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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Campbell
Redshirt So. UT Jack Ellis (Jeffersonville)

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

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

Connecticut
Sr. RHP Austin Peterson (Chesterton)

Dallas Baptist
So. RHP Jacob Young (Bloomington South)

Dartmouth
So. RHP Shane Bauer (Brebeuf Jesuit)

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

Dixie State
Assistant Coach Bobby Rinard (Mishawaka Marian)

Duke
Sr. OF Damon Lux (Shelbyville)

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

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

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

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

Georgia Tech
So. IF Tim Borden II (Providence)

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

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

Illinois-Chicago
Jr. RHP Chris Torres (Chesterton)

Jacksonville State
So. IF Kody Putnam (Evansville Central)

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

Kennesaw State
Sr. RHP Jack Myers (Indianapolis Cathedral)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mississippi
Jr. RHP Matt Parenteau (Guerin Catholic)

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

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

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

Northern Illinois
Jr. RHP Drew Hasson (Columbus East)

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

Northwestern
First-Yr. RHP Grant Comstock (Valparaiso)

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

Oklahoma State
Jr. RHP Bayden Root (Kokomo)

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

Radford
Jr. RHP Johnny Maynard (Griffith)

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

South Carolina
Assistant Coach Justin Parker (Fort Wayne Wayne)

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

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

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

Texas A&M
Assistant Coach Michael Earley (Anderson)

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

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

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

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

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

Virginia Tech
Sr. RHP Ryan Metz (Fishers)

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

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

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

Wichita State
Head Coach Eric Wedge (Fort Wayne Northrop)

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

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

Xavier
Jr. RHP Cooper Williams (Heritage Christian)

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Bass has guided Greenwood Woodmen baseball since 1998 season

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Like many high school head coaches, Greenwood (Ind.) Community’s Andy Bass absorbed much of his baseball knowledge from his college coach.

Bass was an honorable mention all-conference catcher at Franklin (Ind.) College in 1994. Jim Handley was the Grizzlies head coach.

Handley had pitched at Auburn University and in the Chicago White Sox system in the mid-1970s.

“A lot of coaching stuff I use came from (Handley),” says Bass, who heads into his 22nd season in charge of the Greenwood Woodmen in 2019. “He taught me drills I still use. He was big on fundamentals and using the bunt and hit-and-run to generate offense. We weren’t a big power team (at Franklin).

“Year in and year out, we’re more of a small-ball team (at Greenwood). We have to execute the bunt, hit-and-run and steal.”

Handley’s pitching know-how and Bass working with pitchers helped him understand the importance of locating pitches and changing eye levels and speeds.

Bass, a 1991 graduate of Triton Central High School, where he played for one season for Kent Tresslar, two for Bruce Stone and one for Tim Smith, coached at Waldron (Ind.) High School in Shelby County his first year out of college. His first season as Greenwood head coach was 1998.

The Woodmen went 8-19 in 2018. They were led offensively by seniors T.J. Bass (.375), Brody Tisdale (.326) and Jordan Martin (.284).

Catcher/outfielder T.J. Bass, the coach’s son, is now at Taylor University. Right-handed pitcher/shortstop Tisdale went to Frontier Community College in Fairfield, Ill.  Catcher Jordan Leverett moved on to Anderson University.

Other recent Greenwood graduates going to college baseball include catcher Damon Maynard (Olney Central College in Illinois and an Illinois State University commit), second baseman Jarrett Caster (Franklin College), right-hander Jacob Cutter (Greenville in College in Illinois) and right-hander Reid Werner (University of Indianapolis).

During the Bass era, the Woodmen have produced outfielders Andrew Dimino (Virginia Commonwealth University) and Alex Krupa (MVP in the 2014 Junior College World Series while at Iowa Western Community College and then a player at Indiana University).

Bass sees it as a part of his duties to help a player if they have college baseball aspirations.

“If that’s what they want to do, we do everything we can to help them out,” says Bass. “We talk to coaches and send emails.”

Many times these days, the connection is made through the player’s summer team. But Bass knows he knows the athlete as a student and as part of a family.

“We have a relationship with the player a little better than the travel coach in some of those areas,” says Bass, who has also coached travel ball with the Indiana Astros.

Among those expected back for 2019 at Greenwood are three junior pitchers — Oliver Rau (2-6, 1 save in a team-high 13 appearances), Cameron Crick (2-1 in 10 appearances) and Ben Sobieray (0-5 in 10 appearances).

Bass has kept as many as 45 and as few as 36 players for three teams — varsity, junior varsity and freshmen.

“It depends on where the talent falls and where our needs are,” says Bass, whose teams used two on-campus fields. The higher team plays on the varsity diamond when two are in action at the same time.

A year ago, the varsity field was enclosed for the first time. In the off-season, agricultural lime was added to the warning track and the visitor’s bullpen was re-built. In recent seasons, the dugout railing was extended.

Greenwood is in a Mid-State Conference (with Decatur Central, Franklin Community, Martinsville, Mooresville, Plainfield and Whiteland) and the lone MSC team without a lighted home field.

Conference games are played as home-and-home series on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with Thursday as the rain date.

With this format, Bass says teams are forced develop more pitching depth if they wish to compete.

“You must have two good starting pitchers and at least two good relievers and score runs everyday,” says Bass.

The Woodmen are in an IHSAA Class 4A sectional grouping with Center Grove, Franklin Central, Franklin Community, Martinsville and Whiteland.

Greenwood has won eight sectional titles — the last in 1984.

Bass will be assisted in 2019 Mario Buscemi, Ben Sutton and Christian Cruze. Connor Morris works with both the JV and varsity. Sutton leads the freshmen and Cruze is a volunteer with the freshmen.

Greenwood Little League is considered a feeder system for the high school, but many are playing travel ball at a younger age.

“When I was in school, we played summer ball for our high school against other high schools,” says Bass. “Travel ball wasn’t a big thing back then.”

Bass notes that Phil Webster had his Decatur Central team playing in travel ball tournaments in the summer of 2007 then won an IHSAA state title with that group in 2008.

Andy, a math teacher and assistant athletic director, is married to Jenni. The couple has four children — sons T.J. and Sam (a junior second baseman at Greenwood) and daughters (sixth grader Mary and third grader Claire).

Andy Bass is heading into his 22nd season as head baseball coach at Greenwood (Ind.) High School in 2019.