Quite a game for UIndy’s Ware; IU Southeast’s White, Indiana’s Kraft shine

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

Hitting for a cycle (single, double, triple and home run in the same game) is a feat.
When you also pitch a no-hitter in that same contest that gets attention.
Such is the case for University of Indianapolis graduate student Brady Ware.
A left-handed batter and pitcher pulled off the rate accomplishment Friday, April 7 as the NCAA Division II Greyhounds bested visiting Drury 14-0 in the second game of a doubleheader.
Ware homered and tripled as part of an eight-run second inning, doubled in the third and singled in the fifth while driving in five runs and scoring two.
In seven no-hit innings, Ware struck out 11 and walked five while inducing seven fly-outs and two groundouts.

Among the state’s 39 college baseball programs, NAIA Indiana University Southeast junior Mason White has socked the most doubles so far in 2023 with 15.
The others with eight or more:
Jeremy Wiersema (Bethel) 14
Satchell Wilson (Huntington) 14
Trevor Campbell (IU Southeast) 13
Phillip Glasser (Indiana) 13
Kaleb Kolpien (Taylor) 13
Ryan Peltier (Ball State) 13
Garrett Causey (Oakland City) 12
Tyler Smitherman (Anderson) 12
T.J. Bass (Taylor) 11
Max Fries (Earlham) 11
Nathan Lancianese (Earlham) 11
A.J. Reid (Wabash) 11
Griffin Wolf (Anderson) 11
Kaleb Farnham (IU South Bend) 10
Jarrett Gray (Huntington) 10
Rocco Hanes (Manchester) 10
Chase Hug (Evansville) 10
Jenner Rodammer (Goshen) 10
Blake Bevis (Ball State) 9
Mason David (Taylor) 9
Kaden Elliott (Vincennes) 9
Colton Evans (Vincennes) 9
Kaleb Hannahs (Valparaiso) 9
Brendan Hord (Evansville) 9
Joel Kennedy (Manchester) 9
Christian Lancianese (Earlham) 9
Jack Leverenz (IU-Kokomo) 9
Hayden Lowe (Ivy Tech Northeast) 9
Michael Machnic (Calumet of St. Joseph) 9
Ian McCutcheon (Huntington) 9
Andrew Miranda (Bethel) 9
Nick Parsons (Saint Francis) 9
Tucker Platt (IU-Kokomo) 9
M.J. Stavola (Indiana Wesleyan) 9
Adam Tellier (Ball State) 9
Brock Tibbitts (Indiana) 9
Ben Berenda (IU Southeast) 8
Alex Christie (Hanover) 8
Drew Donaldson (Indianapolis) 8
Lucas Goodin (Indiana Wesleyan) 8
Luis Hernandez (Indiana State) 8
Carter Mathison (Indiana) 8
Sam Newkirk (Grace) 8
Liam Patton (Wabash) 8
Jeff Pawlik (Grace) 8
Luke Picchiotti (Taylor) 8
Zack Prajzner (Notre Dame) 8
Kody Putnam (IU Southeast) 8
Carter Putz (Notre Dame) 8
Camden Scheidt (Wabash) 8
Kyle Schmack (Valparaiso) 8
Logan Smith (IU South Bend) 8
Matt Wolff (Huntington) 8

There has been plenty of solid pitching so far this season. Among hurlers with at least 20 innings pitched and an earned run average of 3.50 or lower, the leader is NCAA D-I Indiana sophomore left-hander Ryan Kraft at 0.90.
Others meeting that standard:
Seti Manase (Indiana) 1.52
William LePretre Jr. (Calumet of St. Joseph) 1.57
Aidan Tyrell (Notre Dame) 1.62
Cole Decker (Trine) 1.66
Garrett Hill (IU Southeast) 1.66
Robbie Berger (IU South Bend) 1.70
Matthew Johnson (Franklin) 1.70
Hunter Callahan (Oakland City) 1.99
Lucas Letsinger (IU Kokomo) 1.99
Marcus Goodpaster (Hanover) 2.27
Josh Hoogewerf (Trine) 2.41
Trennor O’Donnell (Ball State) 2.51
Michael Parks (Evansville) 2.55
Lane Miller (Indiana State) 2.57
Jackson Dennies (Notre Dame) 2.59
Damien Wallace (Marian) 2.67
Justin Bultemeier (Ivy Tech Northeast) 2.70
Bobby Nowak (Valparaiso) 2.74
Drue Young (Indiana Wesleyan) 2.81
Jack Findlay (Notre Dame) 2.82
Nathan Chasey (Valparaiso) 2.83
Gavin Morris (Southern Indiana) 2.88
Jack Ross (Taylor) 2.96
Jake McKendry (IU South Bend) 3.00
Jared Spencer (Indiana State) 3.04
Alec Holcomb (Taylor) 3.06
Tyler Papenbrock (Huntington) 3.06
Joey Butz (Huntington) 3.09
Graham Kollen (Huntington) 3.11
Hunter Frost (Saint Francis) 3.20
William Myklebust (Ivy Tech Northeast) 3.20
Blaine McRae (Saint Francis) 3.27
Evan Fry (Indiana Wesleyan) 3.35
Alex Voss (Butler) 3.38
Brandon DeWitt (Indianapolis) 3.46
Jonathan Blackwell (Purdue) 3.50

NCAA D-III Franklin and NAIA Indiana Wesleyan both are on eight-game win streaks — the longest current skeins in the state.
D-I Indiana State (6), NAIA Saint Francis (5) and NAIA Huntington (4), junior college Ivy Tech Northeast (4), D-I Indiana (3) and D-III Manchester (3) are others near the top of the streak list.

Below are season records, weekly results and links to web pages, schedules and statistics.

INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL
Records Through April 9
NCAA D-I
Ball State 23-8 (10-2 MAC)
Indiana 22-10 (7-2 Big Ten)
Evansville 19-12 (5-4 MVC)
Indiana State 18-12 (8-1 MVC)
Notre Dame 17-12 (7-8 ACC)
Purdue 14-16 (5-4 Big Ten)
Valparaiso 10-14 (2-7 MVC)
Southern Indiana 9-22 (2-7 OVC)
Purdue Fort Wayne 8-24 (5-7 Horizon)
Butler 7-23 (0-3 Big East)

Schedule Links
Ball State
Butler
Evansville
Indiana
Indiana State
Notre Dame
Purdue
Purdue Fort Wayne
Southern Indiana
Valparaiso

Stat Links
Ball State
Butler
Evansville
Indiana
Indiana State
Notre Dame
Purdue
Purdue Fort Wayne
Southern Indiana
Valparaiso

NCAA D-II
Indianapolis 17-12 (5-11 GLVC)
Purdue Northwest 6-20 (2-10 GLIAC)

Schedule Links
Indianapolis
Purdue Northwest

Stat Links
Indianapolis
Purdue Northwest

NCAA D-III
Franklin 17-6 (7-1 HCAC)
Wabash 16-9 (2-2 NCAC)
Rose-Hulman 15-7 (7-1 HCAC)
Earlham 14-10 (4-5 HCAC)
Manchester 13-11 (4-4 HCAC)
Trine 13-11 (4-2 MIAA)
Anderson 12-11 (2-6 HCAC)
Hanover 8-16 (2-7 HCAC)
DePauw 7-13 (2-2 NCAC)

Schedule Links
Anderson
DePauw
Earlham
Franklin
Hanover
Manchester
Rose-Hulman
Trine
Wabash

Stat Links
Anderson
DePauw
Earlham
Franklin
Hanover
Manchester
Rose-Hulman
Trine
Wabash

NAIA
Taylor 25-11 (18-4 CL)
Indiana Wesleyan 24-11-1 (19-3 CL)
Huntington 23-10 (17-5 CL)
Oakland City 23-14 (7-11 RSC)

Indiana Tech 20-9 (8-6 WHAC)
IU Southeast 19-14-1 (12-5-1 RSC)
IU-Kokomo 19-15 (9-8 RSC)
Grace 13-16 (5-13 CL)
Marian 13-17 (7-11 CL)
IU South Bend 13-19 (9-6 CCAC)
Bethel 13-21 (6-16 CL)
Calumet of St. Joseph 13-23 (5-10 CCAC)
Saint Francis 16-16 (11-9 CL)
Goshen 7-23 (3-15 CL)
IUPU-Columbus 2-32

Schedule Links
Bethel
Calumet of St. Joseph
Goshen
Grace
Huntington
IU-Kokomo
IUPU-Columbus
IU South Bend
IU Southeast
Indiana Tech
Indiana Wesleyan
Marian
Oakland City
Saint Francis
Taylor

Stat Links
Bethel
Calumet of St. Joseph
Goshen
Grace
Huntington
IU-Kokomo
IUPU-Columbus
IU South Bend
IU Southeast
Indiana Tech
Indiana Wesleyan
Marian
Oakland City
Saint Francis
Taylor

Junior College
Ivy Tech Northeast 16-13
Vincennes 16-20 (4-8 MWAC)
Marian’s Ancilla 5-22 (4-5 MCCAA)

Schedule Links
Ivy Tech Northeast
Marian’s Ancilla
Vincennes

Stat Links
Ivy Tech Northeast
Marian’s Ancilla
Vincennes

Through April 9
NCAA D-I
Monday, April 3
Valparaiso 5, Murray State 2

Tuesday, April 4
Ball State 12, Bellarmine 3
Evansville 12, Purdue 10
Indiana State 4, Indiana 0
Notre Dame 12, Northwestern 0
Toledo 9, Purdue Fort Wayne 8

Thursday, April 6
Ball State 3, The Citadel 2 (10 inn.)
Xavier 8, Butler 3
Notre Dame 10, Pittsburgh 8
Oakland 14, Purdue Fort Wayne 9
Southeast Missouri 13, Southern Indiana 4

Friday, April 7
Ball State 9, The Citadel 8 (8 inn.)
The Citadel 4, Ball State 0
Xavier 4, Butler 2
Valparaiso 6, Evansville 1
Iowa 7, Indiana 1
Indiana State 2, Illinois State 0
Notre Dame 11, Pittsburgh 2
Purdue 3, Minnesota 0
Oakland 7, Purdue Fort Wayne 2
Southern Indiana 9, Southeast Missouri 6

Saturday, April 8
Xavier 13, Butler 6
Evansville 9, Valparaiso 8
Indiana 2, Iowa 0 (10 inn.)
Indiana State 4, Illinois State 3 (10 inn.)
Pittsburgh 9, Notre Dame 5
Purdue 15, Minnesota 3
Oakland 7, Purdue Fort Wayne 6
Southeast Missouri 14, Southern Indiana 2

Sunday, April 9
Evansville 4, Valparaiso 3
Indiana 4, Iowa 2
Indiana State 4, Illinois State 3
Minnesota 9, Purdue 3

NCAA D-II
Thursday, April 6
Indianapolis 9, Drury 1
Purdue Northwest 10, Wayne State 8

Friday, April 7
Indianapolis 8, Drury 7
Indianapolis 13, Drury 0
Wayne State 9, Purdue Northwest 4
Wayne State 22, Purdue Northwest 6

Saturday, April 8
Drury 6, Indianapolis 3
Wayne State 7, Purdue Northwest 3

NCAA D-III
Monday, April 3
Franklin 13, Hanover 11

Tuesday, April 4
Wabash 6, DePauw 3
Wabash 14, DePauw 4
Trine 6, Adrian 5 (15 inn.)

Friday, April 7
Bluffton 7, Earlham 6 (12 inn.)
Rose-Hulman 13, Hanover 7
Manchester 2, Defiance 0
Manchester 10, Defiance 5
Trine 7, Kalamazoo 3

Saturday, April 8
Franklin 11, Anderson 3
Franklin 13, Anderson 2
DePauw 6, Oberlin 3
DePauw 8, Oberlin 7
Bluffton 7, Earlham 6
Bluffton 5, Earlham 3
Hanover 10, Rose-Hulman 8
Rose-Hulman 7, Hanover 3
Manchester 2, Defiance 1 (10 inn.)
Kalamazoo 14, Trine 3
Kalamazoo 14, Trine 4

NAIA
Monday, April 3
Midway 14, IU-Kokomo 4
Saint Ambrose 13, IU South Bend 2
Indiana Tech 21, Madonna 6
Madonna 13, Indiana Tech 12
Saint Francis 13, Spring Arbor 3
Saint Francis 7, Spring Arbor 5

Tuesday, April 4
IU-Kokomo 7, Georgetown (Ky.) 4
IU Southeast 14, IUPU-Columbus 4

Wednesday, April 5
Indiana Wesleyan 6, Mount Vernon Nazarene 0
Indiana Wesleyan 5, Mount Vernon Nazarene 3

Thursday, April 6
Taylor 14, Bethel 1
Taylor 2, Bethel 0
Huntington 5, Goshen 1
Huntington 3, Goshen 0
Spring Arbor 3, Grace 2
Spring Arbor 21, Grace 5
Indiana Wesleyan 10, Mount Vernon Nazarene 2
Indiana Wesleyan 2, Mount Vernon Nazarene 0
Saint Francis 8, Marian 2
Saint Francis 17, Marian 4

Friday, April 7
Saint Ambrose 15, Calumet of St. Joseph 4
IU-Kokomo 5, West Virginia Tech 0
West Virginia Tech 8, IU-Kokomo 6
Trinity Christian 4, IU South Bend 2
Indiana Tech 4, Aquinas 3
Aquinas 8, Indiana Tech 1
Midway 12, Oakland City 1

Saturday, April 8
Saint Ambrose 2, Calumet of St. Joseph 1
Saint Ambrose 7, Calumet of St. Joseph 5
IU-Kokomo 4, West Virginia Tech 2
IUPU-Columbus 6, Miami-Hamilton 4
Miami-Hamilton 7, IUPU-Columbus 1
IU South Bend 8, Trinity Christian 0
IU South Bend 5, Trinity Christian 0
Point Park 5, IU Southeast 3
IU Southeast 5, Point Park 2
Indiana Tech 2, Cornerstone 1
Indiana Tech 6, Cornerstone 5
Oakland City 10, Midway 3
Midway 3, Oakland City 1

Sunday, April 9
IU Southeast 10, Point Park 9

Junior College
Thursday, April 6
Glen Oaks 3, Marian’s Ancilla 1
Marian’s Ancilla 11, Glen Oaks 10

Friday, April 7
Kalamazoo Valley 13, Marian’s Ancilla 10
Heartland 8, Vincennes 3
Heartland 10, Vincennes 3

Saturday, April 8
Ivy Tech Northeast 15, Alpena 5
Ivy Tech Northeast 9, Muskegon 8
Glen Oaks 11, Marian’s Ancilla 1
Marian’s Ancilla 7, Glen Oaks 5
Heartland 20, Vincennes 2
Heartland 19, Vincennes 10

Advertisement

Indiana 10-0 at The Bart; Purdue’s Toetz HR count 8

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

Home may be ever so humble and where the heart is, but it’s also were the victories lie for some teams early in the 2023 college baseball season.
With a three-game sweep of Morehead State NCAA Division I Indiana is 10-0 so far at Bart Kauffman Field. The Hoosiers are to host Indiana at 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 21.
After besting Purdue twice at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium, Evansville 8-1 at home.
A three-game sweep of Toledo at Ball Diamond at First Merchants Ballpark Complex makes Ball State 5-1 at home.
NCAA Division II Indianapolis is 11-2 in games played at Greyhound Park/Bill Bright Field and 0-2 at Grand Park in Westfield. UIndy’s first road game is scheduled for Friday, March 24 at Illinois-Springfield.
NAIA Indiana Wesleyan is 4-0 at Wildcat Field.
Bethel is 2-0 at Dick Patterson Field at Jenkins Stadium and 2-0 in a designated home game at Championship Park in Kokomo.
Indiana Tech is 4-0 at Warrior Field.
Oakland City is 12-1 at Gil Hodges Field in Princeton and 3-5 at League Stadium in Huntingburg.
Huntington is 10-2 at Forest Glen Park.
Taylor is 9-2 at Winterholter Field.
While we’re talking about home, how about home runs? Here is a list of mashers so far in 2023 (three bombs or more through March 19 of games posted):
Paul Toetz (Purdue) 8
Jacob Daftari (Indiana Tech) 7
Satchell Wilson (Huntington) 7
Luke Barnes (IU-Kokomo) 6
T.J. Bass (Taylor) 6
Braedon Blackford (Purdue Fort Wayne) 6
Lucas Goodin (Indiana Wesleyan) 6
Ryan Peltier (Ball State) 6
Kade Vander Molen (Taylor) 6
Xander Willis (Oakland City) 6
Alex Christie (Hanover) 5
Chase Hug (Evansville) 5
Brayden Manning (Taylor) 5
Sam Pesa (Saint Francis) 5
A.J. Reid (Wabash) 5
Eric Roberts (Evansville) 5
Jenner Rodammer (Goshen) 5
Parker Bates (Indiana Tech) 4
Blake Bevis (Ball State) 4
Mason David (Taylor) 4
Tucker Ebest (Southern Indiana ) 4
Kip Fougerousse (Evansville) 4
Langston Ginder (Huntington) 4
Jake Jarvis (Purdue) 4
Ben Kalbaugh (Taylor) 4
Treven Madden (Oakland City) 4
Jordan Malott (Huntington) 4
Christian Mojica (Indiana Tech) 4
Jeff Morton (Indiana Wesleyan) 4
Sam Newkirk (Grace) 4
Luke Picchiotti (Taylor) 4
Matthew Rivera (Ball State) 4
Kyle Schmack (Valparaiso) 4
Mike Sears (Indiana State) 4
Sean Sullivan (Franklin) 4
Joey Urban (Butler) 4
Nick Wiley (Indiana Wesleyan) 4
Brenden Bell (IU South Bend) 3
Jared Bujdos (Indianapolis) 3
Trevor Campbell (IU Southeast) 3
Garrett Causey (Oakland City) 3
Gabe Cortez (IU South Bend) 3
Hunter Dobbins (Ball State) 3
Colton Evans (Vincennes) 3
Kaleb Farnham (IU South Bend) 3
Ben Fricke (IUPU-Columbus) 3
Sam Gladd (Taylor) 3
Danny Glimco (DePauw) 3
Trevor Goodwin (IU Southeast) 3
Grant Hartley (Grace) 3
Ray Hilbrich (Purdue Northwest) 3
Brendan Hord (Evansville) 3
Hunter Jessee (Indiana) 3
John Joyce (Grace) 3
Kaleb Kolpein (Taylor) 3
Josh Ledgard (Marian’s Ancilla) 3
David Miller (Saint Francis) 3
Jeff Pawlik (Grace) 3
Jack Penney (Notre Dame) 3
Sam Pinckert (Oakland City) 3
Adam Pottinger (Indiana State) 3
Carter Putz (Notre Dame) 3
Evan Salmon (Indiana Wesleyan) 3
Brett Sikorski (IU South Bend) 3
Tyler Smitherman (Anderson) 3
Tyler Stahl (Indiana Tech) 3
Aidan Stevens (Manchester) 3
Alex Stout (Bethel) 3
Brice Stultz (Indiana Tech) 3
Devin Taylor (Indiana) 3
Nolan Tucker (Valparaiso) 3
Brady Ware (Indianapolis) 3
Matt Wolff (Huntington) 3
Hanover’s Christie has three circuit clouts in the last three games.
On the pitching side, here are the strikeout leaders:
Tyler Papenbrock (Huntington) 51
Frank Plesac (Bethel) 48
Damien Wallace (Marian) 44
Lucas Letsinger (IU-Kokomo) 43
Seth Spencer (Indianapolis) 42
Drue Young (Indiana Wesleyan) 42
Graham Kollen (Huntington) 39
Luke Sinnard (Indiana) 39
Gehrig Tenhumberg (Oakland City) 38

Alec Holcomb (Taylor) 37
Cory Bosecker (Butler) 36
Ryan Brown (Ball State) 35
Evan Fry (Indiana Wesleyan) 35
Nick Smith (Evansville) 35
Evan Etchison (Grace) 32
Trevor O’Donnell (Ball State) 32
Eric Pettipiece (Goshen) 32
Luke Schafer (IU Southeast) 31
Landen Southern (Anderson) 29
Matt Jachec (Indiana State) 28
Gabel Pentecost (Taylor) 28
Andrew Davenport (Calumet of St. Joseph) 27
Tommy Johnson (Oakland City) 27
Jonathan Blackwell (Purdue) 26
Matt Dutkowski (Taylor) 26
Marcus Goodpaster (Hanover) 26
Ben Harris (IU-Kokomo) 26
Josh Hoogewerf (Trine) 26
Donovan Schultz (Evansville) 26
Ben Simmons (Oakland City) 26
Jake Stuteville (Vincennes) 26
Zach Zaborowski (Indiana Tech) 26
Jack Findlay (Notre Dame) 25
Matthew Johnson (Franklin) 25
Blaine McRae (Saint Francis) 25
Jared Spencer (Indiana State) 25

Below are season records, weekly results and links to web pages, schedules and statistics for all of Indiana’s 39 collegiate programs.

INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL
Records Through March 19
NCAA D-I
Ball State 13-6 (5-1 MAC)
Indiana 13-7 (0-0 Big Ten)
Evansville 12-7 (0-0 MVC)
Notre Dame 9-8 (2-4 ACC)
Purdue 9-9 (0-0 Big Ten)
Indiana State 8-10 (0-0 MVC)
Valparaiso 7-6 (0-0 MVC)
Southern Indiana 7-13 (0-0 OVC)
Purdue Fort Wayne 4-16 (1-2 Horizon)
Butler 2-15 (0-0 Big East)

Schedule Links
Ball State
Butler
Evansville
Indiana
Indiana State
Notre Dame
Purdue
Purdue Fort Wayne
Southern Indiana
Valparaiso

Stat Links
Ball State
Butler
Evansville
Indiana
Indiana State
Notre Dame
Purdue
Purdue Fort Wayne
Southern Indiana
Valparaiso

NCAA D-II
Indianapolis 11-4 (0-4 GLVC)
Purdue Northwest 4-10 (0-0 GLIAC)

Schedule Links
Indianapolis
Purdue Northwest

Stat Links
Indianapolis
Purdue Northwest

NCAA D-III
Wabash 11-6 (0-0 NCAC)
Anderson 8-5 (0-0 HCAC)
Manchester 8-3 (0-0 HCAC)
Earlham 8-5 (0-0 HCAC)
Franklin 7-5 (0-0 HCAC)
Rose-Hulman 7-5 (0-0 HCAC)
Trine 6-6 (0-0 MIAA)
Hanover 6-7 (0-0 HCAC)
DePauw 4-7 (0-0 NCAC)

Schedule Links
Anderson
DePauw
Earlham
Franklin
Hanover
Manchester
Rose-Hulman
Trine
Wabash

Stat Links
Anderson
DePauw
Earlham
Franklin
Hanover
Manchester
Rose-Hulman
Trine
Wabash

NAIA
Oakland City 19-8 (3-5 RSC)
Taylor 17-9 (10-2 CL)
Huntington 16-7 (10-2 CL)
IU-Kokomo 14-9 (6-2 RSC)
Indiana Wesleyan 12-9-1 (6-2 CL)
Bethel 12-10 (5-5 CL)
Indiana Tech 11-3 (0-0 WHAC)
Marian 11-11 (5-5 CL)
Grace 9-10 (1-7 CL)
Calumet of St. Joseph 9-16 (1-3 CCAC)
IU Southeast 8-13 (5-4 RSC)
Saint Francis 8-14 (3-8 CL)
IU South Bend 6-14 (2-1 CCAC)
Goshen 6-15 (2-7 CL)
IUPU-Columbus 1-24

Schedule Links
Bethel
Calumet of St. Joseph
Goshen
Grace
Huntington
IU-Kokomo
IUPU-Columbus
IU South Bend
IU Southeast
Indiana Tech
Indiana Wesleyan
Marian
Oakland City
Saint Francis
Taylor

Stat Links
Bethel
Calumet of St. Joseph
Goshen
Grace
Huntington
IU-Kokomo
IUPU-Columbus
IU South Bend
IU Southeast
Indiana Tech
Indiana Wesleyan
Marian
Oakland City
Saint Francis
Taylor

Junior College
Vincennes 10-11 (0-0 MWAC)
Ivy Tech Northeast 7-9
Marian’s Ancilla 1-17 (0-0 MCCAA)

Schedule Links
Ivy Tech Northeast
Marian’s Ancilla
Vincennes

Stat Links
Ivy Tech Northeast
Marian’s Ancilla
Vincennes

Through March 19
NCAA D-I
Tuesday, March 14
Kentucky 12, Indiana 2 (7 inn.)
Notre Dame 6, Saint Joseph’s 3
Southern Indiana 10, Saint Louis 2

Wednesday, March 15
Evansville 14, Bellarmine 2
Indiana 6, Morehead State 5 (10 inn.)
Indiana State 7, Illinois 3
Notre Dame 10, Saint Joseph’s 9
Purdue 14, Northern Illinois 5
Southern Illinois 16, Southern Indiana 9

Thursday, March 16
Indiana 23, Morehead State 5

Friday, March 17
Ball State 14, Toledo 2
Evansville 5, Purdue 2
Indiana 5, Morehead State 4
Purdue Fort Wayne 12, Wright State 10
Wright State 6, Purdue Fort Wayne 2
Murray State 15, Southern Indiana 1

Saturday, March 18
Wake Forest 4, Notre Dame 1
Wake Forest 12, Notre Dame 3
Murray State 11, Southern Indiana 4

Sunday, March 19
Ball State 19, Toledo 16 (13 inn.)
Ball State 7, Toledo 4
Northwestern 5, Butler 1
Evansville 6, Purdue 4
Michigan State 8, Indiana State 2
Michigan State 10, Indiana State 7
Notre Dame 3, Wake Forest 1
Wright State 13, Purdue Fort Wayne 4
Murray State 13, Southern 3

NCAA D-II
Tuesday, March 14
Saint Leo 8, Purdue Northwest 3
Eckerd 4, Purdue Northwest 3

Wednesday, March 15
Purdue Northwest 9, Embry-Riddle 8 (7 inn.)
Embry-Riddle 9, Purdue Northwest 1 (7 inn.)

Friday, March 17
Maryville 12, Indianapolis 6
Maryville 5, Indianapolis 3

Sunday, March 19
Maryville 12, Indianapolis 1
Maryville 13, Indianapolis 3

NCAA D-III
Tuesday, March 14
Anderson 15, Stockton 4

Wednesday, March 15
Anderson 10, Ramapo 0
Earlham 11, Mount Saint Vincent 0
Wilmington 14, Franklin 11

Thursday, March 16
Anderson 8, Greenville 5
Earlham 17, Franciscan 9
Franciscan 8, Earlham 0

Saturday, March 18
Hanover 9, Wabash 6

Sunday, March 19
Franklin 7, Trine 6
Hanover 7, Wabash 6
Wabash 5, Hanover 4
Wisconsin-Osh Kosh 4, Rose-Hulman 0
Wisconsin-Osh Kosh 12, Rose-Hulman 0

NAIA
Monday, March 13
Oakland City 14, Baptist Bible 13

Tuesday, March 14
Thomas More 14, IUPU-Columbus 3
Indiana Tech 7, Mid-America Christian 5

Wednesday, March 15
Calumet of St. Joseph 1, Trinity Christian 0
Trinity Christian 5, Calumet of St. Joseph 4
Grace 4, Taylor 1
Taylor 6, Grace 0
Mount Vernon Nazarene 7, Huntington 6
Huntington 9, Mount Vernon Nazarene 2
Indiana Wesleyan 16, IUPU-Columbus 5
IU-South Bend 9, Judson 5 (7 inn.)
Judson 10, IU-South Bend 5
Baptist Bible 13, Oakland City 11

Thursday, March 16
Saint Francis 5, Bethel 4
Saint Francis 10, Bethel 3 (7 inn.)
Indiana Wesleyan 14, Goshen 4 (8 inn.)
Taylor 27, Grace 5
Taylor 13, Grace 0
Huntington 14, Mount Vernon Nazarene 13
Huntington 11, Mount Vernon Nazarene 0
IU-Kokomo 17, Alice Lloyd 5
IU-Kokomo 11, Alice Lloyd 0
Ohio Christian 7, IU Southeast 6
IU Southeast 4, Ohio Christian 2
Marian 8, Spring Arbor 7
Spring Arbor 11, Marian 8

Friday, March 17
IU Southeast 25, Ohio Christian 1

Sunday, March 19
Olivet Nazarene 16, Calumet of St. Joseph 6
Olivet Nazarene 9, Calumet of St. Joseph 5
Miami-Hamilton 5, IUPU-Columbus 4
Miami-Hamilton 19, IUPU-Columbus 4
IU-South Bend 5, Saint Xavier 1
Oakland City 9, Rio Grande 5
Oakland City 7, Rio Grando 1

Junior College
Wednesday, March 15
Ivy Tech Northeast 15, Glen Oaks 9

Thursday, March 16
Kellogg 8, Ivy Tech Northeast 7

Sunday, March 19
Morton 17, Marian’s Ancilla 1
Morton 22, Marian’s Ancilla 0

Welch has Castle Knights one win away from 4A state championship game

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Curt Welch knows what it’s like to take a team to the IHSAA state baseball championship game.

He was an assistant to head coach Dave Sensenbrenner in 2001 when the Castle High School Knights finished as runners-up to Penn at Victory Field in Indianapolis.

Castle, which is located in the Warrick County town of Newburgh, Ind., is one victory away from getting to go back to “The Vic” in 2018 and this time Welch is the head coach.

The Knights (22-8) play Indianapolis Cathedral (21-8-1) in the 4A Plainfield Semistate Saturday, June 9. It’s the second game of the day, following the 1 p.m. 1A clash between University and Tecumseh.

Welch sees pitching as a strength for Castle, which won the Evansville Reitz Sectional and Evansville Reitz Regional — the 14th sectional title and eighth regional crown in program history (the first for either since 2014).

“Our pitchers have kept us in all the games during this run,” says Welch. “They did a great job of keeping hitters off-balance.

“They’ve been working ahead (in the count) and making teams earn runs.”

The Knights staff is led by 6-foot-6 senior right-hander Zach Messinger (a University of Virginia commit), junior left-hander Blake Ciuffetelli and junior right-hander Jared Nutt.

Welch says fourth-year varsity player Messinger has a fastball that reaches the upper 80s, which he can mix with his breaking ball and change-up.

Ciufetelli has the ability to change arm angles and velocity. Nutt has relieved in three of Castle’s four postseason games.

When not pitching, Messinger is usually the designated hitter or third baseman.

Offensive contributions have come up and down the lineup.

“It’s been a team effort,” says Welch. “We have guys come up at times with two-out hits.”

Among the leading producers have been senior left fielder Garron Moffett, senior center fielder Griffin Scaggs and senior shortstop Nate James. Moffett has committed to play baseball at NCAA Division I Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn., while Scaggs and James are bound for Kankakee (Ill.) Community College.

According to Welch, right-hander Zach Wagner (Anderson University), DH/catcher Ben Newhouse (Brescia University in Owensboro, Ky.) right fielder Cale Mattingly (Hanover College) and cacher Noah Gilbert (Oakland City University) are also seniors who have made college baseball commitments.

Graduates who were in college baseball rosters in 2017-18 include Jonathan Blackwell and Will Randell at Vincennes University, Nick Coudret and Wyatt Daly at the University of Southern Indiana, Nick Ciufettelli at Hanover College, Sam Huff at DePauw University, Jeff Wetzler at McKendree University in Lebanon, Ill., and Korbin Williams at Indiana University Southeast.

Castle had 40 players in the program this season for varsity, junior varsity and freshmen squads.

Welch, who is in his 15th season as head coach after 14 as an assistant to Chuck Hawkins then Sensenbrenner and two as as volunteer for Mike Metzger at alma mater Boonville, counts Hawkins, Dan Labhart and John Barisano as his varsity coaches. There’s also John Copeland, Corey Steele and Art George with the JV and Daniel Nichols and Chris Stallion with the freshmen.

Borrowing ideas and approaches from Hawkins, Sensenbrenner, Brian Kuester (who helped played American Legion baseball for in the summer) and high school coaches Metgzer and Howard Buickel, 1983 Boonville graduate Welch has melded his coaching approach. He’s even taken a thing or two from Terry Wetherald, his wrestling coach at the University of Indianapolis.

“All those coaches did a great job of getting me ready for where I am right now,” says Welch. “(Hawkins and Sensenbrenner) did a lot for me. Being a coach and being a player are two different things. As head coach, everything falls back on you. There’s a lot more pressure when you make decisions.

“As a head coach, you are always thinking three, four or five innings down the line and not just in the moment.”

While there are no wrestlers in the current Castle varsity mix, Welch appreciates what grapplers bring to other sports.

“Wrestlers are hard-nosed kids,” says Welch. “They are not afraid to battle for win or come from behind.

‘They know about mental toughness. You’ve got to be mentally tough to go 0-for-3 and then come in the last inning and produce.”

Welch estimates that about half the players in the Castle baseball program are multi-sport athletes at a school of about 1,900 students.

“I like multi-sport athletes,” says Welch. “You can’t get that competition in a practice or in a gym.”

Castle plays its home games on-campus in a facility that’s been totally overhauled during Welch’s time.

“It’s been a gradual process,” says Welch, which saw a new locker room go in near the field. About the only thing that was there when he joined the coaching staff was the press box. “We’re proud of what we have.”

The Knights belong to the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference (along with Evansville Bosse, Evansville Central, Evansville Harrison, Evansville Mater Dei, Evansville Memorial and Evansville North, Evansville Reitz).

Welch, who teaches advanced mathematics at Castle, has four children with wife Dawn. Daughter Courtney is the oldest and she has three girls. Twin sons Chad and Doug as well as Luke Welch all played baseball for their father at Castle and wrestled at Purdue University. Doug Welch is now the head wrestling coach at Zionsville High School and is assisted by Chad Welch.

IHSAA SEMISTATES

Saturday, June 9

North

Kokomo

(Municipal Stadium)

Class 1A: Northfield (16-14) vs. Daleville (20-9), Noon CST/1 p.m. EST.

Class 3A: Andrean (29-6) vs. Jay County (20-6), following.

Plymouth

Class 2A: Boone Grove (19-5) vs. Lafayette Central Catholic (26-4), Noon CST/1 p.m. EST.

Class 4A: Chesterton (18-7) vs. Fishers (27-7), following.

South

Plainfield

Class 1A: University (27-6) vs. Tecumseh (20-9), Noon CST/1 p.m. EST.

Class 4A: Indianapolis Cathedral (21-8-1) vs. Castle (22-8), following.

Jasper

(Ruxer Field)

Class 2A: Indianapolis Scecina (13-15-1) vs. Southridge (24-6), Noon CST/1 p.m. EST.

Class 3A: Indian Creek (24-5) vs. Silver Creek (24-2), following.

Head coach Curt Welch and the Castle Knights won sectional and regional titles in events hosted by Evansville Reitz and will face Indianapolis Cathedral in the IHSAA Class 4A Plainfield Semistate Saturday, June 9.