Kleber, Trinity Lutheran Cougars are aiming high in 2019

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

First-year head coach Ben Kleber and the Trinity Lutheran High School baseball team have set their sights high for the 2019 season.

“We expect to win the sectional,” says Kleber. “We want to be the first team in school history to win a regional game. That’s our goal.”

Trinity Lutheran (enrollment around 150) is an independent school located in Seymour, Ind. The school opened in 2002 and the first baseball season was 2003.

The Cougars’ schedule features Class 4A’s Bedford North Lawrence and Seymour, 3A’s Brown County, Brownstown Central, Charlestown, Salem and Scottsburg, 2A’s Austin, Henryville and Southwestern (Hanover) and 1A’s Christian Academy of Indiana, Crothersville, Greenwood Christian Academy, Hauser, Indianapolis Lutheran, Jac-Cen-Del, Oldenburg Academy, Rising Sun, Springs Valley and West Washington. The Trinity Lutheran Invitational on April 13 includes a round robin with 2A’s Eastern (Pekin) and Switzerland County and 4A’s Jennings County.

Trinity schedules bigger schools to get ready for the IHSAA tournament series.

The Cougars are part of an IHSAA Class 1A sectional grouping with Crothersville, Orleans and West Washington. Trinity has won five sectional championships — the last two in 2016 and 2017.

Kleber, a graduate of Seymour High School (2007) and Hanover (Ind.) College (2011), was a varsity assistant and junior varsity coach the past two seasons to head coach Brandon Tormoehlen at Brownstown Central.

“I learned a lot about hitting and catching drills from Coach T,” says Kleber of Tormoehlen. “He’s just a wealth of knowledge when it comes to offense. He definitely valued your option on things.

“I like his philosophy on the game all together. He has his guys playing the game fast.”

The previous two springs before he was at Brownstown Central, Kleber was on the Trinity Lutheran varsity staff of head coach Bob Tabeling.

He spent the 2012 and 2013 campaigns coaching freshmen at Seymour with Jeremy Richey as head coach.

“Jeremy was great,” says Kleber of Richey. “I’ll be forever grateful for him giving me the start in coaching at the high school level.”

After playing at Seymour for coach Bob Bowman (the man who led the Owls to an IHSAA state championship in 1988), Kleber pitched at Hanover for Shayne Stock.

“(Bowman) was a baseball guy,” says Kleber. “He knew a lot about the game.”

Much of what Kleber uses at Trinity Lutheran — from pitching to base running to field maintenance — comes from his time at Hanover with Shayne Stock and Panthers bench coach Wayne Stock (an Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer).

“I loved playing for Coach (Shayne) Stock,” says Kleber. “He was

a hard-nosed guy who expected things done the right way. He expected the best of out you. He wanting your playing hard and playing smart.

“I learned so much from sitting and talking to (Wayne Stock).”

Kleber says he is transparent with his players and let’s them know their roles.

“They know what they need to do to get more playing time,” says Kleber. “I’m an open door. I make sure you’re ready to hear the truth and what’s expected of them and what they need to work on.

“Everybody is a piece to a puzzle. We want to be a family as much they want to be a team.”

Kleber’s desire is that his Cougars to be baseball-curious.

“I want our guys to ask questions,” says Kleber. “They have to be students of the game.

“You can’t just show up. You have to understand why.”

During the summers before his junior and senior years at Hanover, Kleber helped Todd Miller coach an Indiana Bulls travel team that included Drew Ellis (who played at Jeffersonville High School and the University of Louisville and is now in the Arizona Diamondbacks system).

Miller, a Franklin (Ind.) Community High Schoolg graduate who played baseball and football at Hanover, is now a baseball assistant at Tusculum University in Greeneville, Tenn.

The Cougars’ roster features 13 players. There is no junior varsity team this spring. Some of those are also on the track team. Four players who logged significant playing time in 2018 are back.

“We’re young,” says Kleber. “Wwe’re learning a lot of fundamentals and how to play the game the right way.

“We’re building for the sectional.”

Recent Trinity graduates who went on to college baseball are Sam Crick (Hanover) and Jacob Schult (Rose-Hulman).

Kleber is assisted by Tyler Reedy, a Seymour graduate whom Kleber coached before Reedy was in high school. Doug Nichols helps with statistics and field maintenance.

Trinity plays its home games on Alf Snyder Field, an on-campus facility built through a donation from Snyder’s family.

Two years ago, the infield went from grass with dirt cut-outs to a conventional infield.

This year, the mound was replaced and one of the batter’s boxes was re-done. There are new sponsors on the scoreboard. Sponsor banners line the outfield fence and a new batter’s eye is on the way. There is also plans to put fences in front of the dugouts.

Feeder schools from Jackson, Jennings and Bartholomew counties for Trinity Lutheran include Immanuel Lutheran (Seymour), Lutheran Central (Brownstown), St. Ambrose (Seymour), St. Bartholomew (Columbus), St. John’s Sauers (Seymour), St. Mary’s (North Vernon), St. Peter’s Lutheran (Columbus) and White Creek Lutheran (Columbus).

Kleber is a dispatcher for Rose Acre Farms, an egg producer in Seymour.

Ben and Katie Kleber were married in September 2015. They have a son — Braxton (2).

Braxton Kleber (2) is the son of Ben and Katie Kleber. Ben Kleber is head baseball coach at Trinity Lutheran High School in Seymour, Ind.

Katie and Ben Kleber were married in 2015. Ben Kleber is head baseball coach at Trinity Lutheran High School in Seymour, Ind.

 

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Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in Jasper gets bigger

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

The Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame has expanded.

Additional display space has been added at the museum on the Vincennes University campus in Jasper, Ind. A dedication was held Saturday, Jan. 26 inside the Ruxer Student Center.

With an expansion of 1,333 square feet, there is now about 3,600 feet of display space for Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame plaques and other baseball artifacts.

Made possible through a substantial donation by the Buehler family, the expansion includes the last two Hall of Fame induction classes — 2018 and 2019 — and room to grow.

“We have plenty of wall space for plaques and other items,” said Hall of Fame executive director Ray Howard.

Saturday’s festivities were attended by Hall of Famers Howard, Terry Gobert, Paul Gries, Tim Nonte, Joe Rademacher and Jim Reid.

Jeff McKeon, who is head coach at South Putnam High School, represented the IHSBCA executive council.

“It was an amazing experience seeing the history of Indiana baseball,” said McKeon, who was excited to see the photo of the 2017 IHSBCA South All-Stars. He was the head coach of that team in Muncie.

The rest of the council includes executive director Brian Abbott, assistant executive director Phil McIntyre, president Kevin Hannon, second vice president Ben McDaniel, third vice president Jeremy Richey and past president Ricky Romans. Hannon’s official duties will end with the IHSAA State Finals, which are scheduled this year on Monday and Tuesday, June 17-18 at Victory Field in Indianapolis (followed by the IHSBCA Futures Game June 19 and North/South All-Star Series June 20-22 in Madison.

The Hall of Fame expansion has a curved wall and resembles an outfield.

The old section has an infield layout with Hall of Famer Don Mattingly at first base, Hall of Famer and Jasper High School graduate Scott Rolen at third base and all Indiana members enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y., at second base.

The Hall in Jasper is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern Time Thursday through Sunday when Vincennes-Jasper is in session (August to May) and 11 to 3 daily when school is out (May to August). Admission is $4 for ages 13-and-older, $3 for ages 5-12, $2 for ages 60-and-older and free for ages below 5. Group rates are available. Special showings can be arranged by calling 812-482-2262.

Hall of Famers attending the expansion dedication of the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in Jasper on Jan. 26, 2019 are (from left) Terry Gobert, Tim Nonte, Ray Howard, Joe Rademacher, Jim Reid and Paul Gries. (Jeff McKeon Photo)

A crowd gathers for the expansion dedication of the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in Jasper on Jan. 26, 2019. (Jeff McKeon Photo)

Executive director and Hall of Famer Ray Howard shows some items at the expansion dedication of the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in Jasper on Jan. 26, 2019. (Jeff McKeon Photo)

History is preserved at the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in Jasper. (Jeff McKeon Photo)

The induction classes of 2018 and 2019 are show in their space at the expansion dedication of the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in Jasper on Jan. 26, 2019. (Jeff McKeon Photo)

One view of the displays at the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in Jasper. (Jeff McKeon Photo)

A collection of bats at the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in Jasper. (Jeff McKeon Photo)

The new outfield area at the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in Jasper. (Jeff McKeon Photo)

A photo of the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association South All-Stars with Jeff McKeon as head coach is on display at the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in Jasper. (Jeff McKeon Photo)

Some uniforms on display at the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in Jasper. (Jeff McKeon Photo)

Another view of the displays at the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in Jasper. (Jeff McKeon Photo)

A tribute to Hall of Famer Don Mattingly at the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in Jasper. (Jeff McKeon Photo)

A salute to Hall of Famer and Jasper High School graduate Scott Jasper at the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in Jasper. (Jeff McKeon Photo)

The Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame is located in the Ruxer Student Center on the Vincennes University campus in Jasper on Jan. 26, 2019. (Jeff McKeon Photo)

Architect drawings for the expansion of the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in Jasper. (Jeff McKeon Photo)

The expansion of the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in Jasper was made possible through a substantial donation by the Buehler family. The new space was dedicated on Jan. 26, 2019. (Jeff McKeon Photo)

The Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame is located in Jasper — home to the five-time state champion Jasper High School Wildcats. (Jeff McKeon Photo)

The ribbon cutting for expansion of the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in Jasper on Jan. 26, 2019.  (Picture Perfect Photo)

 

Coaches encouraged to nominate seniors for IHSBCA All-Star Series in South Bend

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Plans are coming together for the 2018 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South All-Star Series Friday through Sunday, July 20-22 in South Bend.

The July 20 IHSBCA Junior Showcase and July 21-22 All-Star Series games will be played at Four Winds Field, home of the Class-A South Bend Cubs.

The All-Star banquet is slated for July 20 at the Century Center in Downtown South Bend. Former Elkhart Central High School, Bethel College and Milwaukee Brewers minor league pitcher Greg Kloosterman has agreed to be the keynote speaker.

Selection of the squads, which will include senior players from all four classes (25 from the South and 25 from the North), is scheduled the morning of the IHSAA State Finals on Saturday, June 16 at Victory Field in Indianapolis.

North and South committees will review the names sent in from the 16 district meetings held on June 3.

Each head coach, who is an IHSBCA member, will receive notification from the district representative informing him of the time and place of the meeting.

District reps are Bob Glover (Hobart) in A, Mark Schellinger (New Prairie) in B, Jim Treadway (Elkhart Central assistant) in C, Pat McMahon (Fort Wayne Canterbury) in D, Andy McClain (Norwell) in E, Travis Keesling (Pendleton Heights) in F, Jay Malott (South Dearborn) in G, Brad King (New Castle) in H, Ryan Wolfe (Plymouth) in I, Kyle Neal (Attica) in J, Matt Cherry (Fishers) in K, Jeff McKeon (Decatur Central assistant) in L, Kyle Kraemer (Terre Haute South Vigo) in M, Jeremy Richey (Seymour) in N, Brian Kirchoff (Northeast Dubois) in O and Mike Goedde (Evansville Central) in P.

A member MUST be present at the meeting to have a senior player nominated for consideration for the 2018 All-Star squads.

Each school is allowed to nominate up to three senior players for All-Star consideration.

Ricky Romans (Charlestown) will chair the South selection committee. Other members are Goedde, Dick Alter (Indianapolis Lutheran), Steve Bray (Northeastern), Ben McDaniel (Columbus North), Zach Payne (Lanesville), Jeremy Sassanella (Brebeuf Jesuit), Tim Terry (South Vermillion) and Justin Tucker (Batesville).

Kevin Hannon (Knox) will chair the North selection committee and be assisted by Wolfe, Ryan Berryman (Western), Chuck Brimbury (Peru), Jason Garrett (Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger), Brian Jennings (Griffith), Justin Keever (Noblesville), Dave Neuenschwander (Adams Central) and Bob Shinkan (Munster).

Brian Abbott is executive director of the IHSBCA.

The 2018 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association All-Star Series is July 20-22 in South Bend.

 

Seymour graduate Brown learning to deal with mental side of baseball

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Two tunes followed Zack Brown to the mound during the 2017 baseball season.

When the 2013 Seymour High School graduate toed the rubber on the road, he would be greeted by “Chicken Fried” by the Zac Brown Band.

“It’s pretty funny. It was a common joke spread around,” says Brown, the 22-year-old right-hander selected in the fifth round of the 2016 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers after three seasons at the University of Kentucky. “I do not want anything to do with it at home.”

So what was playing as Brown made his first-inning warm-up tosses at Low Class-A Wisconsin or High Class-A Carolina?

“‘Small Town’ by John Mellencamp,” says Brown. “It has a little meaning to it. That’s why I picked it.”

Brown, who went a combined 7-5 with a 3.11 earned run average and 107 strikeouts and 36 walks in 110 innings, stayed connected to his hometown with regular texts or phone calls with his head coach at Seymour High  — Jeremy Richey.

First acquainted when Brown was attending Seymour baseball camps as a middle schooler, he credits Richey for helping him with the mental side of the game.

“I’m very competitive,” says Brown, the son of Bob and Cathy and younger brother of Tyler. “When I play not to the best of my ability, it’s hard to let that go. I have to just keep working at it. One big thing with pro ball is a hitter can go out there the next night. A (starting pitcher) starter has to wait four days. You have to let go of what happened the days before and get ready for the next start.”

Richey watched most of Brown’s appearances (18 at Wisconsin and four at Carolina) on MiLB.TV and noticed a trend.

“In the games that he pitched, he often gave up all the runs in one inning,” says Richey. Though their correspondence, the coach tried to help the player work through it.

Richey saw Brown face obstacles while at Seymour at Kentucky.

“His junior year, he threw really well for us,” says Richey. “His senior year, he threw to about five different catchers and tried to strike everybody out and do more for himself. He had to battle through that.

“He threw really well as a (UK) sophomore. Then they did not score many runs for him as a junior.”

When those occasions arose, Richey would pose questions.

“What are your thoughts when that happens? Are you trying to do too much?,” says Richey. “It’s about dealing with adversity.”

Richey, who enjoys reading motivational books like Old School Grit: Times May Change, But the Rules for Success Never Do (Sports for the Soul) by Darrin Donnelly, also helps his current players through the ups and downs of the sport.

“Kids want to put themselves in position when they are successful all the time,” says Richey. “When they are not successful, they don’t know how to deal with that.

“(Donnelly says) ‘it’s not wins and losses; it’s wins and lessons.’ To me, that’s baseball.”

In his second professional season, Brown has learned more about what pitches work for him and how to take care of his body to get through the grind of a 140-game season.

“It was pretty good,” says Brown of his 2017 campaign. “I got off to a slow start with an (arm) injury. After the all-star break was probably the best string of outings in my career. I finished the season strong.”

Brown used a four-seam fastball, sinking fastball, curve ball and circle change-up against Midwest League and Carolina League batters. He added the sinker while at UK.

A Friday night starter in the tough Southeastern Conference as a sophomore and junior, Brown played for then-head coach/pitching coach Gary Henderson, who also stressed the mental game.

“He taught me to slow the game down learn how to pitch to people,” says Brown. “The majority of the time, it’s your strengths vs. the opponent’s weaknesses.”

The same has held true in pro ball.

The big difference for Brown is bouncing back quicker.

“It’s being consistent with what you do day in and day out,” says Brown. “You have to be ready to go every five days. That was a huge change for me (compared to pitching once a week in college).”

In the minors, Brown works with the strength coach to maintain what he has built in the off-season and to keep his flexibility.

“You’re getting paid to play so they want you to be healthy and able to go out and perform,” says Brown, who will attend a short instructional league session in Arizona and then come back to Seymour where he will work out and help the community’s younger players.

Brown’s baseball path began with Seymour Youth League and also included travel ball with the Indiana Bats (based in Greensburg), Edgewood Bulldogs and Indiana Redbirds (based in Columbus).

“We went to Batesville in the winter and practiced for the Bats in an old gym on Sunday nights,” says Brown. “Travel ball has taken off even more since then. It’s crazy.”

Zack Brown, a 2013 Seymour High School graduate, is now a pitcher in the Milwaukee Brewers organization. (Carolina Mudcats Photo)

 

‘Five absolutes’ foundation of Richey-led Seymour baseball

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Jeremy Richey was a football and baseball standout during his time as a student-athlete at Seymour High School.

As the Owls head baseball coach, he takes something of a football approach.

Richey, a 1999 SHS graduate who played both sports at Cumberland College (now the University of the Cumberlands) and baseball at Indiana University Southeast, keeps a large coaching staff busy with three squads (varsity, junior varsity and freshmen) on the school’s one baseball diamond — American Legion Field.

“They all have positions and they’re all working,” says Richey, who was an Indiana All-Star as a player and a football assistant for 12 seasons at his alma mater.

Playing for head coach Joe Goodman, Richey once held Seymour career and single-season school records for receptions.

Jeff Richey — Jeremy’s father — was a football coach for 35 years, including nine as head coach at Seymour.

Richey, who played on the prep diamond for head coach for Bob Bowman and then Terry Stigall at Cumberlands and Rick Parr at IUS, heads into his seventh baseball campaign in 2017-18 with D.J. Henkle, Elvis Hernandez and Tim Perry as varsity assistants, Dan Henkle, Billy Rayburn and Justin Richey as JV coaches and Geoff Revalee and Brad Thompson leading the freshmen.

Upon taking the job, Jeremy sat down with a few of his coaches and formed the Owls’ belief system.

“We have five absolutes,” says Richey. “That’s who we are as a program.

“There’s Hustle, Compete, Self Discipline, Be A Leader and Character,” says Richey. “If we take care of those five things, the wins will take care of themselves.”

Competing in the talent-laden Hoosier Hills Conference (along with Bedford North Lawrence, Columbus East, Floyd Central, Jeffersonville, Jennings County, Madison and New Albany) and an IHSAA Class 4A sectional group which includes Bedford North Lawrence, Floyd Central, Jeffersonville, Jennings County and New Albany, Seymour has been competitive, usually getting win totals in the teens.

“We’re very competitive in our conference,” says Richey. “But more importantly we’re creating good young men. We’ve sent 13 young men to college in six seasons. We’re winning in the classroom and the community and getting pretty good results on the field.”

Richey sent Zack Brown to the University of Kentucky and he is now pitching in the Milwaukee Brewers system. They don’t all have D-I talent, but plenty of determination.

“We have a lot of gritty kids that do things the right way,” says Richey.

In his first season on the job (2012), the Owls went 21-5 and lost to Jeffersonville in the conference tournament and sectional final without hitting a home run all season.

Richey and his staff do a lot of work with players on situational hitting. The Owls employ the hit-and-run, delayed steal and bunts for hits.

“We’re going to see really good pitching down here,” says Richey. “

“We stay on top of the ball and we make things happen.

“Small ball is big for us.”

Richey, an Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association district representative, was an assistant coach for the 2014 IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series in Richmond. New Castle’s Brad King headed South coaching combo which also include Richey, South Spencer’s Brian Kuester and Terre Haute North’s Shawn Turner (now head coach at Richmond).

His involvement with the IHSBCA also allowed Richey to work with Hobart head coach Bob Glover on a proposal to add a fifth class to IHSAA baseball. The idea stemmed from the big size difference between the biggest and smallest schools in 4A.

Richey said the idea likely did not gain traction since only one class would be impacted by the move.

While Seymour plays everyone in the Hoosier Hills Conference, a blind-draw conference tournament is the only thing that counts toward the HHC title. There is flexibility in the schedule that allows the Owls to decide whom they are going to play and when.

In recent years, American Legion Field (Post 89 is located in Seymour) has gotten a new scoreboard, more seating behind home plate and a brick wall and screen to replace the old-style fence backstop.

The baseball feeder system includes Seymour Youth League (about 450 boys ages 5 to 12), the Southern Indiana Middle School Development League (independent from the school and featuring seventh and eighth grade teams) and travel baseball organizations.

The Owls last won a sectional title in 1995. Seymour won a state championship with Bowman as head coach in 1988.

Richey, who teaches Economics and U.S. History at SHS, has been married 11 years to Seymour graduate Danielle. The couple have two children — Braden (10) and Brookyln (6).

Seymour High School head baseball coach Jeremy Richey poses with wife Danielle and daughter Brooklyn (6) and son  Braden (10).