Right-hander Geesaman seeking next baseball opportunity

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

Wyatt Geesaman is seeking other baseball opportunities and he’s honing his pitching skills in the College Summer League at Grand Park.
A 6-foot-5 right-handed pitcher, Geesman graduated from Jay County High School in Portland, Ind., in 2019 and began his college experience at the University of Cincinnati, where he made two mound appearances in two years.
The former Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South All-Star Series participant is now in the NCAA Transfer Portal.
“I’m looking around and seeing what is a good fit,” says Geesaman, who is with the CSL’s Caleb Fenimore-coached Bag Bandits in 2021 after twirling for the Park Rangers in the circuit’s inaugural season of 2020. “I go out there and try to compete.
“I focus on that pitch and try not to let what happened before effect me or what happens next.”
Grand Park in Westfield, Ind., is about a 90-minute trip from Portland. Geesaman does his training at home and travels on gameday.
Geesaman identifies the area where he’s improved most since his Jay County days.
“I’m more consistent,” says Geesaman. “In high school I was kind of wild. I’ve settled down a little bit.”
Delivering from a high three-quarter overhand arm slot, Geesaman throws a four-seam fastball which sits at 85 to 89 mph and has been up to 92. He also has a 12-to-6 curveball and a “circle” change-up.
Beginning in high school, Geesaman began pitching from the stretch even with the bases empty
“It simplified things a little bit,” says Geesaman.
At Jay County, Geesaman played for veteran coach Lea Selvey.
“I love him,” says Geesaman of Selvey. “He’s a great guy to play for. He still helps me out today if I need help.”
Geesaman, 20, was born in Muncie, Ind., grew up in Portland and played his first organized baseball in the Redkey (Ind.) Junior League.
At 10, he switched to travel ball and was with the Indiana Longhorns, Summit City Sluggers and Indiana Prospects before spending his high school summers with the Indiana Bulls.
Geesaman earned four baseball letters for the Patriots — tossing a perfect game with 18 strikeouts helping his team to a sectional title as a senior. Jay County won conference, sectional and regional titles his junior season. He also played forward in basketball and receiver in football for JC.
At Cincinnati, Geesaman was working toward at Marketing degree.
Jeff and Lisa Geesaman have two sons — Jacob (a 2021 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology graduate) and Wyatt.
The Bag Bandits are scheduled to play a single game with the Turf Monsters at 7:05 p.m. Sunday, June 20 at Championship Park in Kokomo and a 3 p.m. doubleaheader against the Park Rangers on Monday, June 21 at Grand Park.

Wyatt Geesaman (U. of Cincinnati Photo)

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Stanley wants confidence, consistency for Shenandoah Raiders baseball

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Confidence and consistency.

They are the foundation of the baseball program Bruce Stanley has built as head coach at Shenandoah High School in Middletown, Ind.

Taking a cue from Tug McGraw and Stanley’s last college coach, Rich Maloney, the Raiders carry the motto: Ya Gotta Believe!

“I’m big on consistency. Make the routine play. Throw strikes. It’s basic things of baseball like competing and believing in yourself,” says Stanley, who enters his fifth season as head coach in 2019. The 1993 Shenandoah graduate has also also served two stints as an assistant at his alma mater. “Everything you attack in life, you gotta believe you’re going to do it and do it well.”

Shenandoah (enrollment around 450) is a member of the Mid-Eastern Conference (with Blue River Valley, Cowan, Daleville, Eastern Hancock, Monroe Central, Randolph Southern, Union of Modoc and Wapahani).

MEC teams play each other one time to determine the conference champion. The Raiders joined the league in 2017-18. Stanley says plans call for conference games to be played on Tuesdays and Thursdays in 2021.

Among Shenandoah’s non-conference foes are Alexandra-Monroe, Anderson, Centerville, Frankton, Hagerstown, Jay County, Mt. Vernon (Fortville), Muncie Central, New Castle, Pendleton Heights, Richmond, Rushville and Wes-Del.

The Raiders are part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping with Frankton, Lapel, Monroe Central, Muncie Burris and Wapahani. Shenandoah has won 12 sectional titles — the last in 2006.

Stanley’s assistant coaches are Ryan Painter (varsity) and Rusty Conner (junior varsity). The Raiders normally have about 30 players in the program each spring.

Shenandoah plays home games on its campus at the Dale Green Field complex. In recent years, the facility has gotten new dugouts, a new backstop and fencing has been replaced. This spring will bring a new scoreboard.

The feeder system for the high school includes Little League and Babe Ruth program in Middletown and several travel baseball organizations, including the Indiana Bulls, Indiana Longhorns, Indiana Nitro, Indiana Premier, Indiana Prospects and Midwest Astros.

Stanley, who was chosen for the 1993 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South All-Star Series, was selected three times in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft — 1993 by the Pittsburgh Pirates (41st round), 1996 by the Baltimore Orioles (11th round) and 1997 by the Kansas City Royals (18th round).

The right-handed pitcher says the first time he was drafted, he planned to go to college (he earned four letters at Ball State University). The second time the money wasn’t right and the third time he decided it was time to move on and start a family.

Bruce and Holly Stanley, who attended Shenandoah and Ball State together, have two children — Cy (18) and Meg (15). Cy Stanley is a freshman left-handed pitcher at Taylor University. Meg is a sophomore softball player at Shenandoah.

Other recent Raider player now in college baseball is shortstop-second baseman Max McKee (Indiana University Kokomo).

Current Shenandoah senior pitchers — left-hander Hadden Myers (Indiana Tech) and right-hander Gavin Patrick (Wabash College for baseball and football) — are also college-bound.

Pat Quinn was Ball State’s head coach when Stanley arrived in Muncie.

Stanley appreciates the way Quinn instilled work ethic and competitiveness.

“(Quinn) was a big influence,” says Stanley. “He showed me how to go about things in a professional way.

“He brought intensity to the game. It really helped me be successful.”

Stanley says Maloney was also intense and set expectations high.

“He was good at bringing about the family atmosphere,” says Stanley. “We were working for each other. He was a great mentor, leader and father figure.

“I’d have run through a wall for him repeatedly.”

Stanley has been a teacher for 20 years. He spent 14 years at South View Elementary in Muncie and is in his sixth year as a special education teacher at Shenandoah.

Bruce Stanley (left) coached his son at Shenandoah High School in Middleton, Ind. Cy Stanley (right) now plays for Taylor University.

Holly and Bruce Stanley both attended Shenandoah High School and Ball State University. The couple have two children — Cy and Meg. Bruce is head baseball coach and a special education teacher at Shenandoah.

 

Learning follows right-hander Lannoo wherever Terre Haute South Vigo, Cornell grad goes

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Peter Lannoo has long embraced a love for learning.

The son of Michael Lannoo (Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the Indiana University School of Medicine-Terre Haute on the campus of Indiana State University) and (biology researcher) Susan Lannoo, Peter entered math contests and studied Classic Greek and Latin while at Terre Haute South Vigo High School.

After graduating from South Vigo in 2013, Lannoo went to an Ivy League school — Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. — and began his path as a biology major with a concentration on Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and a business minor.

He has gained credentials in research and been part of published findings.

“My four years at Cornell definitely benefitted me,” says Lannoo. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Michael and Susan Lannoo’s only child went to college for academics. But he did not leave baseball behind.

After playing informal club ball his first year at Cornell (2013-14), Lannoo made the Big Red varsity as a pitcher, playing for coaches Bill Walkenbach, Tom Ford and Dan Pepicelli.

The 6-foot-6 right-hander appeared in 33 games (26 in relief) in 2015, 2016 and 2017, juggling his studies and baseball.

“It’s an exercise in time management,” says Lannoo. “It helps in baseball and life in general.

“Time is precious and has to be managed.”

After Lannoo earned all-Ivy League first-team honors with eight saves and a 3.86 ERA in 17 appearances as a senior, the San Francisco Giants were impressed enough to select Lannoo out of Cornell in the 28th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

The big righty made 14 appearances (nine in relief) at Short-Season Class-A Salem-Keizer in 2017 with a 1-3 record and one save, a 4.28 earned run average, 26 strikeouts and 12 walks in 40 innings.

After breaking spring training camp in 2018 with Low Class-A Augusta, spending one game at Double-A Richmond and returning to Augusta, Lannoo is now in the bullpen at High-A San Jose. He has combined for 14 appearances (all in relief) with a 2-3 record, 2.76 ERA, 29 strikeouts and seven walks in 28 innings.

“It’s quite a journey,” says Lannoo, 23. “I haven’t gotten to look back on it much. I keep prepping for what’s next.

“Everyday I need to do something above and beyond to get me to the next level.”

Lannoo does all the off-field things he needs to hone his craft and then goes onto the field with the idea of having fun.

“The actual work comes in weight room, eating right and in the bullpen,” says Lannoo. “You can’t worry too much about what happens in the game.”

He also puts an emphasis on mental toughness.

“The mental game really helps when I’m in a jam,” says Lannoo, who has studied how other pro athletes, including Tom Brady, have prepared themselves. “It helps me slow things down and take it one pitch at a time. It’s easy to get overwhelmed.”

“It’s that next pitch mentality. My college coaches really helped develop that in me.”

As far as developing his pitches, Lannoo is trying to strike a balance between his four-seam fastball, slider and change-up

“I’m working on throwing my off-speed pitches for strikes early in the count,” says Lannoo. “It’s about pitch mix and not being predictable. If you fall into patterns here, you get punished for it.”

And he’s always learning. During long bus rides or quiet time in the morning before he heads to the ballpark, Lannoo can often be found reading.

“It’s fun to learn stuff,” says Lannoo. “I read books and expand what I know.”

Lannoo was born in Muncie and moved with his parents to Terre Haute after his elementary school years.

Before the move, Michael Lannoo was a professor in the IU School of Medicine-Muncie on the Ball State University campus.

Peter played travel baseball with Muncie-based Indiana Longhorns then Babe Ruth baseball before spending the summers after his junior and senior years of high school with Terre Haute American Legion Post 346.

His head coach at Terre Haute South Vigo was Kyle Kraemer — a mentor he maintains contact with to this day.

“He was a great coach,” says Lannoo of Kraemer. “He taught me how to win. We had some really good seasons under him. We were (Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference) champions my senior year.

“He was really competitive. He brings out the best in his players.”

While at Cornell, Lannoo pitched in the summer for the Victor (N.Y.) RailRiders of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League in 2015 and North Adams (Mass.) Steeple Cats of the New England Collegiate Baseball League in 2016.

Peter Lannoo, a graduate of Terre Haute South Vigo High School and Cornell University, is in his second season in the San Francisco Giants organization. (Augusta GreenJackets Photo)