Chesterton alum Peterson shining at UConn; others making D-I impact outside Indiana

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

Friday night starter Austin Peterson has been sitting batters down at a consistent pace so far in 2022.
The 6-foot-6 senior right-handed pitcher has made four starts for the University of Connecticut and was 2-0 with 44 strikeouts and five walks in 24 2/3 innings heading into the Week of March 14-20.
A 2018 Chesterton (Ind.) High School graduate, Peterson played at Purdue and Wabash Valley College before winding up at UConn.
Peterson is more than one of 120 players from Indiana high schools (or hometowns) on NCAA Division I rosters outside the state. Many are key contributors.
Freshman right-hander Casey Sorg (Floyd Central) sported a 1.59 ERA in five mound appearances for Bellarmine, a squad with nine Indiana products on a team led by Jeffersonville alum Larry Owens.
Sophomore outfielder Carson Husmann (South Central of Union Mills) was hitting .318 with two home runs and 11 runs batted in for Bradley.
Senior outfielder Damon Lux (Shelbyville) had driven in 12 runs for Duke.
Redshirt junior right-hander Blake Malatestnic (Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter) was 3-0 with a 2.82 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 22 1/3 innings for Eastern Illinois.
Sophomore second baseman Tim Borden II (Providence) was hitting .316 with four homers and 11 RBIs for Georgia Tech.
Freshman outfielder Jared Comia (Hanover Central) was hitting .283 with two homers and eight RBIs for Illinois.
Redshirt senior catcher/first baseman Nolan Metcalf (Penn) was hitting .306 with nine RBIs for Kansas.
Senior right-hander Jack Myers (Indianapolis Cathedral) had 16 strikeouts in 19 innings for Kennesaw State.
Sophomore left-hander Michael Dunkelberger (South Bend Saint Joseph) was 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA for Lipscomb.
Senior right-hander Jared Poland (Indianapolis Cathedral) was 1-1 with 1.38 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 13 innings for Louisville.
Redshirt sophomore J.J. Woolwine (Fishers) was hitting .439 with one homer and eight RBIs and freshman right-hander Luke Leverton (Seton Catholic) was 1-0 with 1.00 ERA and nine strikeouts in innings for Miami (Ohio).
Senior shortstop Riley Bertram (ZIonsville Community) was hitting .293 with one homer and 11 RBIs for Michigan.
Sophomore outfielder Roman Kuntz (New Prairie) was hitting .370 with three homers and 10 RBIs for Morehead State.
Freshman right-hander Landon Kruer (Providence) was 1-0 with 1.59 ERA for Navy.
Redshirt junior outfielder Trevyn Moss (Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran) was hitting .274 with one homer, one triple and 14 RBIs for Northern Kentucky.
Redshirt junior shortstop Xavier Haendiges (Salem) was hitting .353 for Ohio.
Junior right-hander Bayden Root (Kokomo) was 1.0 with a 2.61 ERA in six appearances for Oklahoma State.
Senior right-hander Cameron Pferrer (Carmel) was 1-0 with a 3.12 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings for Saint Louis.
Freshman Nick Mitchell (Carmel) was hitting .357 with eight RBIs for Western Illinois.
Junior infielder/outfielder Matthew Meyer (Westfield) was hitting .260 with one homer and 11 RBIs for Western Kentucky.
Senior outfielder Ryan Missal (Lowell) was hitting .257 with four homers and 11 RBIs for Western Michigan.
Sophomore first baseman Julian Greenwell (Columbus East) was hitting .310 with one homer and nine RBIs.
There’s several more coaches with Indiana prep roots — head coach Billy Gernon (New Albany) and associate head coach Adam Piotrowicz (John Glenn) at Western Michigan, head coach Eric Wedge (Fort Wayne Northrop) at Wichita State and assistants Jared Broughton (Indianapolis Lutheran) at Clemson, Nick McIntyre (McCutcheon) at Toledo, Justin Parker (Fort Wayne Wayne) at South Carolina, Matt Reida (Western) at Alabama and Bobby Rinard (Mishwawaka Marian) at Dixie State.

INDIANA D-I PLAYERS OUTSIDE STATE
2022
Alabama
So. IF Bryce Eblin (Center Grove)
Volunteer Assistant Coach Matt Reida (Western)

Alabama State
Fr. RHP/IF Kyler McIntosh (Columbus North)

Bellarmine
Jr. RHP/IF Drew Buhr (Austin)
Sr. RHP Jon Cato (Floyd Central)
Sr. RHP/DH Ethan English (Jeffersonville)
So. RHP Cody Medley (New Albany)
Fr. RHP/IF Casey Sorg (Floyd Central)
Jr. RHP Adam Spalding (Floyd Central)
Jr.. LHP Steven Thom (New Albany)
Redshirt Fr. 3B Webster Walls (Clarksville)
Jr. RHP Joe Wilkinson (Providence)
Head Coach Larry Owens (Jeffersonville)

Belmont
Graduate Student RHP Dusty Baird (Perry Meridian)
So. IF Brodey Heaton (Castle)

Bradley
So. OF Carson Husmann (South Central of Union Mills)

Campbell
Redshirt So. UT Jack Ellis (Jeffersonville)

Cincinnati
So. RHP Max Bergmann (Hometown — Georgetown, Ind. — St. Xavier, Ky HS)
So. RHP Aiden Bradbury (Carmel)
So. RHP Jose Guzman (Ben Davis)
Fr. RHP Garrett Harker (Lebanon)
Redshirt Fr. IF Kerrington Cross (Brownsburg)
Fr. RHP Blake Lemmon (Chesterton)
So. LHP Conner Linn (Western)
Fr. LHP Andrew Neff (Mooresville)
Fr. LHP Tommy O’Connor (Mooresville)

Clemson
Redshirt Fr. OF/C Patrick Farrissee (South Bend Saint Joseph)
Volunteer Assistant Coach Jared Broughton (Indianapolis Lutheran)

Connecticut
Sr. RHP Austin Peterson (Chesterton)

Dallas Baptist
So. RHP Jacob Young (Bloomington South)

Dartmouth
So. RHP Shane Bauer (Brebeuf Jesuit)

Dayton
So. RHP Parker Bard (Westfield)
Redshirt Fr. IF Nick Lukac (Fishers)
So. OF Anthony Steinhardt (Lawrence Central)

Dixie State
Assistant Coach Bobby Rinard (Mishawaka Marian)

Duke
Sr. OF Damon Lux (Shelbyville)

East Tennessee State
So. RHP Cade Carlson (University)
Sr. C Kyle Richardson (Zionsville Community)

Eastern Illinois
Redshirt So. LHP Jalen Cardinal (Vincennes Lincoln)
So. LHP Aaron Chao (Angola)
Jr. OF Bryce Hayman (Michigan City)
So. C Grant Lashure (Fort Wayne Bishop Luers)
Redshirt Jr. C/1B Tarron Lawson (Danville Community)
Redshirt Jr. RHP Blake Malatestnic (Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter)
Jr. RHP Jesse Wainscott (Perry Meridian)

Eastern Kentucky
Redshirt So. C Rutger Poiry (Hamilton Southeastern)

Eastern Michigan
Fr. RHP Dom Anderson (Hagerstown)
So. IF Cory Taylor (Shelbyville)

Georgia Tech
So. IF Tim Borden II (Providence)

Illinois
Fr. OF Jared Comia (Hanover Central)
Jr./Sr. C Ryan Hampe (Hometown — Crown Point, Ind. — Sandburg HS)
Fr. RHP Calvin Shepherd (Lawrence North)

Illinois State
Redshirt Fr. OF Jonathan Sabotnik (Crown Point)

Illinois-Chicago
Jr. RHP Chris Torres (Chesterton)

Jacksonville State
So. IF Kody Putnam (Evansville Central)

Kansas
Redshirt Sr. C/1B Nolan Metcalf (Penn)

Kennesaw State
Sr. RHP Jack Myers (Indianapolis Cathedral)

Lipscomb
So. LHP Michael Dunkelberger (South Bend Saint Joseph)

Louisville
Fr. C Austin Bode (Columbus North)
Sr. LHP Carter Lohman (Louisville)
Sr. RHP Jared Poland (Indianapolis Cathedral)

Miami (Ohio)
So. C Dalton Back (Columbus East
Fr. LHP Tyler Galyean (University)
So. IF Easton Good (Lewis Cass)
Fr. RHP Luke Leverton (Seton Catholic)
Redshirt Fr. RHP/IF Aaron Massie (Evansville Reitz)
Redshirt Fr. RHP Patrick Mastrian IV (Indianapolis Bishop Chatard)
Fr. C/IF David Novak (Zionsville Community)
Redshirt So. OF J.J. Woolwine (Fishers)

Michigan
Sr. IF Riley Bertram (Zionsville Community)
Fr. MIF Camden Gasser (Southridge)
Sr. IF Jack Van Remortel (Carmel)

Michigan State
Jr. RHP/IF Conner Tomasic (Lake Central)
Redshirt Fr. C Christian Williams (Carmel)

Middle Tennessee State
So. RHP Dustin Sprong (Indian Creek)
So. C Mason McLeod (Greensburg)

Mississippi
Jr. RHP Matt Parenteau (Guerin Catholic)

Morehead State
Jr. RHP Luke Helton (Whiteland)
So. RHP Grant Herron (Center Grove)
So. OF Roman Kuntz (New Prairie)
Jr. RHP Joe Rotkis (South Bend Saint Joseph)

Murray State
Redshirt So. RHP Ryan Fender (Crown Point)
Fr. IF Kyle LaVanchy (North Posey)
Redshirt Jr. LHP Hayden Wynja (Heritage Christian)

Navy
Jr. C/IF Kiel Brenczewski (Fishers)
Fr. RHP Landon Kruer (Providence)

Northern Illinois
Jr. RHP Drew Hasson (Columbus East)

Northern Kentucky
Redshirt Jr. OF Trevyn Moss (Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran)
Jr. RHP Drew Switzer (Hamilton Southeastern)

Northwestern
First-Yr. RHP Grant Comstock (Valparaiso)

Ohio
Redshirt Jr. IF Xavier Haendiges (Salem)
Fr. RHP Brady Linkel (South Ripley)

Oklahoma State
Jr. RHP Bayden Root (Kokomo)

Quinnipiac
Graduate Student RHP Carter Poiry (Hamilton Southeastern)
Jr. OF Sean Swenson (Brebeuf Jesuit)

Radford
Jr. RHP Johnny Maynard (Griffith)

Saint Louis
So. C Nolan Bowser (Mt. Vernon)
Jr. LHP Grant Fremion (Guerin Catholic)
Sr. RHP Cameron Pferrer (Carmel)

South Carolina
Assistant Coach Justin Parker (Fort Wayne Wayne)

South Carolina-Upstate
Fifth-Yr. C Damon Maynard (Greenwood Community)

Southeastern Louisiana
Sr. OF/IF Tyler Finke (Columbus North)

Southern Illinois-Edwardsville
Jr. RHP Alex Scherer (Indianapolis Cathedral)

Texas A&M
Assistant Coach Michael Earley (Anderson)

Toledo
So. RHP Camryn Szynski (Penn)
Assistant Coach Nick McIntyre (McCutcheon)

Towson
Sr. IF Nolan Young (Mississinewa)
Head Coach Matt Tyner (Coached at Butler)

Vanderbilt
Jr. RHP Michael Doolin (Andrean)
Fr. OF J.D. Rogers (Carmel)

Virginia
Graduate Student LHP Brian Gursky (Granger, Ind. — IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.)

Virginia Military Institute
Fr. IF Nathan Bingman (Brebeuf Jesuit)

Virginia Tech
Sr. RHP Ryan Metz (Fishers)

Western Illinois
Fr. OF Nick Mitchell (Carmel)
Fr. IF/OF C.J. Richmond (Park Tudor)

Western Kentucky
Jr. IF/OF Matthew Meyer (Westfield)

Western Michigan
So. RHP Hayden Berg (Penn)
Redshirt So. IF/LHP Bobby Dearing (Lafayette Harrison)
Sr. OF Ryan Missal (Lowell)
So. RHP Ryan Watt (Mishawaka)
Head Coach Billy Gernon (New Albany)
Assistant Coach Adam Piotrowicz (John Glenn)

Wichita State
Head Coach Eric Wedge (Fort Wayne Northrop)

Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Redshirt So. IF Tommy Benson (Chesterton)

Wright State
Sr. RHP Aaron Ernst (Carmel)
Fr. RHP Chris Gallagher (Indianapolis Cathedral)
So. LHP/OF Julian Greenwell (Columbus East)
Fr. IF Parker Harrison (Columbus East)
Jr. RHP Riley Perlich (Fort Wayne Carroll)
So. OF Jake Shirk (Fort Wayne Carroll)

Xavier
Jr. RHP Cooper Williams (Heritage Christian)

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Enthusiasm follows Schrage to Butler

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Dave Schrage does not smile 24 hours day.

It only seems that way.

An upbeat demeanor has followed him through life and a lengthy baseball coaching career.

“I don’t think you can accomplish anything if you are not excited and enthusiastic about it,” says Schrage, who turns 56 this month. “I love going to my job everyday.”

Schrage is in his 29th overall season and first at Butler University in Indianapolis. He has been a head coach in more than 1,500 games and recently won his 750th.

“I feel really fortunate to still be coaching,” says Schrage. “It’s been a fun journey.”

A head coach since 1988, Schrage served at Waldorf (Iowa), Northern Iowa, Northern Illinois, Evansville, Notre Dame and South Dakota State before landing in Indy.

“Butler is a great fit for me,” says Schrage. Daughters Katy (a Butler graduate) and Bri (a Ball State graduate) both live and work in Indianapolis. “For five years, I was 14 hours away (in Brookings, S.D.).”

Schrage played for Jim Hendry at Creighton University and got his start in coaching when Hendry sent him to St. Thomas University in Florida to be a graduate assistant on the staff of Paul Mainieri.

After that, Schrage was an assistant at Creighton and also was a player/coach for the Queensland Rams Club Team in Australia.

Hendry, the former Chicago Cubs general manager and current special assistant to New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, has a son (John) playing baseball at the University of Indianapolis and has been able to catch up with Schrage when he’s in town.

Schrage followed Mainieri as Notre Dame head coach. The friends see each other every year at the American Baseball Coaches Association national convention (the event is coming to Indy Jan. 4-7, 2018). Mainieri is now head coach at Louisiana State University.

With the Bulldogs, Schrage embraces The Butler Way — a set of principles established many years ago by famed coach Tony Hinkle.

Barry Collier has been credited for resurrecting the concepts of humility, passion, unity, servanthood and thankfulness when he was the school’s head basketball coach and has continued to promote The Butler Way for all sports as athletic director.

“These are the same ideals I have,” says Schrage. “We are developing our players as human beings. They are learning to deal with adversity and overcoming it and becoming a positive influence — on and off the court (or field).”

While Schrage, who is assisted by Ben Norton, Andy Pascoe and Brian Meyer, inherited the current Butler roster (which features 11 players from Indiana hometowns), he was well aware of the diamond talent produced in the Hoosier State.

When he steered Evansville to 43 wins, Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles and advancement to the NCAA Charlottesville Regional finals in 2006, the Purple Aces had several state-trained players.

“That spoke well of the quality of high school baseball (in Indiana),” says Schrage. “The coaches do a tremendous job in running their programs.”

Schrage says the exposure that Indiana players receive at places like Grand Park in Westfield and through the evaluation efforts of Prep Baseball Report are growing the game here.

When he was still coaching in Iowa, Schrage worked at one of the first Perfect Game showcases and now that company is touting itself as the world’s largest baseball scouting service.

“In this media world with Facebooking and all this information out there, it’s very helpful (to college coaches),” says Schrage. “When I first got into coaching, I had to beat the bushes and find players in the small towns. Now, there’s no more secrets. It’s opened up tremendous opportunities for the student-athletes. It’s nothing but advantageous to coaches, kids and their families.”

Butler plays in the Big East Conference with Creighton, Georgetown, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Villanova and Xavier. The conference tournament is scheduled for May 25-28 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb., the same stadium as the College World Series. The Big East tournament winner will receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Division I tournament.

Butler University baseball versus St. Louis University March 19, 2017.

Dave Schrage (left in blue sweatshirt) follows a play in his first season as head baseball coach at Butler University in Indianapolis. This is his 29th overall season as a head coach. (Brent Smith Photo)

A head coach since 1988, Dave Schrage (middle) served at Waldorf (Iowa), Northern Iowa, Northern Illinois, Evansville, Notre Dame and South Dakota State before landing at Butler. (Brent Sm)