Tag Archives: CSL

Pro

Righty Albright heading into third season in Diamondbacks system

March 11, 2023 stvkrh905 Leave a comment

Luke Albright is preparing for his third professional baseball season.
The right-handed pitcher from Fishers, Ind., is honing his offerings while participating in spring training at the Arizona Diamondbacks complex — Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.
Albright spent most of his time following the 2022 campaign in Fishers and worked out five days a week at PRP Baseball at Mojo Up Sports Complex in Noblesville.
“It was pretty much full-go most of the off-season,” says Albright. Fridays featured “live ABs” and “high-intent bullpens.”
He reported to instructional league in Arizona Jan. 15, went home for a week and came back for early spring camp.
Albright, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 230 pounds, throws a four-seam baseball, curveball, slider and change-up from a high three-quarter arm slot.
Early this spring, his fastball has been clocked around 93 to 95 mph. It touched 95 mph during the 2022 season.
“I’ve made some adjustments in the off-season and it’s gotten a little better,” says Albright.
His curve is of the 11-to-5 or 12-to-6 variety.
The cutter/slider is “short, late and tight, just barely misses bats and gets a lot of strikeouts.”
There is true arm-side fade to the change-up.
Albright has been working on adding a “gyro” slider to the mix.
“We’re tinkering with it and seeing where it’s going to play,” says Albright.
Albright was selected in the sixth round of the 2021 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Diamondbacks after three seasons at Kent (Ohio) State University, where Jeff Duncan is head coach.
With veteran pitching coach Mike Birkbeck guiding him, Albright made 33 mound appearances (21 as a starter) and went 12-7 with two saves and a 2.98 earned run average. In 157 innings, he struck out 178 and walked 71.
“As a freshman I had good stuff,” says Albright. “I just didn’t use it effectively. (Birkbeck) got me to be myself and not try to do too much.
“Over time, we developed a curveball and change-up and added a slider.”
In his 25th season, Birkbeck has worked with 53 student-athletes who have been drafted or signed into professional baseball, including 2011 first-rounder Andrew Chafin and 2016 first-rounder and National Player and Pitcher of the Year Eric Lauer.
In 2021, Albright was named second-team all-Mid-American Conference and was MAC Pitcher of the Week after holding No. 2 Mississippi State to one hit over six innings. He set a career-best 13 strikeouts against Ohio. He whiffed 10 or more three times during the 2020 season.
Albright pitched sparingly during the summer of 2018 before going to Kent State. He did go to South Bend for the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South All-Star Series.
He was with the New England Collegiate Baseball League’s Keene (N.H.) Swamp Bats in the summer of 2019 and split the summer of 2020 between the College Summer League at Grand Park and the Northwoods League’s St. Cloud (Minn.) Rox.
Since Albright logged 82 innings at Kent State in 2021, he hurled just 23 1/3 innings over six starts at Low Class-A Visalia (Calif.) that summer, going 2-0 with a 3.47 ERA, 22 strikeouts and 11 walks.
Albright spent the 2022 season at High Class-A Hillsboro (Ore.). The righty made 26 starts and went 6-10 with a 5.49 ERA. In 123 innings, he fanned 130 and walked 56.
Albright grew up in Fishers and played travel ball for the Indiana Mustangs and Indiana Travelers.
His pitching instructor before and during high school was Mike Farrell.
“He helped bridge that gap from high school to how it would be in college,” says Albright of Farrell. “He told me what you need to do and what you need to learn.
“(Birkbeck and Farrell) are two of the most impactful people I’ve met in my baseball career,” says Albright. “They are a tremendous help.”
Going into his sophomore year is where Albright saw himself more as a pitcher and less as a hitter.
“My hitting skills diminished, but pitching really took off for me,” says Albright. “I saw it could lead to college. At the time that’s all I wanted.”
In three varsity seasons at Fishers High School, Albright won 16 games and posted a 2.69 ERA over 143 innings.
He fanned 91 as a senior and helped the Matt Cherry-coached Tigers to dogpile with a 2018 IHSAA Class 4A state championship.
Albright was the winning pitcher and Grant Richardson picked up the save in the title game. Richardson went on to Indiana University and is now an infielder in the New York Yankees organization.
“We weren’t very good my sophomore year (at Fishers),” says Albright. “We had a great team junior year and fell a little short in the (Lafayette Jeff) Regional.
“Senior year I got to enjoy what it was like to win the state championship.”
Luke, who turned 23 in December, is the oldest of Mark and Amy Albright’s two sons. Brock Albright is now a junior in the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University in Bloomington.
By going back to Kent State after his first pro season and taking online classes, Luke Albright earned his Business degree this past winter and is a few classes shy of a Marketing degree.

Luke Albright. (Arizona Diamondbacks Photo)

Luke Albright. (Kent State University Photo)

College, High School, Pro, Training

Walther lends his experience to Pro X Athlete Development, College Summer League

August 23, 2022 stvkrh905 1 Comment

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

Mark Walther helps run a business dedicated to the improvement of those who move and compete, particularly those in baseball, softball, football and golf.
He is the Director of Operations at Pro X Athlete Development, which is at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Ind.
“I wear a lot of hats here,” says Walther, a former collegiate and professional pitcher. “There isn’t much that I don’t do here.”
Walther, 33, started as a lead instructor and taught velocity programs for pitchers and position players and gave pitching lessons.
As Director of Operations, he is charged with everything from scheduling cages and turf time to making sure machines are in order to the cleanliness of the facility.
He makes sure financials and daily reporting lines up with what’s coming into Pro X.
After coaching at Parkland College in Champaign, Ill., and the University of Indianapolis, Walther worked briefly for Bullpen Tournaments at Grand Park and still helps with that company while also serving as the commissioner of the College Summer League at Grand Park, which had its third season in 2022.
The CSL came about out of players needing a place to compete and train (at Pro X) with many leagues being shut down in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of athletes had spring seasons that were cut short or didn’t start at all.
“We had a lot of time on our hands,” says Walther. “Both of our businesses were shut down about the time (Indiana) opened up (from the lockdown) is when we were able to open up the league.”
Walther says he was one of six people who created the CSL and other people were brought in to make it a reality.
“To start up a league like that you want high-profile players,” says Walther. “It’s tough to get high-profile players if they’ve never heard of your league before.
“Right way we wanted to be able to compete with the Northwoods, the Prospect and the Coastal Plain. I don’t know if anybody’s ever going to compete with the Cape, but we wanted to be up there.”
Walther says getting the amount of players and talent that the CSL did (in 2020) is the whole reason it still exists.
“We just want to make sure that the product we’re putting out there is good for college players as a whole,” says Walther. “It’s good for their development in games and while they’re training (at Pro X) and getting better.
“We want to meet every ask of a college coach. If they have a redshirt and they need them ready for sophomore year when they return to school then we can get them 30, 40, 50 innings. If they want them to throw 20 innings and two innings a week in relief, we’ll follow that, too.
“That’s really what’s set the College Summer League apart.”
Over the past two years, Walther’s commissioner responsibilities have included finding and getting commitments from coaches, recruiting and placing players and taking care of everything from payments to jersey sizes to host families. He coordinates gameday operations and hires sports information interns for the eight-team league.
Those positions are posted in November and December with interviews coming in January and February.
Walther grew up on a farm on the west side of Kankakee, Ill., and is a 2007 graduate of Herscher (Ill.) High School, where his head coach was Eric Regez.
His junior year, Walther was the last one to make cuts for the Tigers varsity and helped his team as a right-handed reliever. As a senior, he was a starter.
“I played the underdog throughout my entire college career,” says Walther, who worked hard to grow his knowledge base while improving his athletic skill set.
“I was a P.O. (Pitcher Only) before P.O. was even a thing. I think I had seven career varsity at-bats.
“I just kept working at it.”
Mark is the son of Eugene and Beth Walther and is about six years younger than brother Todd Walther.
Eugene Walther died of brain cancer when Mark was 18.
“Going into college that pushed me forward,” says Walther. “It always gave me something to work for: Trying to make him proud.”
Walther showed up at walk-on tryouts at Parkland.
“I wasn’t a preferred walk-on or anything,” says Walther. “I found a way to earn a spot.”
The Cobras coaching staff changed Walther’s arm slot from overhand to sidearm/submarine.
“That gave me a whole new life in college baseball,” says Walther, who was frequently used as a freshman and was on scholarship as a sophomore. The latter team won the 2009 National Junior College Athletic Association Division II national championship.
After two years at Parkland playing for Mitch Rosenthal and Matt Kennedy, Walther transferred to NCAA Division II University of Southern Indiana in Evansville. He came out of the bullpen for Tracy Archuleta’s Screaming Eagles (which won an NCAA Division II national crown in 2010).
“I tried to just extend the game and get us to the next guy,” says Walther. “My job was to get us out of jams. There’s not better feeling in the world than coming into the game with the bases loaded and one out and you’re trying to get a ground ball. I lived for those moments.
“Being out there when the adrenaline’s pumping, I’ve yet to find anything to match it.”
After pitching at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis., Todd Walther wound up on the baseball operations side with the Texas Rangers.
Mark used the connection to his advantage.
“I was able to bounce ideas off of him when thing weren’t going my way in bullpens or games,” says Walther.
He got to see video of major league pitchers like Cody Bradford, Darren O’Day and Pat Neshek and could study their mechanics, grips and release points.
Walther was on a path to become a Physical Education teacher and high school coach when a curriculum change at USI that would have taken him longer to get his degree caused him to change his major to Sport Management.
“I started learning more about facility management and running a sports business,” says Walther, who took classes on sports marketing and sports law — things that help him in his position at Pro X.
But Walther did pursue coaching out of college.
He was an assistant at Parkland for a year and helped Kennedy with outfielders, operations and recruiting.
He started what turned out to be a four-year stint at the UIndy as a volunteer learning from Greyhounds pitching coach Jordan Tiegs and serving for head coaches Gary Vaught and Al Ready.
When Tiegs left for Indiana State University, Walther took became pitching coach and recruiting coordinator.
Tiegs is now Drector of Pitching Research and Development for the Rangers — Todd Walther’s former job
“I loved college baseball,” says Mark Walther. “I loved coaching it.
“I really loved the recruiting aspect of college. (Players) need to come to us because we’re going to do a better job of developing them as a player.
“I’m very appreciate of Coach Vaught and Coach Ready for everything they did for me.”
Walther then went into tech recruiting for three months and decided he wanted to get back into baseball.
Pro X has just launched into the travel world with its Phoenix softball teams.
While travel baseball organizations, including the Indiana Bulls, Indiana Nitro and Indiana Prospects, partner with Pro X, there is currently no plans to field travel baseball teams under the Pro X banner.
“Travel baseball really wasn’t a thing when I grew up,” says Walther. “I played community baseball until I was 16 years old. Shortly after that it began to grow a little more.”
His first experience came when the Indiana Bulls and others brought teams to play fall exhibition games his first year at Parkland.
Walther notes that he was lucky enough to be on a winning team from age 10 on. But that was not the case in his early community baseball days.
“I got put on a terrible team,” says Walther. “I had to find a way to try to help the team win and to help players develop themselves and rely on our coaches to do the same.
“Depending on where your talent is you can be put on an elite team and rarely ever have to deal with failure, losing or any kind of adversity and learn to overcome that.
“Being on winning teams is also a positive because you learn what it takes to win. Whether you’re on the field or not you can find ways to help the team win.”
Walther says travel ball is all about finding the right fit for you as a player.
“You want to go where you have a chance to play or have a chance to compete for playing time,” says Walther. “You should never shy away from competing and trying to beat someone out to earn playing time.
“In the game of baseball you’re going to have guys on the bench no matter what. It’s what type of bench guys you have. Do you have guys who are going to work and push themselves and the people that are technically in front of them? Or are they going to just roll over and complain until they move on or join another team?”
Players should make sure the team will be doing what they want to do. Will it be mostly local tournaments are really hitting the road? Is the coaching staff going to help develop them as a player?
Among the things coming up at Pro X are “Hard 90” classes with about 30 minutes each of hitting, defense and speed and agility.
In September, the pitching academy and elite training academy for offense and defense cranks up.
Pro X — with its staff of instructors including Jay Lehr, trainers and medical professionals and former big leaguer Joe Thatcher as president — is also an off-season place to train for professionals, including major leaguers Tucker Barnhart, Lance Lynn and Carlos Rodon and minor leaguers Parker Dunshee and Collin Ledbetter.
Rodon came to Pro X while doing rehab from Tommy John surgery.
“He learned a lot about the body and how it moves and how to become efficient on the mound and use his lower half to try to stay as healthy as possible,” says Walther. “We just do whatever we can to service them whether that’s completely help them with their program or stay out of their way and let them use the weight room.”

Mark Walther, Director of Operations at Pro X Athlete Development and commissioner of the College Summer League at Grand Park, both in Westfield, Ind. (Steve Krah Photo)

Pro

Lefty Lohman competes way to Dodgers organization

August 11, 2022 stvkrh905 Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

College

Bradley’s Husmann makes habit of bashing baseballs

August 2, 2022 stvkrh905 Leave a comment

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

Carson Husmann was known to put baseballs in orbit while playing for the Satellites of South Central Junior/Senior High School in Union Mills, Ind.
The right-handed hitter belted 31 home runs during his prep career, including 14 as a senior in 2019.
Husmann was back at it in 2022 at NCAA Division I Bradley University in Peoria, Ill.
In 49 games (all starts), the corner outfielder hit .277 (52-of-188) with 13 homers, nine doubles, 45 runs batted in, 38 runs scored and .908 OPS (.365 on-base percentage plus .543 slugging average).
Batting in the No. 4 hole in the Braves lineup, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Husmann went to the dish with an idea.
“Hunt the fastball in the (strike) zone and don’t miss it,” says Husmann. “I can do damage with other pitches as well, but I really don’t want to miss the fastball in any count.”
While playing for the Josh Foreman-managed Moon Shots in the 2022 College Summer League at Grand Park, Husmann batted .352 with two homers, eight doubles and 15 RBIs. He also socked a homer in the CSL All-Star Game and made the All-CSL team as an outfielder.
His offensive aim was to improve his small-ball two-strike approach.
“I was working on keeping the ball in the zone,” says Husmann. “Cutting down on the strikeouts is the biggest goal I had this summer.”
He fanned 67 times and walked 20 in the spring.
Husmann did not enjoy much success at the plate his first two seasons at Bradley (2020 and 2021).
In 28 games, he hit .189 (14-of-74) with three homers, two doubles, 14 RBIs and 14 runs.
“Freshman year was a blur with COVID,” says Husmann. “The following year I had an injury that no one really knew about that messed with me mentally.
“Baseball is a mental game for sure.”
Batting in the 5-hole and doing well, Husmann fouled a ball off his left ankle.
“It went down hill from there,” says Husmann. “It was something I was always thinking about.”
There was a persistent cramping feeling.
With air travel restrictions, Bradley had to hit the road.
“We went on 14-hour bus trips back-to-back-to-back and I formed a blood clot,” says Husmann. “I was taking baby aspirin.”
Husmann signed to play with the Duluth (Minn.) Huskies for the 2022 Northwoods League summer season.
But injury caused him to stay closer to home and he was with the Grand Park league champion Bag Bandits (managed by Caleb Fenimore).
That’s where Husmann began to get back on track.
“I got my head right and just went from there,” says Husmann.
At Bradley, he played for head coach Elvis Dominguez and works with hitting coach Kyle Trewyn.
“When I think of Coach D I think of how he’s created a family environment,” says Husmann of Dominguez. “(Trewyn) gets you in a good place to hit. As you get older you can do those things on your own. He always stuck with me. He’s helped me become a better hitter overall.”
Born in Valparaiso, Ind., Husmann grew up in Hanna, Ind.
He played his earliest organized baseball in Hanna then was in travel ball with the Chesterton Vipers, Michigan Blue Jays and Chicago-based Midwest Rangers and subbed with other squads.
“It was with the Blue Jays that I first got individual coaching and started to develop,” says Husmann.
As a four-year varsity player at South Central, he hit over .400 each season and drove in 112 runs in 100 games. He was a Class 1A first-team all-stater.
He was a classmate and teammate of Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South All-Stars MVP Kyle Schmack (now at Valparaiso University).
Ryan Kruszka, who pitched at Butler University was the Satellites head baseball coach. Former Valparaiso U. hurler Jared Miller was pitching coach.
“They had that college experience and were able to make us a better team because of it,” says Husmann. “Our conditioning was college style. It helped me know what to expect (in college).”
The first summer after high school was Husmann’s last with the Midwest Rangers.
In 2020, he was going to play in the Northwoods League with the Lacrosse (Wis.) Loggers. When that team played a modified season because the pandemic, Husmann was able to get in his reps with the Long Boarders of the San Diego League.
He learned about the SDL from Bradley teammate and San Diego native Connor O’Brien.
Husmann, 21, will head back to college with two years of remaining eligibility.
He is 10 hours shy of earning his Business Management and Leadership degree. He expects to be a graduate student in the spring while he works toward a Master of Business Administration.
“If the (Major League Baseball First-Year Player) Draft isn’t an option, I’ll use that fifth year for sure,” says Husmann, a regular on the Bradley Athletic Director’s Honor Roll. “I thought of getting a minor or a second major. But an MBA is a way to separate you from others.”
Carson is the second of Lance and Kim Husmann’s three sons. Cooper (24) played basketball and baseball at South Central and graduated in 2016. Cade (20) was in the South Central Class of 2020.
Former longtime union painter Lance Husmann works at Hard Rock Casino in Gary, Ind. Kim Husmann has worked as a teacher’s assistant.

Carson Husmann (Bradley University Photo)

Carson Husmann (Josh Schwam/Bradley University Photo)

College

Highland alum Ivetic getting ready for next baseball chapter

July 13, 2022 stvkrh905 Leave a comment

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

Dimitri Ivetic does not yet know where he will play college baseball in 2022-23.
But the right-handed pitcher has been in this position before and he’s not pushing the panic button.
Along his college baseball path, 2019 Highland (Ind.) High School graduate Ivetic has been at Palomar College in San Marcos, Calif., Santa Barbara (Calif.) City College and Danville (Ill.) Area Community College.
Ivetic (pronounced Eave-Uh-Titch) made the decision to attend each only a few weeks before going there.
“I think it helps me weigh my options and advice and make the decision that I think works best for me,” says Ivetic, 21.
Born in Dyer, Ind., and played in the Highland Babe Ruth League, then travel ball with Morris Chiefs (now 5 Star Great Lakes Chiefs) coached by Matt Mamula and Dave Sutkowski and Florida Pokers.
His head coach at Highland High was John Bogner.
“He’s very adamant on the fundamentals,” says Ivetic of Bogner. “He was very big on arm healthy and keeping guys healthy. Those are the biggest things I’ve been able to carry over into college.
“We had a rough senior year, but my sophomore and junior years we won quite a few games.”
How did a kid from northwest Indiana end up on the West Coast?
“Ever since I was younger it was my dream to play college baseball,” says Ivetic. “My favorite school was UCLA. I always wanted to play there. I wasn’t good enough to go to UCLA so I decided to go to JUCO out in California.”
Through a friend, Ivetic met Palomar pitching coach Hayden Carter while the latter was managing the summer wood-bat Kokomo (Ind.) Jackrabbits.
After a visit and seeing the facilities and experiencing the weather, Ivetic joined the program. The righty got into five games totaling three innings for the 2020 Palomar Comets.
“I struggled with command a little bit,” says Ivetic. “Then the pandemic hit and we got shut down with mandates and restrictions. We are all like super-disappointed.
“During that time I was able to go throw at nearby fields. On one of the last days I strained my forearm. I felt something pull in there.
“That bugged me for the next couple months. I worked through it and made some mechanical adjustments which ended up paying off.”
Away from baseball, Ivetic went to the beach and on hikes with his roommates.
“We became a lot closer,” says Ivetic. “Those are some of my best friends to this day that I still talk to (regularly).”
In the summer of 2020, Ivetic did not play but trained at Randy Sullivan’s Florida Baseball ARMory in Lakeland.
“He’s a great guy,” says Ivetic of Sullivan. “He’s very innovative. He helped me a lot over the course of a couple years.”
When Ivetic learned that the pandemic was going to keep Palomar from baseball activities in the fall of 2020 he decided to transfer to Santa Barbara City College.
That turned out to be a tough situation with several COVID-19-related shutdowns and — eventually — no 2021 season.
He played for the Bomb Squad in the College Summer League at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind., then went back to Santa Barbara in the fall and it did not go well.
“My velocity was down and I struggled,” says Ivetic. “I made one little adjustment that kind of messed everything up.”
During his fall exit meeting, Ivetic was advised that if he wanted more playing time in 2022 he should transfer so he went back to the Midwest and Danville Area, where he pitched in 12 games (26 2/3 innings) and went 2-2 with two saves, 36 strikeouts and 12 walks.
“Danville was great,” says Ivetic. “The coaches were great. We struggled through some stuff, but overall it was decent.
“I definitely made some memories.”
Throwing from a high three-quarter arm slot, Ivetic uses a four-seam fastball (which has been clocked as high as 90 mph), curveball and sweeping slider.
“My slider is what I’ve been most comfortable with,” says Ivetic. “I can throw it for a strike in basically any count. It’s got more horizontal movement, but sometimes it will start to look more like my curveball.”
Ivetic says he could return to Danville Area in the fall, but has no plans to do so.
“It wouldn’t make much sense to go back to junior college at this point because — academically — it would just put me so far behind on how many credits would transfer,” says Ivetic, a Finance major who is in the Transfer Portal. “I’m not quite sure where I’m going. But we’re starting to get some idea of where I’d like to go.”
Ivetic is back with the CSL’s Bomb Squad and was named to the July 4 All-Star Game. He also trains with PRP Baseball at the Mojo Up Sports Complex in Noblesville, visiting there before games at Grand Park.
PRP Baseball, which was founded by Greg Vogt (now a rehab pitching coach for the Toronto Blue Jays organization), is under the day-to-day guidance of Anthony Gomez. He has coached Ivetic since he was 16.
Dimitri is of Serbian descent and the only child born to Zarko and Paula Ivetic. His father sells for Jack Tuchten Wholesale Produce in Chicago and his mother works at Nordstrom.

College

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

July 13, 2022 stvkrh905 1 Comment

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

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

Rutger Poiry (Eastern Kentucky University Photo)

College

With increased strength, Sharp develops as a pitcher

June 24, 2022 stvkrh905 1 Comment

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

Reese Sharp has thrown a baseball 97 mph.
The right-handed hurler regularly tops 92.
It was with added muscle that he increased his velocity and raised his profile in the game.
“Strength has always been one of main qualities,” says Sharp, who plays for Indiana University and is with the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League this summer. “Being strong and explosive has helped me develop as a pitcher.”
Born and raised in Hamilton County, Ind., Sharp began school in the Hamilton Heights system before moving to Noblesville early in his elementary years.
He played baseball for three seasons at Noblesville High School and finished up his prep career at University High in nearby Carmel, Ind., where he helped the Chris Estep-coached Trailblazers to the 2019 IHSAA Class 1A state championship with 17 strikeouts in the title game against Washington Township.
A rec ball player when his family lived in Cicero, Sharp began taking lessons from Estep at RoundTripper Sports Academy in Westfield at 9 and played for the travel organization led by Estep — the Indiana Mustangs — from 9U through the end of high school.
It was at Noblesville that Sharp was introduced to serious strength and conditioning training by former Butler University pitcher Brian Clarke.
Sharp credits Clarke not only for teaching him about weightlifting but the mental side, too.
The Millers head S&C coordinator taught his athletes about E + R = O (Event plus Response equals Outcome).
“Outcome doesn’t determine how you perform,” says Sharp. “It’s something I have taken with me throughout my career. It’s really helped.
“The process is what’s most important. You can’t control the outcome.”
Sharp has learned to pitch with a short memory and keep his composure even in the tightest jams. He doesn’t let it bother him when opponents and fans are chirping and he’s given up a big hit or multiple runs.
“There’s nothing you can do about it now,” says Sharp. “You’ve got to go and execute the next pitch.”
Sharp, a 6-foot-3, 225-pounder, redshirted as an IU freshman in 2020. In his two seasons with the Jeff Mercer-coached Hoosiers, he is 3-8 with a 5.86 earned run average in 34 appearances (33 as a reliever). In 66 innings, he has 90 strikeouts and 34 walks. All four of his saves came in 2022.
Throwing from a high three-quarter arm angle, Sharp uses a four-seam fastball, “spike” curveball, slider and “circle” change-up.
“My four-seamer — on a good day — is sitting about 92 to 94 and touching 95,” says Sharp. “I got it up to 97.
“My curveball is 12-to-6. My slider has horizontal movement and is completely different than my curveball. It breaks away from righties and and into lefties. My change-up has a little big of tail, drop and depth to it.
“Developing four-pitch mix, the goal in my mind is to be a starter. But whatever the team needs me to do to win I’m going to do that.”
While in Bloomington, Sharp has worked with two pitching coaches — Justin Parker and Dustin Glant.
“(Parker) is a really good mental coach,” says Sharp of the coach now at the University of South Carolina. “He’s very good at getting you prepared to compete and teaches pitchers how to be explosive off the mound. He’s one of the reasons I got a velocity jump in college (coming throwing 89 to 92 mph and touching 93 in the first couple bullpens).
“(Current Indiana pitching coach Glant) is kind of like a pitching guru. He knows his stuff and is a really smart guy. He was with the Yankees and learned a lot of analytical stuff. He has brought that to IU. He helped me develop my slider. It’s become on of my main swing-and-miss pitches.”
The CCBL season is in his second week. Sharp has pitched four innings.
“There’s a really cool atmosphere here,” says Sharp. “We have one ‘off’ day a week. We use those to relax. Baseball can take a toll on your body.”
While there has been no youth camps yet, Sharp says he enjoys sharing his baseball knowledge with youngsters and sees coaching in his future.
Sharp did not play baseball in the summer of 2019. He went to IU, took summer classes and became familiar with the campus and the weight room there.
He played with and competed against friends in the College Summer League at Grand Park in Westfield in 2020.
Last summer, Sharp was with the New England Collegiate Baseball League’s Winnipesaukee Muskrats.
A Sports Marketing and Management major, Sharp has two more semesters to complete his degree.
Adam and Sophia Sharp have two children — Meme (25) and Reese (21). Adam Sharp is a long-time firefighter in Carmel. Sophia Sharp is a nurse. Meme Sharp-Machado is a Noblesville graduate who was a diver at the University of Pittsburgh.

College

Carroll graduate Kuhns honing catching chops in Texas

March 4, 2022 stvkrh905 Leave a comment

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

Sebastian Kuhns is growing as a baseball catcher and the northeast Indiana native is doing it in northeast Texas.
The 2020 graduate of Carroll High School in Fort Wayne is a “COVID” freshman at Paris (Texas) Junior College, which is about 100 miles from Dallas.
Through the Dragons’ first 17 games of 2022, Kuhns was hitting .400 (10-of-25) with five doubles and nine runs batted in over eight games while splitting playing time with freshman Zach Munton.
Kuhns, who missed his senior season at Carroll because of the pandemic, Kuhns split his time in the summer of 2020 between the Chad Hines-coached Indiana Prospects travel team (he played for the Prospects in 2019, too) and the College Summer League at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind. He ended up with the Joe Thatcher-coached Park Rangers.
Kuhns was at Lincoln Trail College in Robinson, Ill., for the 2021 season and hit .268 (11-of-41) with one home run and 13 RBIs in 18 games.
He did not play in the summer of 2021, but trained at PRP Baseball in Noblesville, Ind. He did overall and throwing with Greg Vogt, Anthony Gomez and Justin Hancock, hitting with Quentin Brown and Noah Niswonger and strength workouts with Michael Hammerstand, Christian Sullivan and Bram Wood.
Kuhns is considering another summer of training at PRP Baseball while possibly playing in the CSL.
When Kuhns made it known that he would be transferring from Lincoln Trail, a couple of schools reached out. Among them was Paris, which had three catchers moving on.
“I shot Coach (Clay) Cox a message,” says Kuhns. “He responded and now I’m here. I really enjoyed my phone call with him. I could tell everything he said was genuine.
“I can’t not say enough about Coach Cox. He’s one of the top motivational coaches I’ve had. He knows what to say to get us fired up. He made it clear what the expectations are. Last year (Paris) had like 3.8 team GPA. They do things right here.”
Kuhns signed at Paris — a National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Region 14 member — in mid-June. He he arrived Paris in the fall he was given No. 47.
Any significance to to those digits?
“Not really. Most of our class had already signed,” says Kuhns. “Maybe my arm’s like an AK-47?”
Kuhns is on pace to earn an Associate Degree in Business Management while he hones his skills behind the plate.
“There’s so many games within the game that I love,” says Kuhns, who moved from first base to catcher around age 12. “I take pride in picking up mannerisms of all my pitchers. It’s different for every guy.”
Kuhns appreciates the engagement of the position.
“You’re part of every pitch,” says Kuhns. “My arm is one of the tools that helped me getting into college. I was good at blocking, but my receiving wasn’t great.
“(Receiving) is one of the biggest adjustments for me moving from high school to college, where there is a smaller strike zone. You try to steal strikes for your pitcher and keeps strikes as strikes. I’m working on that art. The strike zone in Texas is even smaller.”
Kuhns talks about the junior college baseball life.
“People throw around JUCO like an adjective,” says Kuhns. “Guys really embrace that. We’re just some gritty guys working hard. That’s one aspect I really like. It really is good baseball. Down here (in Texas) it really is no joke.”
Kuhns played at Carroll for head coach Dave Ginder, who stressed all the situational things like first-and-third and bunt coverages.
“I didn’t fully appreciate everything he did until I got into college,” says Kuhns. “He knows the game really well and he’s really good at passing it on to his players.”
“I see similarities with Coach Cox and Coach Ginder. (Cox) let’s us do our thing. He’s not going to fix it if it ain’t broke.”
As a Chargers sophomore, Kuhns was a third-stringer on a catching corps led by Hayden Jones (who is now in the Cincinnati Reds organization).
“I can’t say enough about Hayden and what he helped me with in high school,” says Kuhns. “He helped me grow up and mature and with baseball in general.
“He comes from a great family. I worked with his dad for a long time.”
Kuhns went to Ken Jones (now assistant at Purdue Fort Wayne) at World Baseball Academy for catching and hitting lessons. The player was also at Wallen Baseball Softball and with the Fort Wayne Cubs/Fort Wayne Diamondbacks.
Born in Auburn, Ind., Kuhns grew up in the Fort Wayne/Huntertown area. His parents are Brian Kuhns (stepmother Sherri Foster) and Kimberly Kuhns. His siblings are Josh Kuhns, Olivia Kuhns, Kesley Foster, Eric Foster, Chris Kiger, Cassandra Kiger and Kyle Kiger.

Sebastian Kuhns (Paris Junior College Photo)

Sebastian Kuhns (Lincoln Trail College Photo)

Sebastian Kuhns catches for Paris (Texas) Junior College. (PJC Photo)

College

Ball State right-hander Johnson impresses in College Summer League at Grand Park

August 2, 2021 stvkrh905 Leave a comment

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

It’s hard not to stand out when you are 6-foot-6. But Ty Johnson did little to rise above as a baseball pitcher until his junior year at Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis.
Johnson entered high school in the fall of 2016 at 5-10. By the end of freshman year he was 6-2. By the close of his sophomore year in 2018 he was 6-6.
“I got hurt a bunch freshman and sophomore year,” says Johnson. “I had growing pains. My body wasn’t ready for it. I was goofy and awkward.
“My junior year I got a little more athletic.”
The right-hander saw some varsity action as a sophomore for Richard Winzenread’s Wildcats then was a regular as a junior in the spring of 2019. He went 3-0 in seven games with an 0.88 earned run average. In 39 2/3 innings, he struck out 60 and walked 20.
That fall he played for Team Indiana, coached by Phil Wade and Blake Hibler.
The COVID-19 pandemic took away the 2020 season — which would have been Johnson’s senior campaign.
The lanky hurler attracted interest from scouts leading into the five-round 2020 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, but was not selected.
By this time he had impressed enough to be signed by Ball State University. An injury kept him out of early action, but he did get into three games for the Ben Norton-coached Local Legends of the College Summer League at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind.
At Ball State, Johnson got to work with Cardinals head coach Rich Maloney and pitching coach Larry Scully.
“He trusts me,” says Johnson of Maloney. “He’s always believed in me. He has my back.
“That’s reassuring.”
Johnson and Scully have grown close.
“He checks in all the time,” says Johnson. “We work on my weaknesses. He’s brutally honest. It’s what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear.
“I respect that.”
Scully has helped Johnson develop a longer delivery to take advantage of his length.
“I can maximize my velo potential,” says Johnson. “It will pay off in the long run.”
In the spring of 2021, Johnson made 15 mound appearances (11 in relief) and went 4-2 with a 6.83 ERA. In 27 2/3 innings, he recorded 34 strikeouts and 14 walks.
In the fall, there was work on a glide step to help in holding baserunners. In-season, there was an emphasis on developing an off-speed pitch and curveball.
His three pitches thrown from a high three-quarter overhand arm slot are a four-seam fastball (which sits at 91 to 93 mph and has reached 94), a change-up and curve.
By the spring, 195-pounder Johnson’s vertical leap was up to 36 inches.
“I’m pretty fast off the mound,” says Johnson. “I’m a lot more athletic than people think.
“This summer I got a lot better at fielding my position.”
Johnson says he would rather be a starting pitcher. He knows there were several on the BSU staff that had earned their way into that role last spring.
“I was suited to be a reliever freshmen year,” says Johnson. “I had no problems with it. I helped them best out of the bullpen.
“I prefer starting. That’s what Ball State wants me to do next year.”
Back in the CSL in 2021 — this time with the Caleb Fenimore-coached Bag Bandits — Johnson pitched in nine games (all starts) and went 5-1 with one complete game and a 2.03 earned run average. In 48 2/3 innings, he fanned 66 and walked 17. He posted a 0.99 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) and opponents hit .176 against him.
Johnson was named College Summer League at Grand Park Pitcher of the Year. The Bag Bandits beat the Snapping Turtles in the league championship game.
The Ball State staff wanted Johnson to play in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League on the East Coast, but the pitcher opted to stay home. He trained in his basement or local gym and was allowed by Winzenread to do his throwing at Lawrence North with Bag Bandits teammate and 2021 LNHS graduate and University of Illinois recruit Cal Shepherd.
Academically, Johnson is undecided on his major. But he has declared Coaching as a minor.
“I could see me doing that the rest of my life,” says Johnson. “I would enjoy my time.”
Johnson was born in Rockwall, Texas, and moved with his family to the Lawrence Township area of Indianapolis when he was 2.
At 6, he played Coach Pitch at what is now Fall Creek Softball and Baseball. From 9U to 12U, he played travel ball for the Indiana Kodiaks, Indiana Mustangs and Oaklandon Youth Organization Bombers.
Johnson was with the Indiana Bulls from 13U to 17U. His head coaches were Tony Cookery, Ryan Bunnell, Dan Held and Troy Drosche.
Basketball was another sport for Johnson until seventh grade. He then decided to concentrate on baseball.
Ty (19) is the youngest of three children born to Rick and Lisa Johnson. There’s also Elle (24) and Pierce (22).
Salesman Rick played football in high school. Part-time receptionist Lisa played basketball.
Elle was born in Wisconsin where she was a high school swimmer. Pierce was born in Texas where he played high school basketball.

Ty Johnson on FOX 59.

Ty Johnson (Ball State University Photo)

Pro

Former Fort Wayne Carroll catcher Jones decides time is right to turn pro

July 31, 2021 stvkrh905 2 Comments

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

Three years after graduating from Carroll High School in Fort Wayne, Ind., Hayden Jones is bigger and stronger and more mature.
Jones, who signed last week as a free agent with the Cincinnati Reds out of Illinois State University, says his biggest growth since his prep days has come on the mental side. That’s why he wanted to go to college first instead of pursuing his pro career right away.
“I put the dollar amount so high no one was going to sign me (out of high school),” says Jones, who turned 21 on April 27. “I’ve learned to accept failure when it comes, knowing its not going to be the end of the world.”
Hayden, whose father Ken Jones was drafted as a catcher by the San Diego Padres in the 33rd round of the 1995 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft and is now a Purdue Fort Wayne assistant coach and grandfather Bill Jones (who died in November 2015) was a founding member and longtime executive director of the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association and selected as an IHSBCA Hall of Famer in 1982, played for Dave Ginder at Carroll. The lefty swinger and earned four letters while garnering IHSBCA all-state honors three times and being selected as MVP of the 2018 IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series.
Hayden’s uncle, Brad Jones, lettered in baseball at Ball State University. His son, Tyler Jones, played at the University of Dayton in 2021. Cousin Chris Menzie was a baseball letterwinner at Huntington (Ind.) University. Jennifer Jones is Hayden’s mother.
Hayden Jones spent his freshmen season at Mississippi State University in 2019, appearing in 27 games (14 starts) and hitting .224 (11-of-49) with one home run, four doubles, five runs batted in, five runs scored and a .636 OPS (.269 on-base percentage plus .367 slugging average). His fielding percentage with the Chris Lemonis-coached Bulldogs was .971 with 64 putouts, three assists and two errors.
Because of NCAA Division I transfer rules, he had to sit out the 2020 season.
In 2021 at Illinois State, he played in 38 games (31 starts) and hit .230 (28-of-122) with five homers, two triples, six doubles, 28 RBIs and 15 runs. His OPS was .730 (.296/.434). He also fielded at a .990 clip with 182 putouts, 21 assists and two errors.
“I loved Mississippi State,” says Jones. “My girlfriend (Savannah Shinn) still lives down there. It just wasn’t a fit (baseball-wise).”
At ISU, Jones worked with Redbirds head coach and former big league catcher Steve Holm.
Jones’ mechanics were changed back to where he had been while working with his father in high school.
“It all clicked from there,” says Jones. “I was growing and maturing and understanding the game at a faster pace.”
To Jones, blocking, receiving and controlling the opponents’ running game are important. But overall baseball knowledge is a major key to catching.
“My dad and grandpa gave me that big piece,” says Jones. “You need that support staff. Now they can let go and let the Reds do the magic. I text my dad every single night. He’s learning from me now.”
Playing 18 games this summer in the new MLB Draft League with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers (Niles, Ohio), Jones hit .237 (9-of-38) with one homer, one double, seven RBIs, six runs and .725 OPS (.383/.342). He learned from manager Coco Crisp and coach Ron Mahay — both former big leaguers.
While he still has years of eligibility left, Jones decided now was the time to move forward as a baseball player.
“I was ready,” says Jones, who was draft eligible three years out of high school. “I wanted to get my career going and get my foot in the door.”
Jones’ name was not called during the 20-round 2021 MLB Draft. The phone did ring five minutes after its conclusion with his agent telling him that Reds senior director of player personnel Jeff Graupe wanted the catcher.
In short order, he was traveling to Goodyear, Ariz., to take a physical and sign his contract with scouting supervisor Andy Stack.
“It was not the money I was expecting, but you don’t make your money until you get to the big leagues,” says Jones, who has began training. He and other free agents and draftees will see if the Reds assign them to the Arizona League, send them out to an affiliate (Low Class-A Daytona, Fla., Tortugas, High Class-A Dayton, Ohio, Dragons, Double-A Chattanooga, Tenn., Lookouts, Triple-A Louisville, Ky., Bats) or just keep working at camp.
“Nobody knows what to expect,” says Jones. “It’s where they need help in the organization.”
Jones spent the summer of 2020 with the Brent McNeil-coached Turf Monsters in the College Summer League at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind. Among those running the CSL were Phil Wade and Blake Hibler, who coached Jones on Team Indiana in the Fall of 2016 and 2017.
Outside the all-star series, Jones was at Mississippi State in the summer of 2018. He was the New England Collegiate Baseball League’s Newport (R.I.) Gulls in 2019.
Jones was pursuing a Recreation and Park Administration at Illinois State. He says he could complete it in another year.