Lafayette is the host city for the 2023 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North-South All-Star Series. A banquet is slated for 7 p.m. Friday, June 23 at Loeb Stadium. All-stars will be recognized and the Indiana Baseball Player of the Year Award will be given. All three games will be contested on the turf at Loeb Stadium. There is a noon doubleheader on Saturday, June 25 and single wood-bat game at noon Sunday, June 26. Indiana all-stars are seniors nominated by IHSBCA members and selected by a committee. Also, the Futures Game — which is actually a noon doubleheader featuring four teams of underclassmen — is slated for Wednesday, June 21 at Loeb.
Winchester (Ind.) Community High School won its first IHSAA sectional baseball title in 37 years on Memorial Day at Lapel. After besting Frankton 3-0 May 25, the Golden Falcons topped Lapel 1-0 May 29 for the program’s second championship. The other came in 1986 with Bill Bush as head coach. He coached from 1971-2000 and had his No. 7 retired two weeks ago. “It is a really big deal,” says Ken Hendrickson, a 1984 Winchester graduate who played for Bush and is in his fifth season as head coach and eighth on the Golden Falcons coaching staff. “Winchester had not won a sectional game (on the field) since 2008. We had a forfeit in the first round against Burris last year. I don’t count that because we didn’t earn that one.” Winchester (14-11) is now preparing for a one-game Class 2A regional at 3 p.m. ET Saturday, June 3 against 23-7 Eastern (Greentown) on the turf at Logansport’s Jim Turner Field. It’s about a 2 1/2-hour bus ride from Winchester. Hendrickson has coached three of Bush’s grandsons — Glenallen Anderson (Winchester Class of 2019), Will Anderson (Class of 2021) and McCormac Anderson (Class of 2026). Glenallen Anderson, who pitched at Winchester, went on to play at Wilmington (Ohio) College. Former Golden Falcons center fielder Will Anderson played for the Muncie Post 19 Chiefs that won the 2022 Indiana American Legion state championship. Aaron Anderson — father of Glenallen, Will and McCormac — is Hendrickson’s pitching coach. His other varsity assistants are Brian Cline and Bart Porfidio. Bradley Clark, Bryant Clark and Chandler Woodward guide the junior varsity as well as the seventh and eighth graders in the junior high program. “That is imperative,” says Hendrickson of the feeder program that also gives varsity coaches a chance to meet future players and to instill their systems. “They get an idea of what they’re coming into and it really helps when they’re freshmen.” There is also a local youth league that develops baseball talent. Position players who have been in starting roles in 2023 include three seniors (first baseman Noah Heaton, right fielder Trey Pullins and second baseman-designated hitter Charlie Sauser), one junior (second baseman Brock Goforth), three sophomores (third baseman Justin Cox, catcher Cooper Hummel and left fielder Drayvin Whitehead) and two freshmen (shortstop Anderson and center fielder Aidan Weatherhead). The pitching staff is led by three sophomore right-handers — Jace Allen (who tossed complete-game shutouts in the sectional against Frankton and Lapel), Whitehead and Cox and freshman lefty Landen Porfidio. “Our pitching has been really good, but our strength has really been our defense,” says Hendrickson. “We’re peaking at the right time.” The Golden Falcons have moved at tournament time in recent years. They have been part of the north (Sectional 40) since 2021. They were in the south (Sectional 41) 2016-19 after being in Sectional 40 in 2012-15 and Sectional 41 2008-21. Winchester (enrollment around 400) is a member of the Tri-Eastern Conference (with Cambridge City Lincoln, Centerville, Hagerstown, Knightstown, Northeastern, Tri, Union City and Union County). Besides Frankton and Lapel, Winchester’s sectional group includes Monroe Central, Muncie Burris and Wapahani. “East central Indiana is big baseball country,” says Hendrickson. Falcon Field — located in on-campus above the football field — is Winchester’s home diamond. It was built by Bush in the early 1970’s. The facility received a major upgrade a few years ago at the time the school got a new on-campus softball field. “Our field is absolutely gorgeous,” says Hendrickson. Coaches tend to maintenance. “I enjoy working on our field,” says Hendrickson. “It’s very relaxing to me. “Baseball coaches in general really take pride in their fields.” Hendrickson has worked in the Randolph County Sheriff’s office for 36 years as is currently Chief Deputy after serving eight years as Sheriff. Ken and Lisa Hendrickson will celebrate 27 years of marriage in September. Their son is 22-year-old Torin Hendrickson (Winchester Class of 2019), who played for his father.
Bill Bush (left) and Ken Hendrickson.
Winchester (Ind.) Community High School’s 2023 IHSAA Class 2A baseball champions.
It’s an assertive brand of baseball that will be promoted by Tyler Danner, the new head coach at Monroe Central Junior/Senior High School in Parker City, Ind. “I am very much an aggressive coach,” says Danner, who took over the Golden Bears program in mid-September and looks forward to a few IHSAA Limited Contact Period practices this month. “Our goal in 2023 is 100 stolen bases (at a success rate of 85 percent or higher). Anything that’s a 50-50 ball in the outfield, we’re going for it. Outfielders are expected to play aggressively and lay out for the baseball.” Danner was the pitching coach at Indianapolis Lutheran the past three years and has coached travel ball for a decade — five years with the Delaware County-based Indiana Magic and the past five with Baseball Academics Midwest (BAM). He was with 12U through 16U teams with the Indiana Magic and 14U through 17U squads with BAM, including 15U this past summer. The 2022 Lutheran Saints swiped 183 bases, won 22 games and advanced to a regional championship game. As it was at his previous stop, “Attack the zone” will be Danner’s mantra with his MC pitchers. He insisted that his Lutheran hurlers were aggressive in the strike zone and this helped lower the team ERA and walk rate. “Guys went deeper (into games) because the pitch count was not driven up by full counts,” says Danner. “You get to trust the gloves behind you.” As for hitting approach, Danner will have each batter focus on their strengths and weaknesses. If they hit the inside pitch best, they may lay off the outside one before two strikes. Danner wants his team to collect more free bases (errors, walks, overthrows etc.) than its gives up. The goal is to hold the opponent under 10 and to gather more than 12. “You have a 75 percent win percentage when you do that,” says Danner. Monroe Central (enrollment around 300) is a member of the Mid-Eastern Conference (with Blue River Valley, Cowan, Daleville, Eastern Hancock, Randolph Southern, Shenandoah, Union of Modoc, Wapahani and Wes-Del). The Golden Bears were part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping in 2022 with Alexandria Monroe, Elwood,Frankton, Lapel, Muncie Burris, Wapahani and Winchester. Monroe Central has won seven sectional titles — the last in 2014. After meeting players during a call-out and at home football games, Danner came away impressed. “They were respectful,” says Danner. “They were all eye contact, all engaged and asking questions. “These are guys who have played at a high level and expect to play well.” It was as a toddler that Tyler first learned to think and talk the game with his father. Chuck Danner devoured baseball knowledge from books and the Internet and coached youth teams and as a hitting coach for Ed Jones at Muncie Burris. Chuck Danner died in 2015 at 69. At Yorktown (Ind.) High School, where he graduated in 2009, Tyler Danner was a pitcher, catcher and outfielder for Tigers head coach Mike Larrabee. “He showed us the way to stay even-keeled,” says Danner of Larrabee. “It’s very easy in the heat of the moment to get too high or too low. That was not Coach. “You need a guy that steers into the storm and never seems to panic.” Yorktown won sectional titles in 2007 and 2008 and a regional crown in 2008. The approach at BAM is for players to work through the approaches to the game and breaking it down on the field and in the classroom. “They understand why they’re doing it at such a high level,” says Danner. His Monroe Central assistants include Daleville graduates Ethan Pittsford (Class of 2019) and Drew Watson (Class of 2021). Daleville won state titles in 2016 and 2018. Watson was a volunteer assistant at Daleville in 2022. There were 16 players in the Monroe Central program last spring. A similar number would mean a varsity-only schedule in 2023. Danner’s goal in the future is to have enough numbers for varsity and junior varsity. The Golden Bears play on-campus. “We have beautiful dugouts and a nice press box,” says Danner. “The field is in good condition. It was maintained by the previous coaching staff very, very well. “Monroe Central truly believes in its sports program and makes sure everything is taken care of really, really nice.” Monroe Central Athletic League has baseball teams from T-ball through 12U. Junior high baseball is conducted in June on the high school diamond. Danner plans to be active with both feeder systems, volunteering with the MCAL (and asking his high school players to do that same) and overseeing the junior high. Aidyn Coffey (Monroe Central Class of 2022) committed to Coastal Carolina University after the Golden Bears’ 20-win season. Among players expected back are Blake Bogue (Class of 2023), Cole Luedike (Class of 2024) and Lane Wilson (Class of 2025). Outside of coaching Danner, who attended Purdue University for three years, is single and works as a major account representative for a lending company.
Grant Sailors grew up playing baseball a certain way and he is looking to bring those things into his job as head coach at Elwood (Ind.) Community Junior/Senior High School. Hired less than a month ago to lead the Panthers program, the former three-sport athlete at Wabash (Ind.) High School wants the Panthers to “get back to basics.” “It’s the little stuff,” says Sailors, who played football and basketball and was a first-team all-stater in baseball (Matt Stone was head coach) for the Apaches and graduated in 2014 with a brief baseball stint at the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne. “To me a big thing is how you appear to your coaches, the other team, your fans. “Your jersey is tucked in. Your belt is on. You’re wearing your hat right. It’s little baseball traditions people may not take seriously. “We want to respect the game of baseball. The program I grew up in taught me very well. We want to teach that to the kids in Elwood. “It is a rebuilding process. It is going to take a little time and a whole lot of effort.” Elwood (enrollment around 430) is a member of the Central Indiana Athletic Conference (with Alexandra-Monroe, Blackford, Eastbrook, Frankton, Madison-Grant, Mississinewa and Oak Hill). The Panthers were part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping in 2022 with Alexandria-Monroe, Frankton, Lapel, Monroe Central, Muncie Burris, Wapahani and Winchester Community. Elwood has won eight sectional titles — the last in 2014. Sailors, who helped with Wabash boys basketball a few years ago and Elwood softball in the spring of 2022, has been running twice-a-week open fields for Panthers baseball. He also emphasizes being on-time and the hustle factor. “Go out there and give it your all,” says Sailors, who has played with the USA Softball national fastpitch team. “It doesn’t take talent to hustle. These are things that I grew up doing.” Sailors played from age 4 to 12 at Wabash Little League then spent the next few years in the town’s Babe Ruth program. “There was a certain standard for baseball in the town of Wabash,” says Sailors. “Everybody wanted to be a part of the baseball team. “One goal for me and our new athletic director (Ryan Vanskyock) is it to get (Elwood’s Harry Bridges) Little League built back up so kids want to come and play.” That includes coaches clinics so they can see how Sailors teaches the game. Elwood has a junior high baseball for seventh and eighth graders. Sailors has named four of his assistant coaches — Jamie Jetty, Jack Bennett, Devan Frank and Chris Noone. Bennett, who played baseball at Goshen (Ind.) College), and long-time coach Noone are from Elwood. Former prep volleyball, basketball and softball athlete Taylor Noone (Elwood Class of 2016) is Sailors’ girlfriend. The Panthers play and practice on-campus. Money is being raised for renovations. Sailors says it is hoped that Elwood will someday have lights for baseball and softball. When not coaching, Sailors works in kitchen modeling and does woodworking on the side. He is the son of Jason (Kerri) Sailors and Betina Hill. He has three siblings — older younger Zach Sailors (Wabash Class of 2010), younger sister Jillian Sailors (Wabash Class of 2025) and younger brother Jake Sailors. Zach played baseball at Wabash and for four years at Indiana Tech. Jillian has been a travel volleyball player. Jake has been involved in football, basketball and baseball.
New Elwood Community Junior/Senior High School head baseball coach Grant Sailors and Taylor Noone.
New Elwood Community Junior/Senior High School head baseball coach Grant Sailors and Taylor Noone.
Keith Nunley returns to a high school head coaching post with his hiring last summer at Guerin Catholic in Noblesville, Ind. “I got a call from (Eagles director of athletics Ryan Davis),” says Nunley. “We went to breakfast. Right from the beginning I could tell he was a baseball guy. “We want to build a championship culture and do it the right way.” Guerin Catholic (enrollment around 720) is a member of the Circle City Conference (with Brebeuf Jesuit, Covenant Christian, Heritage Christian, Indianapolis Bishop Chatard and Roncalli). “We’re a really good conference,” says Nunley. “Every team has a superstar on their mound or in their lineup. “I’m looking forward to getting in the mix of it.” In 2022, CCC teams will play Tuesday-Wednesday home-and-home series. In 2021, the Eagles were part of an IHSAA Class 3A sectional grouping with Delta, Hamilton Heights, Jay County, New Castle and Yorktown. Guerin Catholic is seeking its first sectional title. Nunley, who previously was head coach from 2016-20 at Monroe Central Junior-Senior High School in Parker City, Ind., was an assistant to Bulldogs head coach Matt Campbell this past season at Lapel (Ind.) Junior-Senior High School. He coached in the Indiana Bulls travel organization the past two summers and in fall ball. While in Randolph County, Nunley and best friend and former Ball State University teammate Matt Deckman (who is now Monroe Central head coach) ran the traveling Indiana Bears. Bryce Deckman, Matt’s son, is a freshman on the Huntington (Ind.) University baseball team. An IHSAA Limited Contact Period went from Aug. 30-Oct. 16 and Nunley had 12 to 20 athletes participating two times a week while many other players were unavailable because of fall sports. “It’s always good to have multi-sport athletes,” says Nunley. “They’re competing in other avenues working with other coaches. It’s a team of coaches – not just one guy. “(Multi-sporters) are in the weight room or another sport and doing something with their bodies and not just sitting,” said Nunley. The next limited contact period begins Dec. 6 and the ramping up of pitching arms will begin in earnest. Matt Hession is dedicated to the job of tending the Eagles’ home diamond. “Matt has done a fantastic job taking care of the field,” says Nunley. The on-campus facility was recently laser-graded through the efforts of Hession and Blake Marschand of Marschand’s Athletic Field Services. Nunley’s Guerin Catholic 2021-22 coaching staff includes John Becker, Cade Luker, John Magers, Lewis Diltz and volunteers Kolbe Smith and Justin Bloxom. Becker played and coached at Anderson (Ind.) University and also coached for the Indiana Bulls. Luker (who will lead the junior varsity team) and Magers (who will help with pitchers and float between varsity and JV squads) are Lapel graduates who played at Manchester University. Diltz was on the staff in 2021 and will help with the JV as weill Guerin Catholic alum Smith. Bloxom played at Kansas State University and played and scouted in the Washington Nationals organization.
Nunley, a Winchester Community High School graduate, is a territory owner and sales representative for Adrenaline Fundraising, a company which also employs Deckman and Brebeuf Jesuit head coach Jeff Scott. Keith and wife Kate, an Exceptional Learners teacher at Fishers (Ind.) High School, have two baseball-playing sons – Guerin Catholic freshman A.J. and middle schooler Koby.
The Nunleys (from left): Koby, A.J., Keith and Kate.
Tommy Sommer knows the value of speed and pitch movement. But the 10th-round selection in the 2021 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Chicago White Sox also sees the value in poise under pressure. Now 22. Sommer has been doing it since he was young. “I have really good feel for the game and I’ve always been good at managing situations,” says Sommer, who pitched four seasons (2018-21) at Indiana University. “All those things come naturally to me. “Velocity and off-speed pitches are important, but handling emotions is taken for granted,” says Somer. “All of that stuff is an asset to me. “My dad is a big inspiration. He was a pro athlete. I’ve been in locker rooms since 3 and 4 years old.” Tommy was in some high-pressure moments during his travel ball days with the Indiana Bulls and saw his father — former soccer goalkeeper Juergen Sommer — on some big stages. The elder Juergen, who shined at Culver Military Academy and IU, earned 10 caps on the U.S. National Team, and was he first American goalie to play in the FA Premier League. Juergen was playing for Major League Soccer’s Columbus (Ohio) Crew when oldest son Tommy was born and the New England Revolution (Boston) when youngest son Noah (now 19 and a Pre-Medical student at Vanderbilt University) came into the world. He has coached keepers for the U.S. Men’s National team and for the Indy Eleven and runs Carmel FC. Tommy Sommer played soccer while growing up, but fell in love with the diamond. “Baseball has carved a great path for me,” says Sommer, who has done from playing wiffleball in the back yard in Columbus with mother Susie (who is now a realtor) to T-ball at First Baptist Church after the family moved to Carmel, Ind., to travel ball (Smithville Gators, Indiana Nitro and then the Indiana Bulls in high school — three summers with Dave Taylor as head coach and two with Sean Laird at 16U and 17U). “(Taylor) let us grow as baseball players and would teach from mistakes,” says Sommer. “(Laird) was more hands-on. He wanted you to put your best foot forward and hold yourself accountable. “He wanted you to be more aggressive. You’re going after something (a college scholarship or pro contract) and developing a future in the game.” Sommer graduated in 2017 from Carmel High School, where he played three seasons for Dan Roman and one for Matt Buczkowski. He appreciates the opportunities afforded by both Greyhounds bench bosses. When it came deciding on college, Sommer was more than familiar with IU with his family’s ties to the school. “We had family gatherings in Brown County,” says Sommer. “It was almost too comfortable.” He was enticed by offers from Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference schools, but Sommer saw in Indiana the chance to play right away in the competitive Big Ten Conference. He played one season with Chris Lemonis as head coach and Kyle Bunn as pitching coach and three with Jeff Mercer and Justin Parker in those roles. Sommer made 45 mound appearances (24 as a starter) with a 13-9 record, two saves and a 3.17 earned run average. In 157 2/3 innings, he struck out 160 and walked 71. He helped the Hoosiers win the Big Ten regular-season title in 2019. In 2021, the 6-foot-4, 220-pounder made 12 starts and went 5-4 with a 4.60 ERA. He fanned 69 and walked 38 in 62 2/3 innings. He also earned a Finance degree from IU’s Kelley School of Business in May. Prior to the MLB Draft, Sommer pitched three innings for the Cape Cod League’s Falmouth Commodores. He was on the Cape when the White Sox picked him and is now at a mini-camp in Birmingham, Ala. After that, some will go to Glendale, Ariz., and on to affiliate teams. The top four farm teams in the system are the Low Class-A Kannapolis (N.C.) Cannon Ballers, High Class-A Winston-Salem (N.C.) Dash, Double-A Birmingham Barons and Triple-A Charlotte (N.C.) Knights. After a shortened 2020 season at IU because of COVID-19, Sommer pitched in the College Summer League at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind. “It was fun toe play with kids I played with or against for a decade,” says Sommer. “It was a unique experience.” He also got the chance to work with pitching instructor Jay Lehr at Pro X Athlete Development at Grand Park. In the winter, Sommer had gone to The Barn in Lapel and got pointers from White Sox Director of Amateur Scouting Mike Shirley and White Sox area scout Justin Wechsler, a Pendleton (Ind.) Heights High School graduate who pitched at Ball State University and in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. In 2019, Sommer was a substitute arm for the Prospect League’s Terre Haute (Ind.) Rex while also rehabbing from knee surgery and training with Lehr. The lefty was with the Northwoods League’s Kalamazoo (Mich.) Growlers in the summer of 2018. Sommer throws a four-seam fastball which sits between 88 to 92 mph. He also employs a cutter which runs away from left-handed batters and into right-handers. “I want to induce weak contact,” says Sommer of the cutter. “It’s a good pitch in counts where someone is hunting a fastball. “You get them off thinking they’re in a dead-red fastball count.” The change-up is where Sommer gets strikeouts in the bottom of the strike zone. “It spins sideways and drops off the table,” says Sommer. “There is vertical depth and halo spin. It’s the opposite of a gyro ball.” Sommer mixes in his curve to let hitters know that’s a part of his arsenal.
Talking Hoosier Baseball Podcast chat with Tommy Sommer
Tommy Sommer (Indiana University Photo)
Tommy Sommer (Indiana University Photo)
Tommy Sommer (left) and head coach Jeff Mercer (Indiana University Photo)
Indiana University —2019 Big Ten Conference baseball champions.
Tommy Sommer (Indiana University Photo)
Tommy Sommer (Indiana University Photo)
Tommy Sommer with the 2019 Big Ten Conference championship trophy. (Indiana University Photo)
The Hoosiers mug with the 2019 Big Ten Conference baseball championship trophy.
2021 IHSBCA ALL-STATE TEAM Class 4A Pitchers: Grant Stratton (Jasper), Nate Dohm (Zionsville). C: Hunter Dobbins (Mount Vernon of Fortville). 1B: Kaleb Kolpien (Homestead). 2B: Joel Walton (Mount Vernon of Fortville). 3B: Connor Foley (Jasper). SS: Tucker Biven (New Albany). OF: Carter Mathison (Homestead), Max Clark (Franklin), Tommy O’Connor (Mooresville). Honorable Mention: Evan Waggoner (Bedford North Lawrence); Austin Bode (Columbus North); Jaden Deel (Hobart); Andrew Wallace (Jasper); Jackson Micheels (Carmel); Breenen Weigert (Homestead); Jack Braun (Fishers); Tyler Walkup (Lawrence North); Quentin Markle (Westfield); Joe Huffman (Avon); Nick Mitchell (Carmel); Brad White (Andrean); Blake Herrmann (Castle); Camden Jordan (Cathedral); Sam Gladd (Columbia City); Eli Hopf (Jasper); Brody Chrisman (Zionsville); J.D. Rogers (Carmel); Keaton Mahan (Westfield); Gage Standifer (Westfield); Kyler McIntosh (Columbus North); Chris Gallagher (Cathedral); Carter Doorn (Lake Central); Grant Comstock (Valparaiso); Tate Warner (Fishers); Carter Gilbert (Northridge).
A pair of coaches at the beginning of their professional baseball coaching careers with Indiana ties are together in the New York Yankees organization. Former Ball State University assistant Dustin Glant is the pitching coach and one-time Indiana University assistant Casey Dykes the hitting coach for the Scranton-Wilkes Barre (Pa.) Railriders of Triple-A East (formerly the International League). Both were hired by the Yankees in the summer of 2019. After getting their bearings in the system, they went to instructional league that fall and their first big league spring training in 2020. Glant and Dykes both reside in the Tampa, Fla., area near the organization’s training headquarters during the offseason — Glant with wife Ashley, daughter Evelyn (4) and son David (who turns 2 in December); Dykes with wife Chaney (a former Western Kentucky University basketball player), sons Jett (4) and Kash (2) and daughter Lainey (going on 3 months). At Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Glant and Dykes serve on a staff that features manager Doug Davis, outfield/baserunning coach Raul Dominguez, infield coach Caonabo Cosme, athletic trainer Darren London and strength and conditioning coach Larry Adegoke. With their busy daily schedules, Glant and Dykes don’t spend much time together during the day. They say hello in the morning and then wind down together after games. Glant, 39 (he turns 40 July 20), guided pitchers at BSU from 2017-19 for Cardinals head coach Rich Maloney. As a player, Glant pitched for Generals head coach Dave Fireoved at Fort Wayne (Ind.) Wayne High School and Boilermakers head coach Doug Schreiber at Purdue University and had pro stints in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization and independent ball. Glant coached at Marathon (Fla.) and Mount Vernon (Fortville, Ind.) high schools, was a volunteer at Ball State then head coach at Lapel (Ind.) High School and Anderson (Ind.) University before returning to BSU late in 2016 as pitching coach. Dykes, 31, was the hitting coach at Indiana under head coach Jeff Mercer. Dykes played at Western Kentucky for Hilltoppers head coach Chris Finwood and was a graduate assistant to head coach Matt Myers when Mercer was a WKU volunteer. A 2008 Franklin (Tenn.) High School graduate, who played for Admirals head coach Brent Alumbaugh, Dykes spent four seasons at Western Kentucky (2009-12) and served two seasons as an assistant, becoming volunteer when Mercer left for Wright State University. Before Indiana, Dykes was hitting coach and recruiting coordinator on Keydets head coach Jonathan Hadra’s staff at Virginia Military Institute (2015-18). Glant says his gameday at the pro level is similar to what it was in college. “I try to get as much one-on-one and small-group time as possible,” says Glant. “If I don’t I feel I miss things.” The difference is that in college, Glant spent a lot of time in front of a computer reviewing video on how to attack hitters. The process is more streamlined at the pro level. “It’s more development focused here,” says Glant, who might focus on a pitcher’s need to improve at holding runners or locating his fastball in a certain count. “We want to win, but we work on the big picture (getting players ready for the big leagues).” Dykes says there more a sense of urgency in pro ball, especially at the Triple-A level where players have more experience. “You don’t have the background with them (like college players who have been recruited and are usually around for years to build a relationship and go through a fall development season),” says Dykes. “In the pros, you’re playing so many games and you don’t have an offseason with them. “Things are changing constantly.” Glant’s gameday starts with preparing for the day and looking at video of the previous night’s game. In the afternoon, he reviews that with pitchers and finds the positives. Then he oversees staggered bullpen sessions for starters and — just before batting practice — relievers, who might go through a full bullpen or just “touch and feel” to stay sharp. BP is also the time he sits down with that night’s starter, both catchers and analyst Shea Wingate to map out a attack plan. Glant says Wingate’s insight is helpful. “He may find that a pitcher needs to throw more sliders,” says Glant. “We look for places where there are good spots to throw more sliders.” Once the game starts, Glant is right by Davis to make pitching-related decisions. Dykes watches his hitters and offers suggestions if necessary. At Triple-A, there are a mix of veteran players with MLB service time and younger ones trying to earn their first big league call-up. “It’s almost all like assistant coaches,” says Glant of having vets around. “They educate guys in the bullpen. It happens naturally. Guys get together and they start start talking. “They’re kind of mentors to the young guys. It’s been great.” Dykes, who starts his gameday with a workout and video study followed by plenty of batting cage time, sees his job as providing the last piece of the puzzle for players trying to return and debut at the big league level. “I want to help these guys maximize who they are as a player,” says Dykes. “It’s good to work with guys who have experienced it. “This is what they do for a living. They’re all-in.” Like the rest of the world, Glant and Dykes learned a different way of doing things thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic that caused cancellation of the 2020 minor league season and separated coaches and players from in-person interaction. “It went from being the worst thing ever to — honestly — the best thing ever,” says Glant. “We learned how to train our guys remotely via Zoom and video-conferencing. We were good at it. “We had a lot of people get better without being at the complex during that time.” Led by director of pitching Sam Briend, manager of pitch development Desi Druschel and Director of Performance John Kremer (an Indianapolis native who pitched of the University of Evansville and in the Yankees system), the organization devised a plan and found a way to develop during COVID. “It was mind-blowing,” says Glant. “We had pitchers buys in.” When Glant got a call in the fall of 2020, he went back to training face-to-face with a few 40-man roster players in Tampa and that rolled into 2021 big league camp. Being away from the clubhouse and the dugout, Dykes missed the relationships. “It made me appreciate that even more,” says Dykes. “It also taught me that you didn’t have to be hands-on and in-person with a player to help them develop. “It was a unique challenge, but made me a better coach. It got me after my comfort zone.” Using technology and video tools became part of Dykes’ coaching world and that will continue. “The world we knew has completely changed,” says Dykes. “It’s definitely more efficient. There’s no arguing that.” Dykes expresses thanks to the men who helped him along his baseball, path including Alumbaugh, Finwood, Myers, Hadra and Mercer as well as former Western Kentucky assistant and current DePauw University head coach Blake Allen and current Indiana assistants Justin Parker and Dan Held. “(Alumbaugh) had a ton of influence,” says Dykes.”He’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever had. He saw the potential in me. But he wasn’t going to tell me. He was going to make me work for it. “He had high expectations for me. He really challenged me during some important times in my life.” Dykes, who was a catcher that turned into a third baseman, played three summers during college for Alumbaugh for the Texas Collegiate League’s Brazos Valley Bombers (College Station, Texas). “(Myers, Finwood and Allen) taught me a lot about the work and mentality it takes to be successful,” says Dykes. “They knew that as soon as my playing days were over I wanted to coach.” Dykes learned from Hadra about the importance of being detailed and fine-tuning the process to be able to communicate the message to players. “He’s incredible at that,” says Dykes of Hadra. “He was still a fairly young head coach at that time, but you would never know it. He clings to that process.” With Mercer, Parker and Held at Indiana, Dykes was part of a Hoosiers team that went 37-23 and won the Big Ten title in 2019. IU lost to Texas in the final round of the NCAA Austin Regional.
The 2021 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders field staff (from left): manager Doug Davis, pitching coach Dustin Glant, hitting coach Casey Dykes, outfield/baserunning coach Raul Dominguez, athletic trainer Darren London and strength and conditioning coach Larry Adegoke. Caonabo Cosme is the infield coach. (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Photo)
Jack Firestone is getting his cuts and hitting his cut-off man while preparing for his next college baseball season. A lefty-swinging outfielder, Firestone is playing for the Patrick Morey-coached Local Legends in the College Summer League at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind., and works on his swing at The Barn in Lapel, Ind., with Mike Shirley and Scott French and with current Zionsville (Ind.) Community High School head coach Jered Moore and former ZCHS assistant and current University of Indianapolis volunteer coachJeremy Honaker and lifts weights with Laird Training’s Sean Laird. “I’ve always believed in those guys and they’ve always been there for me,” says Firestone of Moore and Honaker. Firestone smacked a home run and rapped two singles in a CSL game this past week. “I’m just trying to put the bat on the ball the best I can — just put the ball on the ball,” says Firestone. “If it gets out, it gets out.” Firestone was a redshirt freshman at Purdue University in the spring of 2021 and got into 24 games (four as a starter) on a team that had three seniors starting in the outfield — Ben Nisle in left, fifth-year Skyler Hunter in center and Miles Simington in right. “It was a waiting year for me,” says Firestone, a Financial Counseling and Planning major and Management minor. “Just be patient for next year.” Firestone did not see action during the 2020 Boilermakers season that was abbreviated because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Greg Goff is Purdue’s head coach. “I love playing for him,” says Firestone. “He’s high energy. I love him. He knows what he’s doing.” He did play in the inaugural CSL season for the Joe Thatcher-coached Park Rangers and was named to the all-star team. While at Zionsville, where he graduated in 2019, Firestone earned three baseball letters playing for Moore. Firestone was named offensive player of the year as a senior. The Eagles won sectional titles in 2017 and 2018 and regional crown in 2017. That was year the year he was named junior varsity MVP. He was the freshmen squad MVP at Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, Ind., before his family moved to Zionsville. Born in Warsaw, Ind., to golf pro Todd and Purdue alum Jennie, Jack went to Fort Wayne while in kindergarten and played his first organized baseball in Don Ayres Little League. He played travel ball for the Summit City Spartans, Leo Lions and Fort Wayne Diamondbacks then — after moving to Boone County — the Indiana Mustangs. He also played fall ball for the San Francisco Giants scout team. Todd Firestone, the son of Tom Firestone, played golf and basketball at Grace College in Winona Lake, Ind., served as head golf pro at Tippecanoe Lake Country Club in Milford, Ind., and Fort Wayne Country Club before taking that post at Meridian Hills Country Club in Indianapolis at the start of 2016. Tom Firestone is in the Kosciusko County Basketball and Bethel University Athletic halls of fame and was athletic director at Elkhart (Ind.) Memorial High School. Trey Firestone, Jack’s little brother and a senior at Zionsville Community in 2022, is a football wide receiver getting NCAA Division I offers.
The same week the IHSAA crowns four state champions in Indianapolis, the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association will conduct its North/South All-Star Series in Evansville. State Finals are Monday and Tuesday, June 21-22 at Victory Field with the games to be set after semistates. The IHSBCA will hold its all-star game festivities Friday through Sunday, June 25-27 at the University of Evansville and historic Bosse Field. Practice is at U of E’s German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium (North workout at 3:15 p.m. Central Time, South workout at 5 Central) followed by the all-star banquet at Crescent Center at Milestones at 7 Central. A noon doubleheader is slated for Saturday at Braun Stadium with a wood-bat single game on Sunday at Bosse Field at 11 a.m. Central. Holiday Inn Express East, 220 Kirkwood Drive, is the team hotel. The North leads 68-63 in the all-time series. Indiana all-stars are seniors nominated by IHSBCA members and selected by a committee. In addition, the IHSBCA Futures Game (non-seniors) is to be staged in Evansville Wednesday, June 28.
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