Jaksich helping pitchers reach their goals with PRP Baseball

BY STEVE KRAH 

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

A daily improvement mindset.

That’s what Luke Jaksich wants to see from the players who train with PRP Baseball at Mojo Up Sports Complex in Noblesville, Ind.

“Our goal is to make sure that each day they’re progressing whether it’s mechanical or mindset,” says Jaksich, a former collegiate pitcher who is now helping others. “It’s not just looking at the end goal, it’s looking to the daily goal. What are you focusing on that day to get better?

“The guys that come in consistently get the best results.”

Jaksich, who graduated from Andrean High School in Merrillville, Ind., in 2016 and Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., in 2021, was hired nearly three years ago as a performance coach and is now Assistant Director of Pitching. 

Munster (Ind.) High School graduate Anthony Gomez, who is a bullpen coach for the Buffalo Bisons, Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, is PRP’s Director of Pitching. Carmel (Ind.) High School alum Greg Vogt, who is rehab pitching coach for the Blue Jays organization, is PRP’s Founder/Director.

Jaksich, 26, and the staff work with 8-year-olds and big leaguers, including Cleveland Guardians left-hander Timmy Herrin and Miami Marlins right-hander Bryan Hoeing. There were upwards of 20 professional pitchers at PRP this winter. The place operates seven days a week November until early March with in-person and remote clients.

During the peak times, many weeks culminate with bullpens and pitchers going live against batters.

“Friday Compete Day is fun,” says Jaksich. “Those are always a good time.”

It’s slower now, but it will pick back up again at the end of May as college and high school seasons wind down.

“We’re attacking the little things with those older guys,” says Jaksich. “They might have one thing that needs to click from everything to get better.”

Jaksich notes that high schoolers and younger are still in the development stage.

“We do a couple of things at a time and make sure we’re really in-depth with what we’re working on,” says Jaksich. “We make sure they’re staying consistent with their work.

“Attention to detail is big. That is the biggest separator. Pro guys come in and get all their work done. High schoolers forget. We have to keep reminding them.”

Among those on the PRP staff working with pitchers besides Jaksich, Gomez and Vogt are Joey Romence, Nick Slone, Seth Story and Max McKee.

To ensure quality time with athletes, no more than about 25 come in during a block of time and they are helped by five or six coaches. Jacob Douglass leads the PRP hitting department.

“We have to balance it out to make sure we are very attentive on the floor when we’re coaching,” says Jaksich. “We try to find the factors that are going to benefit them. It’s not going to be the same thing for each guy. There’s no one way to do it. If there was, it would be a lot easier. 

“As coaches, we have to keep gaining knowledge.”

Communication is key.

“The more an athlete can communicate with us about certain things they’re doing it’s more beneficial for them,” says Jaksich. “That proves that they’re learning and trying to get the best out of everything instead of them looking for answers from us. We want to get answers from them.”

“We talk with each person each day. We create that relationship where they can trust us for their development.”

Jaksich was born on the south side of Chicago and lived there until the eighth grade then moved to northwest Indiana. 

He was with several travel ball teams including the Indiana Playmakers. He also played for the Northwest Indiana Oilmen of the Midwest Collegiate League (now Northern League).

Jaksich played for Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Dave Pishkur at Andrean. Pishkur led the 59ers to Class 3A state championships in 2014 and 2015.

His high school pitching coach was Joe Plesac.

“Joe’s an awesome guy,” says Jaksich. “I stay in-touch with him.”

A member of the program in 2014, left-hander Jaksich started on the mound for Andrean in the 2015 championship game and pitched into the fifth inning before moving to first base.

From Andrean, Jaksich went to Saint Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Ind. As a freshman in 2017, he started in 11 games and won three. That turned out to be the NCAA Division II Pumas’ final season as the school shut down and long-time head coach Rick O’Dette headed to Florida to guide the program at Saint Leo University.

Jaksich transferred to Ball State and hurled for the Rich Maloney-coached Cardinals 2018-21. At BSU, he made 65 mound appearances (51 in relief) with nine victories and one save and also earned General Studies degree with a Psychology minor.

He then pitched in six games with the 2021 independent American Association’s Sioux City (Iowa) Explorers before joining the coaching staff at Alderson-Broaddus University in Philippi, W.Va., where 2011 Westview High School graduate and former Saint Joseph’s assistant Zac Mishler was Battlers head coach. ABU closed in 2023.

Jaksich reflects back on his career.

“The minute I stopped caring about the result is when I started getting better,” says Jaksich. “That’s the way to go about this game. You’re going to fail. I stopped caring about being perfect out there.

“I wish I had more training like this when I played,” says Jaksich. “The private sector training has really taken off.”

Luke Jaksich. (PRP Baseball Photo)

Luke Jaksich. (Ball State University Photo)

Iwinski relishes role as Purdue starting pitcher

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Kyle Iwinski has been pitching a baseball since about the time he started school.

The youngest son of former Mount Carmel High School (Chicago) and South Suburban College (South Holland, Ill.) player Kevin Iwinski was on a mound at 5 or 6. 

“He had some professional tryouts,” says Iwinski of his father, who has a shortstop and pitcher. “He knows what it takes for you to successful in a game and mentally how to approach the game.”

Kyle, who is now a weekend starter at Purdue University, began in town ball, went to the Dave Griffin-coached Indiana Playmakers and then the Dave Sutkowski-coached Morris Chiefs (now 5Star Great Lakes). He also played for Brian Jennings at Griffith (Ind.) High School.

Iwinski was 8-2 with a 1.83 ERA as a senior and was chosen for the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South All-Star Series in Madison.

“It’s just a winning mentality,” says Iwinski of Jennings’ approach. “We won all those sectional championships in a row and he was always striving for his players to be great and doing what it takes to get to the next level.”

Like older siblings Chris Iwinski (who played football at Griffith) and Samantha Iwinski (who played volleyball at Crete-Monee High School in Illinois, Prairie State College and Brown Mackie College), Kyle was born in Blue Island, Ill. His father is from Dolton, Ill., and mother Gail Albrecht is from Riverdale, Ill.

Chris Iwinski, who is familiar with the rigors of the gridiron and also studies nutrition and performance, is another mentor for his brother.

“If I ever have a question about that I’ll go straight to him,” says Iwinski.

Now 23, Kyle Iwinski relishes the role of starting pitcher.

“It means coaches have faith in me,” says Iwinski, who is on a team with Greg Goff as head coach and Kyle Newman as pitching coach. “They trust me to start the game and get the win for the team.”

His goals?

“Getting easy outs, rollovers, fly balls,” says Iwinski. “I’m not worried about the strikeouts. 

“I’m just trying to put my team in a position to win.”

The 2024 season is the last as a collegian for the 6-foot-2, 220-pound right-hander. In three mound starts (vs. Stony Brook, George Mason and Cal State Fullerton), he is 1-0 with a 6.75 earned run average, six strikeouts and two walks in 13 1/3 innings. He is expected to start again Saturday, March 9 against Albany at Purdue.

In 2023, Iwinski made 15 appearances (11 starts) for the Boilermakers and went 3-5 with a 4.54 earned run average, 39 strikeouts and 19 walks in 69 1/3 innings. He induced seven ground ball double plays — second on the team.

On March 6, Iwinski was named both the Collegiate Baseball National Pitcher of the Week and Big Ten Conference Pitcher of the Week after tossing a seven-inning one-hitter with eight strikeouts and no walks March 4 against Akron in Holly Springs, N.C.

He was Purdue’s most effective weekend starter at home since 2016, posting a 2.06 ERA and .215 batting average against in 35 innings at Alexander Field.

Prior to Purdue, Iwinski spent three seasons at Kankakee (Ill.) Community College — the 2020 COVID-19 season plus 2021 and 2022. In 22 starts, he went 13-4 with a 3.45 ERA, 152 strikeouts and 40 walks in 138 1/3 innings. His pitching coach with the Cavaliers was Bryce Shafer (who is now KCC head coach).

Iwinski was second-team National Junior College Athletic Association all-region in 2022 as the staff ace averaging 10.48 strikeouts per nine innings.

It’s the unity of baseball that appeals to Iwinski.

“It’s the camaraderie with teammates, building a family and sticking together even when times go bad,” says Iwinski. “The team we have here at Purdue I believe is a true family. No matter what goes on we’re going to stick together and fight through it.”

In summer collegiate ball, Iwinski pitched for the Northwest Indiana Oilmen in Whiting in 2019, the Beecher (Ill.) Muskies in 2020 and 2021. He was bound for the Northwoods League’s Traverse City (Mich.) Pit Spitters in 2022, but with such a large work load at Kankakee in the spring he spent the summer working out and focusing on strength and mobility. He did the same in the summer of 2023 after his first season at Purdue.

Delivering the ball from a three-quarter arm slot, Iwinski uses a four-seam fastball, sinker, change-up and slider. The four-seamer and sinker both travel around 91 to 93 mph. The sinker runs into right-handed batters. A “circle” change goes 84 to 86 mph. A slider, which is more horizontal than vertical, is generally clocked at 82 to 84 mph.

Iwinski lists endurance, physical frame and the ability to go deep into games as his best athletic qualities.

He has a routine between starts. The day after, he is running to get out the lactic acid and does a heavy lift with strength coach Tony “Ty” Webb.

“He was with (University of Southern California) football,” says Iwinski. “He knows what it takes to get a strong lower half and keep it throughout the season.

“I just stay with whatever he has to say just try to push through it.”

The next day, there’s no throwing and some tempo runs to flush out more fluids.

The third day after a start typically features a moderate lift and lateral squats to activate the legs and hips.

The fourth day is a bullpen to tune up for the next start.

The fifth day features a light lift to get the nerves working.

“I was not a big weight lifter in high school or junior college,” says Iwinski, who was around 175 pounds at Griffith. He credits his genetics for the size he is now.

Interested in knowing “why people think they way they think,” Iwinski is a Sociology major. One his courses this semester is Criminology.

I’m big into Criminal Minds, The First 48 and those kinds of shows,” says Iwinski. “Maybe one day I’ll be a detective myself.”

Kyle Iwinski. (Purdue University Photo)

Kyle Iwinski. (Purdue University Image)

Kyle Iwinski. (Big Ten Conference Image)

Munster-raised moundsman Moell making the most of his summer

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Will Moell’s last mound start was special.

The 19-year-old right-hander for the Northern League’s Southland Vikings took a no-hitter into the seventh inning.

Moell (pronounced Mail) surrendered the only hit two out into the last frame of his seven-inning outing against the Elkhart County Miracle Friday, July 14 at NorthWood High School’s Field of Dreams Complex in Nappanee, Ind. He finished with eight strikeouts, four walks and one hit batsmen over 113 pitches.

The 2023 Northern League All-Star Game is at 7 p.m. Central/8 p.m. Eastern Tuesday, July 18 at Oil City Stadium in Whiting, Ind., and Moell (announced today as NL Pitcher of the Week) is on the West roster.

A 2022 Munster (Ind.) High School graduate coming off his first season at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., Moell has made eight appearances (all starts; a league high) for Southland and is 4-1 with a 3.92 earned run average, circuit-pacing 45 strikeouts and 37 walks and 41 1/3 innings.

“It means a lot to me when I go out there and pitch because you only get so many opportunities to pitch compared to the amount of work you put in,” says Moell. “I love it.”

He enjoys giving other players a boost.

“I do a good job of knowing what the team needs,” says Moell. “Sometimes we need a strikeout to get the team going. 

“Even though I haven’t swung the bat in awhile I think I still have an impact on that side coming off the field and going right into hitting.”

Moell subbed in a few games with the Northern League’s Crestwood Panthers in 2022.

Sullivan Stickann, a 2017 Highland (Ind.) High School graduate, is 2023 Southland manager. He was freshman coach at Munster when Moell was a senior and was an assistant at Olive-Harvey College in 2023.

“He’s really big into player development,” says Moell of Stickann. “He loves baseball than about anybody.

“That’s who I want to play for as a coach. 

“He gave me the opportunity without even seeing me play.

“I’m just really thankful for this team that summer. We players who have the ability to pick each other up. It’s a long season and everybody has bad days.

Northern League all-star catcher Matt Merk has been there as a steadying force as has shortstop Jack Fitzharris.

“There are guys who have shown confidence in me when I haven’t had confidence in myself,” says Moell, who plays home games with the Vikings at Dowling Park in Hammond, Ind.

Johns Hopkins went 48-8 and finished as the NCAA Division III national runner-up in 2023.

Moell pitched two innings and had two strikeouts and one walk over two games.

“This summer I was able to figure it out a little more,” says Moell. “I got a little more confidence and I’m ready to go back and hopefully grab a spot.”

Centennial Conference member Johns Hopkins had many graduate students and seniors in pitching roles in 2023. Moell’s class is full of arms.

“We’re going to have a serious impact on the pitching staff (in 2024),” says Moell, who turns 20 in October.

Bob Babb, an American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer, has been JHU head coach since 1980. He has amassed 1,266 career victories with five D-III World Series berths.

“He just knows baseball all the way around,” says Moell of Babb. “He’s kind of a wizard with the stuff he knows.”

Babb works with pitchers. But Ryan Graves and Andrew Furman share Blue Jays pitching coach duties.

“Graves is big on pitch calling and how to work hitters,” says Moell. “Furman (who has a Master of Psychological and Brain Sciences and teaches at the University of Maryland) is really good with the mechanical stuff. He knows a lot. He’s a really smart guy.”

Furman is able to find other pitchers to compare to his Johns Hopkins hurlers for instruction purposes.

“He helped me out a ton this past year,” says Moell.

He’s also been in Baltimore long enough to appreciate Maryland Crab Cakes.

“With Old Bay seasoning,” says Moell. “I’ve got a feel for it.”

Born and and raised in Munster, Moell played at Munster Little League until he was 12. He was with the Larry Crisler-coached Indiana Playmakers for his 13U through 17U travel ball seasons (2017-21).

Crisler, a 2014 graduate of Hammond Bishop Noll Institute, hit .541 with 12 home runs, 45 runs batted in, 38 runs scored and six triples as a senior and was drafted by the Atlanta Braves. He played at Purdue Northwest.

“He was a really good hitter,” says Moell of Crisler. “That was something I never had as a pitcher. He could tell you how things looked from the plate. 

“Another thing was that he was really big into competition. To that point I hadn’t been much of a competitor. By the time I was done with him I was really wanting to go out there and win.”

Moell got into a few junior varsity games as a Munster freshman in 2019, lost his sophomore season to the COVID-19 pandemic then played on the varsity as a corner infielder, outfielder and pitcher for Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Bob Shinkan as a junior and senior in 2021 and Mike Mikolajczyk in 2022. 

The hurler was 5-1 with four saves and a 3.00 ERA on the bump while earning IHSBCA Academic All-State and all-Northwest Crossroads Conference honors his final prep campaign.

“Everything was Munster Baseball to that guy,” says Moell of Shinkan, who passed away Feb. 24, 2022. “It was definitely an honor to have him in his last year as a coach and to make that semistate run.”

The 2021 Mustangs won Merrillville Sectional and LaPorte Regional titles.

Prior to his senior year, Moell looked into many high-academic colleges and universities.

“I had really good grades,” said Moell. “I didn’t want it to go to waste and I still wanted to play baseball.”

After sending multiple emails to Johns Hopkins, he got an invitation to a camp there, performed really well and received an offer Oct. 24, 2021 to join the Blue Jays the following fall.

“I had to get all papers in by Nov. 1,” says Moell, who did meet that deadline and is now a Public Health Studies on the Pre-Med track. With his athletic background and interests, he is considering specializing in orthopedics or sports medicine.

Two Major League Baseball players that Moell enjoys watching are Chicago Cubs right-handed starter Marcus Stroman and Cleveland Guardians righty reliever James Karinchak.

“I love how (Stroman) plays,” says Moell. “He’s athletic and shows anybody can pitch. He’s not the biggest guy. But he’s a big pitchability guy.

“(Karinchak) and I throw similar pitches. He’s a big high fastball and 12-6 curveball guy. He throws with just a ton of emotion.”

The 6-foot, 190-pound Moell’s arm angle is way over the top.

Some have said it looks like he’s trying to launch the ball into orbit.

He throws a four-seam fastball, curveball and splitter.

The four-seamer tends to be clocked in the mid-80’s with the 12-to-6 curve in the low 70’s.

Moll tries to get lift on the four-seamer with batters swinging under a pitch that travel around 2000 rpm and over a curve that goes 2100 to 2200.

So it’s fastball up and curveball down.

“Where a lot of people like to see inside-outside, I think it’s easier to go up-and-down,” says Moell. “I think that’s why I’ve been successful.”

The splitter, which is similar to a change-up, is thrown with about 1100 to 1200 rpm.

“I try to kill the spin on that and the speed difference helps a lot,” says Moell. “I move my fingers away from the ball and that’s how I get it to drop.

“It helps especially late in the game when (the opponent) has been seeing fastballs all day.”

On a good day, Moell’s four-seamer gets 19 inches of vertical break and the splitter gets eight.

Will is the youngest son of Stephen and Ginger Moell and younger brother of Noah Moell (23).

Stephen Moell works in the finance department for speciality subcontractor Crown Corr Inc. in Crown Point, Ind. Ginger Moell is a music teacher at Aux Sable Middle School in Joliet, Ill. Noah Moell (Munster Class of 2018) is a former prep soccer player who went on to marketing and event operations with the Chicago Bears.

Will Moell. (Johns Hopkins University Photo)

Will Moell. (Johns Hopkins University Photo)

Bednarek in first year guiding Hammond Morton Governors

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

Adam Bednarek is taking lessons he learned in high school, college and on the travel ball circuit and applying them in his first season as head baseball coach at Hammond (Ind.) Morton High School.
Bednarek was hired to head the Governors program at the end of the summer of 2022 and began his first year of teaching (U.S. History) and Morton in the fall.
Morton (enrollment around 1,675) is a member of the Great Lakes Athletic Conference (with East Chicago Central, Gary West Side and Hammond Central).
The Governors are part of an IHSAA Class 4A sectional grouping in 2023 with East Chicago Central, Gary West Side, Hammond Central, Hobart, Lake Central, Merrillville and Munster. Morton has won 10 sectional titles — the last in 2015.
Born in Illinois and raised in Dyer, Ind., Bednarek went to Andrean High School in nearby Merrillville, and played for Indiana High School Baseball Association Hall of Famer Dave Pishkur, who has eight state titles and more than 1,000 victories to his credit.
Bednarek was in the program from 2014 to 2017. He was rostered as a sophomore but did not dress for the 2015 IHSAA Class 3A State Finals. He was a second baseman on the varsity in 2016 and moved to third base in 2017 after tearing a meniscus.
What does Bednarek, who wore No. 16 in Red and Gold, remember most about time spent with the veteran 59ers skipper?
“Coach Pishkur is unbelievable at teaching all sorts of baserunning things — especially stealing third base,” says Bednarek. “I became a much better baserunner during my time at Andrean.”
Three of Bednarek’s four Morton assistants — Danny Murray, Eric Mularski and Sawyer Allen — played with him in high school. Only longtime Governors assistant and Babe Ruth League coach Vern Jefferson did not.
Bednarek and company led Morton players who were able to attend fall IHSAA Limited Contact Period sessions with an emphasis on fundamentals and defensive situations.
A drill he learned from Pishkur — The Runs Game — was part of the twice-a-week workouts.
It’s essentially living batting practice on the clock. The offensive team might get 10 minutes to score as many runs in that time.
The catch is there are four live balls and the hitting team has to track down the foul balls and get them back into the game before the next pitch can be thrown.
“We create fun chaos,” says Bednarek. “It’s a really fast pace and there’s a lot of conditioning.”
Winter has been dedicated mostly arm conditioning and strength training with players in the weight room about three times a week.
Bednarek has had 26 players sign up for baseball and he might gain a few once the varsity boys basketball season ends.
The plan calls for Morton to field varsity and junior varsity teams in the spring, playing home games on Georgas Field (named for former coach Jack Georgas).
After high school, Bednarek spent one fall with the baseball team at Quincy (Ill.) University then transferred to Indiana University-Bloomington and earned a degree in Secondary Education focused on Social Studies. That’s when he began coaching in the summer — two with Bobby Morris and 5 Star National Great Lakes and one with the Indiana Playmakers.

Hammond Morton Governors Baseball.

Adam Bednarek.

Griffin oversees transition as Purdue Northwest baseball coach

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

Dave Griffin is heading into his 10th season of coaching college baseball in northwest Indiana in 2023.
After six seasons in charge at Bishop Noll Institute in Hammond (the Warriors won an IHSAA Class 2A state title in 2004 and were 2A state runner-up in 2006), Griffin established the Purdue Calumet program and coached the Peregrines for three seasons (2014-16).
Purdue Calumet and Purdue North Central merged to form Purdue Northwest and Griffin has led the Pride since the 2017 season.
The first alumni game was played in October 2022.
“Overall it’s gone pretty well,” says Griffin of the merger. “The big challenge was you had a couple of coaching staffs and a lot of players you had to mold into one.
“Taking the program to (NCAA) Division II was another challenge.”
The 2018 campaign marked PNW’s first in D-II after starting out as an NAIA member. The Pride are part of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
“If you’re an established program it won’t take as long, but we hadn’t been that long so it took a little time,” says Griffin of the level change. “It’s been a journey to say the least.”
The 2017 team went 30-18. PNW posted a 18-25 mark in 2018, 21-24 in 2019, 4-5 in 2020 (a season shortened by COVID-19), 11-22 in 2021 and 21-23 in 2022.
For 31 years, the coach has operated Dave Griffin Baseball School. The past 25 years it has been located in Griffith. The organization will field 11 travel ball squads — the Indiana Playmakers — in 2023. Griffin coaches the 17U/18U squad, which helps him with recruiting.
“I get to go out and see kids play,” says Griffin. “That’s always been a good formula for me.”
Griffin says when it comes to recruiting, there’s more to it than the numbers hyped on social media.
“When you say velocity that doesn’t equate to being a good pitcher,” says Griffin. “When you say exit velocity that doesn’t equate to being a good hitter. At some point you’ve got to be able to play.
“It think they tried the same thing in football at the (NFL) Combine. If he ran real well or lifted real well they drafted him high. A lot of times those didn’t work out too well.
“Nobody cares about how they perform. What are their metrics? Don’t get me wrong. Metrics are good, but you’ve got to be able to perform. The challenge we all encounter is finding kids that have metrics that match the ability on the field.”
Griffin notes that even professional scouts often get player evaluations wrong.
“You try to do your homework on a kid as much as you can. We’re talking about scholarship kids,” says Griffin. “On walk-on kids you might take a flier. He might not be fully-mature physically. He might be a late bloomer. Those kids come along, too.”
More 1,500 DGB alums have gone on to college baseball and over 70 have been selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, including Sean Manaea, Kody Hoese, Ryan Basham and Nick Podkul. Chad Patrick pitched for PNW and is now in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.
“I’ve put a lot of time into both jobs,” says Griffin. “I wake up early and I come home late.
“It’s fun. I like watching the development of players.”
Because of the talent in The Region and the low cost of education at the school where most student takes classes on the Hammond campus (there is a Westville site), PNW gets some bounce-backs from other institutions.
“Kids see that we are starting to build a solid program here,” says Griffin. “It checks a lot of boxes for them.”
The bulk of the current roster comes from Indiana and Illinois. There are players from Michigan, California, Iowa and Texas.
D-II teams are allowed to give up to nine scholarships. PNW is short of that number.
“We’re working our way up,” says Griffin, who currently has 47 players on his roster. Of that number, 35 will be on the travel squad.
As well as overseeing the whole team, Griffin works primarily with hitters and defense.
Hobart (Ind.) High School graduate and former University of South Carolina hurler Brandon Murray is the pitching coach. Former PNW player Anthony Agne is in charge of infielders and former Robert Morris University (Lansing, Ill.) assistant Adam Pasko outfielders.
PNW plays its home games at Laborers’ Local 41 Field in Hammond’s Dowling Park.
“I like the turf and the ambiance of it, being in a neighborhood,” says Griffin. “It’s a good place to play. The sight lines are tremendous.”

Dave Griffin. (Purdue Northwest Photo)

Traina building team chemistry with Merrillville Pirates

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

Joe Traina has three main points of emphasis as the new head baseball coach at alma mater Merrillville (Ind.) High School — commitment, playing together and team chemistry.
“We’re making sure we’re there everyday,” says Traina, who was born in Merrillville, graduated from MHS in 2013 and has been teaching and coaching in the school system since 2017-18. “We were not weightlifting and conditioning very much. We have a strength and conditioning coach at Merrillville now (Brady Willard) so they can lift even when I’m not around.”
There is a text group chat that keeps the team communicating and Traina emphasizes staying in constant touch with parents.
Team chemistry is built through activities that require athletes coordinating to accomplish a goal.
Paul Wirtz was Pirates head coach when Traina joined the staff. Wirtz instituted “Animal Kingdom” workouts where there were stations for throwing, baserunning, conditioning etc., and teamwork was necessary.
Traina has had his athletes doing the same.
“They have to work step by step together to accomplish the goal,” says Traina. “That’s going make us a much stronger team.”
Merrillville (enrollment around 2,100) is a member of the Duneland Athletic Conference (with Chesterton, Crown Point, Lake Central, LaPorte, Michigan City, Portage and Valparaiso).
The Pirates are part of an IHSAA Class 4A sectional grouping in 2023 with East Chicago Central, Gary West Side, Hammond Central, Hammond Morton, Hobart, Lake Central and Munster. Merrillville has won 13 sectional crowns — the last in 2001. The Pirates were state runner-up in 1996.
Traina, who has taught at Merrillville Intermediate, Clifford Pierce Middle School and now Biology for freshmen at Merrillville High, was a junior varsity assistant to Connor Buxton then a varsity assistant when Buxton became head coach at Merrillville.
When Buxton stepped away Traina became head coach over the summer.
“It’s been a career goal to be the head of a program,” says Traina, 28. “I want to turn things around.”
The Pirates went 8-15 overall and 3-9 in the DAC in 2022.
Traina’s coaching staff counts Jose Carbajol as varsity assistant, Terrance Grayson as JV head coach and Juan Maldonado as JV assistant.
Merrillville started middle school baseball workouts at Bill Metcalf Field in July and games were played in the fall with Traina as head coach. High school players helped out.
“They were like bench coaches,” says Traina.
The first game was at Hanover Central, where Wirtz was serving as middle school coach.
Traina says the plan is for middle school baseball to continue as a fall sport.
Noting that Merrillville Little League no longer exists, Traina wants to work his way down the youth baseball ladder while building a feeder system for his program.
“We want to make sure kids have the opportunity to be exposed to the sport and get better,” says Traina. “We want to put a stop to getting pushed further behind (in development).”
Traina expects to have a young squad in 2023 with freshmen on the varsity.
Among the older players with college baseball aspirations are seniors Colin Early and Robert Richardson, who played both play varsity as freshmen, and junior Josh Magallon.
Pirates moving on to the college diamond since Traina has been coaching include Class of 2018’s Max Govert (Indiana University South Bend), Class of 2019’s Maldonado (Indiana Tech), Brandon Lucero (Earlham College) and Sven Strom (Saint Xavier University) and Class of 2021’s Dylan Coty (junior college).
Traina’s summer maintenance job includes taking care of the baseball field, where recent projects have included fixing the bullpens, adding dirt to mounds, turf to plate areas and dugout racks.
Traina played at Merrillville for Mark Schellinger.
“He’s one of the my favorite teachers and coaches,” says Traina of Schellinger. “When I got this job he reached out to offer any help I need. That meant a lot coming from a guy who had my back for four years here.”
He played at Merrillville Little League then travel ball for the Dave Griffin-led Indiana Playmakers then an Indianapolis-based team called the Indiana Irish. His parents — Frank Sr., and Michele — saw that he was shuttled two hours to Indy every week so he could have a new baseball experience and meet new people.
“I can’t thank them enough,” says Joe, the youngest of three children.
Frank Traina Sr., is retired from Siemens as an electronic engineer. Michele Traina is a school nurse secretary.
Ashley (Traina) Kendera (Merrillville Class of 2006) played softball for the Pirates, graduated from Ball State and now works as a page designer for The Times of Northwest Indiana. Her husband, Jason Kendera, is a former Merrillville girls soccer coach.
Frank Traina Jr., (Merrillville Class of 2010) played soccer and was a baseball manager for the Pirates during the Schellinger era. He now works as a bank teller.
After high school, Joe Traina went to Ball State University where he was a Sport Administration major and Coaching minor.
“I always wanted to go down the athletic director route,” says Traina, who got transition to teaching credentials through Calumet College of Saint Joseph. “Once I was in the classroom I decided to stick with teaching.”
He is also the head eighth grade boys basketball coach at Clifford Pierce.

Joe Traina. (Merrillville High School Photo)

Rutherford takes over reins of Region’s Griffith Panthers

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

Jeff Rutherford takes over as head coach at Griffith (Ind.) High School with plans to have the same kind of emphasis he has put forth throughout his coaching career.
“I like the offensive side,” says Rutherford, who takes over for Brian Jennings who retired at the end of the 2022 season. “I like to run a lot, hit-and-run and bunt-and-run.
“We’ve always been offensive-minded. We get a guy on and we’re going to do what we can to get him over.”
Rutherford was on the Griffith staff in 2019 and has also assisted Dave Griffin at Purdue Calumet and Purdue Northwest and coached travel ball with the Indiana Playmakers and a Cal Ripken all-star team.
The 45-year-old played baseball for East Chicago (Ind.) American Legion Post 266 and graduated from Hammond (Ind.) High School.
Two sons — Julian Rutherford (Class of 2018) and Jaylen Rutherford (Class of 2025) — have played baseball for Jennings at Griffith.
“What Jennings has done there has been great,” says Rutherford. “He’s been a big staple at Griffith. It was hard to see him leave (the baseball post). I watched him coach both of my kids and couldn’t be happier with the coaching he’s done.
“Jennings always been a great guy. I wish him all the best.”
Julian Rutherford played at Wabash (Ind.) College and is now employed by U.S. Foods. Jaylen Rutherford was on the Panthers varsity as a freshman outfielder and sometimes lead-off hitter and is one of the few non-upperclassmen expected to represent the program in 2023.
Griffith (enrollment around 600) is a member of the Greater South Shore Conference (with Boone Grove, Hammond Bishop Noll, Hanover Central, Lake Station Edison, River Forest, South Central of Union Mills, Wheeler and Whiting).
The Panthers were part of an IHSAA Class 3A sectional in 2022 grouping with Andrean, Calumet New Tech and Gary West Side Leadership Academy. Griffith has won 18 sectional titles — the last in 2021.
“It’s a great opportunity and I look forward to continuing the tradition of success,” says Rutherford. “I can’t wait to get started.”
He is looking to build his coaching staff, tapping into some of his younger former players. He also hopes to have players come to IHSAA Limited Contact Period activities Aug. 29-Oct. 15.
“I plan on some long toss,” says Rutherford. “We can get a few of the players familiar with each other. Most of the (2022) team comes back. Quite a few starters are playing another sport.”
Rutherford believes in the multi-sport athlete.
“I think they should play as much as they can,” says Rutherford. “Holding them to one sport doesn’t benefit them.”
Recent graduates Bubba Davenport (Calumet College of Saint Joseph) and Kyle Iwinski (Kankakee Community College and headed to Purdue University) are playing college baseball.
Rutherford says he wants to have camps for Griffith Youth Baseball players.
“(GBL) is basically the only feeder system,” says Rutherford. “We have to pull from our own town.”
Outside of coaching, Rutherford is a public works supervisor for the City of Hammond. Besides sons Julian (22) and Jaylen (15), he and wife Heather have a daughter Jaesela (11).

Jeff Rutherford.

Julian and Jeff Rutherford.

Indiana University lefty Bothwell keeps on going despite setbacks

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

Ty Bothwell sees himself as a diamond survivor.
Bothwell struck out 12 and was the winning pitcher in the 2018 IHSAA Class 2A state championship game as Boone Grove topped Southridge 5-4.
Almost immediately, the pitcher headed to Indiana University to take summer classes. He was dealing with homesickness when fall practice rolled around. On the first day, the 5-foot-8 Bothwell tipped the scales at 158. He just knew was going to be sent packing.
Instead, the left-hander was redshirted for the 2019 season.
“Freshmen year was a rough one to survive,” says Bothwell. “I hope to keep a level head and hope that everything pays off in the end.”
The southpaw spent the summer of 2019 with the Jimmy Turk-coached Western Nebraska Pioneers of the Expedition League.
Bothwell made his IU debut in 2020, getting into three games and tossing three innings. The COVID-19 pandemic cut the season short. The pitcher reunited with Turk in the summer with the Coastal Plain League’s Macon (Ga.) Bacon.
The fun seeker even found time to play in the LeRoy Wiffle® Association.
“It’s not a lob league,” says Bothwell. “But I was not trying to throw my arm out. I would flick my wrist.”
The 2021 baseball season at Indiana saw Bothwell — by this time up to 5-10 and 190 — make 11 mound appearances (four starts) and go 2-1 with one save and a 2.73 earned run average. In 33 innings, he struck out 43, walked 15 and held opponents to a .174 batting average. In his two seasons at IU, his ERA is 3.00 and he has 48 K’s and 19 walks in 36 innings while foes have hit .168.
Between redshirting and getting an extra COVID year, Bothwell has three years of eligibility left.
“It just now got out of my freshman year,” says Bothwell. “It took me three years.”
“Hopefully I’ll get drafted (by Major League Baseball in 2022). But I’m not concerned with that right now.
“I want to help my team win as many games as possible and go as far as we can.”
Bothwell’s progress is tied to his desire and ability to take in knowledge and apply it.
“My best quality as an athlete? It’s my my ability to learn,” says Bothwell. “I try to soak in as much as I can and learn from other people.”
Bothwell observed other Hoosiers pitchers like Matt Litwicki, Braden Scott, Tommy Sommer, Cal Krueger and Grant Sloan.
“These are guys I looked up to,” says Bothwell. “It’s a combined knowledge of all those dudes.”
Bothwell’s pitching coach his first three years at IU was Justin Parker (who recently left for the University of South Carolina).
“He believe in me from the beginning,” says Bothwell of Parker. “It’s not like I came in as the best pitching prospect. I’ve grown so much under his wing. I wouldn’t be where I am without him and the rest of the coaching staff at Indiana.”
That staff has been led by Jeff Mercer.
“He just wants to win,” says Bothwell of Mercer. “It got that impression from the second I met him. You can tell he’s got so much baseball knowledge. He knows what he’s doing.
“He’s super honest (in his assessments) and that’s all for the betterment of the team.”
Bothwell prefers to be a positive person.
“I like to brighten people’s days,” says Bothwell. “I’m more on the happy-go-lucky side.”
He’s also has drive to keep going through the adversity.
“I don’t want to be told I can’t do something,” says Bothwell, who is back in the CPL this summer with the Jesse Lancaster-coached Morehead City (N.C.) Marlins. His four-seam fastball has been up to 94 mph. His spin rate with the pitch has been up to 2550 rpm.
“It has a rising action and goes up and in to lefties,” says Bothwell of the four-seamer. “A lot of bats have been broken because of that.”
The lefty also has a change-up, curveball and slider that he throws from a high three-quarter overhand arm slot.
“The change-up sometimes has a horizontal fade and sometimes a drop,” says Bothwell. “The vertical is better than the horizontal.
“My change-up is equal to my fastball in terms of an ‘out’ pitch.”
Bothwell has worked this summer to make his curve more of a 12-to-6 with vertical break. The “cut” slider moves on a horizontal plane with late break.
“On day where there’s a true four-pitch mix it’s pretty good,” says Bothwell.
Born in Merrillville, Ind., Dec. 8, 1999, Bothwell grew up on a ranch near Hebron, Ind. He attended Porter Lakes Elementary School then went into the Boone Grove system for middle school and high school.
His family hosted a memorial rodeo for a grandfather who died when Ty was very young. Mother Mikki Bothwell, who was once nationally-ranked in barrel riding, is preparing to compete in that sport at the Lake County Fair, which opens Aug. 5 in Crown Point, Ind. Father Todd Bothwell also likes to rope with his horse. Mikki Bothwell works at American Inter-Fidelity Exchange. Todd Bothwell owns A&B Manufacturing. Both are Crown Point High School graduates.
Power-hitting younger brother Trevor Bothwell (16) is heading into his junior year at Boone Grove.
Ty Bothwell says he did not take baseball seriously until high school though he did play travel ball for the Lake of the Four Seasons-based Warriors and Indiana Playmakers before spending four summers (14U to 17U) with the Hammond Chiefs — three with head coach Jim Tucker and one with head coach Dave Sutkowski. He has fond memories of time spent at Hammond’s Riverside Park, the former home of the Chiefs.
At Boone Grove, Bothwell played three seasons for Rollie Thill and his senior year for Pat Antone.
“He was in my corner,” says Bothwell of Thill. “He was a great coach to have.”
Antone came to the Wolves talking about winning a state title. He got players into the weight room and doing Driveline training.
“He preaches that we are going to win,” says Bothwell of Antone. “That dude embedded it in our brains.
“He introduced so many aspects of the game that we never had as a team. The guys really invested themselves and you could see the growth. It was crazy how far we were able to grow in that one little season.”
Bothwell is an Animal Behavior major at IU. He sees a future in animal husbandry.
“It’s like a zookeeper,” says Bothwell. “I’m into reptiles and amphibians. It’s been my thing since I was young.”

Talking Hoosier Baseball with Ty Bothwell.

Ty Bothwell (Indiana University Photo)

Ty Bothwell (Indiana University Photo)

Podkul’s path takes him to Yinzer Baseball Confederacy

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

Frank Podkul’s baseball journey has taken him to many places in North America.
The trek began in northwest Indiana. Podkul’s first organized experience came at Schererville Little League. That was followed by a Lake Central travel team, Northwest Indiana Shockers (coached by John Mallee), Indiana Playermakers (coached by Dave Griffin), Hammond Seminoles (coached by Ryan Pishkur, Tyler Oche and Matt Pobereyko), Hammond Chiefs (coached by Dave Sutkowski) and Midwest Irish (coached by Shane Brogan).
Podkul graduated from Andrean High School in Merrillville, Ind., in 2014. He helped the 59ers (steered by Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Dave Pishkur) win an IHSAA Class 3A state title that year.
Younger brother Nick Podkul played up on most of Frank’s teams, including Andrean. Nick went on to Notre Dame and is now with Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats in the Toronto Blue Jays organization.
“We talk just about everyday,” says Frank. “We’e really close.”
Frank and Nick grew up in a neighborhood with kids who played many different sports — football, basketball, baseball, tennis etc.
“When you build that culture growing up you get a better appreciation for everything,” says Podkul, who turned 26 June 3. “:earn to be an athlete first. Everything else falls into place after that.
“It hurt when people want to specialize early. Let kids be kids.”
After he thought he might be a pitcher in college since he didn’t swing a potent bat in high school, Podkul played four seasons in the infield for Lance Marshall at Franklin (Ind.) College (2015-18).
“He’s just the best,” says Podkul of Marshall. “He would do anything for any of his players — no matter what. The way he’s built that program over the years it is one big family.
“On the baseball side of it, he let guys be themselves and got the best out of everybody.”
A corner infielder for the Grizzlies (mostly third base his last two years), Podkul appeared in 132 games and hit .290 (134-of-462) with 29 home runs, 25 doubles, 122 runs batted in, 109 runs and a .946 OPS (.414 on-base percentage plus .532 slugging average).
In 2018, Podkul hit .327 (53-of-162) with 16 homers, 10 doubles, 57 RBIs, 52 runs and a 1.129 OPS (.444/.685) while Franklin went 39-5 and ending the season at the NCAA Division III Central Regional.
“We had a ridiculous lineup,” says Podkul. “The amount of times we scored four or five runs in the first inning was almost comical.”
With baseball workouts and games, classes and his duties as a student athletic trainer, Podkul felt like a two-sport athlete as a senior. In the fall, he would awake at 5 a.m. for soccer practice, followed by classes, baseball practice and weightlifting then football practice and staying on top of his homework.
“At Franklin you have to be a good student,” says Podkul. “There’s no gimme classes.
“Everything is challenging.”
In his first two college summers, Podkul played for the Midwest Irish in 2015 and in the Virginia Beach (Va.) Collegiate Baseball League in 2016.
Podkul got a kickstart to his senior season at Franklin by spending the summer of 2017 with the Medicine Hat (Alberta) Mavericks of the Western Canadian Baseball League.
“It was amazing,” says Podkul. “There’s really good competition in that league. Learning some stuff from those guys helped me in my senior year.”
One of his fond memories is playing a game in Fort McMurray, Alberta, which is 890 kilometers (428 miles) north of Medicine Hat and seeing the sun out at 1 a.m.
After graduating from Franklin as an Athletic Training major with minors in Exercise Science and Coaching, Podkul went through some workouts in the independent pro Frontier League. Nothing came of those and he went to the California Winter League where he landed a spot with the Frontier League’s Joliet (Ill.) Slammers in 2019.
In the fall of that year, Podkul contacted Joe Torre (not that Joe Torre) of Torre Baseball Training LLC in Ridgewood, N.J. He runs an independent ball spring training camp in Palm Beach, Fla.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and much of baseball was shut down, a four-team league — the Yinzer Baseball Confederacy — was established with all games played in Washington, Pa., run by Torre and Washington Wild Things president/general manager Tony Buccilli.
Podkul split his time between the Road Warrior Black Sox and Baseball Brilliance Sox. The Frontier League put in the two other teams — the Wild Things and Steel City Slammin Sammies.
The YBC is back for 2021 with the Road Warrior Black Sox, Baseball Brilliance Sox, Killer Bees and Wolfpack. Players are not paid. They are reimbursed clubhouse attendant dues if they are picked up by another league.
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Podkul is with the Carson McCurdy-managed Black Sox — playing corner infielder and occasionally in the outfield. Through 32 games, he was hitting .284 (27-of-95) with five homers, 10 doubles, 13 RBIs, 16 runs and a .981 OPS (.433/.547).
The Yinzer league provides the opportunity for players to stay sharp and build up their numbers while looking to catch on in independent leagues. Rosters are set a month at a time.
“It’s real games,” says Podkul, who plays daily — either afternoon or night — at Wild Things Park. “It’s not a showcase.
“You’ve got to play and get in front of (coaches and scouts). You go where you’re going to be a good fit.”
Since January, about 60 Yinzer league players have moved to other clubs.

Frank Podkul with Andrean High School.

Frank Podkul with Franklin (Ind.) College.

Frank Podkul with Franklin (Ind.) College.

Frank Podkul with Franklin (Ind.) College.

Frank Podkul with the Medicine Hat (Alberta) Mavericks.

Frank Podkul with the Road Warrior Black Sox of the Yinzer Baseball Confederacy.

Benedictine’s Castillo enjoying summer opportunity in Illinois Valley

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

Playing with and against players from bigger schools, Damen Castillo enjoys showing what he can do on a baseball diamond.
Castillo, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound righty-swinging/throwing first baseman, plays during the spring at NCAA Division III Benedictine University in Lisle, Ill. This summer, the Highland (Ind.) High School graduate is with the Prospect League’s Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp in the team’s first season in Peru, Ill.
“It’s the competition level,” says Castillo, 21. “The pace of play is faster than what I come from.
“It’s fun being around guys from different schools like that.”
Of the 31 players listed on the team’s online roster, 18 are from Illinois with eight from California and one each from Arizona, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Castillo is one of six players from NCAA D-III schools (the others are pitchers Jake Dahl of Rockford University, Chandler Kerr of Concordia University Chicago and Justin Rios and Jason Shanner of North Central College and infielder Garry Maynard of Concordia University Chicago).
There are 20 from NCAA D-I, two from NCAA D-II and three from National Junior College Athletic Association institutions.
Teams on Illinois Valley’s schedule, which consists of squads from the Wabash River, Great River, Prairie Land divisions, boasts no less than 105 D-I players.
The Pistol Shrimp are owned and managed by John Jakiemiec, who co-owns a player development academy in Naperville, Ill., Evolution Athletics.
“He’s been great,” says Castillo of Jakiemiec. “When we play, it’s real serious.
“You get your work in and still try to win at the same time.
“It’s been a fun summer.”
Jakiemiec, who played baseball at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., uses his Ivy League education to throw out random facts during bus trips.
“We don’t always know what he’s talking about,” says Castillo. “But we laugh.”
Through 25 games with the Pistol Shrimp, Castillo was hitting .280 (23-of-82) with five home runs, four doubles, 14 runs batted in and 10 runs scored.
“One of my best qualities as a hitter is the ability to drive the ball to the right side of the field,” says Castillo. “I get pitched away and I get a lot of off-speed. Over the years I’ve gotten good at hitting the outside pitch.”
Adam Smith is the head coach at Benedictine.
“He’s been real supportive,” says Castillo of Smith. “He come to me with things he think I can change.”
Castillo appreciates how Smith keeps practices loose and competitive.
“Our team tends to do better when things are like that,” says Castillo, who helped the Eagles go 29-13 overall and 15-5 in the Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference in 2021. “We do competition things in practice. It’s better than taking mass ground balls or BP.
“It makes it fun.”
In 42 games (all as a starter), Castillo hit .347 (61-of-176) with nine homers, one triple, 18 doubles, 51 RBIs, 35 runs and a 1.009 OPS (.395 on-base percentage plus .614 slugging average).
The 2021 season was his third at Benedictine. In the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, he started all seven games and hit .217 (5-of-23) with one extra-base hit (a double), four RBIs, three runs and a .557 OPS (.296/.261).
As a freshman in 2019, Castillo played a little bit of third base before becoming a full-time first baseman. In 28 games (24 as a starter), he hit .323 (32-of-99) with four homers, six doubles, 21 RBIs, 16 runs and a .885 OPS (.380/.505).
With two years of eligibility left, Castillo is a year away from earning a degree in Management of Organizational Behavior through the Goodwin College of Business.
Castillo and his Eagles teammates are to report back to campus in late August and will get right to work for about eight weeks of workouts before “captain’s practice” where NCAA D-III rules limit contact by the coaching staff.
Born and raised in Highland to Damen and Jodee Castillo with little sister Angelica (a volleyball and softball athlete entering her senior year at Highland High in 2021-22), “D” played travel ball around his hometown until 12 and then went with the Dave Griffiin-coached Indiana Playmakers, Morris (coached by Jim Tucker), Chiefs (coached by Dave Sutkowski) and Midwest Irish (coached by Shane Brogan).
When the Midwest Collegiate League shut down and Castillo was not able to play for the Southland Vikings in 2020, he assisted Brogan with the Irish.
“He has been the closest coach to me,” says Castillo of Brogan. The two talk every other day.
This year, Castillo helps Brogan out in practice when his schedule allows.
John Bogner was Castillo’s coach at Highland and had the third baseman on the varsity since early in his freshmen year with the Trojans.
“He was a great high school coach and I learned a lot from him,” says Castillo, who stays in touch with Bogner and dropped by practice during the end of 2021 season to hit with the Highland team.

Damen Castillo (Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp Photo)

Damen Castillo (Benedictine University Photo)

Damen Castillo (Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp Photo)