NEIBA announces ’23 Dick Crumback Player of the Year Watch List

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

IHSAA baseball practice has arrived and the Northeast Indiana Baseball Association has announced its Dick Crumback/NEIBA High School Player of the Year watch list for 2023.
An email was sent out to the baseball coaches from Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Noble, Huntington, Wells and Whitley counties. These are the counties that the NEIBA covers when choosing their Hall of Fame members. Each coach was asked to nominate any player(s) that he feels could be in the running for such an honor. 
The watch list features 70 players. The list will be narrowed down in early May and finalists will be announced.
The Dick Crumback/NEIBA High School Player of the Year will be honored May 24 to coincide with the start of the IHSAA state tournament.
The Player of the Year will be honored at a Fort Wayne TinCaps game and at the June 11 Hall of Fame banquet.
Past winners of the award include Grant Besser (South Adams) in 2019, Carter Mathison (Homestead) in 2021 and Dalton Wasson (Heritage) in 2022.
The organization has honored local baseball players, personnel and ambassadors since 1961.
For more information, contact Gary Rogers at grogers@eacs.k.in.us or Brett Windmiller at brett.windmiller@nacs.k.in.us. 

DICK CRUMBACK/NEIBA
HIGH SCHOOL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
WATCH LIST
2023
Adams Central (Coach Josh Foster)
Sr. Logan Uhlman
Jr. Trevor Currie
Jr. Dakota Perry
Jr. Keegan Bluhm
Jr. Jack Hamilton
Sr. Ethan Poling
Jr. Keagen Combs
Sr. Ryan Black
Jr. Ryan Tester

Bishop Dwenger (Coach Jason Garrett)
Jr. Brayton Thomas
Sr. Keegan McMahon
Sr. Carter Bradley

Bishop Luers (Coach Jeff Stanski)
Sr. Nate Heflin
Sr. Qwenton Roach
Sr. Johnny Bloom
Sr. Brayden McInturf
Jr. Isaac Zay

Bluffton (Coach Jason Pierce)
Jr. Braxton Betancourt
Sr. Andrew Onuegbu
Sr. Andrew Pressler

Carroll (Coach Dave Ginder)
Sr. Will Worrel
Sr. Gabe Starks
Sr. Andrew Sinish
Sr. Cameron Saunders
Sr. Cooper Rudolph
Sr. Daniel Kirk
Sr. Camden Herschberger
Sr. Michael Dierckman
Jr. Conner Barkel

Churubusco (Coach Jordan Turner)
Sr. Croix Haberstock
Jr. Keaton Blessing
Sr. Wyatt Marks

Columbia City (Coach Rob Bell)
Jr. Brady Schroeder
Sr. Landyn Iden

DeKalb (Coach Collin Bice
Sr. Parker Smith
Sr. Ethan Jordan
Sr. Alex Leslie
Sr. Elijah Ehmke
Sr. Donnie Wiley
Sr. Tegan Irk
Jr. Aaden Lytle
Sr. Will Seigel

Eastside (Coach Cade Willard)
So. Jace Mayberry
Jr. Ryder Reed

Fort Wayne Northrop (Coach Austin Mannan)
Jr. Pernell Whitsett
Jr. Nathan Jessup
Jr. Jayden Sloniker

Garrett (Coach Jason Richards)
Sr. Peyton Simmons
Sr. Luke Byers
Jr. Luke Holcomb

Heritage (Coach Dean Lehrman)
Sr. Jackson Bearman
Sr. Morgan Andrews
Jr. Andrew Mirelez

Homestead (Coach Nick Byall)
Sr. Bryce Yoder
Sr. Jake Goode
Jr. Alex Graber
Sr. Griffin Tinkel
Jr. Mason Weaver

Lakewood Park Christian (Coach Scott Boles)
Jr. Corbin White
Jr. Gabe Dager

Leo (Coach Gary Rogers)
Sr. Jevon Walker
Sr. Gray Hoeppner
Sr. Christian Griewank
Jr. Kylar Decker

North Side (Coach Mike Werling)
Sr. Gabriel Oliva
So. Jamison Tindall

Norwell (Coach Dave Goodmiller)
Jr. Cade Shelton
So. Drew Graft

Snider (Coach Josh Clinkenbeard)
So. Landen Fry
So. Brandon Logan

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Former catcher Turner coaching Churubusco Eagles

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

Jordan Turner was heading into his freshman year at Churubusco (Ind.) Junior-Senior High School when he saw an opportunity.
The Eagles’ starting catcher the year before was a senior. Turner played other positions, but he began focusing on playing behind the plate on varsity and that’s what he did for four years, graduating in 2011.
Mark Grove, who was in the midst of a very successful career as Churubusco head coach (he won 513 games with nine sectional titles, four regional crowns, a semistate runner-up finish and nine Northeast Corner Conference championships from 1985-2015), trusted Turner to call pitches and allowed him to manage a game.
“I definitely learned a lot from Grove,” says Turner, who has been head coach at his alma mater since the 2018 season and is also a high school English teacher. “As a player you don’t think about everything that goes into games and practices. As a coach, I definitely lean on him all the time and whatever coaching information he can give to me.
“Beyond that, it’s the role model Grove’s been as a teacher and another supportive figure in my life. I can’t say enough about the impact he’s had on me and how much help he’s provided to the program.”
Turner began coaching while he still at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (now Purdue Fort Wayne) earning an English Education degree with a History minor.
After serving as an assistant on Grove’s staff for two seasons and helping Jason Pierce for one, Turner took over the Eagles and Grove (a 2021 Northeast Indiana Baseball Association Hall of Fame inductee) has served as a volunteer on his staff.
Though he is not listed as a 2023 assistant, Grove will help when he’s available.
The staff features Dalton Blessing (Class of 2018) and Derek Bowyer (Class of 2016) as varsity assistants with Turtle Town community member Brian Jones leading the junior varsity with help from Seth Abel (Class of 2021). Bowyer played a few seasons at Trine University.
Churubusco (enrollment around 400) is a member of the Northeast Corner Conference (with Angola, Central Noble, Eastside, Fairfield, Fremont, Garrett, Hamilton, Lakeland, Prairie Heights, West Noble and Westview).
Hamilton is expected to play a JV schedule in 2023. The NECC tournament is April 24-29.
The Whitley County-based Eagles are part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping in 2023 with Central Noble, Eastside, Prairie Heights, Westview and Whitko. Churubusco has 10 sectional titles — the last in 2015.
Recent graduates moving on to college diamonds include Class of 2021’s Brayten Gordon (Indiana Tech) and Evan Snyder (Adrian, Mich., College) and 2022’s Cal Ostrowski (Ivy Tech Northeast Community College in Fort Wayne).
Churubusco Youth League “Where Eagles Grow” sponsors teams from T-ball to age 14 at Churubusco Community Park.
The high school home field is located between the school and the park (there is a large turtle statue at the entrance off U.S. 33).
For decades, games were played with no outfield fence. That was added early in the Grove era.
Since Turner has been in charge, upgrades include a windscreen and concession stand.

Mark Grove (right) talks with Jordan Turner.

Jordan Turner.

Jordan Turner (left) and Cal Ostrowski.

Jordan Turner and his Churubusco team.

Churubusco athletic director Nate Wright (left) and head baseball coach Jordan Turner.

Jordan Turner directs traffic from the third base coach’s box.

Willard follows father as Eastside Blazers head coach

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

Eastside Junior/Senior High School athletics has been a big part of Cade Willard’s world all of his 23 years.
His parents — Aaron and Kerri Willard — have both been employed by DeKalb Eastern Community School District.
Cade played baseball and basketball for the Butler, Ind.-based Eastside Blazers — Jason Pierce for the first two years (2014 and 2015) and his father for the last two (2016 and 2017) on the diamond and Ryan Abbott on the hardwood.
A right-handed pitcher, Willard played three seasons at Purdue Fort Wayne (2019-21). He redshirted in 2018. He appeared in 92 games (all in relief) for the Mastodons. His head coach the last two seasons was Doug Schreiber.
“Throughout my career I’ve been blessed with good coaches,” says Willard.
Graduating in 2021 as a Business Management major and Marketing minor, Willard went to work at Eastside teaching Business and Computer Science and joined his father’s baseball coaching staff.
After an IHSAA Class 2A state runner-up finish in 2021, Eastside won another sectional title in 2022. The Kelly Green & White went 26-7 in ’21 and 21-8 in ’22.
Eastside (enrollment around 380) is a member of the Northeast Corner Conference (with Angola, Central Noble, Churubusco, Fairfield, Fremont, Garrett, Hamilton, Lakeland, Prairie Heights, West Noble and Westview).
The Blazers are part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping in 2023 with Central Noble, Churubusco, Prairie Heights, Westview and Whitko. Eastside has won seven sectional titles.
Aaron Willard was a North coach and Owen Willard — little brother of former volleyball/softball athlete Madison (Willard) Shelter (Class of 2014) and Cade — was the MVP at the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South All-Star Series.
At the end of the season, Aaron Willard kept his athletic director tag but passed the head coaching baton to Cade.
His decision to pursue business or education and coaching was made during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I grew up around Eastside my whole life,” says Cade. “It seemed right.
“It makes it more special being in your hometown.”
Aaron and elementary P.E. teacher Kerri now have more time to see right-hander Owen pitch at PFW.
Cade is also an assistant to Ed Bentley on the Blazers varsity boys basketball staff. Willard found time to lead IHSAA Limited Contact Period baseball activities (two days a week for two hours) in the fall and will do so again in the winter, beginning Dec. 5. He will roll right from basketball to baseball on some days.
“In the fall, we got better, got in a routine and got our hitting philosophies down,” says Willard, who had eight to 10 high schoolers at each session along with a handful of junior high players. “On paper, we had our starting infield out there.
“It’s important to get kids in before the holidays. We can see what numbers we have.”
Cade wants the ones who are able to attend to get used to his practice structure.
“The past few years we’ve been successful,” says Willard. “It’s about keeping the tradition alive.
““We’re always a scrappy team. I want to get our guys ready to compete. We have a few spots to fill. We were super senior-heavy last year.
“For some it will be the first time playing varsity baseball. Toward the end of the season we’ll be alright.”
Besides Owen Willard, Class of 2022’s Nick Snyder moved on to college baseball at Indiana University Southeast.
Willard has a mixture of seasoned and younger assistant coaches.
“I think it’s important to bring on experienced guys who know what to do in different situations,” says Willard.
Eastern graduate Tony Emenhiser — who coached with Pierce and Aaron Willard — is back. Alum Gary Kaiser was also on Pierce’s staff.
Conner Dove is junior varsity head coach and is assisted by Mike Gustin. Dove was an Eastside classmate of Willard. He was a teammate of Prairie Heights graduate Gustin at Trine University (Angola, Ind.).
Willard expects to have around two dozen players for varsity and JV squads. Among returnees is Class of 2024’s Loden Johnson and Ryder Reed and Class of 2025’s Jace Mayberry.
Pitchers will be asked to throw strikes and keep the ball low and away from he middle of the plate.
“Free bases hurt,” says Willard. “You can throw two pitches for strikes and get away with it and be effective with three.
“In our non-conference games we’ll see who can throw and who cannot throw. It’ll get us ready for rather get ready for conference in the later weeks.
There will be a lot of juggling (of positions) this year for sure. We want to put the best lineup out there for conference.”
Eastside plays home contests on-campus at Michael D. Fieldler Field. The diamond played host to a fall league and has had its dugouts upgraded with other projects in the works.
Bobcat Youth League locations at Butler and Riverdale-St. Joe develop players that end up at Eastside. Fifth and sixth graders travel to play area teams, including in Hicksville, Ohio. Butler is about four miles from the Indiana-Ohio line.
The non-conference high school season tends to include Ohio opponents like Archbold, Edgerton and Fairview.
A youth camp is planned at Eastside for the spring.
“It is important to get youth kids enjoying and playing baseball
doing it the right way,” says Willard. “Dad — being AD — says that’s an area you could blossom in with time over the long run.”

Cade Willard.

Cade Willard.

Aaron Willard (left) and Cade Willard.

Owen Willard (left) and Cade Willard.

Cade (left), Owen, Kerri and Aaron Willard.

NEIBA names finalists for ’22 Dick Crumback Player of the Year

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

The 2022 high school baseball regular season is entering its last week.
The finalists for the Dick Crumback/Northeast Indiana Baseball Association High School Player of the Year Award have been determined and winner will be announced the week of IHSAA sectionals (May 25-30).
The list:

DICK CRUMBACK/NEIBA
HIGH SCHOOL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Finalists
2022
Bishop Dwenger (Coach Jason Garrett)
So. Brayton Thomas
Sr. Xavier Aguirre
Bluffton (Coach Jason Pierce)
So. Braxton Betancourt
Carroll (Coach Dave Ginder)
Sr. Jordan Malott
Sr. Jaydan Duba
Jr. Cameron Saunders
Sr. Alex Smith
Jr. Andrew Sinish
Churubusco (Coach Jordan Turner)
Sr. Cal Ostrowski
East Noble (Coach Aaron Desmonds)
Sr. Brayden Risedorph
Garrett (Coach Jason Richards)
Sr. Trey Richards
So. Luke Holcomb
Heritage (Coach Dean Lehrman)
Sr. Dalton D. Wasson
Homestead (Coach Nick Byall)
Sr. Brennen Weigert
Leo (Coach Gary Rogers)
Sr. Cohden Brubaker
Sr. Donavin Massing
So. Kylar Decker
South Side (Coach Will Coursen-Carr)
Sr. Perry Stow

Hard work, fun mix for Richards, Garrett Railroaders

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Diligence and amusement don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

Not the way Garrett (Ind.) High School head baseball coach Jason Richards sees it.

“I do demand a lot from my players,” says Richards, who spent a decade of coaching in the Railroaders softball program then took over the baseball post prior to the 2020 season which was taken away by COVID-19. “At the same time, baseball has to still be fun for everybody.

“We want to still work hard for our goals.”

Richards was a softball assistant to Scott Bishop for eight seasons before leading the Garrett team in 2018 and 2019.

“(Bishop) demands perfection,” says Richards. “You’re only going to get that through hard work.”

Prior to Garrett, Richards was a baseball assistant at Central Noble for head coach Jim Sickafoose and baseball assistant Eastside for head coach Jason Pierce.

Richards says Sickafoose has an “old school” way of doing things.

“We had a good team,” says Richards, who helped the Cougars win an IHSAA Class 2A LaVille Sectional title and compete in the Whiting Regional in 2012. “(Coach Sickafoose) wanted to get the most out of everything you can do each day.

“(Coach Pierce) brought a fire for the game. He kept the kids on their toes, letting them know they can’t just go through the motions.”

A 1996 Churubusuco (Ind.) High School graduate, Richards played for Mark Grove.

“(Coach Grove) demanded perfection and hard work,” says Richards. “He was no-nonsense.”

Before class baseball, ‘Busco won Warsaw Sectional and Plymouth Regional crowns and competed in the Fort Wayne Semistate championship against eventual state runner-up Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran at Fort Wayne’s Memorial Stadium in 1995. 

Richards went on to be a student at Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne, where he earned a Education degree with a focus on middle school Social Studies and Science and later gained a School Counseling masters from the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Ky.

An attendee of several coaching clinics, Richards likes to run an organized practice. 

Everyday players show up they know everything is thought out and in a certain order.

“Anything after 2 1/2 hours and you start to see bad habits,” says Richards. “In 1 1/2 hours, we can get in there, word hard, get good habits formed and have fun.”

Garrett (enrollment around 580) is a member of the Northeast Corner Conference (along with Angola, Central Noble, Churubusco, Eastside, Fairfield, Fremont, Hamilton, Lakeland, Prairie Heights, West Noble and Westview). NECC teams play each other once apiece plus there’s a conference tournament.

“I hope we have a season,” says Richards. “I think we have a lot to look forward to.

“We should be competitive in a really competitive NECC.”

The Railroaders are in an IHSAA Class 3A sectional grouping with Angola, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran, Leo and New Haven. Garrett has won three sectional titles — the last in 1973. In recent years, the Railroaders have been rotating as a sectional and regional host.

At its size, the multi-sport athlete is the norm at Garrett. Many baseball players are on the football team and Richards is an assistant in program led by Chris DePew. That means Garrett had just a few participate in practices during fall IHSAA Limited Contact Period for baseball.

Winter workouts — bat and ball activities plus speed and agility and weight work — have regularly been drawing about 17 with the others involved in winter sports. Richards expects to have around 30 players for varsity and junior varsity teams.

Last March, Garrett was two days away from its first official day of practice when the pandemic caused a shutdown and loss of the 2020 season.

“What a crazy year,” says Richards. “We had like four kids play travel ball last year and no (Garrett Youth Baseball for ages 5-16). 

“COVID can really hurt a small program.”

A third year as a guidance counselor at Garrett Middle School (he was a science teacher prior to that), Richards gets to see student-athletes grow and mature for six years — grades 7-12.

“I build a relationship with them in middle school and earn that trust,” says Richards. “In high school, we get them what they need.”

Richards counts Rudy Fuentes as a varsity assistant coach for 2021. Other assistants are Clay Evans, Steve Orth, Bobby York and Cody Camp. Joe Fuentes (Rudy’s son) is GYB president.

The youth league will base its draft on performance at camps held at the high school in February.

“We work really well together,” says Richards of the accord between GHS and GYB.

Garrett graduate Tristan Taylor is a freshman on the baseball roster at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind. Current Railroaders senior Gage Smith is expected to make a college baseball commitment and a number of juniors also have college diamond aspirations.

Jason and wife Emily Richards have three children — Kierra (19), Trey (16) and Brady (8). Kierra Richards is a softball player and Exercise Science major at Grace College in Winona Lake, Ind. Trey Richards is a junior football and baseball players at Garrett. Third grader Brady Richards, who tuns 9 next week, is involved in football, wrestling and baseball.

Jason Richards is head baseball coach at Garrett (Ind.) High School. He is also a guidance counselor at Garrett Middle School.