Lebanon alum Harker hurling for Harwich in Cape Cod Baseball League

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

A year ago at this time, 2021 Lebanon (Ind.) High School graduate Garrett Harker suited up for the North in the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South All-Star Series.
In the summer of 2022, the right-handed pitcher is in the high-profile Cape Cod Baseball League with the Harwich Mariners, managed since 2003 by Steve Englert.
In his first two outings covering 3 2/3 relief innings, Harker has allowed no runs and two hits while striking out seven and walking none.
“It’s the best league you can play in,” says Harker, 19. “I’m blessed to be here and have this experience. I’m probably one of the youngest guys.
“I’m just trying to get some innings and throw in front of as many people as I can.”
During his freshmen season at the University of Cincinnati this spring, 6-foot, 200-pound Harker appeared in 16 games (six starts) and went 4-3 with one save and one save and a 7.08 earned run average. He produced 38 strikeouts and 22 walks in 48 1/3 innings.
The UC Bearcats head coach is Scott Googins. Harker works closely with pitching coach JD Heilmann.
It’s been competitiveness that Heilmann has emphasized with Harker.
“Go at the hitter and be the competitor you’ve been,” says Harker. “I’m not the biggest, fastest, strongest guy out there. I’m going to give you 100 percent no matter what I do.”
Born in Indianapolis, Harker grew up in Lebanon. He played at Lebanon Little League until about 9 then played for various travel ball teams, including the Lebanon Thunder, Indiana Baseball Club, Indiana Elite, Indiana Outlaws, Indiana Bulls and Team Indiana (fall ball).
With the 2020 prep season canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Harker played three seasons at Lebanon High School for Rick Cosgray.
“He’s a players’ coach for sure,” says Harker of Cosgray. “He’ll go to battle for you as long as you give 100 percent.”
In 81 high school games, Harker hit .431 (113-of-262) with 13 home runs, 56 runs batted in and 89 runs scored. As a pitcher, he went 19-7 with two saves and a 1.44 ERA. He whiffed 264 and walked 42 in 156 innings. As a senior in 2021, he was 8-0 with one save, a 0.67 ERA, 111 K’s and eight walks in 52 1/3 innings.
He was the IHSBCA District K Player of the Year and was the on the Prep Baseball Report Indiana All-State Team and All-USA Central Indiana Postseason Super Team.
Harker, who turns 20 on July 23, says it was during his junior year of high school that he really learned how to pitch.
The righty throws from a high three-quarter arm angle.
“I figured I needed to get on top of the ball and get more spin rate and spin efficiency — all that stuff,” says Harker.
He mixes a four-seam fastball that has been clocked as high as 95 mph, a sinking two-seam fastball, “circle” change-up (usually delivered around 80 mph), a traditional slider (with horizontal movement and vertical depth).
Harker’s 2020 summer was spent with the 17U Indiana Bulls. In 2021, he got in a few outings with the PRP Baseball Mambas and had workouts for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies.
Besides baseball, Harker played four years of football (three years as starting quarterback) and one year of basketball at Lebanon. During his gridiron days, he passed for 4,399 yards and 43 touchdowns, including 2,028 and 21 as a junior in 2019.
Garrett is the youngest of Larry and Teri Harker’s four children — all former Lebanon athletes. Former Tigers basketball and softball player Kalyn Harker (Class of 2011) is the oldest, followed by former football, basketball and baseball player Isaac Harker (Class of 2014), former volleyball, basketball and softball player Tori Harker (2018) and Garrett Harker.
Kalyn played softball at Southern Illinois University. Isaac played quarterback at Indiana State University and Colorado School of Mines and been in the Canadian Football League. Tori played volleyball at Indiana University East.
Larry Harker works for Cincinnati Bell Technology Services. Teri Harker is a stay-at-home mom.

Garrett Harker (University of Cincinnati Photo)

Garrett Harker (University of Cincinnati Photo)

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Lebanon grad Herrin pitching in Angels system

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Travis Herrin has been a professional baseball pitcher since 2015 and the graduate of Lebanon (Ind.) High School (2013) and Wabash Valley College (2015) in Mount Carmel, Ill., has made steadiness his goal.

“I look for consistency,” says Herrin, 24. “It means learning to throw every five days (instead of every seven like in college). That extra two days is a pretty big deal.”

Herrin is a right-hander in the Los Angeles Angels organization with the Inland Empire 66ers in the Advanced Class-A California League.

Inland Empire uses a “piggyback” system for its starting pitchers, meaning Herrin may start one time then come in right after the starter the next. Through June 30, he had made 12 appearances totaling 48 1/3 innings and was 3-2 with one save, a 4.84 earned run average, 45 strikeouts and 24 walks.

“You make sure you get down whatever you need to get done — the weight room, arm care,” says Herrin of each day at the ballpark.

What’s the difference between Advanced-A and lower levels (he has pitched in the rookie-level Pioneer and Arizona leagues and the Low-A Midwest League)?

“Competition,” says Herrin. “You get away with less and less as you move through the system.

“You have to have your stuff going from he first pitch.

Herrin throws a four-seam fastball with arm-side fade, a 12-to-6 curveball, a slider with side-to-side action and a change-up.

“The minor leagues is about development,” says Herrin, who works with people like Inland Empire pitching coach Michael Wuertz and Angels roving minor league instructors Matt Wise and Buddy Carlyle to get dialed in. They use video to study what he does in games and bullpen sessions.

During this past off-season, Herrin rode with Reid Schaller (a Lebanon High school graduate in the Washington Nationals chain) to work with Greg Vogt at PRP Baseball on mechanics and pitch design.

The son of John and Christy Herrin and older brother of Maggie Herrin (an Indiana State University student), Travis played for Rick Cosgray at Lebanon High and Rob Fournier at Wabash Valley.

“He’s a great guy,” says Herrin of Cosgray. “(Fournier) is unreal. He is close to 1,000 wins (for his career). Junior college is a character thing. You don’t get a whole lot of gear. It’s pretty competitive (in the Great Rivers Athletic Conference). There are a lot of guys moving on to (NCAA) D-I schools every year.”

Herrin grew up in Lebanon — a town located northwest of Indianapolis — and played at Lebanon Little League and with the IBA Storm coached by Cesar Barrientos (now an assistant at Wabash College) during his junior summer in high school. He later pitched for the Lebanon Merchants.

Selected in the 18th round of the 2015 Major League Baseball First-Year Year Player Draft by the Angels, the 6-foot-3 hurler was with the Burlington (Iowa) Bees when he had Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery June 19, 2017. He came back in August 2018 and appeared in seven games.

“It was a grind,” says Herrin of the recovery process. “I was doing something every single day to try to get ready.

“I had no doubts about getting ready. I know the organization likes me.”

Travis Herrin is a graduate of Lebanon (Ind.) High School and Wabash Valley College pitching in the Los Angeles Angels organization. (Inland Empire 66ers)

Travis Herrin pitches for the California League’s Inland Empire 66ers — aka California Burritos — in the Los Angeles Angels organization. (Franklin Gutierrez Photo)

Travis Herrin pitches for the California League’s Inland Empire 66ers — aka California Burritos — in the Los Angeles Angels organization. He is a graduate of Lebanon (Ind.) High School and Wabash Valley College. (Franklin Gutierrez Photo)

Cosgray builds Lebanon Tigers baseball on organization, communication

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Rick Cosgray heads into his 20th season as head baseball coach at Lebanon (Ind.) High School in 2019.

But not only does he lead the Tigers at the high school level, has has helped organize a feeder system that starts with players ages 5 to 12 at Lebanon Little League and includes the Lebanon Middle School Farm Club program.

“There’s a lot of communication with Little League reps,” says Cosgray. “We range from three to four teams at the middle school (with sixth, seventh and eighth graders). It’s kind of unique. We do not cut (at that level).”

Drawing 40 to 50 middle schoolers each year, the best 12 players are assigned to Eighth Grade Gold, the next to Seventh Grade Black with the others playing in junior league associated with the Little League. The junior league competes against other districts during the summer. The top players tend to play on various travel ball teams.

At Lebanon High School, Cosgray has been fielding three teams — varsity, junior varsity and freshmen or C-team. Most seasons, there are 30 to 35 players.

In recent years, the Tigers have sent players on to college baseball. Among those are right-handed pitchers Reid Schaller (Vanderbilt University) and Travis Herrin (Wabash Valley College) plus Jackson Bland (Anderson University), Nick Bland (Anderson University) and Caleb Myers (Marian University).

Schaller is now is the Washington Nationals system after being selected in the third round of the 2018 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Herrin has been in the Los Angeles Angels organization since being drafted in the 18th round in 2015.

Lebanon graduate Joe McCabe played at Lebanon and Purdue University and played briefly with the Minnesota Twins in 1964 and Washington Senators in 1965.

Righty Doug Jones went to Lebanon and Butler University and pitched 16 years in the big leagues, beginning in 1982.

Current Lebanon shortstop/right-hander Garrett Harker is verbally committed to the University of Cincinnati.

Lebanon (enrollment around 975) is a member of the Sagamore Athletic Conference (with Crawfordsville, Danville, Frankfort, North Montgomery, Southmont, Tri-West Hendricks and Western Boone). SAC games are played on Tuesdays and Thursdays with each team facing the other twice.

The Tigers are part of an IHSAA Class 3A sectional grouping with Crawfordsville, Frankfort, North Montgomery and Southmont. Lebanon has won 11 sectionals — the last in 2014.

Lebanon plays varsity home games at Memorial Park in Lebanon. JV and C-team contests are also played there if the varsity is idle. If not, game are played at Lebanon Middle School.

Cosgray’s coaching staff features Chris Coddington, Nathan Kincaid and Bob Adams with the varsity, Ryan Baldwin and Brad Bailey with the JV and Jared Long and Coty Edwards with the C-team.

A 1991 graduate of Twin Lakes High School in Monticello, Ind., Cosgray played football for coach Mark Hay, basketball for coach Rick Snodgrass and baseball for coach Larry Crabb. He counts all of them among his mentors and he served on all their coaching staffs.

“Coach Crabb was always disciplined, but he was still able to make the game fun,” says Cosgray. “He had high expectations in terms of your character.”

Cosgray attended Purdue as a student and played one season of baseball at the University of Indianapolis before going back to the West Lafayette campus.

Before coming to Lebanon, he taught one year and coached football and basketball at Mishawaka then spent one season as head girls basketball coach (1997-98) at Elkhart Central and one season of basketball at Jay County.

Cosgray is now a health and physical education teacher at Lebanon Middle School.

Rick and Shannon Cosgray have been married 22 years and have two children. Daughter Whitney Cosgray is a senior and Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis and plans to be an educator. Son Drew Cosgray is a junior soccer and baseball athlete at Lebanon.

Rick Cosgray goes into his 20th season as head baseball coach at Lebanon (Ind.) High School in 2019.

 

Former Lebanon righty Schaller debuts in college, pro baseball in same season with Vandy, Nationals system

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Reid Schaller returned to competitive pitching in 2018.

Following Tommy John surgery July 19, 2016 — the date is tattooed near the scar — the right-hander did not pick up a baseball until January 2017 and then participated in fall activities at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

The injury caused the 2016 Lebanon (Ind.) High School graduate to miss his freshman college season and summer ball in 2017.

The 6-foot-3 hurler finally got a chance to pitch in a game for the Commodores Feb. 20, 2018. He went on to appear in 21 games over 28 2/3 innings.

Schaller was 1-1 with one save, a 3.77 earned run average, 39 strikeouts and nine walks in helping Vanderbilt go 35-27 with the season ending in the NCAA Super Regional against Mississippi State.

The 21-year-old credits Vandy pitching coach Scott Brown for helping him come back.

“(Brown) cleaned up my arm action,” says Schaller. “And he taught me how to be a pitcher rather than a thrower.”

After his surgery, Schaller still threw from a three-quarter arm slot, but he shortened up his delivery.

“My arm was really long in high school,” says Schaller. “Now, it’s really short — more like a catcher arm action.”

Schaller is grateful to his Vandy coaches, including head coach Tim Corbin.

“The entire coaching staff is very intelligent and helped me with my prospects,” says Schaller. “They did a lot for me.

“Just being around (Corbin) matured me as a person. He’s  full of knowledge and that kind of rubbed off on me.”

Selected in the third round of the 2018 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Washington Nationals, Schaller headed to Florida to pitch for the Gulf Coast League Nationals.

In the GCL, he made five mound appearances (all starts) and was 0-1 with a 1.54 ERA. In 11 2/3 innings, he struck out 16 and walked three and was moved to the Auburn (N.Y.) Doubledays of the Short Season Class-A New York-Penn League.

The next stops on the Nationals minor league ladder are Hagerstown (Low-A), Potomac (High-A), Harrisburg (Double-A) and Syracuse (Triple-A).

Schaller has been in four games for Auburn (all starts) covering 16 2/3 innings. He is 1-1 with a 4.86 ERA, nine strikeouts and four walks.

He goes to the bump for Doubledays manager Jerad Head and pitching coach Franklin Bravo with a large pitch repertoire. He throws both a four-seam and two-seam fastball as well as a slider, change-up and cutter. He added the cutter to the four-seamer and slider during the NCAA Clemson Regional. Once he got to Auburn, he began working on the two-seamer — a pitch he used in high school.

At Lebanon, Schaller played four seasons for Tigers head coach Rick Cosgray and was a three-time honorable mention all-state selection and three-time all-Sagamore Athletic Conference performer. He captained the team as a junior and senior. In his sophomore year (2014), Lebanon won SAC and IHSAA Class 3A North Montgomery Sectional  championships.

As a freshman, Cosgray had Schaller splitting his time between the varsity and junior varsity teams, going down to get some more at-bats.

“(Cosgray) made me think — this is the time I can get better and bring it to the varsity team,” says Schaller. “Everything happens for a reason.

“You see how it develops through time.”

In 2013, Schaller was a teammate of future Los Angeles Angels minor league pitcher Travis Herrin.

When not pitching, Schaller was an outfielder early in his prep career and then settled at first base. He also played one season a little football for the Lebanon Tigers.

The determination that helped him back from injury has helped propel Schaller throughout his athletic career.

“I’m committed to the goals I’ve set and I’m hard-working,” says Schaller. “I’m determined to succeed on the mound.

“I have the ability to bounce back from a bad outing and be ready for my next bullpen. It’s all about being consistent.”

Born in Indianapolis, Schaller grew up near Thorntown and played Little League baseball at Dover and Thorntown.

When Reid moved with his family — father Matt, mother Heather and older brother Mason — to Lebanon when he was in the fourth grade, he played in the Lebanon Little League and then got into travel baseball, donning the colors of the Indiana Mustangs, Indiana Prospects, Evoshield Canes Midwest, Cincinnati Reds Scout Team and Midland (Ohio) Redskins before heading to Vanderbilt.

Schaller is four semesters from completing his American Studies degree and says he plans to go back at some point to complete it.

Today, Matt Schaller sells insurance, Heather Schaller is a realtor and Mason Schaller is in business. He played baseball at Lebanon and graduated from Indiana University.

Reid Schaller, a Lebanon (Ind.) High School graduate who played at Vanderbilt University, is now with the Auburn (N.Y.) Doubledays in the Washington Nationals system. (Auburn Doubledays Photo)

Reid Schaller bears down for the Auburn (N.Y.) Doubledays in the Washington Nationals system. He is a 2016 Lebanon (Ind.) High School graduate who pitched one season (2018) for Vanderbilt University. (Rick Nelson Photo)

Former Lebanon (Ind.) High School and Vanderbilt University pitcher Reid Schaller lets one go for the Auburn (N.Y.) Doubledays. (Rick Nelson Photo)

Reid Schaller, 21, is in his first professional baseball season in the Washington Nationals system. (Rick Nelson Photo)

Reid Schaller, a Lebanon (Ind.) High School graduate, makes a pitch for the Auburn (N.Y.) Doubledays in the Washington Nationals system. Making his way back from Tommy John surgery, the right-hander made his college debut at Vanderbilt University and in professional baseball both in 2018. (Rick Nelson Photo)