Payton in second year of return to Paoli Rams dugout

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

Jeremy Payton took over the baseball program at alma mater Paoli (Ind.) Junior-Senior High School on the second day of official practice in 2022 and was soon coaching the Rams in games.
As the 1994 Paoli graduate approaches his second season in 2023, Payton has been able to actually prepare.
“We didn’t have a lot of time to break things down,” says Payton. “We’re way ahead of the curve.
“We’re already way ahead of where we were last year. I didn’t know where kids played when I took over.”
Players — mostly pitchers — who are not involved in basketball have been attending IHSAA Limited Contact Period sessions and preparing their arms and bodies for the season.
“They been throwing 30 to 45 minutes two days a week,” says Payton. “They come in tired from doing weights and conditioning.”
The first official day of IHSAA practice is March 13.
Coming back to high school baseball Payton had to familiarize himself with the pitch count rule (1 to 35 pitches requires 0 days rest; 36 to 60 requires 1 day; 61 to 80 requires 2 days; 81 to 100 requires 3 days; and 101 to 120 requires 4 days). When he last coached the limit was based on innings.
“That was definitely learning curve last year,” says Payton. “The kids didn’t have the endurance and the ability to cover more than 40 or 50 pitches early and that was different than what I was used to.”
Payton’s coaching staff includes varsity assistant Jeremy Reynolds, volunteer Davis Minton (Class of 2020) and junior varsity coach Ashton Minton (Class of 2019).
In a group of about 24 players for varsity and junior varsity squads, there are three seniors and eight or nine freshmen.
Among returnees is junior Trey Rominger, who only struck out three times in 65 plate appearances while hitting .327 with a .431 on-base percentage, in 2022 has been drawing college interest. He is already the school’s all-time leading rusher in football.
There are also a number of travel ball players.
“We’ve got a lot of good things coming,” says Payton. “It’s just a matter of getting all the pieces in the right spot.”
Aron Busick (Class of 2020) is on the baseball team at Oakland City (Ind.) University.
Paoli (enrollment around 400) is a member of the Patoka Lake Athletic Conference (with Crawford County, Mitchell, Orleans, Perry Central, Springs Valley and West Washington).
The Rams are part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping in 2023 with Clarksville, Crawford County, Eastern (Pekin) and Providence. Paoli has won eight sectional titles — the last in 1995.
Paoli plays on Trinkle Field (named for Ken Trinkle, who pitched in 216 big league games for the New York Giants in 1943, 1946-48 and Philadelphia Phillies in 1949).
As a U.S. Army Corporal during World War II, Trinkle saw action in the “Battle of the Bulge” and was awarded a Bronze Star.
The on-campus facility recently got upgrades to sod, dirt and warning track and an updated seating area and locker room. The old press box was torn down and a storage room was put in its place.
As a feeder system there is Paoli Youth Diamond Sports (T-ball to 12U) and a school-affiliated junior high program for Grades 6-8. That team has 18 games scheduled April 4-May 22 with home dates at Trinkle Field. The team plays PLAC and non-conference opponents.
Payton’s baseball coach at Paoli was Tom Stuckwisch.
“He was a mentor,” says Payton of Stuckwisch. “He was our baseball coach, math teacher and assistant football coach.
“He was easy to approach. He was very laid-back.
“You didn’t have to make the game real complicated. Just go out and play and relax. Do the little things right and good things happen.”
During Payton’s prep career, the Rams were won about three quarters of their games. The 1993 team won a sectional then lost to Jasper and Scott Rolen in the regional. The 1994 team — ranked among the state’s Top 20 — was edged 2-1 by Springs Valley in the sectional championship game.
Payton graduated from the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville.
He moved back to town in 2000 and was a Rams baseball assistant for four years in the mid-2000’s on the staffs of John Hahn and Kyle DeSpain.
Hahn played baseball at Butler University in Indianapolis. DeSpain holds the Hanover (Ind.) College single-season record for doubles with 25 in 2001.
After his baseball stint, Payton served as head softball coach at Paoli through 2012.
Outside of coaching, he is an independent financial advisor in town. Jeremy and wife Marci have two children — Addie (13) and Collier (9) — in Paoli schools.
“My son loves baseball,” says Payton. “He’s been coming to practices and throwing and hitting.”

Jeremy Payton.

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Hoover now steering Perry Central Commodores

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

Ryan Hoover is now in charge of the baseball program at Perry Central Junior-Senior High School in Leopold, Ind.
The 2023 season will be Hoover’s first as a varsity head coach.
The past two years Hoover coached Evansville North’s middle school team. He has been a travel ball coach the past four or five years, including with the Evansville-based and Jeremy Johnson-run Razorback Baseball Club and an assistant on Adam Hines’ staff at Henderson (Ky.) County High School.
Perry Central (enrollment around 400) is a member of the Patoka Lake Athletic Conference (with Crawford County, Mitchell, Orleans, Paoli, Springs Valley and West Washington).
The Commodores are part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping in 2023 with Evansville Mater Dei, Forest Park, North Posey, South Spencer and Tell City. Perry Central has not yet won a sectional title.
During the fall IHSAA Limited Contact Period, Hoover had Perry Central players working two days a week for two hours. Most of the time was spent on defense with hitting at the end of the sessions.
This winter has been mostly two days a week of weight training and two days of hitting and arm care (with weighted baseballs).
Hoover pays attention to his pitchers and has paid attention to pitch counts even before experiencing the rule set in place by the IHSAA (1 to 35 pitches requires 0 days rest; 36 to 60 requires 1 day; 61 to 80 requires 2 days; 81 to 100 requires 3 days; and 101 to 120 requires 4 days).
“I make sure they’re getting proper rest, proper stretching and getting loose the proper way before they go out and (throw) 100 percent and really hurt their arm,” says Hoover, who wants to make sure those who might go on to college baseball are ready for the rigors of throwing which that entails.
Recent Perry Central graduates who went on to college diamonds include the Class of 2021’s Brayden Stowe (Brescia University in Owensboro, Ky. before arm injury), Reece Davis (Southeastern Illinois College) and 2021’s Wes Scamahorn (Oakland City).
Class of 2023’s Garrett Scamahorn — brother of Wes — has committed to Oakland City. Class of 2024’s Travis Kellems — a lefty pitcher and outfielder — has been receiving collegiate interest.
A 2016 graduate of Morristown (Ind.) Junior-Senior High School, Hoover was a four-year varsity baseball starter for three head coaches — Tim Hancock in 2013, Royce Carlton in 2014 and Josh Bassett in 2015 and 2016.
“(Carlton) did a real good job of teaching me about being a family as a program,” says Hoover. “The more you treat you treat your teammates as family, the harder you’re going to play for each other.
“(Bassett) put a lot of responsibility on me. When he came in I was the only returning starter. He taught me how to be a leader.”
Hoover played all over the diamond for the Yellow Jackets, but mostly at third base.
In two seasons at Vincennes (Ind.) University, Hoover was also a utility player though most of his time was spent at second base.
Chris Barney is the Trailblazers head coach.
“He taught me how to come in and get your business done,” says Hoover of Barney. “You go in, work hard and understand who you are as a player.”
Hoover did not play past VU. He transferred and earned an Information Technology degree at Indiana University-Bloomington in 2019. He now has a daytime job as an IT professional, part of the time for Perry Central.
The Commodores play and practice on-campus. On Hoover’s wish list is the leveling of the playing surface.
Hoover’s assistant coaches include Jason Hubert (who helped Hoover with the Razorbacks last summer), Andrew Harpenau and Chad Hubert at the high school. Guiding the junior high team (a mix of seventh and eighth graders which play in the spring and use the varsity field) is Brayden Stowe (son of former Perry Central head coach Adam Stowe) and Zander Poole.
Besides the junior high team, which plays in the spring against mostly Pocket Athletic Conference schools plus Owensboro Catholic another feeder is Perry Central Youth Baseball for ages 7 to 12.
“I’m pretty involved making sure we get as much participation as possible,” says Hoover. “It’s exciting for the future.”
Hoover has committed to coach a Razorbacks 14U team this summer.
Ryan and Stephanie Hoover were married in October 2022. She is a University of Evansville graduate and a physical therapist in Princeton, Ind.

Ryan Hoover.

Ryan and Stephanie Hoover.

Alum Reister emphasizes ‘little things’ with Henryville Hornets

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

Henryville (Ind.) Junior/Senior High School’s uniforms say “Hornets.” But first-year head baseball coach and alum Cody Reister wants “guys that have the dog in them.”
“We want to be tough defensively and on the base paths — someone that executes all the time,” says Reister (Class of 2013). “That’s our focus. Everyone can hit to some extent, but not everyone can do the little things well.”
Reister played for and coached with Jeff Schroeder who led the Henryville for 27 seasons.
As a student and player at Hanover (Ind.) College — where pitched for Panthers coach Shayne Stock (the 6-foot-3 right-hander was 6-1 out of the bullpen as a senior) — Reister would help out Schroeder’s Henyrville teams when he could.
Reister was born in Jeffersonville, Ind., and moved from Salem, Ind., to Henryville in second grade. He played American Legion baseball for Doc Boyd’s Scottsburg Post 234 team and later Ricky Romans’ Floyds Knobs Post 42 squad.
After graduating HC in 2017 with a History degree, Reister came home and became a middle school science teacher and to coach in the boys basketball and baseball programs.
As Henryville approaches the start of official practice March 14, Reister sees six or seven players with mound potential.
During conditioning, his players have been throwing footballs to build up arm strength.
A year ago, Reister worked almost exclusively with pitchers and catchers.
“We threw a ton of fastballs and change-ups,” says Reister. “It’s just as effective as anything if you can do it correctly.”
The competitor in Reister would not have been receptive to the pitch count rule (1 to 35 pitches requires 0 days rest; 36 to 60 requires 1 day; 61 to 80 requires 2 days; 81 to 100 requires 3 days; and 101 to 120 requires 4 days) when he played. But the coach in him understands.
“It puts you in-tune with development and what you’re guys can do,” says Reister. “I understand the reasoning for it.”
Reister, who is assisted by Henrville classmate Bailey Hall as well as Tim Hawkins, expects have have 12 or 13 players in 2022.
“We’re pretty light this year,” says Reister. “We have a bunch of kids in middle school. Hopefully we get them to continue on (with baseball).”
As a feeder system, there is Henryville Youth Sports (wee-ball to 12U) and Henryville Elite (a teams for Grades 6-8 not affiliated with the school that plays in the spring and summer).
The Hornets play on a diamond located on the west side of campus.
“Our field is very, very nice,” says Reister of the facility with Bermuda grass in the infield.
Henryville (enrollment around 300) is a member of the Southern Athletic Conference (with Borden, Crothersville, Lanesville, New Washington and South Central (Elizabeth).
Other non-conference foes include Brownstown Central, Charlestown, Clarksville, Corydon Central, Orleans, Paoli, Perry Central, Providence, Rock Creek Academy, Salem, Seymour, Scottsburg, Silver Creek, Southwestern (Hanvover) and Trinity Lutheran.
In 2021, the Hornets were part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping with Austin, Clarksville, Crawford County, Eastern (Pekin) and Providence. Henryville has won six sectional titles — the last in 2008.
March 2 marked 10 years since a EF4 tornado caused extensive damage to Henryville, killing one person and destroying the schools.
Rise Above Mental Health/Illness is a podcast hosted by Henryville senior athletes Caleb Lehaceanu, J.D. Michael and Tyler Orberson. The latest episode was dedicated to the tornado. Senior Sam Gilles, who was inside the elementary on that unforgettable day in 2012, was a podcast guest.
Reister is to be on the student-led podcast in the near future.
To follow the Hornets, see the Henrville High School Baseball page on Facebook.

Cody Reister.

Henryville (Ind.) Junior/Senior High School’s baseball field.

Oppel welcomes opportunity with Lanesville Swingin’ Eagles

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

Greg Oppel, who was hired as head baseball coach at Lanesville (Ind.) Junior/Senior High School in the fall of 2021, has long been part of the bat-and-ball scene in the southeast part of the state.
A 1987 graduate of North Harrison High School in Ramsey, Ind., where he earned Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association honorable mention all-state and IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series status as a senior for Cougars coach Danny Smith, left-handed pitcher Oppel went on to play at the Indiana State University-Evansville (now the University of Southern Indiana) for Screaming Eagles coach Gary Redman. Rotator cuff surgery limited his college playing career to 2 1/2 years.
Darren Oppel, Greg’s cousin, graduated from North Harrison in 1989 and was a first-team all-state shortstop and played in the IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series. He went on to play at the University of Louisville and was a Colorado Rockies scout.
As a baseball coach, Greg Oppel has been an assistant (2008) to Rick Parr and head coach (2009-11) at North Harrison (Cody Johnson was the IHSBCA North/South Series MVP in 2008) and assistant to Grenadiers head coach Ben Reel at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany (2012-15) and assistant to Lions head coach Jason Pepmeier at Salem (Ind.) High School.
It was when Reel was new at IUS and Oppel was on the North Harrison Babe Ruth League board that the new formed a friendship.
The idea of building an indoor hitting facility was explored and the process really took off when Oppel became North Harrison head coach. It happened through private donations and matching funds from the Harrison County Community Foundation.
Reel inquired about using the hitting building for his IU Southeast team in winter months.
“I said heck yeah — with one stipulation,” says Oppel. “I want your players and your staff to work our kids out with your knowledge.”
When Oppel joined Reel’s staff he got even more access to his know-how.
“Coach Reel is one of the top baseball minds in the country,” says Oppel. “Sitting in a session and listening to him talk and picking his brain was such a great opportunity for me and still is today.”
Having traveled all over the country following daughter Kyia’s softball exploits, Oppel became head softball coach at North Harrison in her senior year (2017). A torn patellar tendon limited her season and ended her hopes of playing in college.
“She’s handled adversity very well with her knee over a period of time,” says Oppel. “I think it hurt me more than it did her.”
Greg Oppel and joined Kyia Oppel when the middle school special education teacher became head coach at Crawford County High School in Marengo.
“We had a blast,” says Oppel of his time with his daughter and the Wolfpack, which went 8-14 in 2021.
With Christopher Broughton and Jason Sturgeon leading the charge, an indoor facility push was made at Crawford County.
Then came Greg Oppel’s chance to lead Lanesville Swingin’ Eagles baseball. He met four times with athletic director and former baseball head coach Zach Payne before taking the position.
“I wanted to made sure it was the right thing for Lanesville and the right thing for me,” says Oppel. “It’s tight-knit community. It’s almost like a throwback to years ago. It sounds like a cliche’ but they welcomed me with open arms.”
It’s a community that likes its sports and has enjoyed — and has come to expect — baseball success. Lanesville has won five sectionals, including those in 2010, 2016, 2017 and 2019. Regional and semistate titles came in 2016 and 2017. The Eagles were Class 1A state runners-up in 2016 and 1A state champions in 2017.
The Harrison County school with an enrollment around 240 is a member of the Southern Athletic Conference (with Borden, Crothersville, Henryville, New Washington and South Central of Elizabeth).
In 2021, the Eagles were part of an 1A sectional grouping with Borden, Christian Academy of Indiana, Orleans and South Central (Elizabeth).
Oppel’s assistants for 2022 include Jeff Cockerham, Tyler Cockerham and Aaron Lockman. Jeff Cockerham played at Jeffersonville High School. Tyler Cockerham played for Oppel at North Harrison then at Hanover (Ind.) College. Lockman is 2020 Lanesville graduate.
A campaign to bring an indoor facility to Lanesville is now in the works.
“This will be a win-win for the Lanesville community,” says Oppel. “We are fortunate to have such a backing at Lanesville. The following for baseball alone at Lanesville is astronomical.
“I’m very blessed to have this opportunity.”
Oppel, who is also a 29 1/2-year employee of Ford Motor Company in Louisville, where he builds the Escape and Lincoln Corsair, served 12 years on the North Harrison Babe Ruth League board. He began coaching at the 10U and 12U level.
Says Oppel, “At 14U we had tremendous success because we did everything fundamentally sound with lots of drills and going things at game speed.”

Greg Oppel

Kyia Oppel and Greg Oppel.

Chad Eveslage (left) and Greg Oppel at North Harrison High School.

Hannon builds relationships with Paoli Rams baseball

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Aaron Hannon was drawn to coaching because of the coach-player relationship.

Hannon enjoyed that as a baseball catcher at John Adams High School‘ in South Bend, Ind., with head coaches Joel Reinebold (now at South Bend Clay) and Scott Sherry (now at Whiteland) and assistant John Huemmer (now at Mishawaka).

“They built that relationship with me,” says Hannon, who is heading into his sixth season as head baseball coach at Paoli (Ind.) High School  in Orange County and is also the defensive coordinator for Rams football. “All three are examples of people who are building people and not just players.

“They took the time to develop kids.”

Hannon played football at Hanover (Ind.) College for Wayne Perry, a man who took the same approach to coaching. 

“He found it just as important to mentor and mold young men and as make football players,” says Hannon. “I respect him and everything he did for me.”

Hannon, who graduated from Adams in 2001 and Hanover in 2005, is emphasizing fundamentals with his Paoli baseball players while building a sense of trust.

“If you can’t do the basic things it’s going to be difficult,” says Hannon. “When we build those relationships, I can ask things of them and they are willing to go the extra mile.

“When they are comfortable, they can have conversation with you that they can’t have when you keep kids at a distance.”

Hannon wants his young athletes to discover the reason for doing things in a certain way.

“Why are we doing this?,” says Hannon. “We have to understand the why.

“The fun part as a coach is seeing the kids take ownership once they understand what’s going on. It’s not just adults pulling the strings.”

Hannon is assisted in 2021 by Springs Valley Junior-Senior High School graduate Chris Meehan and Forest Park Junior-Senior High School alum Jaxon Cronin.

“As coaches, we don’t take things for granted,” says Hannon. “We don’t assume the kid knows something. I think the kids appreciate that.

“We want to make sure we’re all on the same page and in the same flow.”

Hannon wants his players to shoot him straight and he returns the favor.

“You have to be honest,” says Hannon. “Kids respect honesty.”

The same concepts — honesty and communication — are at work for Hannon as a fifth grade math teacher at Throop Elementary in Paoli.

“Feedback is huge,” says Hannon. “Kids can tell you things you had no idea was going on.

“It’s just important for me to listen to what that kid is saying.”

Paoli (enrollment around 430) is a member of the Patoka Lake Athletic Conference (with Crawford County, Mitchell‘, Orleans, Perry Central, Springs Valley and West Washington).

The Rams are part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping with Eastern Greene, Linton-Stockton, Mitchell (the 2021 host), North Knox and South Knox‘. Paoli has won eight sectional crowns — the last in 1995.

Aside from conference and sectional games, the Rams are slated to play Eastern (Pekin), Scottsburg, Shoals, Northeast Dubois, Brownstown Central, Henryville, Lanesville, North Harrison and Cannelton. The Rams are to take part in the May 15 Les Page Classic at Loogootee (which also features Princeton Community and Tecumseh).

Paoli play its home games on a lighted on-campus diamond called Trinkle Field. It is named in honor of Ken Trinkle, a Paoli native who pitched for the New York Giants and Philadelphia Phillies in the 1940’s and served as a corporal in the U.S. Army during World War II.

The high school program is fed by seventh and eighth graders who play and practice in the spring on Trinkle Field.

Paoli Youth Diamond Sports serves players age 4 through sixth grade at Paoli Community Park.

With Hannon coaching football and many athletes involved in football, cross country and tennis in the fall, most off-season baseball team activities started after Christmas break.

Of 23 players in the program, one is a senior. With COVID-19 taking away the 2020 season, the last time three of those players appeared in a varsity game was as freshmen in 2019.

“We’ll have lots of competition and varying lineups to see what are best combination is,” says Hannon. “I’m excited. It’s been very fun group to worth with so far.”

Seven seniors graduated in 2020, including current Indiana Tech reserve squad player Aron Busick. 

Aaron and wife Terri Hannon have four children — Michael (17), Tyler (13), Kalyn (11) and Beau (3). Michael Hannon is currently on the Paoli track team. Tyler Hannon plays junior high baseball. Kalyn is involved in elementary volleyball and then goes to youth softball. Beau Hannon is enjoying being a part of it all.

Aaron and Paoli graduate Terri met at Hanover, where she was on the softball team. 

Aaron and wife Terri Hannon have four children — Michael (17), Tyler (13), Kalyn (11) and Beau (3). Michael Hannon is currently on the Paoli track team. Tyler Hannon plays junior high baseball. Kalyn is involved in elementary volleyball and then goes to youth softball. Beau Hannon is enjoying being a part of it all.

Aaron and 1999 Paoli graduate Terri met at Hanover, where she was on the softball team. 

Aaron Hannon (Paoli baseball coach)

’21 season is Schroeder’s 27th leading Henryville Hornets

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Lining up schools that are bigger and ones with traditionally-strong baseball programs is the way Jeff Schroeder has built his schedule at Henryville (Ind.) Junior & Senior High School for years and its paid dividends.

makes us better playing tougher competition,” says Schroeder (pronounced SHRAY-der), who is heading into his 27th season leading the Hornets. His teams have won 13 Southern Athletic Conference titles and six IHSAA Class 1A sectional crowns (the last in 2008). 

The 2021 Hornets are part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping with Austin, Clarksville, Crawford County, Eastern (Pekin) and Providence. 

Henryville (enrollment around 350) counts Borden, Crothersville, Lanesville, New Washington and South Central of Elizabeth as SAC rivals. 

Conference teams play each other one time each. That suits Schroeder because he can beef up the Hornet slate.

In 2021, non-conference games include 4A’s New Albany (as part of the Stan Szajko Invitational) and Seymour and 3A’s Brownstown Central, Charlestown, Corydon Central, Scottsburg and Silver Creek as well as 2A’s Paoli and Southwestern (Hanover) and 1A’s Orleans and Trinity Lutheran.

Prior to 2020-21, Henryville, Borden and Silver Creek were in the same school district. There’s now the Borden-Henryville School Corporation and Silver Creek School Corporation.

Schroeder, who was an assistant to Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Gary O’Neal while doing his student teaching at Madison Consolidated in 1992 led led the Hornets from 1993-2012 and came back in 2014, emphasizes a commitment to the Henryville program.

“You should be putting forth your best effort everyday,” says Schroeder. “To be successful in life you have to work hard. 

“You shouldn’t expect a hand-out. That’s a life lesson.”

Assisted by Brian Consley and Cody Reister (a Henryville alum who pitched at Hanover College), Schroeder expects to have 21 or 22 players to play varsity and junior varsity schedules.

With many playing soccer or tennis in the fall, only a handful participated in fall IHSAA Limited Contact Period workouts. Since the winter window opened Dec. 9, there have been more practicing while some have been busy with basketball.

Schroeder appreciates the multi-sport athlete who can develop a variety of skills while still competing.

Henryville plays its games on-campus. The field was renovated in the fall of 2011. A devastating tornado hit the school and community in the spring of 2012.

“That was a bad situation,” says Schroeder. “Everything you know is gone. They school is demolished. What is going to happen next? We didn’t know what direction we were going to take.

“It took the work of lot of people to put things back together and got things looking good again.”

With much effort, the Hornets were able to take the diamond that year.

“It’s really nice,” says Schroeder. “I’ll put our baseball infield up against any around.”

Bill Miller, who was a very successful coach at Pleasure Ridge Park High School in Louisville, Ky., ran Mid South Baseball until his death in 2018 and his company — a frequent vendor at the IHSBCA State Clinic each January — did the laser grading at Henryville.

The high school program is fed by Henryville Youth Sports, which hosts baseball for ages 3/4 and 5/6 and grades 1/2, 3/4 and 5/6 in the summer and separates seventh and eighth grade junior high teams in the spring.

Schroeder has a number of former players who are now parents and coaching at the youth league and junior high levels.

“They teach these kids the things I expect so they’re not totally lost when they get to high school,” says Schroeder.

Besides Reister, another recent Henryville graduate to move to on college baseball is all-state catcher Luke Stock. The son of Lance Stock and grandson of IHSBCA Hall of Famer Wayne Stock was at Vincennes University.

Current Henryville junior left-hander Dawson Hope has been drawing collegiate interest.

Schroeder is a graduate of Jennings County High School in North Vernon, Ind. (1984) and Indiana University Southeast in New Albany (1988). He earned a Secondary Education degree with an emphasis on Language Arts in Grades 5-12 and currently teaches Junior and Senior LA classes at Henryville.

His high school coach was Bob Howe.

“He was very direct with players,” says Schroeder of Howe. “If he had something on his mind that was bothering him, he was going to tell you.”

That was the same kind of hard-nose approach taken by Jeff’s father Don Schroeder as a long-time baseball and basketball coach at Jennings County. 

“You’d better play hard for (my father) or you weren’t going to be on the team,” says Jeff Schroeder.

The elder Schroeder coached Howe.

Jeff Schroeder played one year for Dennis Bohr and three for Rick Parr at IUS.

He describes Bohr as a carefree guy who are also very competitive. Schroeder learned much about the game from Parr, who played in the Boston Red Sox organization.

Jeff’s wife, Jenny, was head softball coach at Henryville for a decade and earned much success. The couple has four children — Floyd Central High School graduates Haley (25) and Braden (21) and Silver Creek students Isabel (16) and Olivia (15). The two youngest girls are cheerleaders. Isabel also runs cross country and track.

The Henryville (Ind.) High School baseball field was renovated in the fall of 2011 then came a devastating tornado in the spring 2012 and the facility needed a lot more work for the Hornets to play there.

Jeff Schroeder is the head baseball coach at Henryville (Ind.) Junior & Senior High School. 

Lasher brought in to help with Oakland City transition

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Oakland City (Ind.) University is making a transition from NCAA Division I to NAIA and the Mighty Oaks baseball program has also changed its leadership.

Andy Lasher, who played at Castle High School in Newburgh, Ind., Olney (Ill.) Central College and the University of Evansville and coached at Olney, the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville and for the Dubois County Bombers in Huntingburg, Ind., has been hired as OCU head coach.

T-Ray Fletcher, who was Oakland City head coach for 26 seasons, is still the school’s athletic director.

Since taking the job a few weeks ago, Lasher been concentrating on building up his roster.

“I’ve been doing a lot of recruiting though there are no games to watch,” says Lasher, referring to the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic which has live baseball shut down at the moment. “There’s been a lot of calls and text messages.”

Lasher, who is tapping into his network of contacts, says he would like to have 35 players in the fall and 40 to 45 in the future so the Mighty Oaks can add a junior varsity program.

In moving from NCAA D-II to NAIA, Oakland City also goes from an independent to a member of the River States Conference, a circuit that also features baseball-playing schools Indiana University Kokomo and Indiana University Southeast.

That takes care of half the schedule. Lasher has the opportunity to fill in the rest of the games, choosing ones that are feasible and keeps players from missing too many classes.

It’s Lasher’s intent to schedule some contests in the fall.

Lasher’s assistants are Jacob Bedwell and Austen Bullington. Washington (Ind.) High School graduate Bedwell was on the OCU team last year. Castle grad Bullington played at Wabash Valley College and the University of Tennessee-Martin.

Lasher was hired by Southern Indiana  last summer and spent much of his time assisting Screaming Eagles head coach Tracy Achuleta with hitters and position players.

“I also kept track of academic progress and a lot of little things that don’t happen on the baseball field,” says Lasher. “That’s a much bigger percentage of the job than people realize.

“At the college level, it’s a lot more than the bats and balls. It’s a full-time job for a reason.

“(Archuleta) is one of my favorite people. He’s alot of fun to be around and a really good baseball mind. I can’t say enough good things about him.”

Lasher performed many of the same duties during the 2019 season as an assistant on Jason Anderson’s coaching staff at Eastern Illinois University.

He was an assistant to Dennis Conley at Olney Central from the 2014 season until the fall of 2018.

“It was a really good experience I wouldn’t trade for the world,” says Lasher, who helped the Blue Knights win 173 games in five seasons.

An outfielder, Lasher played two seasons at Olney (2010 and 2011) for Conley and two at Evansville (2012 and 2013) for Wes Carroll.

Going to Castle, Lasher had heard all about alums Wes and brother Jamey Carroll (who played in the big leagues).

“(Wes Carroll) was a real good player’s coach,” says Lasher. “We had some good teams.”

The Purple Aces won 56 games in Lasher’s two seasons at UE. He played with five players — left-handed pitcher Kyle Freeland (Colorado Rockies), lefty-swinging outfielder Kevin Kaczmarski (New York Mets), righty-batting Eric Stamets (Rockies), righty pitcher Kyle Lloyd (San Diego Padres) and lefty hurler Phillip Diehl (Rockies) — who eventually made it to the majors.

For five summers, Lasher was with the Bombers — 2014 as an assistant coach and 2015-18 as manager.

He got to guide many talented players, including New Mexico State University’s Daniel Johnson in 2015, USI’s Logan Brown in 2016 and NMSU’s Nick Gonzales in 2018.

Lefty-hitting outfielder Johnson is now on the Cleveland Indians’ 40-man roster.

Brown is a catcher in the Atlanta Braves organization.

Lasher calls shortstop Gonzales, who was the 2019 NCAA Division I batting champion, the best player he’s ever coached and expects him to be taken about the top picks in the 2020 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

The atmosphere created by Dubois County ownership and fans at League Stadium made Lasher’s time with the Bombers very enjoyable.

“It’s a great place to watch a game,” says Lasher. “It’s a shame they’re not getting to do it this summer (due to COVID-19 causing cancelation of the Ohio Valley League season).”

Lasher graduated in 2009 from Castle, where he played for Curt Welch.

“He was very intense,” says Lasher of Welch, who has also been an assistant wrestling coach for the Knights. “We were probably in better shape physically as any team in the country.”

There was plenty of running and ab workouts.

“It was worth it,” says Welch. “No doubt about it. It got guys ready for the college stuff. You have to be mentally tough and physically in shape in college or you just aren’t going to make it.”

Besides head baseball coach, Lasher is also in charge of maintaining Oakland City athletic fields and is gameday coordinator for any on-campus sporting events. The Mighty Oaks sponsor teams in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer and tennis for men and women and softball and volleyball for women.

Lasher and girlfriend, former Orleans (Ind.) High School, Olney Central and Brescia University basketball player Shelbi Samsil, recently moved to the north side of Indianapolis to be closer to Oakland City.

Andy Lasher is the new head baseball coach at Oakland City (Ind.) University. He is a graduate of Castle High School in Newburgh, Ind., and played at Olney (Ill.) Central College and the University of Evansville. He has coached at Olney, Eastern Illinois University, the University of Southern Indiana and with the summer collegiate Dubois County Bombers. (Oakland City University Photo)

 

Chaney wants school, community to be proud of Mitchell Bluejackets baseball

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Jerry Chaney has been the head baseball coach at Mitchell (Ind.) Senior High School for nine seasons.

He has general goals for the Lawrence County-based Bluejackets — on and off the field.

“My main focus is to turn boys into men that our school and community can be proud of,” says Chaney, who teaches Business, coaches junior varsity girls basketball and is the Students Against Drunk Driving director at MHS. “I want to teach them the fundamentals of baseball and what it takes to become a successful program.”

In 2019, there were 22 playing baseball for MHS. Feeding the Bluejackets at the high school level is a junior high program with about 16 players.

While there are no current players yet committed to play college baseball, Mitchell graduate Tanner Simpson is a left-handed pitcher at Marian University in Indianapolis.

Mitchell calls Gary Seitzinger Field home. The facility was a sectional host site a year ago.

“Our field is well taken care of, and our staff continually works on it,” says Chaney. “We are looking into a turf home plate area, an outside hitting facility and improving areas in front of dugouts.”

Seitzinger and Logan Gore are Chaney assistants.

Chaney is a 1985 Bedford (Ind.) North Lawrence High School graduate. He played for Mike Short while with the Stars and tries to apply lessons he learned with his players.

“Mike was a gentleman off and on the field,” says Chaney. “He was very organized and cared about us.”

After high school, Chaney played catcher at Oakland City (Ind.) University, where he received his B.A. degree in education. He holds a masters of education from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Chaney was a varsity baseball assistant at BNL for 13 seasons, serving primarily as the hitting coach. He has also been head baseball coach at Eastern Greene High School in Bloomfield, Ind.

Mitchell (enrollment around 475) is a member of the Patoka Lake Athletic Conference (with Crawford County, Orleans, Paoli, Perry Central, Springs Valley and West Washington) and plays home and away games against each league team.

Last season’s non-conference opponents for Mitchell have included Bloomfield, Brownstown Central, Corydon Central, Eastern Greene, Linton-Stockton, Loogootee, Salem, Scottsburg and Shoals.

The Bluejackets are part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping with Eastern Greene, Linton-Stockton, North Knox, Paoli and South Knox. Mitchell has won 10 sectional crowns — the last in 2006.

Jerry and Sonya Chaney have been married for 13 years and have five children.

Jerry Chaney has been head baseball coach at Mitchell (Ind.) Senior High School for nine seasons.

 

Ingram looking to grow the game with West Washington Senators

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Brent Ingram went to Indianapolis to attend college.

His first two teaching jobs were in Gas City, Ind., and Switz City, Ind.

Then the Washington County, Ind., native came back south and became an educator and a coach at a school just up the road from where he grew up.

Ingram is a 2011 graduate of Salem (Ind.) High School. He had three coaches in four years. The last one was Brett Miller.

The Lions’ two county rivals were West Washington and Eastern (Pekin). His father, Larry Ingram, was head coach at Eastern for 29 seasons, concluding in 2011.

After earning his degree in kinesiology with an emphasis on physical education at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in 2015, Brent Ingram worked one year each as a teacher only at Mississinewa High School and White River Valley High School.

Then West Washington Junior-Senior High School principal MaryAnne Knapp called to say that the Senators needed a P.E. teacher and a head baseball coach.

To his his, he is just the second head baseball coach in the history of the program that was also a teacher.

“That’s a big deal to be able to recruit kids,” says Ingram. “Our numbers are better. We expect to have eight or nine freshmen.”

Ingram took both teaching and coaching positions in 2017-18 and made his father one of his assistants.

“I grew up around a baseball coach and a baseball setting and I loved every minute of it,” says Ingram, who counts Larry Ingram, Tim Barksdale and Lincoln Jones as West Washington assistants.

Barksdale is the former director of the youth league in Campbellsburg and a school board member. Jones teaches business at West Washington. The North Harrison High School graduate pitched for four years at Franklin (Ind.) College.

The 2000 baseball season will be Brent Ingram’s third at the IHSAA Class 1A school of about 290 students.

The first season saw the Senators on the wrong end of many run-rule games. That only happened a couple times last spring.

“They’ve improved,” says Ingram, who has had about a dozen players in the program and on a few occasions — such as days when baseball games and track meets fell on the same day — went into games with just nine. There was a time he his left fielder was playing with the broken arm. “It makes you sweat a little bit. If the guys are willing to put the time in, they’re going to play.”

Moving players around the diamond is the norm.

“We’ve had bunch of different lineups in the last few years,” says Ingram. “That’s for sure.”

Baseball is a priority at West Washington as evidenced by the building a junior high diamond next to the high school facility — Claude C. Combs Field (named for the former Senators head coach and current school board member).

The junior high team is affiliated with the school system and coached by West Washington Elementary principal Tom Rosenbaum and West Washington Community Schools superintendent Keith Nance.

A training building with indoor mounds and batting cages will also benefit the Senators.

Whether that will translate into any home runs at Combs Field remains to be seen. While is is 300 feet down the lines and 350 to center, the field sits up on a hill and the wind seems to always be blowing in.

Ingram has never witnessed a game-time home run there.

Combs Field is lighted and has brick dugouts, raised fences all the way around and, recently, a turf home plate area was added.

“For a 1A, we have awesome facilities,” says Ingram.

The Senators are part of a sectional grouping with Crothersville, New Washington and Shawe Memorial. West Washington, a sectional host the past two years, has yet to win a sectional title.

As a member of the Patoka Lake Athletic Conference (with Crawford County, Mitchell, Orleans, Paoli, Perry Central and Springs Valley), the Senators play home and away games against each league team.

Besides Eastern (Pekin) and Salem, past non-conference opponents have included Borden, Christian Academy of Indiana, Clarksville, Crothersville, Evansville Christian, North Harrison, Orleans, Scottsburg, Shoals, Southwestern (Hanover) and Trinity Lutheran.

The Ingrams (from left): Brooke, Nick, Dustin, Larry, Luke, Janis and Brent. Brent Ingram is head baseball coach at West Washington High School in Campbellsburg, Ind. Larry Ingram, who was head coach at Eastern (Pekin) for 29 years, is one of his assistants. Brent and Dustin are the sons of Larry and Janis. Nick and Luke are the sons of Dustin and Brooke.

Character counts for Pennington, Eastern Musketeers

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

The longer Jeff Pennington is in coaching and education, the more he realizes that developing athletic skills — in his case, baseball — is secondary to fostering character.

“It’s not just the game of baseball,” says Pennington, who is in his seventh season as head coach at Eastern High School in Pekin, Ind., in 2019. “It’s the kind of young men they’re going to grow up to be.”

Seeing young men grow the attributes of respect, mental toughness, hustle and intensity — things that apply to life as well as sports — is what gives Pennington fulfillment.

“We are already know they’re baseball guys,” says Pennington. “What kind of young men we can turn these young guys into?”

Pennington, who teaches at East Washington Elementary School in Pekin, says the those lessons can start long before the teenage years.

“They can be established at 8, 9, 10 years old,” says Pennington. “You think they’re not hearing it, but it goes in.

“Now we’ve got them in high school. We’re starting see some of those benefits.”

Carson Ehlers, Payton Miller and Adam Stempowski are seniors. Hunter Anderson, Landon Snelling, Joe Fetz, and Rhett Pennington are juniors. Ryan Adamson, Brant Farris, Ethan Ford, Conner Gonzalez, Cauy Motsinger, Snyder Pennington and Adam Stewart are sophomores. Micah Robinson, Dallis Stayton and Clayton Young are freshmen. Miller, Anderson, Adamson, Motsinger, Gonzalez and both Pennington brothers are pitchers.

All three of Jeff and Mindi Pennington’s sons — junior Rhett (17), sophomore Snyder (16) and sixth grader Wyatt (11) — are ballplayers. All three play travel baseball. Rhett is with Louisville-based Wolves, Snyder with the Indiana Trailblazers and Wyatt and cousin Garrett Drury (son of brother Wes and sister-in-law Holly) with the Southern Indiana Rawlings Tigers.

There’s a lot of moving parts when getting players to games.

“It takes a village,” says Pennington. “This is one of the advantages of moving back home. Between (family members, including sister Jessica Huls and parents, Ronnie Pennington and Cindy Erwin), you just divide and conquer.

“I’ve been three different places in one weekend watching three different kids. It’s fun. But, man, it’s a whirlwind.”

Pennington is a 1992 graduate of Salem (Ind.) High School, where he played baseball for head coach Derek Smith.

Smith showed Pennington that its the relationships with the players that’s important.

“He was the kind of coach you could jell with real well,” says Pennington. “He was easygoing. He could take the discomfort out of you when you weren’t comfortable.”

Pennington played two-plus seasons at Indiana University Southeast when Rick Parr was head coach.

“I probably learned about hitting then anymore else I’ve been around,” says Pennington. “He was a very good hitting coach.”

Prior to returning to Washington County, Pennington spent seven years coaching middle school and high school baseball at Community in Unionville, Tenn.

Before that, he was an assistant for a couple of seasons at South Central (Elizabeth).

Pennington’s assistants are principal Darin Farris and volunteer Rick Snelling.

Eastern (enrollment around 460) is a member of the Mid-Southern Conference (with Austin, Brownstown Central, Charlestown, Clarksville, Corydon Central, North Harrison, Salem, Scottsburg and Silver Creek).

Opponents on the non-conference portion of the schedule include Borden, Crawford County, Henryville, Mitchell, North Vermillion, Lanesville, Orleans, Paoli, Seymour, South Central (Elizabeth), Southwestern (Hanover), Springs Valley, Trinity Lutheran and West Washington. It’s only a varsity slate that Eastern is playing this spring.

The Musketeers are part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping with Clarksville, Crawford County, Henryville, Lanesville and Paoli. Eastern has won four sectional crowns — the last in 2012.

Larry Ingram led the Eastern program for years.

“There’s a rich history of baseball at this high school,” says Pennington. “My goal to get it back where Coach Ingram had it.”

The Eastern High School baseball team in Pekin, Ind., has three members of the Pennington family in 2019 (from left): junior Rhett, head coach Jeff and sophomore Snyder.

Jeff Pennington is the head baseball coach at Eastern High School in Pekin, Ind. (Melissa Stewart Photo)