Rising Sun (Ind.) High School has raised a sectional baseball trophy eight times — all on head coach Kevin Wirsch’s watch. The Shiners have had Wirsch as head coach since the 2000 season and taken IHSAA Class 1A sectional titles in 2002, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2022. The most-recent championship came at the Jac-Cen-Del Sectional (which featured Hauser, Jac-Cen-Del, Oldenburg Academy and Trinity Lutheran) and earned Rising Sun a place in the Morristown Regional on Saturday, June 4. The regional semifinals features 16-8 Rising Sun against Shakamak at 11 a.m., followed by Traders Point Christian vs. Indianapolis Lutheran. The championship is slated for 8 p.m. All but Traders Point received votes in the final regular season Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association poll. In 2013, the Shiners won a regional title and took part in the Plainfield Semistate, bowing to eventual 1A state runner-up Vincennes Rivet. Rising Sun (enrollment around 230) is a member of the Ohio River Valley Conference (with Jac-Cen-Del, Milan, Shawe Memorial, South Ripley, Southwestern of Hanover and Switzerland County). The Shiners went 9-3 in the ORVC, finishing behind Southwestern (11-1). “We’re one of the smallest schools in the state,” says Wirsch, who has also been an English teacher at the school just blocks from the Ohio River since 1999-2000. “I had to work to get players this year.” Because of various factors, Wirsch expects to take 11 players to regional and one of those — senior center fielder Kendell Montgomery — has also qualified for the state track meet in Bloomington and will head there after the regional semifinal to compete in the long jump (his seed mark is 21 feet, 3 3/4 inches). “Believe it or not, we have four and five-sport athletes here,” says Wirsch. “All the coaches (at Rising Sun) know each other and work together. “That’s what makes it possible.” While participation numbers are often an issue, Wirsch has enjoyed success. “The kids that come out, buy in and work hard,” says Wirsch. “They do what we ask them to do. “We try to do the little things right — throw strikes and make plays.” The Shiners won the sectional with a 3-2 win against Hauser in 10 innings and 2-0 triumph against Jac-Cen-Del. Rising Sun is 5-2 in games decided by two runs or less and 1-3 in extra innings. Senior and Earlham College commit Jonathan Jimenez (.431, 3 home runs, 27 runs batted in, 20 runs, 20 stolen bases) leads the offense, which also features junior Peyton Merica (.384, 27 runs, 18 stolen bases), Montgomery (.297, 17 runs), senior third baseman Ashton McCarty (.277, 18 RBI) and junior catcher Brady Works (.267, 21 runs, 17 stolen bases). First baseman Peyton Creech has already joined the National Guard. Right-handers Merica (7-1, 0.53 earned run average with 98 strikeouts and 16 walks in 66 innings) and Jimenez (5-2, 1.83, 83 K’s, 29 walks, 49 2/3 IP) pace the Shiners pitching staff. Each generally takes turns at shortstop or is somewhere in the infield when not on the mound. Wirsch’s assistants include Steve Jimenez, Keith Works, Jason Merica and one of Wirsch’s former players — Brandon Turner. Rising Sun plays home games on its campus at Shiner Ballpark. “It’s a nice field,” says Wirsch. “It’s been upgraded since I’ve been there. We’ve got new dugouts and lights.” The school’s softball field is near the baseball diamond. The Shiners have won eight sectional softball titles. A junior high program at Rising Sun was established about seven years ago. This feeds the high school. Many core players who hone their skills in travel ball in Madison, Cincinnati and northern Kentucky. Recent graduates to move on to college baseball include Class of 2018’s Brent Turner (Huntington University), 2019’s Brayden Bush (Kentucky Wesleyan College), 2020’s Steven Jimenez (Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati) and 2021’s Landon Cole (Franklin College). Wirsch is a 1993 graduate of East Central High School in St. Leon, Ind., where his baseball coach was Bob Benner. He played football and baseball for two years at the University of Evansville. Jim Brownlee was the Purple Aces baseball coach. When UE dropped football, he transferred to Northern Kentucky University, where he earned an English degree. Wirsch is also an assistant football coach at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) High School — where son Ashton (18) played and graduated last weekend — and has coached that sport at South Dearborn. Besides Ashton, Kevin and wife Amy Wirsch have a daughter named Alexandra (23).
Head coach Kevin Wirsch and the Rising Sun Shiners, champions of the 2022 IHSAA Class 1A Jac-Cen-Del baseball sectional.
Notre Dame — the last college baseball team from Indiana left standing in 2022 — found out today (May 30) that the Irish will be in the Statesboro Regional for the 64-team NCAA Division I tournament. The No. 2-seeded Irish (35-14) play No. 3 Texas Tech (37-20) at 2 p.m. Friday, June 3. Site host and top-seeded Georgia Southern (40-18) plays No. UNC Greensboro (34-28) at 7 p.m. Friday. Notre Dame made it to the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. Regionals continue through June 6 with super regionals June 10-13 and the College World Series June 17-27. Ball State made it to the “if necessary” Mid-American Conference tournament championship game against Central Michigan and lost 11-7 to wind up the season at 40-19 overall and 32-7 as MAC regular-season champions. Central Michigan earned an automatic NCAA tournament bid. Evansville (32-24, 14-6), Indiana State (26-22-1, 10-10-1) and Valparaiso (16-32, 5-15) bowed out in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. Seasons came to a close for Purdue (29-21, 9-12) and Indiana (27-32, 10-14) at the Big Ten tournament. Purdue Fort Wayne (18-36, 13-15) finished up in the Horizon League tournament. In the past few weeks, conferences have handed out postseason awards at the NCAA D-I, D-II and D-III, NAIA and junior college levels and there is a list of those below.
Junior College Michigan Community College: MARIAN’S ANCILLA — if Rylan Huntley (first team), if Josh Ledgard (honorable mention). Mid-West: Vincennes — ss Peyton Lane (second team), ut Colton Evans (second team).
Week of May 23-29 NCAA D-I Tuesday, May 24 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Pittsburgh 12, Georgia Tech 6 North Carolina State 11, Wake Forest 8 North Carolina 9, Clemson 2
Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Missouri State 9, Illinois State 4
Wednesday, May 25 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Pittsburgh 6, Louisville 5 Florida State 13, Virginia 3 North Carolina State 9, Miami 6
Horizon League Tournament Youngstown State 6, Purdue Fort Wayne 0 Northern Kentucky 3, Illinois-Chicago 2
Mid-American Conference Tournament Central Michigan 11, Toledo 10
Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Indiana State 8, Valparaiso 0 Missouri State 5, Southern Illinois 1 Evansville 9, Indiana State 1
Thursday, May 26 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Georgia Tech 9, Louisville 4 Notre Dame 5, Florida State 3 Virginia Tech 18, Clemson 6
Big Ten Conference Tournament Penn State 5, Iowa 2 Rutgers 10, Purdue 3 Maryland 6, Indiana 5 Michigan 7, Illinois 5
Horizon League Tournament Wright State 18, Northern Kentucky 4 Oakland 2, Youngstown State 0
Mid-American Conference Tournament Ball State 6, Ohio 4
Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Dallas Baptist 4, Bradley 3
Friday, May 27 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Notre Dame 3, Virginia 0 Wake Forest 16, Miami 3 North Carolina 10, Virginia Tech 0
Big Ten Conference Tournament Iowa 5, Purdue 4 Rutgers 5, Penn State 4 Indiana 8, Illinois 1 Michigan 15, Maryland 8
Horizon League Tournament Youngstown State 11, Northern Kentucky 7 Wright State 14, Oakland 3 Oakland 4, Youngstown State 2
Mid-American Conference Tournament Toledo 13, Ohio 5 Ball State 9, Central Michigan 7
Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Southern Illinois 8, Indiana State 2 Missouri State 19, Bradley 3 Evansville 21, Dallas Baptist 2
Saturday, May 28 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament North Carolina 7, Notre Dame 2 North Carolina State 8, Pittsburgh 3
Big Ten Conference Tournament Iowa 11, Penn State 3 Indiana 6, Maryland 4 (11 inn.) Iowa 7, Michigan 3 Rutgers 14, Indiana 2
Horizon League Championship Wright State 24, Oakland 0
Mid-American Conference Tournament Central Michigan 10, Toledo 7 Central Michigan 12, Ball State 3
Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Southern Illinois 7, Dallas Baptist 5 Missouri State 7, Evansville 6 Southern Illinois 8, Evansville 5
Sunday, May 29 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Championship North Carolina 9, North Carolina State 5
Big Ten Conference Tournament Michigan 13, Iowa 1 Championship Michigan 10, Rutgers 4
Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship Central Michigan 11, Ball State 7
Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Southern Illinois 9, Missouri State 6 Championship Missouri State 13, Southern Illinois 3
Ball State pushed its victory streak to 11 games and Evansville won for the sixth straight time as part of college baseball the week of May 2-8. The NCAA Division I Cardinals (32-14, 26-4) won the first three games of a Mid-American Conference series at Kent State. BSU has two more four-game MAC series left — May 13-15 vs. Ohio and May 19-21 at Miami (Ohio). The double-elimination MAC tournament is May 25-28 (highest seed hosts). The D-I Purple Aces (27-18, 12-3) took three from visiting Missouri Valley Conference foe Illinois State. First-place Evansville is a half game ahead of Southern Illinois in the MVC. The double-elimination Valley tournament is May 24-28 in Springfield, Mo. Besides a midweek non-conference home games against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville May 11 and Murray State May 17, UE has conference series May 13-15 at Dallas Baptist and May 20-22 at home against Valparaiso. NAIA double-elimination conference tournaments have already began. Indiana University Southeast (38-13) takes an eight-game win streak into the River States Conference tournament championship game May 9 against Point Park in Chillicothe, Ohio. The Crossroads League tournament had its first session May 7 and others are slated for May 9-11 at Taylor. The host Trojans (37-16) have won their last five games. Northwestern Ohio won a pair of 10-inning games May 7 against Indiana Tech to earn a spot in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament championship series May 9-10 (if necessary). Two of the state’s NCAA Division II teams have qualified for double-elimination conference tournament play. Indianapolis will take part in the eight-team Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament May 12-15 in St. Charles, Mo. UIndy has won a GLVC-record six league titles. Purdue Northwest will be a part of the six-team Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament May 12-15 at U.S. Steel Yard in Gary, Ind., and Dowling Park in Hammond, Ind. (Games 7 and 8). Indiana will send six of its NCAA Division III squads into double-elimination conference tournament action. Franklin, Rose-Hulman, Earlham, Hanover and Anderson are to play in the five-team Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament is slated for May 12-15 at Kokomo Municipal Stadium. DePauw, which is riding an 11-game win streak, is bound for the four-team North Coast Athletic Conference tournament May 12-14 in Chillicothe, Ohio.
INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL Records Through May 8 NCAA D-I Ball State 32-14 (26-4 MAC) Notre Dame 28-10 (13-8 ACC) Evansville 27-18 (12-3 MVC) Purdue 26-16 (7-9 Big Ten) Indiana State 23-16 (8-7 MVC) Indiana 22-25 (8-10 Big Ten) Butler 18-29-1 (2-12-1 Big East) Valparaiso 14-28 (2-10 MVC) Purdue Fort Wayne 13-31 (10-14 Horizon)
Week of May 2-8 NCAA D-I Tuesday, May 3 Illinois 6, Indiana State 3
Friday, May 6 Evansville 5, Illinois State 4 Michigan 8, Indiana 4 Iowa 5, Purdue 2
Saturday, May 7 Ball State 12, Kent State 0 Xavier 7, Butler 5 Xavier 19, Butler 8 Evansville 5, Illinois State 3 Indiana 9, Michigan 5 Indiana State 8, Bradley 5 (12 inn.) Bradley 4, Indiana State 3 Purdue 10. Iowa 6 Dallas Baptist 5, Valparaiso 1 Dallas Baptist 3, Valparaiso 0
Sunday, May 8 Ball State 9, Kent State 5 Ball State 9, Kent State 3 Xavier 11, Butler 2 Evansville 4, Illinois State 3 Indiana 10, Michigan 8 Bradley 5, Indiana State 3 Iowa 9, Purdue 1 Purdue Fort Wayne 3, Illinois-Chicago 2 Illinois-Chicago 11, Purdue Fort Wayne 6 Dallas Baptist 8, Valparaiso 3
NCAA D-II Friday, May 6 Davenport 6, Purdue Northwest 2
Saturday, May 7 Southern Indiana 7, Indianapolis 4 Southern Indiana 5, Indianapolis 3 Davenport 3, Purdue Northwest 1 Davenport 6, Purdue Northwest 4
Sunday, May 8 Southern Indiana 9, Indianapolis 7 Southern Indiana 11, Indianapolis 8 Davenport 5, Purdue Northwest 3
NCAA D-III Wednesday, May 4 Manchester 6, Anderson 5 Anderson 6, Manchester 5 DePauw 6, Wabash 5 DePauw 5, Wabash 4 Franklin 13, Earlham 9 Earlham 8, Franklin 4
Thursday, May 5 Hope 2, Trine 1
Saturday, May 7 Manchester 3, Earlham 1 Earlham 12, Manchester 3 Franklin 9, Hanover 6 Franklin 11, Hanover 6 Rose-Hulman 15, Defiance 0 Defiance 5, Rose-Hulman 3 Hope 12, Trine 3 Hope 11, Trine 2 Denison 9, Wabash 3 Denison 19, Wabash 5
Sunday, May 8 Transylvania 10, Anderson 2 Anderson 4, Transylvania 3 DePauw 13, Allegheny 4 DePauw 14, Allegheny 5 Rose-Hulman 10, Wabash 4 Rose-Hulman 10, Wabash 3
NAIA Thursday, May 5 River States Conference Tournament IU Southeast 5, Rio Grande 3 Point Park 11, Oakland City 0 Midway 12, IU-Kokomo 11
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament St. Francis (Ill.) 6, Roosevelt 0 Judson 8, Saint Xaver 1
Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament Madonna 5, Cornerstone 4 Cornerstone 5, Lawrence Tech 1 Lawrence Tech 16, Madonna 6 Indiana Tech 2, Concordia 1 Northwestern Ohio 4, Concordia 2
Friday, May 6 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament St. Ambrose 14, Calumet of St. Joseph 13 (10 inn.) Olivet Nazarene 5, IU South Bend 4
Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament Cornerstone 7, Madoona 4 Madonna 11, Lawrence Tech 1
Saturday, May 7 Crossroads League Tournament Indiana Wesleyan 4, Marian 2 Taylor 9, Spring Arbor 2 Saint Francis 5, Mount Vernon Nazarene 1 Huntington 8, Bethel 0
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Saint Xavier 13, Calumet of St. Joseph 4 IU South Bend 9, Roosevelt 1 St. Ambrose 5, Judson 2 Olivet Nazarene 4, St. Francis (Ill.) 3 (10 inn.)
River States Conference Tournament Oakland City 6, Rio Grande 1 IU Southeast 4, IU-Kokomo 0 Point Park 11, Midway 5
Sunday, May 8 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Judson 7, IU South Bend 5 St. Francis (Ill.) 7, Saint Xavier 5 Judson 4, St. Francis (Ill.) 3 Olivet Nazarene 5, St. Ambrose 2
River States Conference Tournament IU Southeast 9, Point Park 7 Midway 10, Oakland City 9 Point Park 13, Midway 3
Junior College Monday, May 2 Lewis & Clark 5, Vincennes 0 Vincennes 9, Lewis & Clark 7
Thursday, May 5 NJCAA Sub-Regional Ivy Tech Northeast 8, Lakeland 0 Edison State 4, Ivy Tech Northeast 2
Friday, May 6 Grand Rapids 10, Marian’s Ancilla 0 Grand Rapids 2, Marian’s Ancilla 0
Saturday, May 7 Grand Rapids 9, Marian’s Ancilla 3 Grand Rapids 4, Marian’s Ancilla 3
Three Indiana-based Crossroads League head coaches reached victory milestones as the regular season came to a close the week of April 25-May 1. Taylor’s Kyle Gould earned his 600th win, Indiana Wesleyan’s Rich Benjamin his 500th and Bethel’s Seth Zartman his 400th. The eight-team Crossroads League tournament is slated for May 6-10 at Taylor. Mount Vernon Nazarene won the regular-season title. Seeds 2-8 are Taylor, Indiana Wesleyan, Huntington, Bethel, Spring Arbor and Saint Francis. The 2022 season came to a close for CL members Grace and Goshen. Indiana Southeast swept three River States Conference games from Midway and Oakland City went 3-0 in conference play against Ohio Christian. The six-team RSC tournament featuring Indiana Southeast, Indiana University Kokomo and Oakland City is May 5-8 in Chillicothe, Ohio. Indiana Tech went 2-0 against Northwestern Ohio in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference games. The WHAC tournament first round is May 5-6 with No. 5 seed Indiana Tech, No. 1 Northwestern Ohio (host) and No. 6 Concordia in Pod B. The championship round is slated for May 9-10. The tournament winner receives the second automatic qualifier to the NAIA national tournament. If it is the conference champion, then the runner up of the tournament will receive the second berth. NCAA Division I Ball State (29-14, 23-4) ran its win streak to eight and took over the lead in the Mid-American Conference with a four-game sweep of visiting Central Michigan. The Chippewas had won 22 straight MAC games prior to Friday’s loss to the Cardinals. Four-game conference series against Kent State, Ohio and Miami remain on BSU’s regular-season slate. The MAC tournament is schedule for May 25-28. Notre Dame (28-10, 13-8) won two of three games in an Atlantic Coast Conference series against Boston College. The Irish are No. 8 in the D1Baseball.com RPI. Evansville (24-18, 9-3) took all three Missouri Valley Conference games from Bradley. Purdue (25-14, 6-7) went 2-1 vs. Michigan and Indiana (20-24, 6-9) 2-1 against Illinois in a pair of Big Ten Conference series. NCAA Division II Southern Indiana split four Great Lakes Valley Conference games against Missouri Science & Technology. NCAA D-III Franklin won both Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference contests against Transylvania. Also in the HCAC, Hanover was 2-0 against Transylvania and 1-1 vs. Defiance, Rose-Hulman 2-0 against Bluffton, Manchester 1-1 vs. Mount St. Joseph and Earlham and Anderson split a two-game series. The five-team HCAC tournament is scheduled for May 12-15 at Kokomo Municipal Stadium. Wabash went 1-1 against Hiram in North Coast Athletic Conference play. The four-team NCAC tournament is May 12-14 in Chillicothe, Ohio. By beating Anderson Wednesday, DePauw’s Blake Allen got his 100th career victory as a head coach.
Wednesday, April 27 Indiana 3, Illinois State 1 Michigan State 7, Purdue Fort Wayne 4
Friday, April 29 Ball State 7, Central Michigan 1 Connecticut 8, Butler 7 (10 inn.) Evansville 6, Bradley 5 Indiana 7, Illinois 6 Missouri State 7, Indiana State 6 Boston College 7, Notre Dame 4 Purdue 18, Michigan 4 Illinois-Chicago 7, Purdue Fort Wayne 3 Southern Illinois 4, Valparaiso 0
Saturday, April 30 Ball State 6, Central Michigan 4 Ball State 10, Central Michigan 7 Connecticut 14, Butler 7 Evansville 8, Bradley 7 Illinois 18, Indiana 10 Missouri State 11, Indiana State 4 Notre Dame 11, Boston College 5 Purdue 12, Michigan 4 Illinois-Chicago 4, Purdue Fort Wayne 2 Southern Illinois 15, Valparaiso 12
Sunday, May 1 Ball State 4, Central Michigan 3 Connecticut 17, Butler 4 Evansville 15, Bradley 4 Indiana 11, Illinois 7 Indiana State 8, Missouri State 1 Notre Dame 16, Boston College 10 Michigan 13, Purdue 2 Illinois-Chicago 21, Purdue Fort Wayne 5 Valparaiso 11, Southern Illinois 10
NCAA D-II Tuesday, April 26 Ohio Dominican 13, Indianapolis 3 Ohio Dominican 2, Indianapolis 1 Kentucky Wesleyan 11, Southern Indiana 7
Friday, April 29 Illinois-Springfield 15, Indianapolis 2 Wayne State 23, Purdue Northwest 4 Southern Indiana 12, Missouri S&T 9
Saturday, April 30 Indianapolis 9, Illinois-Springfield 8 Illinois-Springfield 11, Indianapolis 1 Wayne State 9, Purdue Northwest 2 Wayne State 9, Purdue Northwest 2 Southern Indiana 7, Missouri S&T 6 Missouri S&T 5, Southern Indiana 1
Sunday, May 1 Illinois-Springfield 11, Indianapolis 10 (10 inn.) Purdue Northwest 11, Wayne State 10 Missouri S&T 5, Southern Indiana 1 Missouri S&T 12, Southern Indiana 9
NCAA D-III Monday, April 25 Webster 5, Franklin 1 Webster 7, Franklin 1 Calvin 15, Trine 5
Tuesday, April 26 DePauw 12, Rose-Hulman 8 Hanover 19, Transylvania 7 Hanover 20, Transylvania 13 Huntington 10, Manchester 1
Wednesday, April 27 DePauw 11, Anderson 10 Denison 15, Hanover 8 Indiana Tech 15, Manchester 5 Rose-Hulman 5, Greenville 2
Friday, April 29 Earlham 7, Anderson 4 Anderson 7, Earlham 6
Saturday, April 30 Franklin 9, Transylvania 6 Franklin 5, Transylvania 4 Hanover 5, Defiance 1 Defiance 8, Hanover 4 Manchester 9, Mount St. Joseph 6 Mount St. Joseph 8, Manchester 7 Albion 8, Trine 4 Trine 3, Albion 1 Wabash 8, Hiram 6 Hiram 6, Wabash 5 (11 inn.)
NAIA Tuesday, April 26 IU Kokomo 7, Grace 2 Huntington 10, Manchester 1 St. Francis (Ill.) 9, Indiana Tech 8 Indiana Tech 10, St. Francis (Ill.) 2 IU Southeast 11, Cumberlands 9 Kentucky State 2, Oakland City 0 Kentucky State 2, Oakland City 0
Wednesday, April 27 Calumet of St. Joseph 5, Trinity International 4 Calumet of St. Joseph 6, Trinity International 1 Indiana Tech 15, Manchester 5 St. Francis (Ill.) 2, IU South Bend 1 St. Francis (Ill.) 6, IU South Bend 2
Thursday, April 28 IU Southeast 3, Midway 2 IU Southeast 8, Midway 7 Oakland City 3, Ohio Christian 2 (11 inn.)
Friday, April 29 Bethel 7, Saint Francis 4 Saint Francis 5, Bethel 4 Roosevelt 20, Calumet of St. Joseph 6 Roosevelt 5, Calumet of St. Joseph 2 Goshen 10, Spring Arbor 6 Spring Arbor 10, Goshen 3 Taylor 9, Grace 0 Taylor 16, Grace 0 Mount Vernon Nazarene 13, Huntington 0 Mount Vernon Nazarene 17, Huntington 16 IU Kokomo 8, Point Park 5 Point Park 5, IU Kokomo 4 IU Southeast 12, Midway 6 IU South Bend 12, Lincoln 7 Indiana Wesleyan 9, Marian 2 Indiana Wesleyan 11, Marian 3 Oakland City 10, Ohio Christian 9 Oakland City 7, Ohio Christian 6
Saturday, April 30 Bethel 5, Saint Francis 3 Bethel 2, Saint Francis 1 Roosevelt 4, Calumet of St. Joseph 1 Spring Arbor 13, Goshen 6 Spring Arbor 11, Goshen 9 Taylor 19, Grace 11 Taylor 9, Grace 8 Mount Vernon Nazarene 5, Huntington 0 Mount Vernon Nazarene 7, Huntington 0 Indiana Tech 8, Northwestern Ohio 1 Indiana Tech 5, Northwestern Ohio 2 Point Park 7, IU Kokomo 5 IU South Bend 15, Lincoln 6 Lincoln 1, IU South Bend 0 (10 inn.) Indiana Wesleyan 8, Marian 3 Marian 8, Indiana Wesleyan 5
Junior College Tuesday, April 26 Lincoln Trail 12, Vincennes 7
Josh Clinkenbeard knows the life lessons that can be learned through athetics. He absorbed them as a baseball and football player at Fort Wayne (Ind.) Snider High School and continues to make it a focus as he has moved up from Panthers assistant to baseball head coach at his alma mater in 2022. “One of the biggest messages we are trying to share with our guys is about being a good community member,” says Snider Class of 1999’s Clinkenbeard, a former outfielder, first baseman and pitcher for Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Andy Owen (Marc Skelton and Bruce Meyer were assistants; Skelton became head coach after Owen and both Skelton and Meyer retired from baseball coaching after 2021) and tight end for Indiana Football Hall of Famer Russ Isaacs. “As individuals, we will always be a part of some collective group. “We remind ourselves to be good teammates. We also try to relate our sport to real life like dealing with adversity and working with others, for example.” Clinkenbeard recalls lessons learned from Owen and company. “One of the biggest things I remember that still rings true with me is how to handle physical mistakes versus mental mistakes as a coach,” says Clinkenbeard. “Dealing with the mental side of sports can be taught and modeled in practice.” Snider (enrollment around 1,900) is a member of the Summit Athletic Conference (with Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, Fort Wayne Carroll, Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran, Fort Wayne North Side, Fort Wayne Northrop, Fort Wayne South Side, Fort Wayne Wayne and Homestead). SAC teams play home-and-series in the same week against conference opponents. The Panthers are in an IHSAA Class 4A sectional grouping with Carroll, DeKalb (host), East Noble and Northrop. Snider has won 11 sectional titles — the last in 2017. Clinkenbeard was part of that coaching staff. With 31 players in 2022 for varsity and junior varsity squads, Clinkenbeard is assisted by Payton Bieker, Brandon Phelps, Chase Phelps, Tim McCrady and Jimmy Cunningham. All but Cunningham are Snider graduates. Bieker (Class of 2008) played at Purdue University, Brandon Phelps (Class of 2013) and Chase Phelps (Class of 2016) at what is now Purdue Fort Wayne. McCrady (Class of 1983) is the JV head coach. Cunningham is a first-year coach. The Panthers play on Hawley Field (a diamond four miles east of Snider named for former athletic director Michael Hawley who helped plan and build the complex). The facility has been upgraded with irrigation and improved drainage. “The long-term goal is to have lock rooms on-site with indoor batting cages,” says Clinkenbeard. Snider baseball once played at Carrington Field. When the original was torn down to make room for Memorial Stadium (home of the Fort Wayne Wizards), a new Carrington Field was establish across Coliseum Boulevard. When Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne (now PFW) purchsed the land, Snider went looking for a new home field. “The unique part is that we are not on-site which creates many challenges, but because we are nestled among some housing additions it gives us a feeling of being part of a community.” A 2003 graduate of Butler University with a degree in Biology with a teaching certificate, Clinkenbeard is in his 18th year as a middle school teacher. Before a rotator cuff injury ended his career, the first baseman was a walk-on at Butler for head coach Steve Farley. “Great coach who really showed me the details of the game,” says Clinkenbeard of Farley. “There are many drills we did in college that we incorporate in our team today.” Jakob Byler (University of Saint Francis) and Trevor Newman (Franklin College) are college commits. Mac Hippenhammer (Class of 2017) went to Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) to play baseball and football. Josh and wife Krisanne Clinkenbeard have three children — Olivia, Jase and Hayes.
Fort Wayne Snider High School coaches gather around the 2017 IHSAA Class 4A DeKalb Sectional championship trophy. They are (from left): First row — Payton Bieker, Marc Skelton and Tim McCrady; Second row — Rob Hale, Bruce Meyer, Josh Clinkenbeard and Bruce Dohrn.
Earlham junior Andrew Bradley belted five home runs in a doubleheader sweep of visiting Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference foe Defiance April 6. The clean-up hitter launched two dingers each in the first and third innings of a 40-7 Game 1 rout. In Game 2, he circled the bases in the third frame as the Quakers won 12-3. The games were contested at Randal R. Sadler Stadium. For the week of week of April 4-10, NCAA Division III Earlham went 3-1 and is 16-6 overall and 5-1 in the HCAC. Earlham is in three-way tie atop the conference standings with Franklin (20-6 overall) and Anderson (13-10). NAIA Taylor went 3-1 on the week and moved to 27-11 overall and 17-5 in the Crossroads League, which ties the Trojans for first place with Mount Vernon Nazarene. Taylor junior T.J. Bass (Greenwood Community) has raised his season totals to 13 home runs and 60 runs batted in. With two wins Sunday against Point Park, first-place Indiana University Southeast moved to 24-10 overall and 12-2 in the River States Conference. Heading into Game 3 of the Point Park series today (April 11), Grenadiers coach Ben Reel has 499 career victories. Indiana Tech has won five straight. The Warriors are 18-15 overall and 6-4 in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. In NCAA Division I, Purdue (20-7 overall, 2-4 in the Big Ten) took two of three games from visiting Indiana (12-17, 2-3) at Alexander Field. Game 1 Saturday saw the Boilers roll 17-0. Redshirt junior left-hander Jackson Smeltz (McCutcheon) gave up one hit in eight innings with 13 strikeouts. In Sunday’s doubleheader, the Hoosiers prevailed 10-3 with freshman Brock Tibbitts cracking his seventh homer of 2022. Purdue outlasted Indiana 16-15 in the nightcap. Redshirt sophomore Cam Thompson smacked a three-run homer and drove in four runs for the Boilers. Thompson paces the team with 10 circuit clouts. Notre Dame pushed its win streak to eight games. The Irish (20-5 overall, 8-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) are 6-1 at Frank Eck Stadium, including 4-0 this past week. D1Baseball.com has Notre Dame No. 3 nationally in RPI. Indiana State is No. 60, Ball State No. 103, Evansville No. 119, Purdue No. 133, Indiana No. 156, Butler No. 187, Valparaiso No. 206 and Purdue Fort Wayne No. 230. Purdue Fort Wayne is on a season-best four-game win streak after besting Michigan once and Wisconsin-Milwaukee three times.
Sunday, April 10 Anderson 13, Mount St. Joseph 9 Anderson 11, Mount St. Joseph 0 DePauw 7, Oberlin 3 DePauw 16, Oberlin 10 Hanover 3, Earlham 1 Earlham 7, Hanover 3 Franklin 10, Defiance 2 Franklin 7, Defiance 4 Rose-Hulman 5, Manchester 2 Rose-Hulman 22, Manchester 9 Kalamazoo 5, Trine 2 Kalamazoo 18, Trine 5 Kenyon 5, Wabash 1 Kenyon 10, Wabash 4
NAIA Monday, April 4 Bethel 10, Marian 6 Bethel 12, Marian 11 Calumet of Saint Joseph 7, Trinity International 3 Mount Vernon Nazarene 8, Goshen 4 Mount Vernon Nazarene 6, Goshen 2 Indiana Wesleyan 11, Grace 4 Grace 4, Indiana Wesleyan 2 Taylor 13, Saint Francis 7 Taylor 8, Saint Francis 3
Tuesday, April 5 IU Kokomo 6, Indiana Tech 5 (8 inn.) Judson 4, IU South Bend 3 Judson 15, IU South Bend 10
Wednesday, April 6 Indiana Tech 15, Wright State-Lake 2
Thursday, April 7 Ivy Tech Northeast 12, Indiana Tech JV 3 Indiana Tech JV 6, Ivy Tech Northeast 5 Mount Vernon Nazarene 7, Saint Francis 6 Saint Francis 8, Mount Vernon Nazarene 3 Vincennes 12, Oakland City JV 5
Saturday, April 9 Marian 7, Grace 5 Grace 12, Marian 2 Huntington 17, Indiana Wesleyan 7 Huntington 2, Indiana Wesleyan 1 Trinity Christian 5, IU South Bend 4 (9 inn.) Trinity Christian 10, IU South Bend 5 Taylor 5, Spring Arbor 3 Spring Arbor 4, Taylor 3
Sunday, April 10 Goshen 4, Bethel 2 Goshen 5, Bethel 2 St. Ambrose 14, Calumet of Saint Joseph 4 St. Ambrose 11, Calumet of Saint Joseph 3 West Virginia Tech 8, IU Kokomo 6 West Virginia Tech 2, IU Kokomo 0 IU Southeast 6, Point Park 5 IU Southeast 5, Point Park 3 Indiana Tech 4, Cleary 0 Indiana Tech 12, Cleary 5 Midway 3, Oakland City 2 Oakland City 14, Midway 0
Junior College Tuesday, April 5 Ivy Tech Northeast 21, Glen Oaks 7
An investment has been made in the future of baseball at Western Boone Junior/Senior High School in Thorntown, Ind., and Michael Nance is part of it. After coaching travel ball in the community, in the junior high program that feeds the high school and helping at the high school level, Nance was hired in July 2021 to guide the Webo Stars. The junior high team has players in Grades 6-8 and plays 12 to 14 games in the spring. Nance reached out to Western Boone Little League and a partnership was formed. The Western Boone Baseball Club offers instruction on Sundays to players age 9 to 12 not involved in travel ball. “It’s an opportunity to get these kids more baseball reps all year,” says Nance. Out of that came 12U and 10U club teams that offer additional games to the Little League schedule. Knowing his current players and what’s in the pipeline, Nance is upbeat in leading a program which produced five varsity victories in 2019 and four in 2021. “I think we can win,” says Nance. “I’m very excited about the next six or eight years from what I can see coming.” Western Boone’s four seniors are Casey Baird, Will Barta, Evan Hine and Mitch Miller. Baird, who has committed to Franklin (Ind.) College for football, will be called on to play multiple positions, including shortstop, second base, catcher and relief pitcher. Barta is a designated hitter. Georgetown (Ky.) College-bound Evan Hine (.325 average with a team-best .509 on-base percentage in 2021) is a third baseman. Miller, who led the Stars with .349 average last season, is a center fielder and lead-off hitter. There’s also junior first baseman Andrew Foster, sophomore left-handed pitcher/right fielder Jackson Grimes, sophomore right-hander/left fielder Luke Jackson, sophomore righty/shortstop Bryce Kopriva, sophomore catcher and clean-up hitter Cole Wiley and freshman second baseman Gavin Hawkins. Nance labels Kopriva, Jackson and Grimes as 1, 1A and 1B on his pitching staff. He points out that athletic Hawkins was the No. 1 singles player in tennis and played on the junior varsity team in basketball. Former Marian University pitcher Gabe Westerfeld is a varsity assistant coach and the program’s pitching coordinator. “We are really, really young on the mound,” says Nance. “Gabe has our young guys believing and there have been velocity increases.” Eric Gubera is JV coach and is also in charge of outfielders and base runners. He has coached with Nance in the summer since their sons were 8. Two years ago, they became affiliated with the Indiana Braves. This summer, they will guide the 12U Indiana Yard Goats — a squad that includes six players from Western Boone, three from Avon and one from Brownsburg player. Nance, who was a catcher at Lebanon (Ind.) High School, Ancilla College (Donaldson, Ind.) and MacMurray College (Jacksonsonville, Ill.), handles catchers, infielders and hitters. There are 22 players in the program and all practice together. Western Boone (enrollment around 510) is a member of the Sagamore Conference (with Crawfordsville, Danville Community, Frankfort, Lebanon, North Montgomery, Southmont and Tri-West Hendricks). The Stars are part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping with Clinton Prairie, Delphi (2022 host), Fountain Central and Seeger. Western Boone has won two sectional titles — 1982 and 1983. Western Boone is scheduled to open the 2022 season with three games this weekend in Unionville, Tenn., south of Nashville. An optional part of the spring break trip is attending Sunday’s Tennessee at Vanderbilt college game. The Stars play home contests on-campus with side-by-side varsity and JV diamonds north of the school building. This year, the Stars got new brick dust for the infield and new wind screens for the outfield as well as a Hack machine and new L screens. At the end of the season, lights will go up. “It’s a really nice place to play,” says Nance. A 2004 Lebanon graduate, Nance played for Tigers head coach Rick Cosgray. “He demanded a lot but got more out kids than they knew they were capable,” says Nance. “You knew he really loved the game. He was always so upbeat and positive. “I have nothing but admiration for Coach Cosgray. I try to run my program like him.” Nance played for two head coaches at Ancilla — Rockie Dodds and Joe Yonto. “(Yonto) had a profound impact on me,” says Nance. “He showed me how to see the ball out of the pitcher’s hand (through eye-specific muscle training.” In Nance’s last year at MacMurray, former high school coach Fred Curtis led the Highlanders. “He just loved the game,” says Nance. “He said if you do the fundamentals right and not walk people, you can win ball games.” Nance says he also appreciates the mentoring and assistance he’s received from men also leading high school programs — among them Matthew Cherry (Fishers), Troy Drosche (Avon) and Andy Dudley (Frankfort). “There’s been such support from the coaching community,” says Nance. “They’ve been willing to help.” Nance earned a Special Education degree at MacMurray and a masters in Criminal Justice from Xavier University in Cincinnati. This summer will mark 15 years with Boone County Community Corrections. After starting out as a probation officer, he is now executive director. Michael and wife Emily (who played softball at Manchester University and MacMurray and now works in cancer research at Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis) have a son and daughter attending Thorntown Elementary — Easton (12) and Harper (10). He enjoys tennis, baseball and duck hunting. She likes soccer and plays travel softball with the Indiana Magic.
Four NAIA teams — Saint Francis (19-8), Taylor (19-9), Indiana University Southeast (19-8) and Indiana University-Kokomo (18-8) — and one NCAA Division I squad — Purdue (18-1) — have the best chance to the be the first on the state’s collegiate baseball scene to earn 20 wins in 2022. Through games played March 21-27, Taylor was riding a four-game win streak and Saint Francis had won two straight. It was too cold for Taylor to visit Saint Francis in a Crossroads League showdown over the weekend. The Trojans and Cougars were to try again today (March 28). Saint Francis was to play doubleheaders at Indiana Wesleyan on Friday and Saturday with Taylor at Goshen for twin bills Thursday and Saturday. IU Southeast was on a two-game streak and IU-Kokomo a six-game skein. IUS hosts Campbellsville in a single game Tuesday and plays three River States Conference games at Oakland City Friday and Saturday. IUK visits Lawrence Tech for two Wednesday then plays three against visiting RSC leader Midway Friday and Saturday. Purdue won its Big Ten opener Friday against Ohio State. Weather caused the other two games to be wiped out. On Sunday, the “Real Feel” temperature did not reach the mandated 28 degrees. University of Illinois-Chicago visits the Boilermakers Tuesday and Purdue goes to Indiana State Wednesday. A three-game conference set at Illinois awaits Friday through Sunday. In NCAA Division III, Wabash was off to a 12-2 start. The Little Giants are on a five-game win streak.
Week of March 21-27 NCAA D-I Monday, March 21 Ball State 9, Bowling Green 4
Tuesday, March 22 Tennessee 13, Butler 3 Evansville 9, Western Kentucky 8
Friday, March 25 Evansville 17, Indiana 14 Indiana State 12, Memphis 0 Virginia Tech 10, Notre Dame 5 Purdue 7, Ohio State 5 Purdue Fort Wayne 10, Oakland 2 Oakland 10, Purdue Fort Wayne 2 Valparaiso 8, St. Bonaventure 5 Valparaiso 10, St. Bonaventure 0
Saturday, March 26 Northwestern 13, Butler 3 Southern Illinois 16, Butler 4 Oakland 10, Purdue Fort Wayne 9
Sunday, March 27 Northwestern 11, Butler 10 Indiana 6, Evansville 5 Indiana 6, Evansville 5 Indiana State 3, Memphis 1
NCAA D-II Wednesday, March 23 Maryville 14, Southern Indiana 9
Friday, March 25 Indianapolis 8, Lewis 1 Lewis 6, Indianapolis 5 Delta State 17, Southern Indiana 6 Saginaw Valley State 6, Purdue Northwest 5 Saginaw Valley State 17, Purdue Northwest 12
Saturday, March 26 Indianapolis 5, Lewis 3 Saginaw Valley State 13, Purdue Northwest 10 Delta State 5, Southern Indiana 2
Sunday, March 27 Lewis 8, Indianapolis 3 Southern Indiana 5, Delta State 2 Saginaw Valley State 11, Purdue Northwest 1
NCAA D-III Monday, March 21 DePauw 10, Rose-Hulman 5 Chicago 13, Manchester 3 Chicago 12, Manchester 9
Wednesday, March 23 Wabash 14, Earlham 10
Thursday, March 24 Franklin 12, Trine 2 Franklin 11, Trine 5
Friday, March 25 Earlham 7, Adrian 4 Rose-Hulman 6, Carthage 2
NAIA Monday, March 21 Taylor 7, Bethel 5 Taylor 7, Bethel 6 Calumet of St. Joseph 6, IU South Bend 4 IU South Bend 4, Calumet of St. Joseph 0 Huntington 8, Grace 7 Huntington 14, Grace 5 Marian 12, Goshen 6 Marian 8, Goshen 5 Indiana Wesleyan 9, Mount Vernon Nazarene 3 Mount Vernon Nazarene 11, Indiana Wesleyan 8 Saint Francis 11, Spring Arbor 5 Saint Francis 6, Spring Arbor 3
Tuesday, March 22 IU Southeast 11, Georgetown (Ky.) 2 IU Southeast 4, Georgetown (Ky.) 1
Friday, March 25 St. Francis (Ill.) 8, Calumet of St. Joseph 1 St. Francis (Ill.) 13, Calumet of St. Joseph 3 Spring Arbor 10, Huntington 6 Huntington 4, Spring Arbor 3 IU Kokomo 5, Oakland City 4 IU Kokomo 15, Oakland City 0 Rio Grande 11, IU Southeast 7 IU Southeast 2, Rio Grande 1
Saturday, March 26 St. Ambrose 14, IU South Bend 8 IU Southeast 10, Rio Grande 8 (12 inn.)
Sunday, March 27 St. Ambrose 2, IU South Bend 1 St. Ambrose 9, IU South Bend 3
Junior College Monday, March 21 Morton 7, Marian’s Ancilla 5 Morton 15, Marian’s Ancilla 1 Vincennes 10, Spoon River 7 Spoon River 12, Vincennes 11
Saturday, March 26 Lincoln Land 12, Vincennes 3 Vincennes 9, Lincoln Land 5
Sunday, March 27 Indiana Tech JV vs. Ivy Tech Northeast Indiana Tech JV vs. Ivy Tech Northeast Lincoln Land 13, Vincennes 2 Vincennes 4, Lincoln Land 2
Indiana Tech bested NAIA No. 1 Southeastern (Fla.) 11-8 Thursday, March 10, ending the Fire’s season-opening 26-game college baseball win streak. The Warriors took a 8-3 lead after four innings and held on for the victory. The contest played in Lakeland, Fla., featured seven home runs, including those by Tech’s Tristan Osika, Ashtin Moxey and Jayden Reed. Other highlights from around the state for the week of March 7-13 include Taylor right-hander/Mishawaka High School graduate Luke Shivey pitching a one-hitter with 12 strikeouts and one walk in nine innings against visiting NAIA foe Huntington March 10. The Foresters’ lone hit was a one-hit single by Langston Ginder (Fort Wayne Carroll) in the seventh inning. Shively threw 116 pitches in the 6-0 win in Game 1 of a doubleheader. NAIA Oakland City beat No. 25 Point Park 8-6 in Game 3 of a series played at the Mighty Oaks’ Pinnick Field. OCU scored two runs in the seventh inning and held on to top the Pioneers. Alec Pruitt plated four runs for Oakland City. The Pride of Purdue Northwest (8-1) has roared out to quite a start in 2022. The NAIA club enjoyed 5-0 week, beating Minot State three times and Upper Iowa twice at Dowling Park in Hammond. Lake Central graduate Ray Hilbrich (.467) as well as Luke Montgomery (.346) are PNW’s top hitters. Joe Sullivan (2-0, 1.04) and Mishawaka alum Sam Shively (2-0, 3.46) are among the leading pitchers. NAIA Indiana University Kokomo (12-7) finds itself at 6-0 in the River States Conference. NCAA Division I Purdue (14-0) keeps adding to its best-ever start. With a 2-0 series against Bellarmine, the Boilermakers upped their stolen base mark to 44-of-51. Curtis Washington Jr. (9-of-9) and Mike Bolton Jr. (9-of-12) lead the club. Left-hander/McCutcheon graduate Jackson Smeltz (4-0, 2.11, 38 K’s, 7 BB, 21 1/3 IP) has been super on the mound for the nation’s last unbeaten D-I team. Evansville (6-10) swept three games at Top 20-ranked Tulane. Starters Shane Gray, Nick Smith (Boonville) and Shane Harris (North Posey) picked up victories for the Purple Aces. Notre Dame (11-1) won its first two Atlantic Coast Conference games at No. 17 North Carolina. The Irish carry a 1.71 team earned run average — among the D-I’s best. Right-hander Sam Klein (Bloomington North) picked up his third and fourth saves of the season as D-I Ball State swept a March 13 Mid-American Conference doubleheader from Eastern Michigan. Mitchell Spencer, Rex Stills (Wheeler) and Jacob Myer combined to hold Saint Louis to five hits in D-I Purdue Fort Wayne’s 4-1 win in Game 2 of a three-game series on the Billikens’ field. With two wins against Principia, NCAA Division III Earlham moved to 7-1. Christian Lancianese (.482), Leo graduate Easton Embry (.462), Cameron McCabe (.448) and Andrew Bradley (.429) are the top hitters for the Quakers. Franklin (8-3) beat Alma four times. Munster alum Logan Demkovich (.568) paces Grizzlies hitters on the season. Including March 6 games, D-III Wabash (7-2) went 5-2 in Tucson, Ariz. The Little Giants are led offensively by Highland graduate A.J. Reid (.500) and Warsaw alum Liam Patton (.424). Tavic Simmons (Carmel) is 2-0 on the bump. D-III Trine (5-6) went 4-5 in Florida. Avery Fulford (.400), Jack Kletzly (.400) and Brenden Warner (.364) guide the Thunder in hitting and New Prairie alum Noah Bretin (1-0, 1.50) in pitching. D-III Manchester scored 30 runs in a doubleheader sweep at Berea. Griffin Garwood (Mt. Vernon of Fortville) and Aidan Stevens (Rensselaer Central) drove in five runs each and and Zach White (Logansport) scored six for the Spartans (2-7).
Sunday, March 13 Ball State 2, Eastern Michigan vs. Ball State 1 Ball State 6, Eastern Michigan 4 Butler 8, Western Illinois 5 Butler 9, Western Illinois 5 Evansville 15, Tulane 1 Troy 6, Indiana 4 Troy 7, Indiana 4 Wright State 11, Indiana State 10 Notre Dame 11, North Carolina State 4 Purdue 7, Bellarmine 4 Purdue Fort Wayne 4, Saint Louis 1 Saint Louis 5, Purdue Fort Wayne 2 Southeast Missouri 10, Valparaiso 8
NCAA D-II Tuesday, March 8 Purdue Northwest 15, Minot State 13 Southern Indiana 6, West Florida 1 West Florida 1, Southern Indiana 0
Wednesday, March 9 Purdue Northwest 3, Minot State 2 Purdue Northwest 3, Minot State 1
Sunday, March 13 Lake Erie vs. Indianapolis Lake Erie vs. Indianapolis Upper Iowa vs. Purdue Northwest Upper Iowa vs. Purdue Northwest Davenport 12, Southern Indiana 4
Thursday, March 10 Wilmington 11, Franklin 4 Trine 7, Fontbonne 5 Wabash 3, Bemidji State 2
Friday, March 11 Westfield State 10, Anderson 5 Anderson 12, Westfield State 0 Franklin 6, Alma 2 Franklin 15, Alma 7 Manchester 16, Berea 5 Manchester vs. Berea Trine 3, Mt. St. Joseph 2 Mt. St. Joseph 15, Trine 1 Wabash 12, Bethany Lutheran 4 Buena Vista 11, Wabash 5
Sunday, March 13 Amherst 13, Anderson 0 Farmingdale State 10, Anderson 0 DePauw vs. Hanover DePauw vs. Hanover Franklin 11, Alma 9 Franklin 12, Alma 2
NAIA Monday, March 7 Grand View 12, Calumet of St. Joseph 5 Siena Heights 9, Calumet of St. Joseph 7 Southeastern 13, Indiana Tech 7 IU Kokomo 6, Georgetown (Ky.) 5
Tuesday, March 8 St. Thomas (Fla). 17, Indiana Tech 2 St. Thomas (Fla.) 7, Indiana Tech 1 Madonna 5, IU Kokomo 4 Northwestern (Iowa) 16, IU South Bend 3 Lindsey Wilson 10, Oakland City 7 Taylor 9, Defiance 2
Wednesday, March 9 Thomas (Ga.) 8, IU South Bend 7 (10 inn.)
Thursday, March 10 Bethel 11, Indiana Wesleyan 0 Bethel 7, Indiana Wesleyan 3 Concordia (Neb.) 10, Calumet of St. Joseph 5 Calumet of St. Joseph 5, Siena Heights 2 Spring Arbor 6, Grace 4 Spring Arbor 4, Grace 2 Saint Francis 12, Goshen 6 Saint Francis 8, Goshen 0 Taylor 6, Huntington 0 Huntington 8, Taylor 7 Indiana Tech 9, Northwestern (Iowa) 2 Indiana Tech 11, Southeastern 8 IU Kokomo 12, Rio Grande 1 IU Southeast 3, Brescia 2 IU Southeast 12, Brescia 3 Mt Vernon Nazarene 6, Marian 2 Mt Vernon Nazarene 7, Marian 1 Point Park 6, Oakland City 4 Point Park 1, Oakland City 0
Friday, March 11 Lawrence Tech 11, Calumet of St. Joseph 5 Warner 14, Calumet of St. Joseph 1 IU Kokomo 12, Rio Grande 8 IU Kokomo 7, Rio Grande 1 IU Southeast 15, Brescia 2 Oakland City 8, Point Park 6
Saturday, March 12 Lawrence Tech 8, Calumet of St. Joseph 2 Indiana Tech 8, Thomas (Ga.) 4
Sunday, March 13 Indiana Tech 5, Thomas (Ga.) 2
Junior College Tuesday, March 8 Ivy Tech Northeast 9, Anderson JV 8 Marian’s Ancilla 4, Hibbing 3
Wednesday, March 9 Hagerstown 10, Marian’s Ancilla 0 Vincennes 4, Volunteer State 1
Thursday, March 10 Kellogg 7, Ivy Tech Northeast 5
Several players doubled down on power during the Indiana college baseball week of Feb. 28-March 6. NCAA Division III Hanover’s Alex Christie (Center Grove High School graduate) knocked five home runs for the week — two against Purchase and one each against Mary Washington, Kean and Neumann — in Myrtle Beach, S.C. It was Christie’s first five homers of the 2022 season. Also lofting five homers was NAIA Indiana Wesleyan’s Evan Salmon — two homers in Game 1 and one in Game 2 against Cleary and one apiece in Games 3 and 4 against Spring Arbor. IWU’s Zach Rabe clouted two in Game 1 against Cleary and two in Game 3 against Spring Arbor. Salmon has eight homers in ’22 and Rabe four. NCAA D-I’s Ball State’s Trenton Quartermaine socked four home runs for the week — one against Coastal Carolina, one in Game 1 against Florida A&M and two in Game 2 against Florida A&M. Quartermaine’s season total for circuit clouts is five. NAIA Indiana Southeast’s Trevor Campbell homered twice against Lindsey Wilson and once each in Games 1 and 3 against Northwestern Ohio. Ray Aponte smacked homers against Lindsey Wilson and Northwestern Ohio (Games 1 and 3). NCAA D-III Franklin’s Logan Demkovich (Munster) homered in all three games against Hope while Noah Wood (Indianapolis Lutheran) produced big flies in Games 1 and 2. Purdue’s Cam Thompson cracked a walk-off homer as Purdue (12-0) topped Longwood 6-5 in 11 innings in Game 3 of the series. The Boilermakers continue to enjoy the best start in program history. Thompson has two homers in ’22. Indiana’s Brock Tibbitts (New Albany) rapped two homers against Miami (Ohio) while teammates Matthew Ellis (Miami and Game 2 vs. Missouri State) and Homestead graduate Carter Mathison (Games 1 and 3 vs. Missouri State) also enjoyed two-homer weeks. Ellis has five dingers on the year while Tibbitts and Mathison (the 2021 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Player of the Year) have two each. Butler’s Aaron Steinhart went deep twice against Northern Kentucky. The blasts were his first two of ’22. Evansville’s Tanner Craig (Austin) cranked homers against Kentucky, Ohio (Game 1) and Illinois-Chicago (Game 2). He has six homers on the season. At 5-3, Valparaiso is off to its best eight-game start since 1999. NCAA D-II University of Indianapolis third baseman Armen Torosian homered in Games 2 and 3 against Wayne State, raising his season total to three. Purdue Northwest finally opened its season and went 3-1 in a series at Southwest Baptist. Anderson’s Tyler Smitherman (Westfield) bashed two homers in Game 1 against St. Norbert, doubling his season HR tally. Earlham’s Christian Lancianese homered twice in Game 2 against Wilmington. Nathan Lancianese homered once in Game 3 of the series. They were the season’s first bombs for both players. Manchester’s Brady Perez (Rochester) ahieved lift-off in Games 2 and 4 against Kalamazoo, raising his season HR mark to five. Rose-Hulman’s Shane Garner (Sullivan) rapped his first two homers of ’22 in Game 1 against Saint Mary’s (Minn.) and Dubuque. NAIA Saint Francis freshman Sam Pesa (Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger) homered in Games 1 and 3 against Huntington. His grand slam in Game 1 was part of a 13-run fifth inning. Pesa has a team-best five homers in ’22. Goshen’s Peyton Smith (Daleville) homered in Games 3 and 4 against Grace. He has three homers on the season. It wasn’t all about slugging. NAIA Indiana University Kokomo posted three shutouts against visiting Ohio Christian — 5-0, 10-0 and 1-0. Owen Callaghan (Hamilton Southeastern), Lucas Letsinger (Hamilton Heights), Ben Harris (Northwestern), J.T. Holton (Clinton Central) and Ryan Beck (Mt. Vernon of Fortville) combined for 18 strikeouts and six walks over 23 innings. Indiana University South Bend beat Concordia (Neb. 1) 2-1 in Game 2 in Auburndale, Fla., without a hit. Nolan Unger’s second-inning groundout drove in Coby Campbell with the first run and Jake Dykstra (Lake Central) scored on a seventh-inning wild pitch. The Titans have won four straight. Crown Point graduate Josh Hoogewerf (9 K’s, 0 BB, 7 IP) and New Prairie alum Noah Brettin (2 K’s, 0 BB, 1 IP) combined on a 1-hitter as NCAA D-III Trine beat John Carroll 1-0 in the first game of a doubleheader in Lake Myrtle, Fla. Dalton Nikirk (Bedford North Lawrence) delivered the walk-off RBI single to plate Easton Rhodes (DeKalb) for the Thunder.
Friday, March 4 Indianapolis 5, Wayne State 3 Southwest Baptist 7, Purdue Northwest 4 Purdue Northwest 5, Southwest Baptist 0 Southern Indiana 11, Trevecca Nazarene 3
Saturday, March 5 Wayne State 13, Indianapolis 2 Wayne State 26, Indianapolis 11 Purdue Northwest 7, Southwest Baptist 2 Trevecca Nazarene 9, Southern Indiana 4 Trevecca Nazarene 15, Southern Indiana 3
Sunday, March 6 Wayne State 13, Indianapolis 3 Purdue Northwest 6, Southwest Baptist 5
Saturday, March 5 Earlham 19, Wilmington 9 Franklin 18, Hope 6 Hope 27, Franklin 7 Hanover 11, Neumann 3 Anderson 11, St. Norbert 4 Anderson 20, St. Norbert 11 Kalamazoo 19, Manchester 6 Kalamazoo 13, Manchester 5 DePauw 9, Hendrix 6 Hendrix 8, DePauw 6 Aurora 9, Wabash 8 (10 inn.) Wabash 16, Aurora 3
Sunday, March 6 Anderson 6, St. Norbert 2 Earlham 12, Wilmington 11 Kalamazoo 15, Manchester 1 Kalamazoo 8, Manchester 6 Trine 1, John Carroll 0 (8 inn.) John Carroll 15, Trine 0
NAIA Monday, Feb. 28 Spring Arbor 9, Goshen 2 Spring Arbor 3, Goshen 0
Tuesday, March 1 Calumet of St. Joseph 19, Lincoln Christian 1 Calumet of St. Joseph 8, Lincoln Christian 0 (suspended in 3rd to April 11) Grace 12, IU South Bend 7
Wednesday, March 2 Indiana Wesleyan 17, Cleary 8 Cleary 11, Indiana Wesleyan 2 IU Southeast 16, Lindsey Wilson 2
Friday, March 4 Brewton-Parker 20, Calumet of St. Joseph 4 Saint Francis 14, Huntington 9 Huntington 6, Saint Francis 1 Bethel 9, Mt. Vernon Nazarene 6 Mt. Vernon Nazarene 13, Bethel 0 Grace 6, Goshen 2 Goshen 1, Grace 0 Spring Arbor 2, Indiana Wesleyan 1 Indiana Wesleyan 7, Spring Arbor 6 Taylor 8, Marian 1 Taylor 5, Marian 1 IU Kokomo 5, Ohio Christian 0 Oakland City 4, West Virginia Tech 2
Saturday, March 5 Calumet of St. Joseph 6, Brewton-Parker 4 Brewton-Parker 12, Calumet of St. Joseph 11 Huntington 6, Saint Francis 5 Saint Francis 6, Huntington 1 Bethel 9, Mt. Nazarene 6 Mt. Vernon Nazarene 5, Bethel 2 Mt. Vernon Nazarene 5, Bethel 3 Grace 16, Goshen 12 Grace 13, Goshen 11 Indiana Wesleyan 26, Spring Arbor 1 Indiana Wesleyan 19, Spring Arbor 18 Marian 20, Taylor 10 (8 inn.) Taylor 12, Marian 10 IU Kokomo 10, Ohio Christian 0 IU Kokomo 1, Ohio Christian 0 Oakland 11, West Virginia Tech 10 (11 inn.) Oakland 7, West Virginia Tech 6 IU Southeast 26, Northwestern Ohio 12 Northwestern Ohio 3, IU Southeast 2 IU South Bend 20, Michigan-Dearborn 5 IU South Bend 13, Michigan-Dearborn 9
Sunday, March 6 IU Southeast 11, Northwestern Ohio 8 IU South Bend 8, Concorida (Neb.) 7 IU South Bend 2, Concorida (Neb.) 1 Southeastern 6, Indiana Tech 2 Southeastern 6, Indiana Tech 0
Junior College Monday, Feb. 28 Vincennes 7, Joliet 2
Friday, March 4 Ivy Tech Northeast 4, Anderson JV 3 Wabash Valley 16, Vincennes 0 Kellogg 16, Vincennes 7
Saturday, March 5 Wabash Valley 16, Vincennes 0 Kellogg 16, Vincennes 7 Miami-Hamilton 13, Marian’s Ancilla 8 Ivy Tech Northeast 13, Lincoln Trail 3 Lincoln Trail 8, Ivy Tech Northeast 6
Sunday, March 6 Lake County 1, Marian’s Ancilla 0 Lake County 16, Marian’s Ancilla 5 Lincoln Trail 12, Ivy Tech Northeast 5 Ivy Tech Northeast 6, Lincoln Trail 1
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