Notre Dame bound for Statesboro Regional; Look who conferences honored

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

Notre Dame — the last college baseball team from Indiana left standing in 2022 — found out today (May 30) that the Irish will be in the Statesboro Regional for the 64-team NCAA Division I tournament.
The No. 2-seeded Irish (35-14) play No. 3 Texas Tech (37-20) at 2 p.m. Friday, June 3. Site host and top-seeded Georgia Southern (40-18) plays No. UNC Greensboro (34-28) at 7 p.m. Friday.
Notre Dame made it to the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
Regionals continue through June 6 with super regionals June 10-13 and the College World Series June 17-27.
Ball State made it to the “if necessary” Mid-American Conference tournament championship game against Central Michigan and lost 11-7 to wind up the season at 40-19 overall and 32-7 as MAC regular-season champions. Central Michigan earned an automatic NCAA tournament bid.
Evansville (32-24, 14-6), Indiana State (26-22-1, 10-10-1) and Valparaiso (16-32, 5-15) bowed out in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.
Seasons came to a close for Purdue (29-21, 9-12) and Indiana (27-32, 10-14) at the Big Ten tournament.
Purdue Fort Wayne (18-36, 13-15) finished up in the Horizon League tournament.
In the past few weeks, conferences have handed out postseason awards at the NCAA D-I, D-II and D-III, NAIA and junior college levels and there is a list of those below.

CONFERENCE AWARDS
NCAA D-I
Atlantic Coast: NOTRE DAME — lhp John Michael Bertrand (first team), of Ryan Cole (third team).
Big East: BUTLER— ss Travis Holt (second team), rhp Derek Drees (second team).
Big Ten: PURDUE — dh C.J. Valdez (first team), lhp Jackson Smeltz (third team), lhp Troy Wansing (freshman), of Tanner Haston (sportsmanship). INDIANA — c Matthew Ellis (third team), 1b Brock Tibbitts (freshman), ss Evan Goforth (freshman), 3b Josh Pyne (freshman), of Carter Mathison (freshman), if Tyler Doanes (sportsmanship).
Horizon: PURDUE FORT WAYNE — c Cade Fitzpatrick (second team), 3b Jack Lang (second team), rhp Rex Stills (freshman).
Mid-American: BALL STATE — lhp Tyler Schweitzer (pitcher of the year, first team), rhp Ryan Brown (freshman pitcher of the year, second team), 3b Ryan Peltier (defensive player of the year, second team, defensive), hc Rich Maloney (coach of the year), 1b Trenton Quartermaine (first team), of Zach Cole (first team, defensive), rhp Sam Klein (first team), of Amir Wright (second team), rhp Ty Johnson (second team).
Missouri Valley: EVANSVILLE — rhp Nick Smith (pitcher of the year, first team), hc Wes Carroll (coach of the year), 3b Brent Widder (first team), of Mark Shallenberger (first team), rhp Shane Gray (first team), 1b Tanner Craig (second team), ss Simon Scherry (second team), rhp Drew Dominik (second team), 2b Evan Berkey (honorable mention), of Eric Roberts (honorable mention). INDIANA STATE — ss Jordan Schaffer (first team), rhp Matt Jachec (first team, defensive), 2b Josue Urdaneta (second team), of Seth Gergely (second team, defensive), of Sean Ross (honorable mention), c Grant Magill (defensive). VALPARAISO — 2b Nolan Tucker (first team), rhp Colin Fields (second team), rhp Bobby Nowak (honorable mention), 3b Kaleb Hannahs (defensive).

NCAA D-II
Great Lakes Intercollegiate: PURDUE NORTHWEST — 2b Ethan Imlach (first team), of Ray Hilbrich (first team), c Jack Gallagher (second team), rhp Tyler Schultz (honorable mention), rhp Sam Shively (honorable mention).
Great Lakes Valley: INDIANAPOLIS — lhp Xavier Rivas (pitcher of the year, first team), ss Alex Vela (second team, sportsmanship), of Brandon DeWitt (second team). SOUTHERN INDIANA —lhp Sammy Barnett (sportsmanship).

NCAA D-III
Heartland Collegiate: FRANKLIN— c Logan Demkovich (first team), of Tysen Lipscomb (first team), rhp Nick McClanahan (pitcher of the year, first team), rhp Alex Reinoehl (first team), ss A.J. Sanders (first team), of Sean Sullivan (first team), 1b Matthew Earley (honorable mention), hc Lance Marshall (coach of the year), rhp Nick Elmendorf (sportsmanship). ROSE-HULMAN — rhp Ian Kline (first team), 1b Josh Mesenbrink (player of the year, first team), 3b Brett Tuttle (first team), 2b Colter Couillard-Rodak (second team), of Harrison Finch (second team), ss Manuel Lopez (second team), ut Adam Taylor (honorable mention), of Nathan Burke (sportsmanship). EARLHAM — dh Andrew Bradley (first team), 3b Devin Basley (second team), 2b Christian Lancianese (second team), of Nathan Lancianese (second team), rhp Aidan Talerek (second team), of Cameron McCabe (honorable mention), c Easton Embry (sportsmanship). ANDERSON— 1b Tyler Smitherman (first team), rhp Evan Doan (second team), lhp Kasey Henderson (second team), rhp Logan Nickel (second team), ss Justin Reed (second team), of Grahm Reedy (second team), of Jake Stank (newcomer of the year, second team), mif T.J. Price (honorable mention), c Tyler Young (sportsmanship). HANOVER — of Andrew Littlefield (first team), c Charlie Burton (second team), 1b Alex Christie (second team), rhp Charlie Joyce (second team), of Eric Roudebush (honorable mention), 3b/1b Jacob Dupps (sportsmanship). MANCHESTER— lhp Carter Hooks (first team), ut Rocco Hanes (second team), dh/ut Harrison Pittsford (second team), rhp/if Zach White (honorable mention, sportsmanship).
Michigan Intercollegiate: TRINE— rhp Josh Hoogewerf (second team), of Brenden Warner (second team).
North Coast: DEPAUW— 1b Kyle Callahan (first team), of Nick Nelson (first team), lhp Michael Vallone (first team), 2b Cameron Macon (second team), ss Evan Barnes (honorable mention), 3b Brian May (honorable mention), of/ut Danny Glimco (honorable mention). WABASH — 2b Austin Simmers (first team).

NAIA
Chicagoland: Calumet of St. Joseph — dh Bubba Davenport (second team), of Gabriel Quinones (second team). INDIANA UNIVERSITY SOUTH BEND— 2b Jake Vanderwoude (first team), c Kole Miller (second team).
Crossroads: TAYLOR — c/of T.J. Bass (player of year, first team), rhp Luke Shively (pitcher of the year, first team), rhp/of Kaleb Kolpein (newcomer of the year, second team), rhp Noah Huseman (first team), if Nick Rusche (first team, gold glove), of Conner Crawford (second team), 1b Kade VanderMolen (gold glove). INDIANA WESLEYAN — if Denver Blinn (first team), c Bryce Ginder (first team), if Lucas Goodin (first team), rhp Hunter Hoffman (first team), ut Evan Salmon (first team, gold glove), c Colby Jenkins (gold glove). HUNTINGTON — 3b Daniel Lichty (first team, gold glove), of/rhp Ian McCutcheon (first team), mif Satchell Wilson (second team). MARIAN — if Matteo Porcellato (first team), 1b Bryce Davenport (second team), of J.J. Rivera (second team, gold glove), Dion Wintjes (gold glove). SAINT FRANCIS — of-dh David Miller (first team), if/of/c Alec Brunson (gold glove). BETHEL— rhp Frank Plesac (first team), c Dominic Densler (second team), if/rhp Jeremy Wiersema (second team), if/rhp Ty Mickiewicz (gold glove). GRACE — rhp Evan Etchison (second team), rhp Hunter Schumacher (second team). GOSHEN — of Jenner Rodammer (second team, gold glove)
River States: INDIANA UNIVERSITY SOUTHEAST — 3b Trevor Campbell (player of the year, first team, gold glove), lhp Hunter Kloke (pitcher of the year, first team), hc Ben Reel (coach of the year), c Brody Tanksley (first team, gold glove), 2b Clay Woeste (first team, gold glove), of Marco Romero (first team, gold glove), rhp Lane Oesterling (second team), of Derek Wagner (second team), ut Brandon Boxer (second team), if Daunte DeCello (gold glove, Champions of Character). INDIANA UNIVERSITY KOKOMO — lhp Owen Callaghan (first team), of Patrick Mills (first team), lhp J.T. Holton (second team), 1b Noah Hurlock (second team), ss Riley Garczynski (second team), of Jack Leverenz (second team), dh Jared Heard (second team), if Matt Iacobucci (Champions of Character). OAKLAND CITY — ss Chandler Dunn (first team), of Noah Baugher (second team), if Austin Morris (Champions of Character).
Wolverine-Hoosier: INDIANA TECH — rhp Hayes Stutsman (first team), c Manuel Ascanio (second team), of Ashtin Moxey (second team), ut Trevor Patterson (gold glove), ss Jayden Reed (gold glove, second team), 2b Mike Snyder (second team), if Michael Oliger (Champions of Character).

Junior College
Michigan Community College: MARIAN’S ANCILLA — if Rylan Huntley (first team), if Josh Ledgard (honorable mention).
Mid-West: Vincennes — ss Peyton Lane (second team), ut Colton Evans (second team).

INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL
Records Through May 29
NCAA D-I
Ball State 40-19 (32-7 MAC)
Notre Dame 35-14 (16-11 ACC)
Evansville 32-24 (14-6 MVC)
Purdue 29-21 (9-12 Big Ten)
Indiana State 26-22-1 (10-10-1 MVC)
Indiana 27-32 (10-14 Big Ten)
Butler 20-35-1 (4-16-1 Big East)
Purdue Fort Wayne 18-36 (13-15 Horizon)
Valparaiso 16-32 (5-15 MVC)

NCAA D-II
Southern Indiana 21-28 (10-14 GLVC)
Indianapolis 21-31 (11-13 GLVC)
Purdue Northwest 18-21 (7-17 GLIAC)

NCAA D-III
Franklin 29-14 (13-5 HCAC)
Rose-Hulman 28-13 (12-6 HCAC)
Earlham 26-13 (12-6 HCAC)
DePauw 22-17 (12-6 NCAC)
Wabash 20-19 (4-14 NCAC)
Anderson 20-21 (11-7 HCAC)
Hanover 16-22 (10-8 HCAC)
Trine 14-23 (9-12 MIAA)
Manchester 10-27 (6-12 HCAC)

NAIA
Taylor 41-18 (26-10 CL)
Indiana University Southeast 40-15 (20-4 RSC)
Indiana Tech 32-21 (13-7 WHAC)
Indiana Wesleyan 31-23 (23-13 CL)
Oakland City 31-23 (11-11 RSC)
Huntington 27-23 (21-15 CL)
Marian 27-27 (17-19 CL)
Saint Francis 27-28 (15-21 CL)
Indiana University-Kokomo 26-22 (16-7 RSC)
Bethel 25-29 (19-17 CL)
Grace 17-33 (10-26 CL)
Calumet of Saint Joseph 16-32 (11-18 CCAC)
Indiana University South Bend 16-32-1 (9-20-1 CCAC)
Goshen 11-39 (6-30 CL)

Junior College
Vincennes 25-32 (15-19 MWAC)
Ivy Tech Northeast 16-19
Marian’s Ancilla 8-40 (6-22 MCCAA)

Week of May 23-29
NCAA D-I
Tuesday, May 24
Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament
Pittsburgh 12, Georgia Tech 6
North Carolina State 11, Wake Forest 8
North Carolina 9, Clemson 2

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
Missouri State 9, Illinois State 4

Wednesday, May 25
Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament
Pittsburgh 6, Louisville 5
Florida State 13, Virginia 3
North Carolina State 9, Miami 6

Horizon League Tournament
Youngstown State 6, Purdue Fort Wayne 0
Northern Kentucky 3, Illinois-Chicago 2

Mid-American Conference Tournament
Central Michigan 11, Toledo 10

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
Indiana State 8, Valparaiso 0
Missouri State 5, Southern Illinois 1
Evansville 9, Indiana State 1

Thursday, May 26
Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament
Georgia Tech 9, Louisville 4
Notre Dame 5, Florida State 3
Virginia Tech 18, Clemson 6

Big Ten Conference Tournament
Penn State 5, Iowa 2
Rutgers 10, Purdue 3
Maryland 6, Indiana 5
Michigan 7, Illinois 5

Horizon League Tournament
Wright State 18, Northern Kentucky 4
Oakland 2, Youngstown State 0

Mid-American Conference Tournament
Ball State 6, Ohio 4

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
Dallas Baptist 4, Bradley 3

Friday, May 27
Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament
Notre Dame 3, Virginia 0
Wake Forest 16, Miami 3
North Carolina 10, Virginia Tech 0

Big Ten Conference Tournament
Iowa 5, Purdue 4
Rutgers 5, Penn State 4
Indiana 8, Illinois 1
Michigan 15, Maryland 8

Horizon League Tournament
Youngstown State 11, Northern Kentucky 7
Wright State 14, Oakland 3
Oakland 4, Youngstown State 2

Mid-American Conference Tournament
Toledo 13, Ohio 5
Ball State 9, Central Michigan 7

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
Southern Illinois 8, Indiana State 2
Missouri State 19, Bradley 3
Evansville 21, Dallas Baptist 2

Saturday, May 28
Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament
North Carolina 7, Notre Dame 2
North Carolina State 8, Pittsburgh 3

Big Ten Conference Tournament
Iowa 11, Penn State 3
Indiana 6, Maryland 4 (11 inn.)
Iowa 7, Michigan 3
Rutgers 14, Indiana 2

Horizon League
Championship
Wright State 24, Oakland 0

Mid-American Conference Tournament
Central Michigan 10, Toledo 7
Central Michigan 12, Ball State 3

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
Southern Illinois 7, Dallas Baptist 5
Missouri State 7, Evansville 6
Southern Illinois 8, Evansville 5

Sunday, May 29
Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament
Championship
North Carolina 9, North Carolina State 5

Big Ten Conference Tournament
Michigan 13, Iowa 1
Championship
Michigan 10, Rutgers 4

Mid-American Conference Tournament
Championship
Central Michigan 11, Ball State 7

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
Southern Illinois 9, Missouri State 6
Championship
Missouri State 13, Southern Illinois 3

Advertisement

Indiana Wesleyan, Rose-Hulman, UIndy among state’s hottest teams

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

Indiana Wesleyan and Rose-Hulman have the longest current win streaks among the 38 college baseball programs in Indiana.
The NAIA Wildcats have won six straight as have the NCAA Division III Fightin’ Engineers.
IWU (12-4) and NCAA Division II Indianapolis (11-5) have the most victories in April.
Among the other leaders in April triumphs are NCAA Division I’s Evansville (9-2) and Notre Dame (8-3), NAIA’s Taylor (9-5) and Indiana University Southeast (8-2) and NCAA D-III’s Franklin (7-1), Rose-Hulman (7-3) and Earlham (7-3).
At 20-8, Taylor is tied atop Crossroads League standings with Mt. Vernon Nazarene, two games ahead of Indiana Wesleyan.
At 15-3, NAIA Indiana University Southeast is tied with Point Park for first place in the River States Conference, 1/2 game ahead of Indiana University Kokomo.
At 10-6, UIndy is two games behind Illinois-Springfield in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Blue Division.
Franklin (7-1) paces the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, one game ahead of both Rose-Hulman and Earlham.
Indiana State (6-2 in April) is 5-1 in leading the Missouri Valley Conference by one game over Southern Illinois, Dallas Baptist and Evansville.
Ball State (6-6 in April) is 15-3 in the Mid-American Conference, two games behind leader Central Michigan.
Pitching victory and batting average leaders among D-I teams include Jackson Smeltz (6) and Evan Albrecht (.407) of Purdue, John Michael Bertrand (5) and Carter Putz (.357) of Notre Dame, Tyler Schweitzer (5), Ty Johnson (5) and Amir Wright (.349) of Ball State, Matt Jachec (7) and Sean Ross (.421) of Indiana State, Shane Gray (5) and Mark Shallenberger (.389) of Evansville, Jon Vore (3), Derek Drees (3) and Aaron Steinhart (.299) of Butler, Colin Fields (4), Jake Miller (4) and Nolan Tucker (.359) of Valparaiso, Bradley Brehmer (3) and Phillip Glasser (.343) of Indiana and Jacob Myer (2), Mitchell Spencer (2), J.D. Deany (2), Brian Skelton (2) and Cade Fitzpatrick (.350) of Purdue Fort Wayne.
In NCAA D-II, there’s Xavier Rivas (5) and Brandon DeWitt (.368) of Indianapols, Brice Stuteville (4) and Lucas McNew (.341) of Southern Indiana and Joe Sullivan (3) and Ray Hilbrich (.429) of Purdue Northwest.
NCAA D-III leaders are Jackson Young (5) and Logan Demkovich (.398) of Franklin, Aidan Talarek (5) and Cameron McCabe (.408) of Earlham, Ian Kline (5) and Kade Kline (.380) of Rose-Hulman, Tavic Simmons (4) and A.J. Reid (.394) of Wabash, Evan Doan (3), Landen Southern (3) and Tyler Smitherman (.413) of Anderson, Matthew Alter (3) and Charlie Burton (.355) of Hanover, Michael Vallone (6) and Allen Cameron (.398) of DePauw, Robert Kortas (2), Cam Nagel (2) and Adam Stefanelli (.375) of Trine and Carter Hooks (2) and Brett Wathen (2) and Zach White (.356) of Manchester.
In NAIA, there’s Luke Shively (9) and Kaleb Kolpein (.410) of Taylor, Hunter Kloke (7) and Trevor Campbell (.408) of IU Southeast, Brennan Morehead (4) and Denver Blinn (.421) of Indiana Wesleyan, Owen Callaghan (6) and Patrick Mills (.365) of IU Kokomo, Cory Wolter (6) and Alec Brunson (.354) of Saint Francis, Owen Spears (4) and Noah Baugher (.364) of Oakland City, Hayes Sturtsman (4), Jared Maxfield (4) and Ashtin Moxey (.311) of Indiana Tech, Damien Wallace (4) and Matteo Porcellato (.365) of Marian, Noah Arbuckle (3), Joey Butz (3), Isaac Horton (3), Tyler Papenbrock (3) and Ian McCutcheon (.394) of Huntington, Frank Plesac (5) and Eli MacDonald (.411) of Bethel, Evan Etchison (3), Kameron Koch (3) and Alex Rich (.345) of Grace, Zack Dobos (3) and Brenden Bell (.386) of IU South Bend, Bubba Davenport (2) and Michael Machnic (.325) of Calumet of Saint Joseph and Camm Nickell (2) and Jenner Rodammer (.350) of Goshen.
Junior college leaders are Connor VanLannen (3) and Peyton Lane (.440) of Vincennes, Adam Besser (2), Matt Peters (2) and Jaden Parnin (.476) of Ivy Tech Northeast and Rylan Huntley (2 and .413) and Bryce Woodruff (2) of Marian’s Ancilla.

INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL
Records Through April 17
NCAA D-I
Purdue 22-9 (4-6 Big Ten)
Notre Dame 21-8 (8-7 ACC)
Ball State 21-13 (15-3 MAC)
Indiana State 19-9 (5-1 MVC)
Evansville 19-16 (4-2 MVC)
Butler 16-20 (2-4 Big East)
Valparaiso 13-18 (2-4 MVC)
Indiana 13-21 (2-7 Big Ten)
Purdue Fort Wayne 10-23 (7-8 Horizon)

NCAA D-II
Indianapolis 18-18 (10-6 GLVC)
Southern Indiana 15-20 (4-8 GLVC)
Purdue Northwest 13-12 (2-8 GLIAC)

NCAA D-III
Franklin 22-6 (7-1 HCAC)
Earlham 18-8 (7-3 HCAC)
Rose-Hulman 16-7 (7-3 HCAC)
Wabash 14-11 (0-8 NCAC)
Anderson 13-12 (5-3 HCAC)
Hanover 12-14 (6-4 HCAC)
DePauw 10-14 (3-5 NCAC)
Trine 10-16 (5-6 MIAA)
Manchester 5-18 (2-6 HCAC)

NAIA
Taylor 30-14 (20-8 CL)
Indiana University Southeast 28-11 (15-3 RSC)
Indiana Wesleyan 25-18 (18-10 CL)
Indiana University-Kokomo 24-14 (14-3 RSC)
Saint Francis 24-19 (13-15 CL)
Oakland City 21-16 (6-10 RSC)
Indiana Tech 21-18 (9-7 WHAC)
Marian 20-20 (12-14 CL)
Huntington 19-17 (17-11 CL)
Bethel 19-25 (13-15 CL)
Grace 15-24 (9-17 CL)
Indiana University South Bend 11-24 (5-14 CCAC)
Calumet of Saint Joseph 9-26 (4-14 CCAC)
Goshen 9-31 (4-24 CL)

Junior College
Vincennes 15-21 (6-10 MWAC)
Ivy Tech Northeast 13-11
Marian’s Ancilla 6-28 (4-10 MCCAA)

Week of April 11-17
NCAA D-I
Tuesday, April 12
Evansville 11, Butler 1
Indiana 6, Indiana State 5
Notre Dame 14, Michigan 5
Eastern Illinois 7, Valparaiso 5

Thursday, April 14
Georgetown 14, Butler 8
Duke 15, Notre Dame 5
Penn State 12, Purdue 7
Purdue Fort Wayne 9, Northern Kentucky 5

Friday, April 15
Ball State 8, Akron 3
Butler 8, Georgetown 7
Evansville 6, Southern Illinois 4
Rutgers 5, Indiana 3
Duke 4, Notre Dame 3 (11 inn.)
Purdue 11, Penn State 5
Northern Kentucky 5, Purdue Fort Wayne 4
Illinois State 7, Valparaiso 0

Saturday, April 16
Ball State 5, Akron 1
Ball State 16, Akron 0
Georgetown 8, Butler 4
Evansville 9, Southern Illinois 2
Evansville 14, Southern Illinois 2
Rutgers 4, Indiana 2
Duke 6, Notre Dame 2
Penn State 7, Purdue 5
Purdue Fort Wayne 10, Northern Kentucky 5
Valparaiso 10, Illinois State 2

Sunday, April 17
Akron 4, Ball State 3
Rutgers 10, Indiana 9
Valparaiso 2, Illinois State 1

NCAA D-II
Tuesday, April 12
Indianapolis 15, Kentucky Wesleyan 1
Indianapolis 11, Kentucky Wesleyan 7
Grand Valley State 10, Purdue Northwest 7
Grand Valley State 9, Purdue Northwest 6
Oakland City 6, Southern Indiana 4

Thursday, April 14
Quincy 14, Indianapolis 4
Purdue Northwest 21, Northwood 19
Truman State vs. Southern Indiana

Friday, April 15
Indianapolis 3, Quincy 2
Indianapolis 3, Quincy 0
Purdue Northwest 2, Northwood 0
Northwood 18, Purdue Northwest 0
Truman State 6, Southern Indiana 5
Truman State 11, Southern Indiana 10

Saturday, April 16
Indianapolis 5, Quincy 3
Northwood 9, Purdue Northwest 7
Southern Indiana 16, Truman State 4

NCAA D-III
Monday, April 11
Trine 7, Kalamazoo 5

Tuesday, April 12
Earlham 12, Transylvania 7
Transylvania vs. Earlham
Hanover 12, Spalding 11
Wabash 6, Manchester 4
Manchester vs. Wabash
Rose-Hulman 3, Mount St. Joseph 2
Rose-Hulman 16, Mount St. Joseph 1

Wednesday, April 13
Trine 11, Adrian 5

Thursday, April 14
Wittenberg 10, Wabash 4

Friday, April 15
Bluffton 11, Earlham 6
Bluffton 9, Earlham 3
Alma 8, Trine 5

Saturday, April 16
Hanover 10, Anderson 4
Hanover 10, Anderson 8
Kenyon 12, DePauw 1
Kenyon 4, DePauw 3
Franklin 9, Manchester 8
Franklin 6, Manchester 4
Rose-Hulman 10, Transylvania 4
Rose-Hulman 12, Transylvania 8
Alma 9, Trine 6
Alma 10, Trine 6
Wooster 4, Wabash 3
Wooster 12, Wabash 7

NAIA
Monday, April 11
Bethel 13, Goshen 10
Bethel 12, Goshen 1
Calumet of St. Joseph 13, Trinity Christian 8
Indiana Tech 1, Rochester 0
Indiana Tech 12, Rochester 5
Spring Arbor 15, Taylor 7
Taylor 10, Spring Arbor 9

Tuesday, April 12
Goshen 17, Grace Christian 5
Goshen 3, Grace Christian 1
Marian 5, Huntington 2
Marian 19, Huntington 5
Oakland City 6, Southern Indiana 4
IU South Bend 18, Trinity Christian 8
IU Southeast 7, Georgetown (Ky.) 5
Madonna 7, Indiana Tech 6
Indiana Tech 16, Madonna 6
Indiana Wesleyan 10, Cleary 7
Indiana Wesleyan 8, Cleary 0
Mount Vernon Nazarene 10, Saint Francis 6
Saint Francis 9, Mount Vernon Nazarene 2

Thursday, April 14
Saint Xaver 17, IU South Bend 13

Friday, April 15
Bethel 2, Huntington 1
Huntington 9, Bethel 7
Olivet Nazarene 15, Calumet of St. Joseph 2
Indiana Wesleyan 14, Goshen 2
Indiana Wesleyan 13, Goshen 6
Saint Francis 5, Grace 3
Saint Francis 2, Grace 1
IU Kokomo 9, Brescia 1
IU Southeast 11, West Virginia Tech 0
Spring Arbor 8, Marian 5
Marian 16, Spring Arbor 3
Taylor 9, Mount Vernon Nazarene 5
Taylor 17, Mount Vernon Nazarene 9

Saturday, April 16
Bethel 3, Huntington 1
Huntington 9, Bethel 2
Olivet Nazarene 12, Calumet of St. Joseph 4
Olivet Nazarene 14, Calumet of St. Joseph 3
Indiana Wesleyan 12, Goshen 2
Indiana Wesleyan 15, Goshen 6
Grace 10, Saint Francis 8
Saint Francis 14, Grace 4
IU Kokomo 7, Brescia 3
IU Kokomo 13, Brescia 2
IU Southeast 11, West Virginia Tech 1
IU Southeast 9, West Virginia Tech 6
Lawrence Tech 2, Indiana Tech 1
Lawrence Tech 7, Indiana Tech 4
Marian 7, Spring Arbor 5
Marian 11, Spring Arbor 3
Mount Vernon Nazarene 6, Taylor 4
Mount Vernon Nazarene 14, Taylor 1

Junior College
Monday, April 11
Ivy Tech Northeast 6, Trine JV 5
Ivy Tech Northeast 8, Trine JV 5

Tuesday, April 12
Kellogg 6, Ivy Tech Northeast 3
Kaskaskia 13, Vincennes 6

Friday, April 15
Lake Michigan 7, Marian’s Ancilla 2
Lake Michigan 9, Marian’s Ancilla 1
Heartland 11, Vincennes 2
Heartland 13, Vincennes 4

Saturday, April 16
Lake Michigan 13, Marian’s Ancilla 3
Lake Michigan 7, Marian’s Ancilla 3
Heartland 16, Vincennes 5
Heartland 12, Vincennes 2

Oakland City U. off to 11-4 start in 2022

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

The Mighty Oaks of Oakland City University swing some mighty potent bats in improving to 11-4 on the 2022 baseball season.
OCU went 6-1 for the Week of Feb. 21-27 and collected 49 hits — 16 for extra bases — in a four-game sweep of Grace Christian.
Chandler Dunn (.533, 12 runs batted in, 16 runs scored), Noah Baugher (.419, 11 R), Payton Hall (Benton Central High School graduate) (.400, 17 R), Treven Madden (2 home runs, 12 RBIs), Sam Pinckert (Heritage Hills) (2 HR, 16 RBIs, 12 R), Bailey Falkenstien (Jeffersonville) (2 HR), Gehrig Tenhumberg (Evansville Reitz) (2-0, 2.70 earned run average, 23 strikeouts, 3 walks, 20 innings) and Milan VanDerBreggen (2-1, 2.38, 15 K’s, 1 base on balls, 11 1/3 IP) are among leaders for Andy Lasher-coached Mighty Oaks.
Oakland City went 17-27 in 2021.
In other NAIA play, Taylor — coached by Kyle Gould — moved to 9-6 with a 3-1 week. On the season, offensive leaders include T.J. Bass (Greenwood Community) (.356 average, 5 HR, 26 RBIs), Kaleb Kolpien (Homestead) (.474, 12 RBIs) and Camden Knepp (Northridge) (12 RBIs). On the mound, Matt Duktowski (NorthWood) is 2-0 with 16 K’s and three walks over 15 1/3 innings.
Todd Bacon-coached Marian went 2-2 for the week and is 8-6. For the season, A.J. Bordenet (Lafayette Central Catholic) (.458, 11 RBIs), Jackson Hogg (.390), Bryce Davenport (.350, 3 HR, 10 RBIs), Kato Hironori (2 HR) and Brodie Rinehold (Franklin Community) (2 HR) are among top batsmen. Pitcher Damien Wallace (Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter) has made four starts and is 3-0 with 3.05 ERA, 24 K’s and eight walks in 20 2/3 innings.
Some other NAIA performers: Indiana University Southeast — Trevor Campbell (.364) and Brody Tanksley (Bedford North Lawrence) (4 HR, 10 RBIs); Indiana Tech — Jacob Daftari (Hamilton Southeastern) (.471) and Manuel Ascanio (.407); Indiana University-Kokomo — Dylan Steele (Bloomington North) (.357) and Ben Harris (Northwestern) (2-1, 2.08, 13 K’s, 10 BB, 13 IP); Grace — Alex Rich (Crown Point) (.395, 11 RBIs), Chris Griffin (.375, 10 RBIs), Sam Newkirk (3 HR, 11 RBIs) and Austin Carr (Franklin Central) (10 RBIs); Bethel — Andrew Sarno (.474), Jake Schlasky (Crown Point) (10 RBIs), Jeremy Wiersema (9 RBIs, 7-of-8 on stolen bases) and Frank Plesac (Crown Point) (2-1, 2.55, 21 K’s, 5 BB, 17 2/3 IP); and Goshen — Morgan Baker (2 HR in Game 1 vs. Brescia).
NCAA Division I Purdue is off to an 8-0 start. Led by Curtis Washington Jr. (7-of-7) and Evan Albrecht (6-of-6), the Boliermakers are 35-of-35 in stolen base attempts.
Albrecht (.462), Washington (.375), Cam Thompson (13 RBIs) and Jackson Smeltz (McCutcheon) (2-0, 1.07, 18 K’s, 4 BB, 9 1/3 IP) are among the hot Boilermakers, which are coached by Greg Goff.
Some other top NCAA D-I performers: Notre Dame — Ryan Cole (.500, 6 RBI, 5-5 SB), Brooks Coetze (2 HR), Carter Putz (8 RBI), Jack Brannigan (6 RBI), Aidan Tyrell (2-0, 0.00, 11 K’s, 3 BB, 11 IP) and John Michael Bertrand (2-0. 0.69, 19 K’s, 1 BB, 13 IP; Indiana State — Jordan Schaffer (West Vigo) (.414), Diego Gines (.407), Mike Sears (2 HR), Parker Stinson (Yorktown) (9 RBI), Miguel Rivera (6 RBI), Sean Ross (6 RBI) and Matt Jachec (2-0. 1.35, 13 K’s, 0 BB, 13 1/3 IP); Valparaiso — Kaleb Hannahs (West Vigo) (.474, 2 HR, 7 runs), Alex Thurston (.353), Kyle Schmack (South Central of Union Mills) (.333, 5 RBIs) and Colin Fields 1-0, 1.64, 15 K’s, 5 BB, 11 IP); Butler — Travis Holt (.478, 7 R, 5-6 SB), James Gargano (7 RBIs), Cole McDaniel (1-0, 2.25) and Derek Drees (0-0, 2 games, 10 K’s, 3 BB, 5 IP); Ball State — Amir Wright (Griffith) (.333); Indiana — Bobby Whalen (.391, 4 RBI, 5-5 SB), Matthew Ellis (2 HR) and Braydon Tucker (Northview) (0-1, 1.93, 2 appearances, 5 K, 5 BB, 4 2/3 IP); Evansville — Mark Shallenberger (.304) and Nick Smith (Boonville) (0-1, 1.61, 9 1/3 IP); and Purdue Fort Wayne — Alex Evenson (.320) and Jack Lang (Hamilton Southeastern) (.310, 6 RBIs).
Tracy Archuleta-coached Southern Indiana is out of the gate at 6-0. The Screaming Eagles have been led by Lucas McNew (Borden) (.455, 2 HR, 13 RBIs through 5 games), Ethan Hunter (Terre Haute South Vigo) (11 RBIs) and Brice Stuteville (South Spencer) (0-0, 1.42, 3 games, 8 K’s, 0 BB, 6 1/3 IP).
Other top NCAA D-II performers: Indianapolis — Alex Vela (Cardinal Ritter) (.478, 6 RBIs, 11 R, 5-7 SB), Caleb Vaughan (Lawrence North) (.409, 10 R), Drew Donaldson (8 RBI) and Xavier Rivas (Portage) (1-0, 1.93, 2 games, 23 K’s, 6 BB, 14 IP).
In NCAA Division III, the Adam Rosen Era began at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology with the Fightin’ Engineers winning both of the first-year head coach’s first two games. Adam Taylor (Perry Meridian) (5 RBI’s), Josh Mesenbrink (4 RBI’s), Brett Tuttle (1 HR, 5 R) and Ian Kline (1-0, 1.50, 4 2/3 IP) are among the RHIT leaders.
Other top NCAA D-III performers: Earlham — Cameron McCabe (.500), Zach Swearingen (.500), Andrew Bradley (.500), Maxwell Fries (8 RBIs) and Keodon Kuderer (6 R); Franklin — Logan Demkovich (Munster) (2 HR); DePauw — Evan Barnes .588 through 4 games), Cameron Macon .563, 2 HR, 9 RBIs, 8 R) and Cameron Allen (9 R); Wabash — Liam Patton (Warsaw) (.800 3 2B, 3 RBIs), Camden Scheidt (Highland) (.500), Reese Bauer (Northeast Dubois) (.500) and Dylan Scheid (Lawrence North) (0-0, 1.50, 1 game, 8 Ks, 0 BB, 6 IP); Anderson — Jake Stank (Mount Vernon of Fortville) (.444) and Tyler Smitherman (Westfield) (2 HR); and Manchester — Brady Perez (Rochester) (2 HR, 4 RBIs).
In junior college, Vincennes U.’s Colton Evans is hitting .465 and Connor VanLannen is 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA and 18 K’s in 15 innings.

INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL
Records Through Feb. 27

NCAA D-I
Purdue 8-0
Notre Dame 5-1
Indiana State 5-2
Valparaiso 3-2
Butler 3-3
Ball State 2-5
Indiana 1-5
Evansville 1-6
Purdue Fort Wayne 0-8

NCAA D-II
Southern Indiana 6-0
Indianapolis 3-3
Purdue Northwest 0-0

NCAA D-III
Earlham 3-0
Franklin 3-0
DePauw 3-2
Rose-Hulman 2-0
Wabash 2-0
Anderson 1-4
Trine 1-2
Hanover 0-2
Manchester 0-2

NAIA
Oakland City 11-4
Taylor 9-6
Marian 8-6
Saint Francis 6-4
Bethel 6-10
Indiana Tech 5-4
Indiana University-Kokomo 5-4
Indiana University Southeast 5-6
Grace 5-7
Goshen 3-5
Indiana Wesleyan 3-7
Indiana University South Bend 2-5
Huntington 2-6
Calumet of Saint Joseph 0-2

Junior College
Vincennes 4-5
Marian’s Ancilla 1-10
Ivy Tech Northeast 0-0

Week of Feb. 21-27
NCAA D-I
Wednesday, Feb. 23
Vanderbilt 9, Evansville 0

Friday, Feb. 25
UNC-Wilmington 2, Ball State 0
Butler 6, Jackson State 5
Arkansas 5, Indiana 2
Indiana State 14, Merrimack 2
Notre Dame 20, Marist 2
Purdue 9, Princeton 3
Purdue 8, Princeton 3
California Baptist 4, Purdue Fort Wayne
Valparaiso 9, Alabama A&M 2
Valparaiso 3, Alabama A&M 2

Saturday, Feb. 26
Middle Tennessee 1, Ball State 0
Butler 10, Prairie View 1
Butler 9, Jackson State 1
Evansville 11, Dayton 2
Indiana 12, Louisiana-Lafayette 4
Indiana State 16, Minnesota 3
Notre Dame 16, Monmouth 2
Notre Dame 9, Monmouth 0
Purdue 4, Princeton 3
Purdue 5, Princeton 4
California Baptist 23, Purdue Fort Wayne 5
California Baptist 5, Purdue Fort Wayne 3

Sunday, Feb. 27
Coastal Carolina 7, Ball State 2
Dayton 4, Evansville 2
Dayton 5, Evansville 4
Stanford 13, Indiana 0
Indiana State 14, Minnesota 8
Purdue Fort Wayne vs. California Baptist

NCAA D-II
Saturday, Feb. 26
Northwood 11, Indianapolis 6
Northwood 5, Indianapolis 4
Southern Indiana 12, Lake Erie 4

Sunday, Feb. 27
Northwood 9, Indianapolis 4
Southern Indiana 8, Lake Erie 3

NCAA D-III
Wednesday, Feb. 23
Centre 9, Hanover 1

Saturday, Feb. 26
Otterbein 8, Anderson 3
Baldwin Wallace 9, DePauw 8
Franklin 20, Albion 1
North Central 15, Manchester 5
Hope 16, Manchester 5
Wabash 3, Heidelberg 2
Maryville 4, Hanover 1
Earlham 20, Olivet 4
Earlham 9, Olivet 4
Asbury 5, Trine 4
Asbury 5, Trine 1

Sunday, Feb. 27
Baldwin Wallace 9, Anderson 4
DePauw 10, Transylvania 4
Earlham 10, Olivet 9
Franklin 11, Albion 6
Franklin 11, Albion 5
Wabash 15, Otterbein 5
Rose-Hulman 14, North Vermont-Lyndon 1
Rose-Hulman 12, North Vermon-Lyndon 11
Trine 3, Asbury 1

NAIA
Monday, Feb. 21
Bethel 5, Oakland City 3
Oakland City 5, Bethel 4 (8 inn.)
IU-Kokomo 5, Calumet of Saint Joseph 2
IU-Kokomo 5, Calumet of Saint Joseph 1
Indiana Tech 4, Indiana Wesleyan 3
Indiana Wesleyan 6, Indiana Tech 3
Marian 11, Georgetown 9

Wednesday, Feb. 23
Oakland City 9, Asbury 2

Thursday, Feb. 24
Bethel 11, Toccoa Falls 7

Friday, Feb. 25
Toccoa Falls 7, Bethel 1
Faulkner 3, Indiana Wesleyan 2
Indiana Wesleyan 4, Faulkner 3
Marian 9, Edward Waters 5
Edward Waters 8, Marian 7
Edward Waters 2, Marian 1
Taylor 8, Olivet Nazarene 6
Olivet Nazarene 2, Taylor 1

Saturday, Feb. 26
Bethel 4, Toccoa Falls 0
Bethel 4, Toccoa Falls 3
Faulkner 8, Indiana Wesleyan 4
Faulkner 4, Indiana Wesleyan 3
Oakland City 13, Grace Christian 1
Oakland City 13, Grace Christian 4
Saint Francis 7, IU South Bend 5
Saint Francis 7, IU South Bend 6
Taylor 11, Olivet Nazarene 1
Taylor 9, Olivet Nazarene 5

Sunday, Feb. 27
Brescia 5, Goshen 4
Brescia 8, Goshen 5
Oakland City 11, Grace Christian 1
Oakland City 26, Grace Christian 0
Indiana Tech 6, IU Kokomo 2
Indiana Tech 7, IU Kokomo 5

Junior College
Monday, Feb. 21
Vincennes 10, Marian’s Ancilla 2
Vincennes 3, South Suburban 1

Saturday, Feb. 26
Clark State 4, Marian’s Ancilla 3
Clark State 9, Marian’s Ancilla 4

Sunday, Feb. 27
Marian’s Ancilla 10, Clark State 9
Clark State 7, Marian’s Ancilla 3
Morton 10, Vincennes 5
Joliet 10, Vincennes 3

Evansville Razorbacks promote accountability, communication, commitment

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

The 18U Evansville (Ind.) Razorbacks have been a force in the travel baseball world with four Pastime Tournaments national championships and a National Amateur Baseball Federation World Series runner-up finish.

The 2017 team went 40-0.

Established in 2002 by Jeremy Johnson, the Razorbacks have had 336 players sign on with college baseball programs and numerous players have been in pro ball.

“This program sets guys up not only in baseball, but their whole life,” says Johnson. “It’s a fraternity. You’re going to be a Razorback the rest of your life.

“It’s bigger than anybody, including me.”

Johnson is a 1993 Mater Dei graduate. He grew up spending Saturday mornings helping his father groom youth diamonds around Evansville. C.J. Johnson is a 2017 inductee into the Greater Evansville Sports Hall of Fame as a baseball administrator.

At 14, Jeremy severely hurt his right arm and learned how throw serviceably with his left. In high school, he was a successful cross country and track runner.

Johnson networks with college coaches and does his best to educate players and parents on the recruiting process and deciding on the best fit for them.

“My job is to help you find out your ‘why,’’ says Johnson. “What is driving you? If you don’t know that, you can get lost. You need to have a really good grasp on that. If you don’t and everything starts to go south, you’ll start panicking.”

And it doesn’t have to be NCAA Division I or bust. Some are best-suited by going the D-II, D-III, NAIA or junior college route.

“I’m completely over the fact that Division I is the best case scenario (for every player),” says Johnson. “You should pick a school where, if you didn’t play baseball any more, you wouldn’t want to transfer.

“It’s very, very personal thing for each kid. Look at schools that fit you personally. Start putting together legitimate ideas on what you know you want instead of what you think you want.

“High school is very status-orientedYou’re not doing it for your teammates. There’s a 50-50 shot you’ll meet your wife there.

“It’s way more than baseball.”

Johnson says he has watched the transfer portal blow up in recent years in part because of so many early commits (freshmen and sophomore are making verbal commitments these days) and players and parents not doing their due diligence on what they want and what a program has to offer.

“They may be good enough to be a tweener with D-I,” says Johnson. “But they could play more at D-II or go to D-III and be an All-American.

“We don’t want them to have regrets or at least minimize them.”

While he has been involved in most of the 336 college signings, Johnson doesn’t take credit. It’s the players with the talent.

“I’m not the reason any of my kid plays in college,” says Johnson. “I’m just a guy who goes to bat for them. My job is to market them. I’m an avenue.

“The kids are the ones that deserve everything. I didn’t throw a ball, catch a ball or hit it. I’m not the reason for the season.”

A junior college advocate, Johnson says those players tend to play with a chip on their shoulder. Six starters on the Razorbacks’ 2018  team went on to JC ball. The 2017 club was made up mostly of D-I commits.

“It saves money and keeps their options open,” says Johnson. “It makes you grind a little bit. You find out if you really love baseball if you go junior college.”

Johnson says the Razorbacks are well-represented in the Great Rivers Athletic Conference (John A. Logan, Kaskaskia, Lake Land, Lincoln Trail, Olney Central, Rend Lake, Shawnee, Southeastern Illinois, Southwestern Illinois, Wabash Valley).

Johnson says parents don’t always receive personal feedback when they take their sons to showcases. They get the numbers, but not an idea of what that coaching staff thinks of the player and how they would fit in their program.

Players can go to showcase after showcase and the money spent can add up to the cost of a scholarship.

“Tell me what you’re interested in doing and let me market you,” says Johnson. He will do his best to have college coaches look at the player and let them know what they think.

“College recruiting always in flux,” says Johnson. “(Recruiters) don’t want to tell you yes or no. There’s a lot of maybes. That’s a frustrating thing. I tell parents to build an idea of where their kid really fits.”

In showcases or with private lessons, many times players are told over and over again how good they are.

“Some are honest about good things and bad things,” says Johnson. “There’s nothing wrong with constructive criticism. You need it.”

Johnson sees his role with the Razorbacks as driven by relationships.

“I get to know the kids,” says Johnson. “I spent a lot of time on the phone with them.”

While many players come from southern Indiana, southern Illinois and Kentucky, there is no real limit and have come from several states away.

“I’m not afraid to ask anybody,” says Johnson. “We have the ability to house a few kids.”

Many players spend two seasons with the Razorbacks, which Johnson says averages 17 to 20 college commits per year. In any given year, a third to half of the squad goes into the summer uncommitted.

Among the 2019 high school graduates from Indiana schools on the ’19 summer team were Evansville North shortststop/second baseman Alex Archuleta (University of Southern Indiana), Austin shortstop/right-handed pitcher/third baseman Drew Buhr (Saint Louis University), Castle left-handed pitcher Blake Ciuffetelli (USI), Castle first baseman Brodey Heaton (Belmont University), Evansville Memorial right-handed pitcher Isaac Housman (USI) and Tecumseh outfielder Steven Molinet (USI).

There’s also shortstop/second baseman Alex Adams (Purdue University), catcher Garret Gray (Butler University), right-handed pitcher Trey Nordmann (Howard College in Texas) and left-handed pitcher/outfielder/first baseman Mark Shallenberger (University of Evansville).

Former Ben Davis High School catcher Zyon Avery (Ohio University), Decatur Central right-hander Bradley Brehmer (Wright State University) and right-hander Garret Simpson (Eastern Kentucky University) are among the recent Razorbacks now playing college baseball.

Razorback alums left-hander Dean Kiekhefer (Oakland Athletics), right-hander Derek Self (Washington Nationals) and outfielder Cole Sturgeon (Boston Red Sox) played at Triple-A in 2019. All three played at the University of Louisville. Kiekhefer appeared in the majors with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2016 and with Oakland in 2018.

There’s also former Backs Easton McGee and Stewart Ijames.

Right-hander McGee played for Bowling Green in the Tampa Bay Rays system in 2019.

Outfielder Ijames, a former U of L player and in the Arizona Diamondbacks system, was with the independent Kansas City T-Bones in 2019.

Clint Barmes, a Vincennes Lincoln High School graduate who recently went into the Indiana State University and Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association halls of fame after a major league career, played for the Evansville Black Sox (1993-2001), which were picked up by the Razorbacks in 2002.

Johnson was an outfielder for the Jim Wittman-coached Black Sox in 1993-94. In a Black Sox alumni game, Johnson’s last pitch resulted in a Barmes home run.

“I hadn’t pitched in two years,” says Johnson. “Didn’t matter. Would happened on my best day.”

Former U of L catcher Jeff Arnold was signed by scout Kevin Christman and played in the San Francisco Giants organization.

Right-hander Morgan Coombs went to West Vigo High School and Ball State University then played independent ball.

Outfielder Sean Godfrey played at New Albany High School and Ball State before time in the Atlanta Braves system and indy ball.

First baseman Jon Hedges played at Indiana State.

Third baseman Kevin Hoef went to the University of Iowa and played indy ball.

Catcher Jeremy Lucas played at West Vigo and Indiana State before time in the Cleveland Indians system.

Black Sox right-hander Stephen Obenchain played at Evansville Memorial and the University of Evansville before stints in the Athletics system and independent ball.

First baseman Derek Peterson, who hails from New Jersey, went on to Temple University and played in Baltimore Orioles organization.

Black Sox right-hander Andy Rohleder played at Forest Park High School and the University of Evansville before tenures with the Florida Marlins organization and indy ball.

Right-hander P.J. Thomas, a Jeffersonville High School graduate who played at USI, was twice-drafted by the Red Sox and played indy ball.

Catcher Kolbrin Vitek (Ball State) played in the Red Sox organization.

Former Black Sox, Heritage Hills High School and University of Dayton catcher Mark Wahl was in the Orioles system.

While the Razorbacks run a full program with off-season training, Johnson says he is a realist and he knows that players have commitments to their hometown teams and work with their own hitting and pitching instructors. He doesn’t ask them to drive several hours to Evansville to hit them grounders.

“I’m not that full of myself,” says Johnson. “I have the utmost respect for high school programs.

“I love travel ball. But a large amount of travel ball is B.S. It’s such a money-driven situation. Travel ball — as a whole — is expensive for families with travel, hotels and all of that. We try to keep that cost down as low as we possibly can.”

When the 18U Razorbacks do travel, the team stays together in the same hotel.

Many of the players are getting close to going away to college. They get to experience curfews, team meetings and learn personal accountability. It’s an early look at their freshmen year and that first taste of freedom. They are responsible for their own laundry.

“The team runs the team,” says Johnson. “There’s a lot to be learned off the field until they go to college.”

Parents are encouraged treat the weekend like a getaway. All they have to do is attend the games and watch their sons play.

The organization expanded this off-season to 10 teams — 8U, 9U, 10U, 11U, two 12U squads, 13U, 14U, 16U and 18U. 8U to 14U is high school prep. 15U to 18U is college prep.

According to Johnson, whose 18U assistant coaches are Bob Davis, Ryan Dills and Buddy Hales, the emphasis is on teaching player accountability at an early age, communication with parents, speed and strength conditioning and commitment to helping the person, then the player.”

Top 18U events in 2020 include June 12-14 in Midland, Ohio, June 18-21 in Louisville, Ky., June 26-28 in Midland, Ohio, June 30-July 1 at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, July 5-9 at Perfect Game World Series (invitation only) in Hoover, Ala., and July 15-19 at the 18U Nationals in Indianapolis.

Jeremy and Christi Johnson married in 2013. There are three children — Seth (18), Ava (14) and Conner (13). Conner Johnson, now an eighth grader, was born in 2007, the same year the Razorbacks were NABF World Series runners-up.

“Spending summers with him with me is what ties it all together,” says Jeremy Johnson of time spent with Conner and Backs baseball.

The Evansville (Ind.) Razorbacks have placed 336 players in college baseball since 2002. (Evansville Razorbacks)

Jeremy Johnson (center) is the founder of the Evansville (Ind.) Razorbacks travel baseball organization. The Razorbacks’ first season was in 2002. (Evansville Razorbacks Photo)