By STEVE KRAH
It might not be the way Easton Good would have drawn it up, but his roller-coaster baseball ride has been going up in the past year.
Good, a lefty-swinging shortstop who was born in Kokomo, Ind., lived there and in nearby Galveston, Ind., growing up.
In the minors at Northwestern Little League, his first team was Merrill Brothers. He played for Expressions in the majors.
At 12, Good went with the traveling Russiaville-based Indiana Flyers then the Indiana Bulls for his 14U through 17U summers.
His two favorite MLB players were eventual Hall of Famers Derek Jeter and Ken Griffey Jr.
“Derek Jeter was about the coolest person,” says Good. “I wanted to be Derek Jeter probably more than he wanted to be Derek Jeter.
“I liked Ken Griffey Jr.’s swag and everything that came with it.
“I like the way he played the game and made it fun.”
Good was a varsity player at Lewis Cass High School in Walton, Ind., under the guidance of Greg Marschand.
“I admire the loyalty that he has for Lewis Cass and the commitment and passion,” says Good of Marschand, the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer. “Greg Marschand taught me more about life than he could have about baseball.
“Ever since we stepped on the field he taught us we’re Lewis Cass baseball players and that comes with a price and you need to show your pride and loyalty to the school.”
Easton’s father — Matthew Good — played for Marschand before a brief stint at Chattahoochee Valley Community College (Phenix City, Ala.).
Matthew Good and sons Easton and Tyson all played football, basketball and baseball at Lewis Cass. All three have been cheered on by wife and mother and Lewis Cass alum Jessica.
Matthew quarterbacked the Kings’ football team to many victories.
Easton and 6-foot-6 Tyson Good (Lewis Cass Class of 2023) played basketball together. Tyson is now pursuing a career as an electrician.
The COVID-19 pandemic took away Easton’s senior prep season of 2020.
That summer he started at second base for the Brent McNeil-managed Turf Monsters of the College Summer League at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind. The team won the league title at Victory Field in Indianapolis.
Good found what he was up against going from high school to a college summer loop that featured Sam Bachman and Henry Davis — both now in the majors.
“I had about the worst possible baseball season you can imagine,” says Good. “I was just behind the competition. The college guys were a lot better than I was.
“(The summer of) 2020 shaped me into the mentality I needed. I don’t know that I got better as a player but my mind changed and I became mentally tough.”
Good’s next move was to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He redshirted his freshman year with the RedHawks (2020-21). In the summer, he played five games for the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League’s Chillicothe (Ohio) Paints before coming back to train and work.
In the spring 2022, Good got into 16 games for Miami — mostly as a pinch-runner or defensive replacement — and collected two hits in 16 at-bats.
He went back to the CSL in the summer of 2022 and played for the Adam Cornwell-managed Local Legends and made the league all-star and all-defensive teams.
Once Good entered the Transfer Portal, Cornwell (the pitching coach at the University of Indianapolis) was in Good’s ear daily about considering UIndy as his landing place.
“It all happened for a reason,” says Good. “God works how He works — in mysterious ways.”
A Sports Leadership & Management major at Miami, Good became a Business Administration major at UIndy and joined the Al Ready-coached Greyhounds baseball team.
With Drew Donaldson at second base, Good played shortstop.
“I had about the best baseball season you can imagine,” says Good. “I didn’t care about the individual numbers for me because I was just happy to play every single game.
“I didn’t have a season my senior year of high school because of COVID. I didn’t play in a single game my freshman year of college. I didn’t start but three games my sophomore year.”
While playing through a sports hernia and sprained wrist, Good started all of 60 games in 2023 and hit .296 (60-of-203) with two home runs, three triples, 12 doubles, 35 runs batted in, 39 runs scored, an .802 OPS (.388 on-base percentage plus .414 slugging average) and 25 stolen bases for a squad that made it to the NCAA Division II World Series in Cary, N.C.
Good, a 6-foot, 185-pounder, uses his left-handedness to his advantage.
“I’m a speed guy,” says Good. “I’m not a lefty power guy. You’ve got an extra three or four steps (toward first base) being on that left side.
“I use (those) to get down to first base faster and drop down a drag bunt every once in awhile.”
Easton credits his father.
“He wanted me to a be a left-handed hitter and right-handed thrower and I’m very happy with that,” says Good. “I had my dad as my coach for all of youth baseball. I think that’s really what shaped me into the dream of playing college baseball.
“Having my dad as my coach and always pushing me really benefited me.”
Good, who turned 22 in March, has two remaining years of eligibility. He has been using this summer for getting his body healthy and strength training while also working for Blake Marschand of Marschand’s Athletic Field Service. Greg Marschand’s son also played at Chattahoochee Valley.
And Good is looking forward to 2024.
“The UIndy Greyhounds made a College World Series run last season,” says Good. “I think we’re going to be even better next season.
“We’re coming back. We’re going to be at that College World Series next year.”
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