot — four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, change-up, slider and curveball.

His four-seamer has more carry and two-seamer more arm-side run and sink. They both top out at 92 mph and sit at 88-91.

Leverton says his “circle” change has “a lot of depth and a little arm-side run.”

The sweeping slider has more horizontal than vertical break.

The curve is a true 12-to-6.

Whether starting or relieving, Leverton is up for the challenge.

“Whenever it’s time for be to perform I’m just going to do my thing,” says Leverton. “I’ll do whatever the team needs.”

Wabash Valley (57-13) finished second in the NJCAA World Series in Grand Junction, Colo.

“It was amazing,” says Leverton. “It was probably the most fun I’ve had on a baseball field in my entire life. The energy there was nuts. The fans there were awesome. We signed autographs before and after the game. 

“It was a really cool experience with all my friends.”

At WVC, Leverton played for Warriors head coach Aaron Biddle and pitching coach Jared Proctor.

“He’s a great coach,” says Leverton of Biddle. “He knows what he’s doing. He keeps people in-check. He pushes us to do our best day-in and day-out.”

Leverton appreciated that Proctor would answer all his pitching questions while letting him do this own thing.

“If something’s working for you he says if it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” says Leverton.

This summer, Leverton has been honing his craft at PRP Baseball in Noblesville, Ind.

Next month he goes to Western Kentucky University to begin his time with the NCAA Division I Hilltoppers.

Marc Rardin was very successful at Iowa Western Community College, winning three NJCAA World Series championships and making 12 World Series appearances in 20 years. He took a WKU team that won 18 games in 2022 to 33 victories in his first season on 2023.

“I really just believe in his coaching,” says Leverton of Rardin. “I felt it was in my best interests to go there to develop as a player and a person.”

Daylan Nanny, who played at Plainfield (Ind.) High School and Western Carolina University, join the WKU coaching staff as a volunteer in 2023.

Leverton plans to major in Sport Management and minor in Kinesiology at WKU.

“Eventually I want to be a pitching coach,” says Leverton. “Sports Management is like getting into the coaching world and seeing how that whole process works. Kinesiology, which is the study of how your body moves, is a really important factor in pitching.

“They kind of go hand-in-hand.”

As a grade schooler, Leverton played youth league T-ball and for Seton Catholic. His first travel team was a Seton team. 

He was then with the Stateline Sluggers, Hitters Hangout, Midland Redskins, Dayton Sluggers, Canes Midwest and the Greg Vogt-coached 18U PRP Mambas.

Curt and Mary Leverton have two sons — Jake (24) and Luke (20).

Curt Leverton is a detective captain for the Richmond Police Department, where he has worked 27 years. 

Mary Leverton is a longtime fifth grade teacher at Seton Catholic.

Jake Leverton played soccer at Seton Catholic, worked at the Indianapolis Zoo and is now a librarian in Indy.

Luke Leverton. (Wabash Valley College Photo)

Luke Leverton. (Wabash Valley College Photo)

Luke Leverton. (Wabash Valley College Photo)

Luke Leverton. (Wabash Valley College Photo)

Luke Leverton. (Wabash Valley College Photo)

Illinois junior colleges tap into Indiana baseball talent

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

Illinois junior college baseball has long been a destination for Indiana players.
Many have used the two-year institutions to springboard into a four-year school or the professional ranks.
Our neighbors to the west sport 41 National Junior College Athletic Association programs in Division I, II and III (Regions 4 or 24).
There is a difference between divisions.
NJCAA Divisions I and II can offer up to 24 athletic scholarships. Division III schools do not. Most (but not all) junior colleges have other scholarship and financial aid options.
Illinois’ NJCAA D-I teams include Frontier Community College (Fairfield), John A. Logan College (Carterville), Kakaskia College (Centralia), Kishwaukee College (Malta), Lake Land College (Mattoon), Lincoln Trail College (Robinson), Olive-Harvey College (Chicago), Olney Central College (Olney), Rend Lake College (Ina), Shawnee CC (Ullin), South Suburban College (South Holland), Southeastern Illinois College (Harrisburg), Southwestern Illinois College (Swansea), Triton College (River Grove) and Wabash Valley College (Mount Carmel).
Wabash Valley went 59-9 and qualified for the 2022 NJCAA D-I World Series in Grand Junction, Colo.
“We’ve been very fortunate,” says Wabash Valley coach Aaron Biddle, who is in his eighth season with the Warriors and first as head coach in 2023. “We’ve had some very good Indiana kids over the years. We’re just right across the border form Princeton, Ind. Getting into Evansville and going up to Indianapolis are great recruiting sources for us.
“Our conference is real competitive.”
John A. Logan, Kakaskia, Lake Land, Lincoln Trail, Olney Central, Rend Lake, Shawnee, Southeastern Illinois, Southwestern Illinois and Wabash Valley is in the Great Rivers Athletic Conference.
WVC plays mostly D-I schools with a few D-II’s sprinkled in.
“The more D-I opponents you have on your schedule the better it is for your (RPI) rankings,” says Biddle.
What does “JUCO Bandit” means to Biddle, who started his college playing career at former NJCAA D-III St. Catharine in Kentucky and finished at NCAA D-II Kentucky Wesleyan.
“Maybe he’s not be getting the offers he wants at (NCAA) D-I or a big school and he’s going to bet on himself and he’s going to go the JUCO route, grind for two years and get better everyday and definitely get that offer he’s not getting right now,” says Biddle. “We get to spend a lot of time with our guys. We get to be with them almost every single day. There’s not a lot of restrictions on how much practice time we have.
“The big things is that in the fall, we get to play 14 dates. We get to play every weekend. Guys are getting all those extra innings and they’re getting to compete. That’s a big thing for us.
“In baseball you’ve got to play to get better.”
Biddle says the funnest aspect of his job is seeing players land at their dream school.
South Suburban posted a 42-19 record in 2022.
Kevin Bowers has been head coach at Lincoln Trail since the 2010 season. That was the sophomore season of Justin Hancock (who went on to pitch in the big leagues and is now an Indiana State University assistant).
Bowers was on the LTC staff since 2001 and was an assistant to then-Statesmen head coach Mitch Hannahs (who is now head coach at Indiana State).
Bowers coached at ISU for the 2000 season. Lincoln Trail is about 10 miles from the Indiana line and 40 miles from ISU.
“The talent level is just off the chart,” says Bowers. “I’m certainly not knocking the state of Illinois. We’ve had a great deal of success with kids out of Indiana.”
Bowers has a take on “JUCO Bandit.”
“We develop an ‘ask no quarter, take no quarter’ mentality,” says Bowers. “We don’t want for a lot. We don’t need a lot. But we try to get a lot done.
“’Bandit has that negative connotation to it. When you go to junior college your mindset is that you’re foregoing the 100,000-seat football stadium. There’s not a lot of nightlife. Campus activities are geared around the athletics. You develop a worker’s mentality.
“There’s not a lot of thrills, but the talent at this level is crazy good.”
Bowers said there was a time when junior college baseball was battling the perception that their players had got booted from another school or could not make grades.
“Our guys are getting it done in the classroom and they’re getting it done on the field,” says Bowers, whose program earned a 2021-22 American Baseball Coaches Association Team Excellence Award for posting a grade-point average of 3.0 or above. “It’s a situation where academically you’re not going to lose ground.”
Illinois’ NJCAA D-II squads are Black Hawk-Moline College (Moline), Carl Sandburg College (Galesburg), Danville Area CC (Danville), Elgin CC (Elgin), Heartland CC (Normal), Highland College (Freeport), Illinois Central College (East Peoria), Illinois Valley CC (Oglesby), John Wood CC (Quincy), Kankakee CC (Kankakee), College of Lake County (Grayslake), Lewis & Clark CC (Godfrey), Lincoln Land CC (Springfield), McHenry County College (Crystal Lake), Moraine Valley CC (Palos Heights), Morton College (Cicero), Parkland College (Champaign), Prairie State College (Chicago Heights), Sauk Valley CC (Dixon) and Spoon River College (Canton).
Heartland (49-10) played in the 2022 NJCAA D-II World Series in Enid, Okla.
The Mid-West Athletic Conference features Heartland, Danville Area, Illinois Central, John Wood, Lewis & Clark, Lincoln Land, Parkland and Spoon River plus Vincennes (Ind.) University.
Also in 2022, Kankakee went 43-17, McHenry 40-18, Black Hawk-Moline 35-20, Lake County 32-20 and Morton 32-20.
Illinois’ NJCAA D-III features College of DuPage (Glen Ellyn), Harper College (Palatine), Joliet Junior College (Joliet), Oakton CC (Skokie), Rock Valley College (Rockport) and Waubonsee CC (Sugar Grove).
The Arrowhead Conference is made up of Black Hawk-Moline, Carl Sandburg, Highland, Illinois Valley, Kishwaukee and Sauk Valley.
Oakton (34-28-1) competed in the 2022 NJCAA D-III World Series in Greenville, Tenn.
Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference includes Lake County, Elgin, McHenry County, Moraine Valley, Morton, Oakton, Prairie State and Waubonsee.
Since 1993, Triton is a two-time D-I World Series runner-up (1993 and 1994).
D-II World Series titles were earned by Kishwaukee (1999), Lincoln Land (2000), Parkland (2002 and 2009) and Kankakee (2017). Parkland was also a runner-up in 2018.
Joliet earned D-III World Series championships in 1994, 2008 and 2012 and placed second in 1995 and 2015. Oakton reigned in D-III in 2018 and Waubonsee was runner-up in 1996.

Coaching opportunity takes Reinebold to North Dakota College of Science

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

Jonathan Reinebold has gotten the opportunity to run a collegiate baseball program for the first time at 59.
The 1981 graduate of South Bend (Ind.) Clay High School who served 20 years in the U.S. Army after earning four baseball letters as a middle infielder at West Point and coaching in various capacities and on different continents over the decades — including Europe and Japan — is now leading the Wildcats of North Dakota State College of Science.
“The opportunity knocked and I had to answer it,” says Reinebold.
Founded in 1903, NDSCS (enrollment 2,942) is one of the oldest two-year, comprehensive, residential colleges in the nation.
“It’s a very good trade school,” says Reinebold. “It’s nationally-acclaimed. You can also get in your first two years toward (liberal arts) bachelor’s degree.”
The main campus is located in Wahpeton, N.D., which is on the North Dakota-Minnesota state line and the Red River. There is a second location in Fargo, N.D., located about 50 miles to the north.
NDSCS is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association and Mon-Dak Athletic Conference. John Randall Field faces the river. Reinebold’s assistant coach is Jack Junker.
Reinebold served as an assistant baseball coach and volunteer mental skills coach at Kauai’s Waimea High School.
Jonathan Reinebold was a volunteer coach at West Point while serving an internship in the Intern Center for Enhanced Performance and an assistant the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y.
He also been a head coach in England and Florida and an assistant in Florida and Indiana, helping brother Joel Reinebold at Clay and Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Greg Dikos at Penn High School.
Reinebold earned his Certified Mental Performance Consulting credentials from the Association for Applied Sports Psychology and holds master’s degrees from Adams State University (Applied Sports Psychology) in Alamosa, Colo., St. John’s University (Sports Management) in Queens, N.Y., and American Military University (Unconventional Warfare).
Most of those were earned with a future as a college baseball coach in mind.
“I knew (the Sports Psychology and Sports Management degrees) would help my resume and would also be practical,” says Reinebold. “The military paid for them.”
Reinebold had long wanted to lead a college baseball program, but did not seek it in earnest until his children were out of school.
Samantha Reinebold (27) graduated from Alconbury High School in England, competed in track and field at USMMA and is now an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard.
Jesse Reinebold (25) is an alum of Edwardsburg (Mich.) High School who played baseball at the USMMA, where he hit .351 with 85 runs batted in over 138 games, and is now in the U.S. Marines.
Jonathan splits his year between North Dakota and Kekaha, Kauai.
Jonathan and wife Julie (who was in the Army for 26 years) moved to the Hawaiian island four years ago.
“When mom and dad died it was a wake-up call,” says Jonathan of the decision to relocate from Florida. “We only had one shot at it.
“It’s absolutely wonderful out here.”
Jonathan is also the youngest of five children born to Jim and Evelyn Reinebold, who passed away in 2017 at age 87 and 2018 at 88.
Jimmy, Jeff, Jamie, Joel and Jonathan were all born in a seven-year span and were all at Swanson Elementary at the same time.
After coming out of retirement, Jimmy (James Jr.) Reinebold performs test flights for the Federal Aviation Administration.
Jeff Reinebold is in his second stint on the University of Hawaii football coaching staff.
Jamie Reinebold — the girl who separates the two sets of boys — is a social worker in South Bend.
Joel Reinebold is head baseball coach at Clay and is a groundskeeper for Saint Mary’s College and spruces up many other diamonds.
Jim Reinebold Sr., was a founder of the IHSBCA and went into its first Hall of Fame class in 1979. He won 646 games at the high school level with a state championship for Clay in 1970 and spent many years in pro baseball. In 1993, he established Jim Reinebold Fall Baseball Camp and Jonathan has been an instructor.
His influences show in his coaching philosophy.
“I am my father’s son so it’s about defense and pitching,” says Reinebold. “Catch the ball and throw the ball. That’s the essence of the game. You’re not going to give up the extra bases, freebies if you will. You can’t out-hit your defense. You see that in the World Series every year.
“Pitching is nothing more than playing catch.”
Reinebold also wants his athletes to “play free.”
“The game’s hard enough,” says Reinebold. “You don’t need a coach getting on you if you make a physical mistake.”
To prepare his players, Reinebold builds failure into every practice.
“It sound strange but if you’re not failing, you’re not stretching yourself,” says Reinebold. “You have to fail in practice to win in a game.”
On the mental side, Reinebold emphasizes stress management techniques and breathing.
“Everybody breaths but do you do it for your advantage?,” says Reinebold. “You take a nice deep breath before you step into the batter’s box or on the mound.
“What are you saying to yourself? Is it positive or negative? Most of the times it’s negative. We can restructure that a little bit so it’s positive. Are you imagining things that can help you or possibly hurt you?
“Let’s see ourselves succeeding. Let’s see ourselves doing well. Let’s also see ourselves failing how we’re going to deal with it.”
The first 10 minutes of each practice is spent on mental exercises and learning how to re-focus when necessary.
Reinebold, who was hired in late July, has not yet had a recruiting season at NDSCS, and is working with a roster of 20. The Wildcats had six scrimmages in this fall.
The NDSCS athletic department allows one out-of-region trip during the season.The 2023 slate for Reinebold and company starts the second week of March in St. Petersburg, Fla.
An NDSCS Baseball page on YouTube and Facebook and has been used by Reinebold to get out the word about the program and introduce his players.
“I need to get them out there and make them a little uncomfortable because that’s the only way you grow,” says Reinebold. “Speaking in front of other people is hard to do, especially on a video call.”

Jonathan Reinebold. (North Dakota State College of Science Photo)

North Dakota State College of Science Wildcats.

Coaching takes Gobert to Walters State Community College

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

Nick Gobert’s baseball coaching career has taken him from a powerhouse in the Midwest to an elite program in the South.
The graduate of Jasper (Ind.) High School and the University of Southern Indiana has gone from Indian Hills Community College in Centerville, Iowa, to Walters State Community College in Morristown, Tenn., which is located between Knoxville and Johnson City.
The 44-16 IHCC Warriors and 61-7 WSCC Senators both participated in the 2021 National Junior College Athletic Association Division I World Series in Grand Junction, Colo.
Married in June 2021 to the former Haley Brun, Nick followed her to Tennessee when she took a job at Colgate-Palmolive in Morristown. The Kansas State University graduate had worked at the company’s plant in Richmond, Ind., while having a long-distance relationship with Gobert. The couple was introduced by a mutual friend.
When relocating, Gobert looked for a new baseball home.
“I wanted to get to a competitive place,” says Gobert. “(Coaching) wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t (Haley) believing in me. She’s been a sports fan her whole life.
“It took two years to fully understand the time commitment.”
Gobert is a volunteer assistant on the staff led by David Shelton, who earned his 400th career victory in February.
“I do a little bit of everything,” says Gobert. “I’m in charge of base running and help with infield play and hitters.”
How does his last team differ from his current one?
“Indian Hills is a pitching and defensive-minded program though we did have guys who could hit a little bit,” says Gobert. “Walters State is more offensive-minded. We have the ability to drive the baseball with guys who can impact the game with doubles and home runs.
“It’s a place kids want to come to because of the great tradition.”
Since 1984, the Senators have made 10 NJCAA World Series appearances with one championship (2006), a runner-up finish (2018) plus finishing third outright (2003 and 2015) and tying for third (2019). Former WSCC head coach Ken Campbell went into the NJCAA Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020.
While Walters State has a home field with a turf surface and many other amenities and played a fall game at the home of the Tennessee Smokies (Double-A South), there still a junior college baseball mindset.
“We still have the JUCO grind-it-out kind of guys and atmosphere,” says Gobert. “We practice quite a bit. Our mentality is that nothing is every given to us. We have to earn everything we have.”
Gobert, who turns 28 in May, appreciates the amount of time allowed at the junior college level for one-on-one instruction and evaluation.
“It’s that amount of hands-on time you get with each player,” says Gobert. “You’re watching everything and working with them. You get to connect with your players better.
“You make adjustments as needed because of those relationships.”
When Gobert is not involved with baseball activities or his wife, he earns a little extra cash as a Walters State mail courier.
Walters State, which heads into the weekend at 20-2, carries a roster of around 50 players. Among those are redshirts and players who took an extra year of eligibility because of COVID-19.
“It’s an older bunch,” says Gobert. It’s big to have those guys around to help the younger (players).”
The Senators tend to use a wide variety of players in mid-week games with those competing for spots in weekend Tennessee Community College Athletic Association Region VII contests.
Gobert was an assistant to Matthew Torrez at Indian Hills. Torrez played for Tracy Archuleta at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. Archuleta is now head coach at USI.
Nick is the son of Terry Gobert, an Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer with more than 800 victores, five state titles and four state runners-up to his credit. The two were featured together in the American Baseball Coaches Association Podcast hosted by Evansville, Ind., native Ryan Brownlee in October 2021.

Nick Gobert (Walters State Community College Photo)

Nick Gobert (Walters State Community College Photo)

Aerial view of the Walters State Community College baseball field in Morristown, Tenn. (Walters State CC Photo)

Scully says much goes into developing Ball State pitchers

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

As Ball State University develops baseball pitchers, one approach does not fit all.
Each individual is assessed and brought along while keeping in mind what is best for them.
“We’re not making a broad stroke,” says Larry Scully, the Cardinals pitching coach since August 2019. “Everyone is different in terms of their needs.”
Scully, who began his coaching career in 1992 and has mentored 16 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft selections, uses the example of a freshman arriving on the Muncie, Ind., campus in the fall.
That hurler is introduced to Bill Zenisek, Ball State’s baseball strength & conditioning coach.
“He gets a measurement of movement for all the players,” says Scully. From this evaluation, which includes a TPI movement screening, specific exercises are prescribed that will help them become an efficient athlete.
Players are introduced to proper nutrition and the weight room and learn that terminology.
Rapsodo equipment is used during bullpen sessions and the motion-capture data is used for development as is Synergy slow-motion camera feedback.
Then there’s the throwing program.
“We get to see how the arm moves,” says Scully.
As a part of that there is long toss. Some will go long and high and up to 300 feet the day after they throw and others will focus on mechanics and toss on a line for distance.
Through it all, a pitcher’s delivery is checked for efficiency.
How does he start?
How does he drive down the mound?
How does he finish?
Since Scully is Driveline-certified, the Cardinals will use bands, PlyoCare Balls and mediBalls in training.
Bullpen sessions may be geared toward refining a certain pitch or location.
A pitcher’s workload — heavy or light in terms of innings or the number or intensity pitches — will also play into training.
Fall ball began at Ball State the first week of September and just recently concluded.
Pitchers worked alone the first two weeks and were then incorporated into team practices and scrimmages. Then adjustments were made during individual work.
Until Dec. 3, pitchers will work eight hours a week, including strength sessions and 45 minutes a day Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays with their pitching coach.
“We’ll try to maintain what they do well and get better to help us win,” says Scully.
Before coming to Ball State, Scully spent five seasons at Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., where he worked with Braves head coach Elvis Dominguez.
“We were one of the top academic schools in the Missouri Valley Conference,” says Scully, who also served as Bradley’s recruiting coordinator. the 2019 Braves led the MVC in earned run average (3.37), fewest hits allowed per game (7.21) and WHIP (1.27).
What drew Scully to the Cardinals?
“Ball State has a rich tradition in winning and developing pitchers,” says Scully.
At BSU, Scully joined head coach Rich Maloney, who became the 27th active NCAA Division I coach to earn his 800th career coaching win in 2019. To date, Maloney is 877-581-1 (546-337-1 in his second stint with Ball State) in 26 seasons. He has coached 65 players who were drafted 72 times. He’s coached six first-rounders with only one being drafted out of high school. The most-recent is right-hander Drey Jameson (34th overall pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2019).
Maloney paid Scully a compliment during the interview process.
“Everywhere you’ve been the pitching staff has gotten a bump,” says Scully of Maloney’s words.
The 2021 MLB Draft was very satisfying for Scully.
Three pitchers who the coach helped hone his craft were taken in the first seven rounds — Ball State’s Chayce McDermott (fourth round by the Houston Astros) and Bradley’s Brooks Gosswein (fourth round by the Chicago White Sox) and Theron Denlinger (seventh round by the White Sox).
When looking at pitching potential, Ball State recruiting coordinator Blake Beemer is often drawn to athletes of a certain build.
“They are long and lean with loose arm action,” says Scully. “Others might not be that, but they may be left-handed and can get left-handers out.
“Blake does a good job of finding low-lying fruit. Here’s something we can probably fix (about the pitcher’s mechanics or pitch selection).
“There’s a lot of moving parts. Everyone sees the final product, but there’s a lot of work that goes into it.”
Prior to Bradley, Scully was pitching coach at Murray (Ky.) State University (2014), Lamar (Colo.) Community College (2010-13), assistant at Saint Louis University (2007), head coach at Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo. (2000-06) and assistant at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa (1999) and Indiana Hills Community College in Centerville, Iowa (1992-96).
Dan Skirka was a Murray State assistant when Scully was there and is now the Racers head coach.
Scully was born in Toronto and played at York Memorial Collegiate Institute in 1986. His head coach was Jim Ridley, who was later inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The Ridley twins — Jeremy and Shayne — were teammates who wound up playing at Ball State and were both drafted in 2000 (Jeremy Ridley by the Toronto Blue Jays and Shayne Ridley by the Baltimore Orioles.).
“Jim was a tremendous influence on me,” says Scully. “He was a terrific coach and a terrific person.
“Some are just very lucky. I’ve had the opportunity to work with some very good baseball people.”
A left-handed pitcher, Scully competed in the Junior Olympics at 18U and then played for and coached with Rick Mathews (now in the Colorado Rockies organization) at Indian Hills and played for Joel Murrie (now with the Los Angeles Angels) at Western Kentucky University.
Scully earned an English Literature from WKU in 1992 and master’s degree in Sports Administration from the United State Sports Academy in 1994. 
“It was my intent to be an English teacher and baseball coach,” says Scully. “I learned that’s tough gig. Both require a lot of time. Now I’m helping daughter now with her grammar.”
Larry and wife Shari have six children from 30 down to eighth-grader Ava. Shari Scully has taught for nearly 30 years and is employed as a sixth grade Language Arts teacher at Tremont (Ill.) Middle School.

Larry Scully (Ball State University Photo)

Former MLB pitcher McClellan giving back to baseball through Demand Command

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Zach McClellan began his professional baseball career at age 21.

Through hills and valleys, the right-handed pitcher persisted and persevered until he finally stood on a major league mound at 28 and its those kind of lessons he passes along to the next generation with his baseball/softball business — Demand Command.

McClellan, who stands 6-foot-5, earned three letters at Indiana University (1998, 1999 and 2000). He pitched in 41 games, starting 22 with five complete games and one save. In 159 1/3 innings, he posted 111 strikeouts and a 4.58 earned run average while playing for Hoosiers head coach  Bob Morgan — a man he credits as much for what he did in stressing education as what he did between the white lines.

Selected in the fifth round of the 2000 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Kansas City Royals, McClellan logged 192 appearances (87 starts) and 606 1/3 innings and played at Spokane, Wash., Burlington, Iowa, Wilmington, Del., Tulsa, Okla., and Colorado Springs, Colo., finally made his MLB debut in 2007 with the Colorado Rockies.

McClellan relieved in 12 games with Colorado that season, going 1-0 with 13 strikeouts in 14 innings. The Rockies went to the World Series in 2007.

He got to be around diamond leaders like Indiana native LaTroy Hawkins as well as Todd Helton.

His playing career concluded in 2010 with the independent Gary (Ind.) SouthShore RailCats.

His managers included Tom Poquette, Joe Szekely, Jeff Garber in the Royals minor league system, Tom Runnells, Marv Foley, Fred Ocasio and Stu Cole in the Rockies minor league chain with Clint Hurdle at the MLB level with the Rockies and Greg Tagert with the RailCats.

Long before that McClellan started giving back. He started the Zach McClellan School of Pitching in Bloomington, Ind., in 2002. 

Zach and future wife Sarah met at IU. She is from nearby Ellettsville, Ind., and a graduate of Edgewood High School. 

During his pro off-seasons, Zach was a student teacher during the day and gave lessons at night during his off-season.

With the growth of the business, McClellan began looking for a new name and a suggestion came from one of his pupils who noted how he was constantly telling them, “Don’t just accept control, demand command.”

McClellan says the difference between control and command is that with control you can throw to a general area and command is being able to execute your pitches to the catcher.

The two main aspects of pitching as McClellan sees them are how hard you throw and can you locate it. In other words: Velocity and command.

“I try to marry those two things,” says McClellan, who notes that location becomes very important when it comes to getting good hitters out.

Believing that training should be fun and challenging, McClellan began getting his young pitchers to play H-O-R-S-E baseball style.

While in the basketball version, a player has to replicate a made shot or take a letter, McClellan’s baseball variation requires one pitcher to execute a pitch — say a fastball to the outside corner — and have the next one up replicate that or take a letter.

The first Demand Command T-shirts McClellan ever had made asked: “Can you play H-O-R-S-E on the mound?”

“It was an inside joke between the instructed kids, myself and their parents,” says McClellan. “People would ask the question about what it meant.

“We were doing something kind of unique and kids were actually executing pitches. What I’ve noticed through the years is that if they have to call the pitch, it’s even better. Now they’re not just throwing a ball in the generally vicinity.”

McClellan never wants training to be drudgery for his players.

“If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing it becomes more of a job,” says McClellan. “It’s not a job, it’s an opportunity. It’s fun. If you’re going to come to me it’s not going to feel like work.

“You have to make sure that the kids are enjoying what they’re doing, but learning at the same time.”

Since he began offering instruction, McClellan has preferred small-group lessons of three of four players.

“I say make sure kids aren’t just doing solo private lessons,” says McClellan. “A lot of parents want their kids to work one-on-one with a coach, but when they go on a field they have eight other teammates.

“At the end of the day there’s nobody behind the mound holding your hand and telling you how to correct yourself in a game. You have to have a feel on the adjustments you’re making.”

Every now and then, McClellan likes to match 17-year-old prospect with an 8-year-old learning how to pitch.

“The 17-year-old learns how to teach,” says McClellan. “The more you learn how to teach the better you get at your craft. 

“(The teen is) learning how other people receive the information which makes them more receptive of the information.”

Now that he has been at it this long, another McClellan goal is coming to fruition.

“I’ve always wanted to create a community of baseball players that became future leaders,” says McClellan. “Kids that played for me or took lessons from me are now coming back to be coaches for me.”

Demand Command now trains baseball and softball players in southern Indiana (through partnerships with Owen Valley Sports Complex in Spencer and Maximum Velocity Performance in Columbus) and in Zach’s native Toledo, Ohio, where brother Matt McClellan is the Demand Command Toledo owner.

Matt McClellan played at Oakland University in Auburn Hills, Mich., and pitched in the Toronto Blue Jays organization (Toronto selected the right-hander in the seventh round of the 1997 MLB Draft) and for the independent Newark (N.J.) Bears and Kansas City (Kan.) T-Bones.

Between Indiana and Ohio, Demand Command typically fields around 40 travel squads ages 7U to 18U through Pastime Tournaments and USSSA (United States Specialty Sports Association).

The DC website states the mission: “Demand Command was built on the principles that baseball and softball are teaching mechanisms for more than just the games. 

Baseball and Softball have many life lessons within the games. Some examples are leadership, hard work, determination, discipline, working together with many types of people, dealing with success and failure and good character. 

“The goal is to teach people the value of Demand Command life principles through baseball and softball. Demand Command stands for much more than commanding pitches or at bats. Demand Command is a way of life.”

Numerous DC alums have gone on to college and pro baseball. Among them is Dylan Stutsman, who pitched at the University of Indianapolis and then pitched for the independent Schaumburg (Ill.) Boomers.

Former Texas Rangers draft pick Renton Poole is now a senior pitcher at Indiana University Kokomo.

Zach and Sarah McClellan live in Columbus and have three athletic daughters — Mia (14), Miley (12) and Emery (10).

The McClellan brothers — Jeff (46), Matt (44) and Zach (42 on Nov. 25) — are the offspring of former college athletes. 

Father Dave a basketball player at the University of Michigan and Mother Diane a track and field athlete at Bowling Green (Ohio) State University.

Jeff played baseball at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio.

Zach’s nephew, Sebastian McClellan, is a freshman basketball guard at Lawrence Technical University in Southfield, Mich. Niece Mallory McClellan recently signed a letter of intent to play softball at Fordham University in New York.

Demand Command is a baseball/softball training and travel organization founded by Zach McClellan.

Zach McClellan, a native of Toledo, Ohio, who pitched at Indiana University 1998-2000, made his Major League Baseball debut in 2007 with the Colorado Rockies. He began giving pitching lessons in 2002. (Colorado Rockies Photo)

Former Colorado Rockies pitcher and Demand Command founder Zach McClellan signs autographs for youth baseball players.

Zach McClellan runs the Indiana portion of Demand Command baseball and softball out of facilities in Spencer and Columbus in southern Indiana. He played at Indiana University and pitched in the big leagues. (Demand Command Photo)

January 2020 is Hall of Fame month for Barmes

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Clint Barmes and his family reside about 30 miles north of Denver in Mead, Colo.

There they can experience a “Rocky Mountain High.”

The past two Fridays, Barmes has experienced highs back on his native soil.

On Jan. 10, the Vincennes, Ind., native was inducted into the Indiana State Athletics Hall of Fame in Terre Haute. He went into the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Jan. 17 at a ceremony in Indianapolis.

The Class of 2020 also included George Cuppy, Tony Uggen, Scott Upp and Brian Abbott. Dennis Kas was recognized in the Hall of Fame spotlight.

Barnes, a 1997 graduate of Vincennes Lincoln High School, played two seasons at Olney (Ill.) Central College and one at Indiana State University. A shortstop, he was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 10th round of the 2000 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft and made is big league debut in 2003. He played with the Rockies, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres and retired after the 2016 season in the Kansas City Royals organization.

His 13-year career included 1,186 games, a .245 batting average, 89 home runs, 208 doubles, 43 stolen bases and 415 runs batted in.

Since retiring, Barmes has jumped into youth coaching. He is part-time assistant baseball coach at Berthoud (Colo.) High School. Much of his time is spent coaching his own children.

Clint and Summer Barmes’ son Wyatt (12) and daughter Whitney (9) are involved in sports and are coached by one or both parents — Wyatt in baseball, basketball and soccer, Whitney in softball, basketball and soccer.

“Our weeks are pretty full,” says Barmes, who was going to go to Los Angeles from Indianapolis for Wyatt’s all-star travel tournament.

“We didn’t want to burn him out,” says Barmes. “He still wants to work and do that kind of stuff in the wintertime. I don’t want to hold him back either.

“I wanted to give him a chance to see what other talent’s out there at his age level and keep him going in sports.”

When Clint Barmes was 12 he was playing about 25 Bambino League baseball games a year in Vincennes. He played at Lincoln High for Phil Halsema and Chris Rhodes.

“I was a Cardinal fan growing up and I wanted to play in the big leagues,” says Barmes of his boyhood aspirations. “That didn’t change until around my senior year in high school. I didn’t know if it was going to happen for me. I was open to play college ball. Just past high school.

“At Olney Central, I got a little bigger and a little stronger. The work I was putting in compared to the high school level was night and day. Putting all that extra work into it, I really started to take off.”

Barmes played for head coach Dennis Conley at OCC.

“(Conley) taught the game and it was more than just seeing the ball, hitting the ball, catching it and throwing it,” says Barmes. “It was breaking down the simplicities of the game and trying to follow and think ahead.

“That’s when all that stuff really started to come to me. It started with him. He’s a brilliant man. He’s really passionate and knowledgable about the game.”

Barmes is grateful what Conley did for him when he was a player there and also for the chance to come back during the winters as a professional and train since Olney is only about 30 miles from Vincennes.

At ISU, Barmes played for Bob Warn. He credits the IHSBCA Hall of Famer for giving him freedom while also adding to his game.

“(Barmes) allowed me to play and be the type of player that I was at that time,” says Barmes. “He could have broken me down. There was so many things that I was doing that weren’t the right ways to do it.

“Once I got into pro ball I had to completely change my swing. But, thankfully, I had success like I did (Barmes hit 375 with 93 hits, 18 doubles, seven triples and 10 home runs to go along with 63 runs scored, 37 RBI and 20 stolen bases as a Sycamore). He let me play.

“I remember learning to play the game the right way once I got to college. It was anticipating — especially at shortstop. I was learning how to pay attention to hitters and pitchers on the mound and what they’re trying to do. It was following the game and whatever is being called. Before, I was waiting for the ball to be hit my direction as simple as that sounds.”

Barmes came out of college with a “metal bat swing” and needed to adjust with the help of Rockies minor league instructors Alan Cockrell, Billy White and Theron Todd.

“You look at the sweet spot on a metal bat compared to a wooden bat — not to mention the weight is a little heaver with wood,” says Barmes. “I learned to use my hands and work down and through the ball to create backspin. (With a metal bat), I would get a little long, drop my back side and try to lift. I was thinking that was how you were supposed to drive the ball.

“The (metal) bats we used were pretty loaded when I played in high school and even college. You could get jammed and still hit home runs. The ball off our bats was pretty hot.”

While Barmes was used at other positions (he logged 351 MLB appearances as a second baseman), he identified himself as a shortstop.

“That’s where I loved to play,” says Barmes. “Shortstop was always my love. That was always my favorite position.”

Barmes came to understand what it meant to shift and that if the pitcher hit his spot, it was likely the hitter would send the ball to a certain spot on the infield and he would be ready for it.

“You try not to give it up too early,” says Barmes. “But you start cheating (in that direction) in certain ways.”

There came a point where Barmes might be asked to play in the hole for a right-handed pull hitter or told to play right of the bag with a hitter who projects to hit it that way.

“(Shifting) never happened to me until I was in the big leagues,” says Barmes. “Nowadays, I’ve seen it in Little League.”

Don Baylor was Barmes’ manager in Colorado.

“Don was a great coach all-around,” says Barmes. “He was very knowledgable about the game and more on the mental side.

“At the big league level, that’s very important. If you can’t hit by the time you get to the big leagues, it’s going to be a struggle. Now you have to work with your mental and approach.”

Barmes says it helps to clear the mind so the hitter can focus on seeing the ball or what they’re going to do in a particular (ball-strike) count.

“(Baylor) talked about throwing your hands in the slot,” says Barmes. “I picked that up from Don (as well as Cockrell, White and Todd).

“That was the old-school way of teaching hitting and it worked for me. My hands started my swing and my body would kind of do what it does. If I started thinking lower half or anything but my hands, a lot of times it slowed me down.”

Clint was not the first Barmes to play in the majors. A relative on his grandfather’s side of the family — Vincennes-born Bruce “Squeaky” Barmes — got a September call-up with the 1953 Washington Senators. He played 11 full seasons (1950-60) in the minors and hit .318 and made all-star teams in the Florida State League and Tri-State League. A 5-foot-8 left-handed hitter, he was known for his speed.

“I didn’t meet Bruce until I was in A-ball,” says Barmes. “I was playing for Asheville (N.C.) and we were in Hickory (N.C.).

“This older gentleman is yelling at me from the concourse, ‘Hey Barmes!’ and at that point nobody ever pronounced it right (it’s Bar-Muss). This guy must know me because he’s saying my name right. He starts talking about Vincennes and throws out all these names of people I’m related to.”

After that, Clint got to know Bruce and his family and would see them on trips to the East Coast.

During his speech at the IHSBCA Hall of Fame dinner, Barmes thanked all his coaches from youth leagues on up.

“Now that I’ve been coaching, I understand what it means for these kids to get good coaching,” says Barmes. “The role they are playing is very important. The impact that they have on these young players may be more than they realize.

“I’m one of them.”

Clint Barmes, a Vincennes (Ind.) Lincoln High School graduate who played at Olney (Ill.) Central College, Indiana State University and 13 seasons in Major League Baseball, was inducted into the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Jan. 17, 2020, in Indianapolis — a week after he went into the Indiana State Athletics Hall of Fame. (Steve Krah Photo)

 

Buddies Quarles, Moralez to teach baseball in China

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Jaylen Quarles welcomes new adventures in his life.

The Indianapolis native will soon experience new things and share his bat and ball knowledge on the other side of the globe.

“I’m ready to learn something different,” says Quarles, who holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in sports management from the University of Southern Indiana (2017 and 2019), where he played baseball. “I would love to learn a second language.”

The former Screaming Eagles outfielder/designated hitter will get a chance to pick up a Mandarin dialect spoken in Tianjin, China.

Quarles and best friend Andrew Moralez are scheduled to leave Monday morning (Sept. 15) from Indianapolis for Toronto and then on to China and a year as instructors for Dallas-based D-BAT Baseball & Softball Academies.

After a week of training in Beijing, Lawrence Central High School graduate Quarles and Bishop Chatard High School and Kentucky Wesleyan College grad Moralez will move about 70 miles southeast to the metropolis of Tianjin. With the help of translators, they will teach players ages 3 to 18.

“The contract is a full year,” says Quarles. “We get holidays off, but not enough time to come home.

“In the ninth or 10th month, we can negotiate for a second year.”

At 25, Moralez is also ready for adventure and getting himself experience toward his goal of coaching at the international level. He was recruited by D-BAT director of China Operations David Fisher and sent a resume and video montage.

“A lot of people don’t get to do this kind of stuff,” says Moralez. “I might as well take advantage of it.”

Quarles and Moralez have known each other since they were 9. Jaylen was playing for the Indiana Pony Express and Andrew, who moved to Indiana from Colorado at 6, the Westfield (Ind.) Indians. From 11 to 18, the two were summer mates with the Pony Express.

Jon Richardson was the leader of that travel organization.

“Jon was a really good influence on us when we were younger,” says Moralez, who later coached at 17U Pony Express team for Richardson. “He kept us accountable.

“I can’t being to explain how much he’s done for me and my career.”

Quarles is a 2012 graduate of Lawrence Central, where he lettered in baseball and football. He was honorable mention all-state, first team all-Conference Indiana and all-Marion County as a senior while hitting .463 with 20 runs batted in.

He was playing eighth grade football when coach Dan Roman fired a football into the air one day at practice and told Jaylen “make sure you call it.”

Roman, the head baseball coach at Lawrence Central at the time, knew that the youngster was familiar with the diamond.

But that was news to Quarles.

“I had no idea he knew I played baseball,” says Quarles. “I enjoyed playing for Dan Roman at LC.”

Besides the Pony Express, Quarles also played parts of two summers with Indianapolis RBI, playing in national tournaments in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.

He went on to participate in two seasons of junior college baseball at Southeastern Illinois College. As a sophomore in 2014, the lefty-swinger hit .367 with 39 runs scored and team-best 26 RBIs.

After transferring to USI, Quarles played 33 games (22 starts) and hit .363 with 18 runs in 2015. After being a medical redshirt in 2016, he played 35 games (29 starts at designated hitter) in 2017 while hitting .310 with 14 runs and 14 RBIs.

Why degrees in sports management?

“Growing up all I wanted to do was play baseball,” says Quarles, who posted a 3.8 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale (in grad school). “I want to stay around the business.

“This is the type of job that I want. I’d eventually like to be a college coach at any level.”

Moralez was a three-year starter at Chatard, playing shortstop, second base, right field and pitching for Trojans head coach Mike Harmon. He was honorable all-Marion County in 2010.

What Moralez appreciates about Harmon is his ability to bring players together.

“He harped on family a lot with us,” says Moralez. “I look that into college and pro ball.”

“I wanted to want the team to be one and have good chemistry. I wanted to get everybody on board with one mission.”

The right-handed pitcher at Kentucky Wesleyan from 2013-16, making 39 mound appearances with nine victories for the Todd Lillpop-coached Panthers. He earned a degree in graphic design.

After college, Moralez took part in the California Winter League and then spring training with the independent Frontier League’s Evansville (Ind.) Otters in 2017.

Moralez landed with the Thoroughbred Mustangs of the independent Thoroughbred Baseball League in Lexington, Ky. With Scott Nathanson as manager, the Mustangs won the league championship.

Through BaseballJobsOverseas.com, Moralez was going to play in Austria when he developed bone spurs and instead stayed in the U.S. and took an office job.

While Moralez has been working in Indianapolis, Quarles has been living and working in the Evansville area. He got internship credit working for Kevin and Kate Brown at Kevin Brown Baseball & Softball School in Mount Vernon, Ind., and continued to give lessons and coach travel softball.

“I got really comfortable in Evansville,” says Quarles. “I gained and formed relationships.”

That includes USI head coach Tracy Archuleta, who he surprised recently by popping in at practice.

Quarles, 26, was offered the chance to join D-BAT in the spring through a Facebook message from former USI pitcher Dan Marcacci. But Jaylen was finishing his graduate degree and the softball season was about to begin.

“I had obligations,” says Quarles. “I’ve been all-in with these girls. I can’t leave them hanging.”

Fast forward to this week and Quarles has been in Indianapolis making preparations to travel to China, including getting shots and squaring away paperwork.

Jaylen is the son of Leonza and Crystle Quarles. He has a sister, Jazzemine.

Andrew is the youngest of Oscar and Julie Moralez. Jesse Moralez is the older brother.

Andrew Moralez, a graduate of Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis and Kentucky Wesleyan College, delivers a 2017 pitch for the independent Thoroughbred Mustangs in Lexington, Ky.  He will soon be teaching baseball in China with best friend Jaylen Quarles. They played travel ball together on the Pony Express. (Thoroughbred Baseball League Photo)

Indianapolis native Jaylen Quarles bats for the University of Southern Indiana. The 2012 Lawrence Central High School graduate will soon be teaching baseball in China with best friend Andrew Moralez. They played travel ball together on the Pony Express. (University of Southern Indiana Photo)

Andrew Moralez fires a pitch for Kentucky Wesleyan College. On this day, he hit the radar gun at 94 mph. The KWC and Bishop Chatard High School graduate will soon be teaching baseball in China with best friend Jaylen Quarles. (Kentucky Wesleyan College Photo)

Jaylen Quarles prepares for the pitch while playing for the University of Southern Indiana. The USI and Lawrence Central High school graduate will soon be teaching baseball in China with best friend Andrew Moralez. (University of Southern Indiana)

At Kentucky Wesleyan College baseball senior day in 2017, Andrew Moralez is surrounded by his family. From left, there’s big brother Jesse Moralez, mother Juile Moralez and father Oscar Moralez.

Crystle and Leonza Quarles share a moment with son Jaylen Quarles during the latter’s baseball-playing days at the University of Southern Indiana.

Andrew Moralez played baseball at Kentucky Wesleyan College and will soon be teaching the game in China with best friend Jaylen Quarles. He is a graduate of Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis (Kentucky Wesleyan University Photo)

Jaylen Quarles played baseball at the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville and will soon be teaching the game in China with best friend Andrew Moralez. He is a graduate of Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis. (University of Southern Indiana Photo)