New varsity head coach Nance growing game with Western Boone Stars

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

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.

Michael Nance.

Michael Nance.

Emily, Easton, Michael and Harper Nance.

Michael, Emily, Easton and Harper Nance.

Harper and Michael Nance.

Easton, Michael and Harper Nance.

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Right-hander Brehmer opts to transfer to Indiana University

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

Bradley Brehmer is another pitcher who has decided to conclude his collegiate baseball career at Indiana University after beginning it out-of-state.
The 6-foot-6, 205-pound right-hander joins former University of Louisville righty Jack Perkins on the Hoosiers staff for 2021-22. Brehmer made the announcement July 12.
“I can develop a little more and be a better draft pick,” says Brehmer, 21. “I was a Hoosiers fan growing up and this a better opportunity for me.”
A 2018 graduate of Decatur Central High School in Indianapolis who was selected in the 23rd round of the 2018 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Baltimore Orioles but decided to go to college, Brehmer hurled the past three seasons (2019-21) for Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.
In 32 games for the Alex Sogard-coached Raiders (29 starts), Brehmer went 15-8 with a 4.54 earned run average. In 168 1/3 innings, he racked up 136 strikeouts with 53 walks.
The 2021 season saw Brehmer make 14 starts and go 8-4 with a 4.11 ERA. He had 85 K’s and 25 walks in 76 2/3 innings. He fanned 11 batters in 6 2/3 innings April 23 at Northern Kentucky.
After entering the NCAA Transfer Portal and making a visit to Bloomington, Brehmer opted to transfer to IU.
Brehmer committed to Wright State as a high school junior when Jeff Mercer was the WSU head coach. Mercer moved to Indiana for the 2019 season.
“Mercer keeps it real,” says Brehmer. “He makes you work hard and I like that. I like to to be pushed.
“I work hard. I’m a leader when I’m around everybody. I’m confident in my ability on the field. I’m very positive.”
Brehmer was impressed that Hoosiers pitching coach Justin Parker had a plan set up for the right-hander.
The 2021 summer started with Brehmer making two starts for the Harwich Mariners in the Cape Cod League then shut it down and to get ready for the 20-round MLB Draft. Teams contacted him, but offers were too low and he was not selected.
Five pitches are in Brehmer’s arsenal — four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, slider, change-up and curveball.
In the spring, he sat at 91 to 94 mph with his four-seamer, hitting 96 in his May 7 start against Milwaukee.
Brehmer says his slider is “like a gyro ball.”
“It spins and gravity takes in down,” says Brehmer. “It goes to the back foot of lefties.”
Dropping down a little from his high three-quarter arm slot, Brehmer throws a four-seam “circle” change.
His curve has a 12-to-6 action.
In the past year, he has learned new grips for his change-up, slider and curve.
At 6-6, Brehmer can use leverage to his advantage. He grew several inches in high school. He entered Decatur Central around 5-8 and a couple of years later he was 6-4. Jason Combs was his head coach with the Hawks. He won 19 games with a 1.88 ERA and 192 strikeouts in four years. In 2018, he was an all-stater and all-Marion County.
Brehmer also played two years each of football and basketball at Decatur Central before focusing on baseball.
Born in Greenwood, Ind., Brehmer moved to Camby, Ind., at age 5 and lived there until moving to Southport as a high school junior.
Growing up, Brehmer played shortstop, third base and a little first base and catcher in addition to pitcher. He played travel ball for the Decatur Hawks — coached by Dan Brehmer (his father) and Dave Harper — from 7U to 12U. He then spent a few summers with the Indiana Mustangs, one with the Indiana Prospects and his 17U and 18U seasons in 2017 and 2018 with the Indiana Braves, coached by Steven Mirizzi.
In the summer of 2020, Brehmer pitched for the Tropics in the College Summer League at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind. He also worked out at Pro X Athlete Development at Grand Park as well as Players Performance Factory in Mooresville, Ind.
With his workload for Wright State in the spring (72 innings), Brehmer did not play in the summer of 2019, but took classes and worked out.
Bradley has four siblings — half brother Blake, stepsisters Reese and Payton and stepbrother Logan. His mother is Cristen Brehmer. His stepmother is Jessica Brehmer.

An Organizational Leadership major at Wright State, Brehmer says he is considering a change to Sports Management at IU.

Bradley Brehmer (Indiana University Image)

Bradley Brehmer (Wright State University Photo)

Bradley Brehmer (Wright State University Photo)

Bradley Brehmer (Wright State University Photo)

Bradley Brehmer (Wright State University Photo)

Bradley Brehmer (Wright State University Photo)

Bradley Brehmer (Wright State University Photo)

Oppy finds right combination for slugging Tri-West Hendricks Bruins

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Moving players around during the 2018 season, sixth-year Tri-West Hendricks High School baseball coach Ryan Oppy found the combination that has helped the Bruins win 20 games and a second straight IHSAA Class 3A sectional title.

“We’ve been plugging guys in and out trying to find the right comfort level,” says Oppy. “They’ve handled some change well.”

By beating Brebeuf Jesuit 6-3 Monday, May 28 for the IHSAA Class 3A Danville Sectional title — the seventh in program history —  Tri-West earned the right to play Saturday, June 2 at the Crawfordsville Regional.

North Montgomery plays West Vigo in the morning game followed by Indian Creek against Tri-West. Because Indian Creek’s graduation is Saturday morning, the first game is set for 11 a.m., followed the second around 2:30 p.m. The championship is slated for 7.

Tri-West, based in Lizton, Ind., will be aiming at its first regional crown.

The power-hitting Bruins were averaging more than 10 runs per game heading into the postseason.

“We get on base and score a lot,” says Oppy.

Tri-West is currently among the top home run producers in Indiana with 24 (11 belonging to catcher Derek Wagner). According to MaxPreps, only Center Grove (34), Monrovia (34) and Pike (27) have more.

Wagner (Indiana University Southeast), center fielder Carter Cooper (Wright State University-Lake Campus) and shortstop Lucas Goodin (Indiana Wesleyan) are all seniors who have made college baseball commitments.

The veteran-laden Bruins have six other seniors — right-handed pitcher/first baseman/right fielder Mason Cox, second baseman Tanner Freije, third baseman Levi Jackson, left fielder/left-hander Jarrett Roseboom, right fielder Ryan Vershave and first baseman/right-hander Zach Waters. Cox is the ace of the pitching staff.

“We’ve had a lot of experience the last couple years has helped our program,” says Oppy.

Also in the mound mix are junior left-hander Jacob Hayden and sophomore righty Dawson Wolfe.

Junior Blake Bear sees most of the time in right field. Sophomore Quinten Cooper also plays in the outfield.

Tri-West belongs to the Sagamore Conference (along with Crawfordsville, Danville, Frankfort, Lebanon, North Montgomery, Southmont and Western Boone).

Teams play home-and-home series on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Tri-West and Frankfort both went 10-4 to tie for the Sagamore championship.

The 20-6 Bruins split with Crawfordsville, Danville, Frankfort and North Montgomery and suffered non-conference losses to Avon and Cascade.

There were 33 players in the program this spring for varsity and junior varsity teams.

Oppy’s assistant coaches are Bryan Engelbrecht, Dellos Schabel, Scott Arthur and Gordie Lucas.

Tri-West plays its home games on-campus. This spring, a fundraising campaign brought the Bruins a new mobile batting cage.

Various travel ball organizations, including Indiana Hurricanes, Indiana Braves, Indiana Expos and Indiana Nitro serve as a kind of feeder system for Tri-West. Slugger Wagner has played with the Cincinnati Spikes.

Oppy graduated in 2004 from Danville Community High School, where he played for and gained knowledge from veteran Warriors head coach Rick Foster that helps him to this day.

“It was the way he communicated with his players and how he handled different aspects of running a baseball program,” says Oppy of Foster. “As for the on the field stuff, he knew a lot. I would ask the question of why we would do this instead of that.

“I also saw the way he treated people.”

Head coach Tim Bunton taught Oppy more about the game during his two seasons at Danville (Ill.) Area Community College. He finished his elementary education degree at Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis.

While Bunton was very personable, he was also very demanding of his athletes.

“He would push people,” says Oppy. “He expected more out of you than you would out of yourself.

“You hold yourself and other people accountable.”

Bunton was also a stickler for time management.

“If practice time was 3:30, the rule is you had to be there 15 minutes before that,” says Oppy. “If you weren’t, you were in trouble.”

Oppy teaches fourth grade at Pittsboro Elementary. The current junior class were fourth graders when he started.

Ryan and Nicole Oppy have two daughters — Lydia (4) and Margaret (1).

Tri-West Hendricks made it two IHSAA Class 3A sectional baseball titles in a row in 2018 under Bruins head coach Ryan Oppy. Tri-West plays in the Crawfordsville Regional Saturday, June 2.

The Tri-West Bruins hoist the trophy at the 2018 IHSAA Class 3A Danville Sectional baseball tournament.

 

First-year coach Mirizzi has Indian Creek Braves setting their baseball goals high

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Baseball expectations have risen at Indian Creek High School.

After a sectional championship drought of 43 years, the Braves earned sectional crowns in 2016 and 2017 at Danville.

Indian Creek lost to eventual state champion Northview in the finals of the 2016 Crawfordsville Regional and Tri-West Hendricks in the semifinals of the 2017 Brebeuf Regional.

With a new head coach, new sectional site and seven returning starters, the Braves are aiming high in 2018.

“We have some lofty goals we want to accomplish when the state tournament rolls around,” says Steven Mirizzi, who takes over the Indian Creek program after five seasons as a Danville assistant. “We have a deep pitching staff. If we can get it going offensively, I really like our chances.

“We’re hungry for something bigger and better.”

Top Braves arms include junior right-handers Trevor Ankney, Dustin Sprong and Wyatt Phillips and senior right-hander Jared DeHart.

Ankney is a Purdue University commit. Sprong and Phillips are receiving attention from NCAA D-I schools. DeHart is one of the Braves’ captains. Junior Devin Parr is a soft-tossing left-hander.

Senior third baseman/right-hander Dawson Read is a Kalamazoo College commit.

Indian Creek, located in the Johnson County town of Trafalgar, moves to a 2018 IHSAA Class 3A sectional hosted by Bishop Chatard and also featuring Beech Grove, Herron, Indianapolis Broad Ripple and Indianapolis Manual.

The Braves lost to the Sullivan in the 2017 Western Indiana Conference crossover championship game.

A WIC title is on the IC 2018 goals list. The rotation goes back to the East Division this year, meaning the Braves would host the conference championship game if they get there.

Besides Indian Creek, the WIC East includes Brown County, Cascade, Cloverdale, Edgewood and Owen Valley.

The WIC West consists of Greencastle, North Putnam, Northview, South Putnam, Sullivan and West Vigo.

The Braves are to open the season this weekend in Evansville with games against Martinsville, Evansville North and Decatur Central either at North or historic Bosse Field.

The Indian Creek slate also features a spot in the Northview Invitational. Depending on WIC crossovers, the Braves could play as many as 12 games against Class 4A opponents.

“That will benefit us later in the season and at tournament time,” says Mirizzi.

His last season at Danville, Mirizzi served on a staff led by Pat O’Neil.

“He’s a very knowledgable coach,” says Mirzzi of O’Neil, who played for and coached with 13-time Hall of Famer Ken Schreiber at LaPorte High School. “He’s really good with pitchers and very good with situational management

“He motivates you want to be better and do your game the right way.”

Before landing at Danville, Mirizzi spent two seasons on the coaching staff at Princeton Community. Austin Rhoads, who was an assistant at Lakota West High School in West Chester, Ohio, near Cincinnati, when Mirizzi played there, was head coach of the Tigers. Rhoads has since become athletic director at Springboro (Ohio) High School.

Mirizzi was a four-year starter at Lakota West, helping the Firebirds to the regional finals in his sophomore and senior seasons (2004 and 2006).

Lakota West, coached by former Cincinnati Reds minor league catcher Bill Dreisbach, won an Ohio High School Athletic Association Division I state championship in 2007.

A district split into two high schools in 1999 also saw Lakota East win a Division I state baseball crown in 2011.

Mirizzi remembers Dreisbach for his professionalism and ability to motivate.

“He wanted his guys to buy in and commit,” says Mirzzi. “He had a good way of getting that out of us.

“He pushed us to be better than we really were.”

In that 2004 season, Lakota West lost to what Dreisbach considered a lesser opponent and conducted a post-game practice that lasted well into the night. The Firebirds went on a 15-game win streak that took them into the regional.

“He got our attention,” says Mirizzi. “He knew we were better than we were playing.”

The 2004 Lakota West team lost to eventual state champion Cincinnati Moeller, a team featuring two future big league pitchers.

Right-hander Andrew Brackman was was Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft first-round selection by the New York Yankees in 2007 and left-hander Eric Surkamp a sixth-round choice of the San Francisco Giants in 2008.

Like Mirizzi — who treks daily from Avon to Trafalgar — Dreisbach way from the high school.

After high school, Mirizzi played two seasons each at Lincoln Trail College in Robinson, Ill., and at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Ark.

Mitch Hannahs, who is now head coach at Indiana State University, was leading the Lincoln Trail program when Mirizzi was there and taught the future coach about the mental side and how to manage a game.

Mirizzi has assembled a coaching staff of Curtis VanDeVenter and Craig Hoskins at the varsity level and Donovan Britt with the junior varsity. VanDeVenter, a former University of Indianapolis catcher, and Britt are Whiteland High School graduates. Hoskins went to Brown County.

There are 33 players in the program with 17 currently on the varsity roster. Mirizzi expects some to swing between varsity and JV depending upon need and performance.

Indian Creek plays its games on-campus.

While it is still in the planning stages, Mirizzi says upgrades to the athletic facilities could bring a new or renovated baseball field, new football field and a fieldhouse to the campus in the next few years.

First-year athletic director Derek Perry is in the middle of this process.

Mirizzi is very busy with baseball away from his duties at Indian Creek. He and former Danville assistant and personal trainer Nick Runiyon are partners at Hoosier Performance Factory in Indianapolis.

Based out of the facility is a travel baseball organization — the Indiana Braves. This year, they plan to field teams ages 12U through 18U.

Mirizzi and fiancee Tiffany Herr also do network marketing. The couple have two children — Jackson Mirzzi (4) and Mackenzie Mirizzi (15 months).

Steven Mirizzi is in his first season as head baseball coach at Indian Creek High School. Mirizzi went to high school in Ohio and played college baseball in Illinois and Arkansas. He comes to the Indians off an assistant stint at Danville. (Daily Journal Photo)

 

Right-hander Ruxer doing his baseball homework

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

As a finance and accounting double major at the University of Louisville, Jared Ruxer studied figures as they relate to business.

“I’ve always liked numbers,” says Ruxer, a 2011 graduate of Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis.

Now that his business is baseball — he is a 6-foot-3 right-handed pitcher in the Kansas City Royals organization — Ruxer is examining concepts like Spin Rate and Extension that are a part of TrackMan or Statcast technology.

According to MLB.com, a pitcher’s Spin Rate (SR) “represents the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute. The amount of spin on a pitch changes its trajectory.”

For Extension (EXT), “a pitcher must begin his throwing motion while standing on the pitching rubber — which is 60 feet, 6 inches away from home plate. This does not mean pitches are actually thrown from 60 feet, 6 inches away from the plate.

“The point at which a pitcher releases the ball is actually a few feet closer to home plate than the pitching rubber itself. Extension quantifies exactly how much closer a pitcher’s release point is to home plate.”

The higher EXT the better and the less time the hitter has to react to the pitch.

“I’ve been looking at the TrackMan data and getting an understanding of that and how to apply it,” says Ruxer, 25. “I’m getting more into the biomechanics of pitching. I’m also learning to manage the running game better and getting really good at PFP’s (Pitcher Fielding Practice) and things like that.”

Ruxer was chosen in the 29th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft and did not sign, opting to go to Louisville. He pitched for the Cardinals 2012-14.

He was named Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association All-America, Big East Conference Rookie of the Year and third-team all-Big East while making 16 mound appearances (14 starts) and going 8-3 with a 3.38 earned run average, 32 strikeouts and 15 walks in 77 1/3 innings.

As a sophomore in 2013, he made 19 appearances (seven starts) with a 0-1 mark and a 5.63 ERA, 35 strikeouts and 21 walks in 38 1/3 innings. Louisville went 51-14 and played in the 2013 College World Series.

Ruxer’s junior campaign in 2014 saw him make 13 starts and go 7-1 with a 2.27 ERA with 68 strikeouts in 75 1/3 innings before an elbow injury ended his season. He named second-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference. The Cardinals (51-15) returned to Omaha for the 2014 College World Series.

Two days before the 2014 MLB draft, Ruxer underwent Tommy John reconstructive surgery and did not pitch that summer. In the fall, he went back to Louisville and complete his degree.

The righty made his first professional pitch until 2015 with the rookie-level Orem Owlz. That initial season back, he worked 29 2/3 innings over 14 appearances (11 starts) and was 0-3 with a 4.85 ERA, 33 strikeouts and 11 walks.

“That first short season was tough,” says Ruxer. “It definitely took awhile (to bounce back from surgery). I didn’t feel like I was a 100 percent and back to myself until 18 months later. I had to pitch through it.

“I had to learn how to pitch a little more because I didn’t have all my velocity back yet.”

Ruxer split the 2016 season between the Low Class-A Burlington Bees and High Class-A Inland Empire 66ers, combining for a 4-8 record, 3.08 ERA and 29 appearances (19 starts) with 99 strikeouts and 31 walks over 111 innings.

The first full pro season was also when he was introduced to the TrackMan data.

Knowing the Angels were using it as an evaluation tool, Ruxer began doing his homework and studied ways to improve his numbers and performance.

He found that change could be made through grip, arm action and some minor mechanical cues.

“Some days the ball has a little more carry. Some days it has a little more sink on it,” says Ruxer. “You make adjustments based on that.”

On Dec. 1, 2016, the Angels traded Ruxer to the Royals. He spent most of the 2017 season with the High Class-A Wilmington Rocks, going 5-7 with a 3.45 ERA in 24 appearances (17) starts with 84 strikeouts and 29 walks in 109 2/3 innings.

In three games (one start) and six innings with the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals, he was 0-0 with a 16.50 ERA, one strikeout and seven walks.

Ruxer says the differences in the way he was handled by the two organizations is very slight.

“The Angels were very hands-off,” says Ruxer. “It was on me.

“The Royals were a little more proactive.”

While player development staff are there to help, Ruxer has learned that how players progress in pro baseball is largely up to them.

“It’s going on our stat sheet,” says Ruxer.

The Royals sent Ruxer to the 2017 Arizona Fall League to work on a breaking ball and he relieved in nine contests with the Surprise Saguaros. He went 1-0 with a 3.75 ERA. In 12 innings, he had 12 strikeouts and nine walks.

More than three years removed from Tommy John surgery, Ruxer is back to letting it rip on the mound.

“I’m pretty high-effort now,” says Ruxer. “I’m not holding anything back. I get a lot more results when I do that.

“There’s no reason to leave anything in the tank. There’s not too much thinking ahead. You’ve got to get the guy out standing in the box and the rest is secondary.”

Looking to his diamond past, Ruxer played in the Fall Creek Little League, where he was a teammate of current Texas Rangers minor league pitcher David Ledbetter.

Ruxer played travel ball for the Indiana Prospects at age 12 and for the Indiana Bulls at 13 and 17. From 14 to 16, he was with the Indiana Braves, a team father Jim helped organize.

At 18, Ruxer was with the Midland Redskins in Ohio. The summers after his freshmen and sophomore seasons at Louisville, he hurled for the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod League.

In his three seasons at Louisville, Ruxer learned from head coach Dan McDonnell and pitching coach Roger Williams.

“(McDonnell) taught me about managing the running game, PFP’s and was a stickler for bunt defense,” says Ruxer. “(Williams) called all the (pitches). I liked that. We could just go out there and pitch and just worry about our stuff. He did all his homework on the hitters. I trusted him. I didn’t shake off too much.”

While catchers in the minor leagues are allowed to develop their pitch-calling abilities, Ruxer notes that almost all pitches in major college baseball are called by coaches.

“Their job’s on the line. They want to control the game,” says Ruxer. “I get it. They have time to read up on the hitters. You are a student-athlete. There a lot of things going on. We can’t afford to lose games.”

Ruxer played three varsity seasons at Lawrence Central. He went 5-2 as a sophomore, 6-1 as a junior and 6-1 as a senior with a total of 155 strikeouts. His final high school season saw him earned all-state, all-Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference and all-Marion County honors.

Dan Roman (who is now head coach at Brownsburg High School) led the program when Ruxer was with the LC Bears.

“That was a blast,” says Ruxer. “Dan was awesome. “When it came to pitching, he showed me how to pitch to certain hitters and about reading the hitters’ swings. I learned how to attract hitters and started learning how to manage the running game.”

After an extended 2017 season, Ruxer managed to get away for some vacation and quality time with family — father Jim in a Certified Public Accountant, mother Lisa is a recently-retired as a physical education teacher at Carmel High School and younger sister Addie is life science recruiter in Chicago after graduating from Indiana University.

Ruxer will spend the rest of the off-season working out in Indianapolis. He has trained at both St. Vincent Sports Performance and the new Pro X Athlete Development. Former MLB pitcher Joe Thatcher is involved with Pro X.

Jared Ruxer, a Lawrence Central High School and University of Louisville graduate, is a right-handed pitcher in the Kansas City Royals organization. (Wilmington Blue Rocks Photo)