Elkhart County Miracle joins Northern League; first pitch slated for May 31

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

For the better part of two decades, Craig Wallin and his partners have attempted to get pro baseball for the place where he lives.
The longtime broadcaster who called games for the South Bend (Ind.) White Sox and Notre Dame and has been the voice of NorthWood High School sports in recent years announced that the Elkhart County Miracle are finally going to take the field with games airing on Federated Media stations (mostly on 101.9 FM or 1340 AM with Saturday night games will air on 95.3 MNC according to News/Talk 95.3 Michiana’s News Channel program director John Zimney).
The franchise in the Northern League — a six-team wood bat circuit comprised of teams with rosters of amateur and professional players. Other clubs include the Griffith (Ind.) Generals, Indiana Panthers, Lake County CornDogs (Crown Point), Northwest Indiana Oilmen (Whiting) and Southland Vikings (Hammond).
Oil City Stadium in Whiting was host to the 2022 Northern League All-Star Game.
While the Panthers are a traveling team, the others are in Lake County with Elkhart County being around 80 miles to the east.
“What we’re trying to build from the (Illinois-Indiana) border to Elkhart and developing all the markets in-between in inter-city tourism,” Popravak said, noting that the footprint of the league is about 100 to 120 miles wide and 50 to 75 miles long. “There’s 1.5 million people that live within that geographic area.”
The inaugural Miracle season is slated to open Friday, May 31. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. on the turf at the new NorthWood Field of Dreams in Nappanee, where the team will call home for its first few seasons.
The regular season is to close Aug. 3.
“We’re pumped about this opportunity,” Miracle founder and president Wallin said at a press conference Tuesday, March 24. “(Ron Bedward) and I started talking 16 years about bringing a minor league team to Elkhart County. We’ve been working diligently on plans.”
Northern League president Don Popravak talked about the niche independent minor league baseball plays in 2023.
“It is very important because in 2020 Major League Baseball took control of affiliated minor leagues,” Popravak said. “It used to be run as an independent operation.”
The first month or so with MLB in charge, the affiliated minors were trimmed of 40 franchises down to 120.
“Forty franchises translates to 1,200 playing jobs along with managers, coaching staff and everything else,” Popravak said. “We felt that it creates a great opportunity for a league like us.”
The MLB First-Year Player Draft is now just 20 rounds. For years it was 40.
The Northern League (which has a linneage dating back to 1902) seeks to attract talent overlooked by MLB.
“It gives a young player another chance to prove himself and develop,” Popravak. “That’s what we’re all about — developing talent.”
The Miracle will carry a roster of 30 to 35 players with many staying with host families. Some will be professionals and college players may earn through Name Image and Likeness (NLI) agreements.
Popravak, who has a broadcast background, notes that the Northern League has sent many young person working on league productions on to ESPN and minor league teams all over the country.
“It’s another part of developing talent for the next level,” Popravak said.
Former Notre Dame football and baseball player and Seattle Mariners minor leaguer Evan Sharpley is Director of Player Operations for the Miracle.
Former Baseball America Executive of the Year John Baxter is senior advisor for the Miracle. As South Bend White Sox, he hired Wallin in 1988.
Wallin said the field manager will be introduced soon.
Popravak said the league has been exploring more than a dozen markets across northern Indiana for expansion.
According to Wallin, tickets will be priced at $10, $8 and $6.
“It’s all about affordable family fun,” Popravak. “It’s about families and putting smiles on the faces of younger people and having them come out to the ballpark.”
Bill’s Bar-B-Que in Elkhart will be a concession partner.
Wallin said a 10,000 seat facility with a retractable roof that can house baseball and professional soccer is being planned. It will be adjacent to a 5,000-seat arena for ice hockey and minor league basketball.
Wallin shared a rendering by the Troyer Group Tuesday.
At the present, the complex would be near on a tract near the C.R. 17 exit off the U.S. 20 By-Pass in Elkhart. It’s one of the places Wallin and his group have had land contracts off and on over the years as they have worked to bring baseball to the county.
Plans for a new stadium and team were revived in 2013 and a stadium was to open in 2014, but that never came to pass.
Why Elkhart County?
“We chose Elkhart County because it’s been home for me for (about 45 years),” Wallin said.
Bringing in the baseball team is a way of adding to the quality of life to the Elkhart/Goshen area.
The seven stars in the Miracle logo represent seven Elkhart County cities or towns.
It’s been more than a century since the county had a team with professionals. The 1910 Elkhart Blue Sox were part of Organized Baseball and played in the Class D Indiana-Michigan League.
The independent Indiana State League of 1888 and a reorganized ISL of 1890 featured teams from Elkhart.
For more information on the Elkhart Miracle visit elkhartcountymiracle.com, call (574) 309-7176 or email cttcom@aol.com.

Craig Wallin, founder and president of the Elkhart County Miracle. (Steve Krah Photo)

Rendering of proposed multi-use stadium. (Troyer Group Image)

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Rookie teacher/coach Hunt tabbed to lead Whiting baseball

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

Jacob Hunt was born and raised in Whiting, Ind.
The 24-year-old is now a first-year baseball coach and teacher at Whiting Junior/Senior High School.
“I wasn’t to give back to the community and keep the baseball tradition going,” says Hunt.
He was approved as head coach of the Oilers program the second week of the 2022-23 school year.
Hunt, a 2016 graduate of George Rogers Clark Junior/Senior High School in Whiting who teaches Physical Education and Health at WJSHS, has met a few players. Most are on the Oiler football team. He expects to see the rest in the winter.
Multi-sport athletes are the norm at Whiting (enrollment around 450), which is a member of the Greater South Shore Conference (with Calumet New Tech, Griffith, Hammond Bishop Noll, Hanover Central, Illiana Christian, Lake Station Edison, River Forest and Wheeler).
The Oilers were part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping in 2022 with Bowman Leadership Academy, Hammond Bishop Noll, Illiana Christian, Lake Station Edison and Wheeler. Whiting has won four sectional titles — the last in 2019.
Hunt wants to instill a “winning culture” for Whiting baseball.
“I want to get as many kids into college as a I can and make sure everyone is a hard worker,” says Hunt. “We want no laziness and for them to get good grades.”
Hunt says he plans to put an emphasis on conditioning with plenty of running, agility work and weightlifting.
Good friend Amir Wright, who played at Ball State University in the spring and with the Frederick (Md.) Keys of the MLB Draft League this summer, has offered to help Hunt with strength and conditioning training.
Playing in a big ballpark like Oil City Stadium, Hunt wants players to be able to turn balls into the gap into triples and for outfielders to track down those balls hit by the opposition.
Speed and cunning on the base paths can also help fuel the offense.
“If we can lead the state of Indiana in steals we’ll do it,” says Hunt. “As hitters, we want to stay inside the ball. The body is all connected together.”
And another thing.
“We want to have fun,” says Hunt. “Enjoy yourself while you’re out here.”
Hunt has asked best friend Zach Bucsko and father Jamie Hunt to be his assistant coaches. Bucsko is a 2016 Clark graduate who pitched at Glen Oaks Community College (Centerville, Mich.).
Jacob’s mother is Christine Mickles. He has two older brothers — 37-year-old twins Buddy and Jesse Hunt.
Lakeshore Cal Ripken Babe Ruth Baseball/Softball League in Hammond is where Hunt played his first ball.
He played four years at Clark, first seeing some time on varsity as a sophomore. Jason Ochall was the Pioneers head coach.
Ochall’s message: “Be yourself.”
“I remember how he cared for all of us,” says Hunt. “He trusted all of us older guys.”
Hunt also played travel baseball for the Northwest Indiana Pirates in 2016 and Chicago-based Satchel Paige in 2017.
He was on the Brian Nowakowski-coached baseball team at Calumet College of St. Joseph in Whiting through 2021. In the summer of 2019, he played for the Midwest Collegiate League’s Crestwood Panthers.
To explore his options, Hunt did a teaching internship through the University of Evansville in 2021-22.
“I wanted to get out of the area and get out of my comfort zone,” says Hunt. “I was willing to go anywhere to coach and teach in the state of Indiana.”
He wound up back home at Whiting.

Jacob Hunt (Calumet College of St. Joseph Photo)

Summer sees Troxel mixing player, coach, intern roles

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

Ryan Troxel is splitting his time this summer between college pitcher, youth pitching coach banking intern.
He takes the mound for the wood bat Northern League’s Lake County CornDogs, which call Legacy Fields in Crown Point, Ind., home. On his off days, he guides arms for Valparaiso (Ind.) American Legion Post 94 Juniors (17U).
“I’ve missed a few (Legion) games because I had to pitch,” says Troxel. “Other than that, I’ve been there.
“I’ve been a busy man.”
Troxel, a 2019 graduate of Valparaiso High School, pitched a scoreless ninth inning with three strikeouts during the 2022 Northern League All-Star Game.
A Finance and Management double major at Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne, Troxel is a summer intern for Centier Bank in Merrillville, Ind.
Troxel explains why he changed his academic path from Business to Finance.
“Finance gives you the options to help people know their (money) goals,” says Troxel. “I also coach baseball because I love helping people.”
On the diamond, the right-hander was on the winning side as the East topped the West 5-4 in 10 innings July 12 at Oil City Stadium in Whiting, Ind.
Troxel’s performance was fitting because the CornDogs right-hander has a regular-season scoreless streak of 12 innings covering last three outings.
In eight games (six in relief), he is 3-0 with a 0.65 earned run average. He has 35 strikeouts and eight walks in 27 2/3 innings. He was named Northern League Pitcher of the Week on July 5.
A 6-foot-3, 220-pounder, Troxel is coming off his second season at NAIA member Indiana Tech.
In seven games (all in relief), he was 0-4 with 14 strikeouts and 15 walks in 27 innings.
In his first season with the Warriors (2021), Troxel came out of the bullpen 11 times and was 8-3 with a 4.46 ERA, 20 strikeouts and 20 walks in 35 innings.
Kip McWilliams is Indiana Tech’s head coach and has also taken over pitching coach duties.
“He gives us a lot of latitude to do what we want to get ready,” says Troxel of McWilliams. “He’s (coached) for a long time. He knows a lot about the game.
“He’s definitely hard on guys. He expects a lot out of us. But — hey — we won a lot of games.”
Tech went 32-21 and lost two one-run games as Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament runners-up in 2022. McWilliams earned his 500th coaching win in April.
Throwing from a high three-quarter arm slot, Troxel uses a four-seam fastball (which has reached 87 mph), curveball, slider (which is generally clocked around 75 mph) and change-up.
“I get most of my outs on off-speed pitches,” says Troxel. “I throw my change-up a lot more now. It’s really helped me against left-handers because left-handers have always killed me.”
Last weekend, Valpo Post 94 won a regional championship. This weekend, Post 94 is hosting the Indiana American Legion Junior State Tournament at VHS.
In 2020, Troxel played for Rocco Mossuto-coached Saint Xavier University (Chicago). In a season cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, he appeared in three games (one start) and was 0-0 with one save, a 4.50 ERA, eight strikeouts and eight walks in eight innings.
Troxel played for Todd Evans at Valparaiso High.
“He gave me a chance during my senior year to prove to him that I could be in the rotation,” says Troxel of Evans. “I think I had a pretty good senior year and he helped me a long the way.”
Troxel went 6-0 with a 1.97 ERA and was honorable mention all-state, all-Duneland Athletic Conference, all-area and team MVP in 2019.
Born in Elmhurst, Ill., Troxel was 1 when he moved to Valparaiso, where he played Little League then travel ball for the Chesterton Slammers, Triple Crown, Morris Chiefs and Valparaiso Post 94.
He is grateful Chiefs coach Dave Sutkowski for his support.
“He kept saying, ‘I believe in you,’” says Troxel of Sutkowski. “It was never about him. He was very influential in my choosing to play college baseball and also to move on and keep playing.”
Ryan is the oldest of Jeff and Michele Troxel. Brother Zach Troxel is heading into his sophomore year at Valpo. He is pitching this summer for the Indiana Bulls.
Jerry Troxel, Ryan and Zach’s grandfather who died in 2021, coached baseball for four decades at Gary Wirt. One of his players was Ron Kittle, who went on to be a major league slugger.
“I really do love (coaching),” says Ryan Troxel. “It’s in my blood. That’s definitely in the future for me.”

Ryan Troxel of the 2022 Northern League’s Lake County CornDogs (Steve Krah Photo)

Crown Point’s Curiel playing for hometown Lake County CornDogs this summer

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

Cal Curiel came through in the clutch at the 2022 Northern League All-Star Game.
Batting with two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the ninth inning, righty-swinging Curiel singled to right field to drive in the tying run. The East went on to beat the West 5-4 in 10 innings July 12 at Oil City Stadium in Whiting, Ind.
Curiel, who started at third base and hit third in the East lineup in the All-Star Game, is on the first-place Lake County CornDogs (24-8), which plays home games at Legacy Fields in Crown Point, Ind.
“I love Coach (Steve) Strayer,” says 2021 Crown Point High School graduate Curiel of his Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame head coach. “He’s a great guy and a great coach, too. He knows what he’s doing.
“We always have good teams at Crown Point and he’s fun to play for.”
Curiel hit .324 with 13 runs batted in and 23 runs scored in 2021.
Spending his whole life in the seat of Lake County, Curiel played Little League there and for the Morris Chiefs (now the 5 Star Great Lakes Chiefs) from 14U to 18U. That’s when he got to play for Dave Sutkowski.
“Bush is awesome,” says Curiel of Sutkowski. “He is one of my favorite coaches ever. He’s always about the players. You could always talk to him in the dugout during the game. He’s going to try to win the ballgame. He’s just awesome.”
The Chiefs managed to play about 60 games during the summer of 2020.
“(Sutkowski) was finding teams to play around here when we couldn’t get into big tournaments because of COVID,” says Curiel. “It was a great time.”
Curiel was one of only two players to appear in all 50 games for NAIA Crossroads League member Grace College (Winona Lake, Ind.) in the spring of 2022.
Utility infielder Curiel made 37 starts for the Lancers and hit .333 (54-of-162) with 51 singles, 18 RBIs, 31 runs and 12 stolen bases in 16 attempts. His on-base percentage was .388.
“We could have been a little better,” says Curiel of Grace’s 17-33 record. “We look like we’re going up (in 2023). I like the team we have coming in.”
The Lancers head coach is Ryan Roth.
“Roth is also a super-positive guy,” says Curiel. “He’s super-approachable and you can always talk to him. You can tell he cares about his players.”
Through 26 Northern League games with the CornDogs, Curiel was hitting .299 (26-of-87) with five doubles, 19 RBIs, 20 runs and 11 stolen bases.
“I’m looking to hit a ball hard early in the count,” says Curiel of his offensive approach. “I’m going to look for my pitch. If I don’t I’m probably going to take or foul the pitch off.
“I’m not a huge power guy so I try to take the ball where’s it’s pitched.”
Curiel did not play last summer. He took the time to get his body prepared.
“I was a pretty skinny kid coming out of high school,” says Curiel. “So I ate a lot and worked out. I tried to put on 10 or 15 pounds so I could compete in college.
“I was 18 going into the college season competing with fifth- and six-year players. I had to get physically ready to play.”
The 6-foot-2 athlete went from 170 pounds to about 195.
Exercise Science is Curiel’s college major. It’s his goal to be a physical therapist.
He explains why he chose that path.
“I got like super into working out,” says Curiel. “I just like trying to live healthy. I wanted to take a lot of courses on that.”
He can use that knowledge to help himself and others.
Cal is the son of Mike and Christine Curiel. Sister Ella Curiel is heading into her senior year of high school.

Cal Curiel (Grace College Photo)

Cal Curiel of the 2022 Lake County CornDogs (Steve Krah Photo)

Enright talks about college baseball landscape, including Transfer Portal

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

Adam Enright is immersed in college baseball.
The Munster (Ind.) High School and University of Southern Indiana graduate is in his second stint head coach of NAIA member Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, Ill., and manages the Northwest Indiana Oilmen in the summer wood bat Northern League.
Enright managed the East to a 5-4 10-inning win over the West in the 2022 NL All-Star Game July 12 at Oil City Stadium in Whiting, Ind.
He’s been the in the circuit formerly known as the Midwest Collegiate League for eight years.
What brings Enright back?
“The people in the organization and the players you get to interact with over the summer,” says Enright, 33. “You see a pretty wide range of players from all levels of college baseball that go to school all over the country. It’s an interesting dynamic.”
Enright takes the opportunity to pick the brains of these players.
“They’ve all got good information for me,” says Enright. “I ask them how they do things in games and practices and how they run their programs.
“As far as information goes, if it’s not nailed to the ground, you can have at it. We try to take all the good stuff that we can.”
Enright has witnessed an era in college baseball where the Transfer Portal is as active as ever. It’s been fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic where many players have been given extra years of eligibility.
“All these student-athletes, they want to play,” says Enright. “They want to go somewhere they fit in and where they’re going to get a chance to grow, develop and actually play.”
The added eligibility has led to more players extending their time in college, taking spots that might have been filled by other players.
The Northern League — and other summer college loops — are full of players in the portal and seeking a landing spot.
“In my 12 years in college baseball I’ve never seen anything like this as far as how late into the summer it is and a lot of players are waiting or trying to find out where they’re going,” says Enright. “It’s made a very interesting recruiting landscape for us all.
“It changes the timing of it a ton. In the past because of supply and demand that colleges had to players wanting those spots, you could put a little more pressure on players to make decisions and put more of a timeline on them — like you have two weeks to make a decision.
“Now, it’s not as advantageous to do that because there are so many good players who have to wait longer based on opportunities they might find elsewhere.”
Enright understands the stress this causes for players and coaches.
“There’s less time to dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s and admissions and all those things,” says Enright. “But it will shake itself out.”
He also subscribes to the same notion as he did before the explosion of transfers.
“I’ve always believed that everyone ends up where they belong,” says Enright. “(That is) if they do their homework and they make sure that where they’re going is a place that they’re 100 percent committed to before they go and they’re not jumping at the first offer.”
Enright played for Tracy Archuleta at Southern Indiana and was chatting recently with the Eagles head coach.
“He said something that made sense,” says Enright. “We’ve had one relatively normal season of college baseball that didn’t have a whole lot of COVID rules and things attached to it. Players transferring for next year need to be in a place where they’re not going to need to or want to transfer again. That’s got to be the driving force for not only their decisions but our decisions as coaches to take guys on.
“Some schools might take more than they need and (players) will be right back in that situation where they’re not playing and getting the opportunities and want to transfer again. We as coaches need to make sure the guys — and especial the Transfer Portal guys — are satisfied and they’ll stay where they’re at.”
The Northern League regular season is to conclude Aug. 6 with the playoffs Aug. 8-11. Through games of July 14, the first-year Lake County CornDogs (based in Crown Point, Ind.) are in first place at 24-8, followed by the Southland Vikings 20-13, Northwest Indiana Oilmen 19-14, Joliet Generals 14-17, Crestwood Panthers 14-18 and Chicago American Giants 4-24. Games are streamed on YouTube.

Adam Enight at Oil City Stadium in Whiting, Ind. (Steve Krah Photo)

DeRuiter has Calumet Christian players embracing roles, aggressive play

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

Calumet Christian School is unbeaten in its first 17 games of the 2022 high school baseball season.
The team made up of students from the tiny private school in Griffith, Ind., plus homeschoolers and online students could wind up playing 40 or more games — on either side of the Indiana-Illinois line – this spring.
“We continue to try to schedule as many public schools as possible to compete with,” says head coach Bill DeRuiter.
Not a member of the Indiana High School Athletic Association, the Patriots are not restricted to a maximum number of contests.
According to DeRuiter, there are less than 200 students in grades K-12 with between 30 and 40 in the upper four classes.
DeRuiter has been head boys basketball coach at Calumet Christian (formerly Calumet Baptist) the past two winters and took over the baseball program this season and has some expectations for his 12 varsity players (there is also a junior varsity squad of about 16).
“What’s really important for us is that you understand your role on the team,” says DeRuiter. “We can’t have 12 players that want to be the star.
“You strive to have a better role, more playing time, more responsibility. We talk about being all-in — do it for your team, for yourself as an individual and for your faith.”
Senior Jordan Landkrom is hitting a robust .604 (32-of-53) with three home runs, four triples, four doubles, 31 runs batted in and 31 runs scored.
Sophomore Carter Tymm sports a .469 average, 31 RBIs and 26 runs.
Sophomore Isaiah Palanca is batting .463 with 14 RBIs and 36 runs.
There’s also sophomores Jared McKinney (.429), Zack Murphy (.394) and Drew Ruf (.333), junior Kadyn Foutz (.385) and senior Riley Thomas (.333).
The combined earned run average of the pitching staff is 0.88 with 156 strikeouts in 95 innings. Thomas, Tymm and junior Ethan Duensing are all 4-0 on the mound while Murphy and Palanca are 2-0.
DeRuiter’s squad plays an attacking brand of offensive baseball.
“We want to challenge teams to have to make perfect throws and perfect plays,” says DeRuiter. “I’m willing to take chances and be aggressive. We want to take advantage of mistakes. It’s more fun that way.”
Of the squad’s 167 hits so far, 47 are for extra bases.
Playing in cold and windy conditions for many of their early games, the Patriots make the most of infield singles and bloopers.
Calumet Christian plays most of its games on the road. The Patriots’ “home” field is at Schererville Baseball Complex in Crown Point, Ind.
Led in scoring by Jordan Landkron, Calumet Christian’s boys basketball team went 22-10 and won a Christian school state championship in 2021-22, beating Heritage Christian (Dyer), Victory Christian (Valparaiso), Calvary Christian (Indianapolis) and Pleasant View Christian (Montgomery) in the playoff run. There is no equivalent postseason event for baseball.
“We try to do cool experiences,” says DeRuiter of a slate that includes contests at U.S. Steel Yard in Gary, Ind., Oil City Stadium in Whiting, Ind., Ozinga Field in Crestview, Ill., and Duly Health and Care Field in Joliet, Ill. Those facilities are home to the Gary SouthShore RailCats, Northwest Indiana Oilmen, Windy City Thunderbolts and Joliet Slammers.
DeRuiter’s coaching staff features Adam Lankrohn (father of shortstop Jordan), Joe Palanca (father of center fielder Isaiah) and Jeff Duensing (father of first baseman Ethan).
The husband of Calumet Christian athletic director Jen Landkrohn, Adam handles scheduling and other details for the team.
“He’s the person that makes everything go,” says DeRuiter, who also teaches seventh/eighth grade Social Studies at Crown Point Christian.
Before coaching at Calumet Christian, DeRuiter was head women’s basketball coach at Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, Ill., for five years.
The 2005 graduate of Chicago Christian High School, where he played four seasons of football, basketball and baseball, earned a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Middle Grade Social Sciences from Trinity Christian and a master’s degree in Athletic Administration & Coaching from Concordia University Irvine.
DeRuiter calls his high school basketball coach, Ross Douma, his top coaching mentor.
“He’s been a great sounding board for me,” says DeRuiter of Douma. “He helped guide me through some tough choices as I was learning the business.”
Head junior varsity baseball coach at Chicago Christian was DeRuiter’s first coaching job. He has also served as head boys basketball coach at Evergreen Park (Ill.) Community High School.
Bill and Nichole DeRuiter have been married for 11 years and have three children — Trey (9), Charlotte (7) and Jameson (4).

Calumet Christian School head baseball coach and Isaiah Palanka.

Purdue Fort Wayne right-hander Madura experiences growth

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

It was not the way he would have scripted it, but Mike Madura saw positive gains when the COVID-19 pandemic halted the 2020 baseball season at Purdue Fort Wayne and sent him home to Munster, Ind.

Unable to get to a gym, right-handed pitcher Madura worked at home and added strength and weight to his 6-foot-6 frame. He now tips the scales at about 205.

While coronavirus did not make an internship with the Northwest Indiana Oilmen practical for the “Passport to Success” points required by Purdue Fort Wayne for his Business Economics and Public Policy major, Madura was able to pitch for the Midwest Collegiate League team for the second straight summer. 

On Sunday, Aug. 16, he threw eight shutout innings of two-hit baseball with eight strikeouts and two walks as the Oilmen beat the DuPage County Hounds in Game 2 of the MCL championship series. It was a must-win situation since DuPage had taken Game 1.

“It was awesome that atmosphere at Oil City Stadium (in Whiting),” says Madura of his 99-pitch outing. “I trusted my preparation.

“I had playoff experience. I pitched in Game of the semifinals (in 2019) and that definitely helped.”

Madura pushed his two-year mark with the Oilmen to 10-0. He was a starter and part-time reliever in 2019 and was strictly used as a starter in 2020 with Chris Cunningham as manager and Matt Pobereyko as pitching coach. 

Playing summer ball so close to home allowed Madura to continue working on his physical gains while also taking two summer courses. He is on pace to graduate from PFW in the spring. He plans to go to Fort Wayne this weekend and classes — some in-person and some online — are to begin Monday, Aug. 24.

The spring of 2020 marked Madura’s first with the NCAA Division I Mastodons. He made four mound appearances (all in relief) and went 0-0 with a 4.60 earned run average, 10 strikeouts and five walks and 15 2/3 innings.

It was the first season at Purdue Fort Wayne for head coach Doug Schreiber and pitching coach Brent McNeil.

“It’s awesome,” says Madura of playing for Schreiber, whose resume includes 18 years as head coach at Purdue in West Lafayette. “He’s got a lot of experience in Division I baseball.”

McNeil leads a pitcher development program that allows hurlers to work based on what their body is telling them.

“Listening to your arm, he really preaches that,” says Madura of McNeil. “Something I like about our program is recovery and sprint work.”

The Dons use Jaeger Sports J-bands, Driveline PlyoCare Balls and also sprint up to 60 yards to help with recovery and conditioning.

“It helps keep your legs in shape,” says Madura. “It helps with recovery by getting the whole body going.

“We don’t run long distance at all. We’re trying to be more explosive.”

This summer, Madura regularly threw his fastball (he has a four-seamer and two-seamer) at 87 to 89 mph and touched 90 a few times. Using a high three-quarter arm slot, he also employs a “circle” change-up and tosses a slider. 

“It has more of a slurve action on it,” says Madura. “It’s a two-plane break. 

“It depends on what I’m trying to do in that at-bat — get it over for a strike or, if I’m trying to put a guy away, I’ll throw it harder.”

Born with two webbed fingers on his left hand, Madura had surgery at about 2. His parents — Mike and Sherrie — bought him baseball gloves for a righty or a lefty and he ended up using the former though he does many everyday tasks with his left hand.

Madura was born and raised in Munster. He played his earliest organized baseball at the Hammond YMCA. From 7 to 9, he played both at Munster Little League and for the traveling Schererville-based Pro Style Rockers. Then came a few summers with the Sports Works Stars. That team was coached by his father — also known as Mike. 

The student-athlete who turns 22 in October is the sixth in a line possessing that name. When he was younger, it was easier to keep him and his father straight by referring to Big Mike and Little Mike. But the younger Madura — sometimes known as Michael — was 6-3 entering high school, 6-5 leaving it and grew an inch since going into college.

Is being tall an advantage?

Madura sees it as one.

“I have a lot more leverage on my pitches,” says Madura. “There’s a downward angle.

“It makes it that much harder on a hitter.”

Michael Madura was with the Northwest Indiana Hurricanes (father Mike as an assistant coach) at 12U and 13U.

Madura closed out his high school summers with the Hammond/Indiana Chiefs, playing for head coach Todd Iwema at 14U and 15U and organization founder Dave Sutkowski at 16U and 17U.

Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer/geometry teacher Bob Shinkan coached Madura with the Munster High School Mustangs and also had him as class aide.

“Coach Shinkan’s an awesome guy,” says Madura, who admired his ability to have fun while also getting his point across when it was time to get serious.

Madura played for the Chicago Suburban Baseball League’s Hammond Lakers (with Anthony Spangler as general manager) in the summers at Hammond’s Riverside Park before and after his freshman year at Central Michigan University. 

He redshirted there at CMU in 2018, transferred to South Suburban College in South Holland, Ill., and pitched in 2019 while completing his associate degree in Business Administration at the junior college. On the mound, he logged 42 innings in nine appearances (eight starts) and went 0-5 with a 4.29 ERA, 18 strikeouts and eight walks for the Steve Ruzich-coached Bulldogs.

Michael Madura is one of IT project manager Mike and nurse Sherrie Madura’s four athletic children. Tiffany (27) played volleyball at Olivet Nazarene University. Trisha (25) was a at Davenport University. Michael also played basketball until his sophomore year in high school. Kylie (14) is a volleyball and softball player at Munster High.

Mike Madura, a 2017 Munster (Ind.) High School graduate, is a 6-foot-6, 205-pound right-handed pitcher at Purdue Fort Wayne. He is 10-0 over the past two summers with the Midwest Collegiate League’s Northwest Indiana Oilmen. (Purdue Fort Wayne Photo)

Musielak, Whiting Oilers enjoy unique baseball perspective

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

It’s a unique baseball venue.

Oil City Stadium — home to the Whiting (Ind.) High School Oilers (also the Calumet College of St. Joseph Crimson Wave and summer-collegiate Northwest Indiana Oilmen) — offers views of the BP Refinery and is just blocks from Lake Michigan and the high school.

“It’s absolutely phenomenal,” says Adam Musielak, head baseball coach at Whiting High since the 2016 season and part of the Oilers staff since 2015. “It’s got to be one of the best high school fields in the entire state.”

In recent years, Whiting has hosted both IHSAA sectional and regional tournaments at the facility on 119th Street. The park was on display in 2016 for the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches North/South All-Star Series.

Oil City Stadium is maintained by City of Whiting grounds crew.

“They do amazing work,” says Musielak. “The kids that get to play on that don’t know how lucky they are. At most schools, you spend 20 minutes after the game or practice raking the field.”

Being so close to the water also means there’s a chill at many Whiting home games.

“It can be 45 degrees in Whiting and 70 degrees in other places,” says Musielak. “I always pack my cold gear no matter what the weather’s like.”

The Oilers are in an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping with Bowman Academy, Gary Roosevelt, Hammond Bishop Noll, Lake Station Edison and River Forest. Whiting has won three sectionals — 2008, 2009 and 2010. The Oilers were in the championship game in 2017 and 2018.

Musielak welcomes back two players for 2019 that have been Whiting starters since they were freshmen — senior Nino Barbosa and junior Aidan Plemons.

Barbosa has played many positions and done some pitching. He paced the 2018 Oilers in most offensive categories.

Musielak says the three-sport standout could end up playing football, basketball or baseball at the college level.

Right-hander Plemons was Whiting’s No. 1 pitcher a year ago and hits in the heart of the lineup and also has college baseball aspirations.

Recent graduates moving on to college diamonds are right-hander Cody Bucsko (Calumet College of St. Joseph) and left-hander Ryan Veloz (South Suburban College in South Holland, Ill.).

Musielak’s coaching staff features Tim Mysliwy and volunteer Brad Johnson. A third assistant is being sought.

Mysliwy brings knowledge in player development. He has multiple drills for every situation.

“He’s someone I lean on big time,” says Musielak of Mysliwy. “Since we share our field with Calumet College, we must come up with unique practice ideas when we’re indoors.

“There are no wasted days. We’re getting work in no matter what we’re doing.”

Whiting (enrollment of about 430) has many multi-sport athletes that share facilities.

“We make do with what we’ve got and who we’ve got,” says Musielak. “Our goal is to always get them better.

“With the kids that are working hard, you can see the results.”

Musielak expects to keep 26 to 28 players for varsity and junior varsity schedules.

Traveling on smaller activity buses, the Oilers usually take 13 or 14 to road games with a few more at home games.

“We make sure every kid gets an opportunity to play once a week no matter the level,” says Musielak.

Whiting Little League, Lakeshore Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth League and travel organizations help feed the Oilers program.

Whiting belongs to the Greater South Shore Athletic Conference (with Calumet, Griffith, Hammond Bishop Noll, Hanover Central, Lake Station Edison, River Forest and Wheeler).

“It’s great competition,” says Musielak. “It helps us prepare for the postseason.”

Musielak is a 2008 graduate of Highland (Ind.) High School, where he played football and baseball for four years and basketball for three.

He was quarterback and team leader for the Spartans in football, playing for head coach Eric Miller.

“He’s someone I really look up to,” says Musielak of Miller. “He taught me how to be a young man and do the right thing. As simple as it sounds, that is something that has stuck with me to this day.

“He’s a great person.”

A pitcher, Musielak played on the diamond for Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Dan Miller and assistant John Bogner (now head baseball coach at Highland).

“He taught you what it meant to have a little toughness and some resiliency,” says Musielak of Dan Miller. “He gave us confidence

“He always believed we would win and that trickled down to the rest of us and we believed it.”

Musielak cherishes the opportunity to compete each spring against his alma mater and be welcomed home by mentor Bogner.

“He’s been good about walking me through the head coaching process,” says Musielak.

He was an assistant football coach for one season at Highland and is still part of the grid staff at Griffith High School, where Ben Geffert logged his fourth season as head coach this fall.

Musielak first coached basketball as a boys varsity assistant to former Oilers head coach Tim Hopps in 2013-14 and 2014-15.

Kevin Lenz was the head baseball coach in Musielak’s first spring with the Oilers.

Musielak enjoyed the Japanese program at Highland and had considered teaching that language to high schoolers.

Instead, he graduated from Indiana University in 2013 and is now in his third year of instructing fifth graders at Ready Elementary in Griffith. His dog is named “Hoosier” and he enjoys rooting for IU’s sports teams.

Adam is the third child of Paul and Joyce Musielak, who both work at Siemer Heating & Cooling in Highland. Older brother Paul Musielak owns Gem Homes in Indianapolis and his younger sister Christina Musielak teaches special education in Crown Point, Ind. Adam is two years younger than Paul and two years older than Christina.

“Dad likes to say he’s been in every home in The Region,” says Musielak. “He taught me how to throw a football and a baseball. When I took pitching lessons, he was my personal catcher.”

A paraprofessional when Adam and his siblings were in school, he credits his mother for instilling an appreciation for education. She was at every game and organized team meals.

Adam and Paul were competitive while growing up.

“He showed me how to gain some toughness,” says Musielak. “My sister played a couple of sports when she was younger. She was the water girl/manager for the football team.

He marvels at what she does as a teacher.

“I’ve never met anybody that has such a heart of gold,” says Musielak.

Two Whiting graduates played in the majors — outfielder Al Pilarcik (1956-61 with the Kansas City Athletics, Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox) and infielder Larry Fritz (one game with the 1975 Philadelphia Phillies). Pilarcik is an IHSBCA Hall of Famer.

Adam Musielak, a Highland (Ind.) High School and Indiana University graduate, is head baseball coach at Whiting (Ind.) High School and an assistant football coach at Griffith (Ind.) High School. He is also a fan of the Chicago Bears.

Adam Musielak has been part of the Whiting (Ind.) High School baseball coaching staff since 2015. He heads into his fourth season as head coach in 2019.

 

Northwest Indiana Oilmen strike it rich in baseball fun, development

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

After another season of diamond progress, the Northwest Indiana Oilmen are again in the Midwest Collegiate League title hunt.

The summer collegiate wood bat baseball club that calls Whiting’s Oil City Stadium home has qualified for the playoffs in each of its six seasons.

The Oilmen went into the playoffs as the No. 1 seed (Bloomington, Ill., beat Northwest Indiana 3-1 Tuesday, Aug. 1 in Game 1 of a best-of-3 semifinals series). Game 2 was slated for Wednesday, Aug. 2 at Bloomington with Game 3 (if necessary) Thursday, Aug. 3 at Oil City. Home games have been broadcast live on the team’s Facebook page.

Don Popravak and Adam Enright have been with the Oilmen for each campaign. Popravak is president and owner while Enright is in his third season as head coach after three summers as an assistant.

A veteran of more than three decades in marketing, Popravak conceived the idea of the team, negotiated with the City of Whiting for the use of the stadium and has built the Oilmen brand.

Enright is a Munster High School graduate who played at South Suburban College and then helped the University of Southern Indiana to an NCAA Division II national championship (2010). After one year each at Chicago State University and the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, he is entering his fifth season as an assistant at Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, Ill.

TCC Trolls head coach Justin Huisman is a former Oilmen head coach. Huisman played at the University of Mississippi and pitched briefly with the 2004 Kansas City Royals.

Popravak, a Chicago native who grew up minutes from Whiting and played baseball and football at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., has watched the Midwest Collegiate League (founded in 2010) grow and greatly improve its ability to attract top-notch talent. Dozens of former MCL players have been drafted by Major League Baseball clubs, including six in 2017. Others have gone on to independent professional baseball.

Left-handed pitcher Tony Cingrani, recently traded from the Cincinnati Reds to the Los Angeles Dodgers, played for the Illinois Jayhawks in the MCL’s first season.

Third baseman Paul DeJong played in the MCL with the Will County CrackerJacks (2012) and DuPage County Hounds (2013).

Former Oilmen player and Munster High graduate Craig Dedelow played at Indiana University and is now an outfielder the minors with the Chicago White Sox.

Hammond Bishop Noll Institute graduate Matt Pobereyko was a player and pitching coach with the Oilmen before going to independent baseball. He was with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization and, after another indy stint, is now a New York Mets farmhand.

John Ely, who pitched for the Dodgers in 2010, 2011 and 2012, managed the Southland Vikings and is now a coach in the White Sox system.

“He credits his experience of coaching at this level,” says Popravak. “We have quality guys working with players and developing their careers.”

Former big league pitcher Marvin Freeman has been a pitching coach for Southland, where former Oilmen player Kevin Franchetti is now manager. Franchetti played for Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Dave Pishkur at Andrean High School and then at Ball State University.

Popravak said the teams in the MCL — Oilmen in Indiana and Bloomington Bobcats, Crestwood Panthers, DuPage County Hounds, Joliet Admirals and Southland Vikings in Illinois  — are “all on the same page with finding and developing the best talent.”

“We want them go back to their colleges and be an impact player,” says Popravak.

Unique to summer collegiate baseball, the MCL has some players that play in the league before they ever step on a university campus.

“That’s a real advantage for a college coach,” says Popravak. “That young players who’s hungry can get 250 at-bats against college pitching and work their mistakes out early so they can go to a college campus and compete for a job.”

Corey Ray played for Southland before going to the University of Louisville and is now in the Brewers system.

Donivan Williams impressed the Cardinals enough after playing with the Oilmen that they signed him and he by-passed college. The 18-year-old third baseman from Oak Lawn, Ill., is now playing in the Gulf Coast League.

The MCL roster limit is 35 and many are in the mound mix. There are several college underclassmen who have had a low number of innings in the spring.

“The summer gives them an opportunity to shine,” says Popravak. “We don’t want to overuse pitchers.

“Our goal is to always send the player back to college healthy.”

Enright and assistant coach Patrick Antone (who played for IHSBCA Hall of Famer Jack Campbell at Chesterton High School, coached with Pishkur at Andrean and was recently named head coach at Boone Grove High School) have watched the Oilmen consistently perform on the bump in 2017.

“The reason we’ve done so well this year is our pitching,” says Enright. “I don’t think we’ve been deeper. It’s a good mix of guys with a lot of talent.

“We have overall depth with our position players. We mix and match lineups a lot. I make sure each of our guys have at least 100 at-bats if they are with us all season. It’s more about development than winning.”

The six MCL teams play each other 10 times during a 50-game regular season leading into a four-team, two-tier playoff format (both best-of-3).

Using his connections, Enright built the Oilmen roster with most of the players commuting from a radius of about 90 minutes from Whiting.

“I’m starting to build up some pretty good relationships with schools throughout the Midwest at all levels,” says Enright. “We like the local flavor that people in the community and the region are familiar with.”

The longest road trip for the Oilmen is about two hours to Bloomington.

Enright played for two respected baseball men in Munster’s Bob Shinkan and USI’s Tracy Archuleta and took from both in developing his own leadership style.

“Those two guys shaped who I am as a coach,” says Enright. “I bring my own flavor to the game and coaching. But I make sure guys have positive experiences. Happy players are productive players. I want guys getting the most out of each other and play together to win baseball teams.”

Enright says neither Shinkan or Archuleta do much yelling, but are “the type of coach you don’t want to let down.”

Shinkan is also an IHSBCA Hall of Famer.

“He makes you enjoy the process and being out there everyday,” says Enright of his high school coach. “It’s about having fun while doing what you need to do to be the best player you can be.”

Enright appreciates the cerebral side of Archuleta’s coaching.

“He will put the game straight into your brain and make you think of it all levels you’ve never done before,” says Enright.

The fans, who turned out for MCL games and a series this summer against the Serbian National Team, get a chance to enjoy baseball played in a park plotted on 119th Street near homes, oil rigs and not far from the water.

“It’s a special place,” says Enright. “The community really loves it. It’s a premier facility. You can’t ask much more for a summer collegiate team. Good product on the field and really nice atmosphere to watch a game in. When the wind blows you can hear the waves off Lake Michigan.”