Greiwe takes over top spot on South Ripley Raiders staff

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

South Ripley High School in Versailles, Ind., has had its share of baseball success.
From 2016-19, the Raiders averaged nearly 16 wins per season.
The team had plenty of veterans in 2020, but that season was lost to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, South Ripley won its eighth sectional title — the first since 2008. That team featured Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South All-Star Series selection Brady Linkel (now at Ohio University).
Jeff Greiwe, a Raiders assistant to Steve Franklin the past several years whose middle son Aaron was a senior ballplayer in 2020, has been named South Ripley head coach as the team prepares for 2022.
As head coach, Greiwe plans to assert the importance of fundamentals and attention to detail.
“If you want the big things to happen, you’ve got to do the little things right,” says Greiwe. “Bunting, base running, throwing strikes — those things will definitely be emphasized.
“We’re going to be extremely young. We’re going to start several freshmen.”
Among those is catcher Trent Smith.
Keeping everyone involved is also a Greiwe strength.
“I make it a point to use everybody during the game,” says Greiwe.
South Ripley (enrollment around 370) is a member of the Ohio River Valley Conference (with Jac-Cen-Del, Milan, Rising Sun, Shawe Memorial, Southwestern of Hanover and Switzerland County).
ORVC teams play each other twice during the season.
In 2021, the Raiders were part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping with Milan, North Decatur, South Decatur, Southwestern of Hanover and Switzerland County.
South Ripley plays its home games on-campus at Forest G. Waters Field. A few years ago, the mound was re-done and new bullpen mounds and dugouts were installed.
“We’ve got a strong tradition in baseball and one of the better fields in southeastern Indiana,” says Greiwe. “It’s up to me to keep the field to a very high standard.”
Greiwe (pronounced (Gry-vee), who teaches high school Geometry, keep things going in the summer and fall for whomever was going to be the head coach and that turned out to be him. He was approved by the school board this month.
Greiwe coached the 14U Redlegs Baseball Club in the summer and fall of 2021.
As has been the case for years, local players took part in high school and junior team fall leagues at the CERA Sports Park and Camp Ground in Columbus, Ind.
After helping get the junior high baseball program off the ground, Greiwe moved up the South Ripley coaching ranks.
Brian Smith, who has coached at the junior high level the past few years, is part of the South Ripley high school staff. Greiwe is talking to other possible 2022 assistants.
A 1998 graduate of Greensburg (Ind.) Community High School when the Pirates were coached by Roger Cash, Greiwe earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Education from Ball State University.
Greiwe has been head coach at Milan in two different stints, helped former high school classmate Doug Behlmer at Oldenburg (Ind.) Academy and was head coach at North Decatur.
Prior to teaching at South Ripley, Greiwe was an elementary then middle school math teacher at Milan.
Jeff, who is married to South Ripley Elementary teacher and former head volleyball coach Robyn Greiwe, has also coached sons Shayne, Aaron Griewe and Peyton during their travel ball years.
Shayne Griewe (Class of 2018) served in the U.S. Navy and is now working in Florida. Aaron Griewe is in the Navy and stationed in Norfolk, Va. Peyton Owens (Class of 2020) is studying music at Dark Horse Institute in Franklin, Tenn.

Forest G. Waters Field is the home of South Ripley Raiders baseball.

South Ripley’s Aaron Greiwe (left) with father Jeff Greiwe at Shawe Memorial in Madison, Ind.

South Ripley’s Brady Linkel lets a pitch fly against Southwestern (Hanover) during the 2021 South Ripley Sectional championship game.

South Ripley’s Brady Linkel (left) and coach Jeff Greiwe at the 2021 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South All-Star Series in Evansville.

South Ripley’s Brady Linkel (20) hits a sectional championship game home run against Southwestern (Hanover) with Bryce Franklin on first base.

South Ripley’s Brayden Dilk swings the bat in the 2021 Evansville Mater Dei Regional against eventual IHSAA Class 2A state champion Providence.

South Ripley first baseman Logan Eggleston and umpire Ron Jobst away a throw in 2021.

South Ripley’s Cody Samples (left) is greeted by coach Jeff Greiwe.

South Ripley’s Aaron Greiwe toes the mound against Rising Sun.

Redlegs Baseball Club celebrates a fall league championship at CERA Sports Park and Camp Ground in Columbus, Ind.

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Numbers up for Behlmer, Oldenburg Academy Twisters

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

The Twisters of Oldenburg (Ind.) Academy enjoyed the highest number of participants and victories in a number of years in 2019.

The IHSAA Class 1A member in Franklin County near Batesville had 24 players in the program and followed up two straight five-win seasons by going 16-8-1.

The Twisters fell to Rising Sun in the championship game of the Jac-Cen-Del Sectional. The win total is two shy of single-season school record.

“We’re on the uptick with enrollment and with kids being interested (in baseball),” says Doug Behlmer, who just finished his 19th season as OA head coach (the private school went coed 19 years ago). “Hopefully, it keeps going.”

Drawing from area parter Catholic elementary and middle schools (St. Louis in Batesville, St. Nicholas in Sunman, St. Mary’s in Greensburg, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Aurora, St. Lawrence in Lawrenceburg, St. Michael in Brookville and St. John the Baptist in Harrison) and public schools in Indiana and Ohio, Oldenburg Academy (enrollment around 225) is an independent in baseball.

The Twisters’ schedule includes 1A’s Blue River Valley, Edinburgh, Greenwood Christian Academy, Jac-Cen-Del, North Decatur, Rising Sun, Seton Catholic, Shawe Memorial, South Decatur, Trinity Lutheran and Waldron, 2A’s Centerville, Indianapolis Scecina Memorial, South Ripley, Southwestern (Hanover), Switzerland County and Triton Central 2A, 3A’s Lawrenceburg and Rushville.

Besides Rising Sun and Jac-Cen-Del, Oldenburg Academy is in sectional grouping with Hauser, North Decatur and South Decatur. The Twisters have won  four sectional titles (2003, 2004, 2005, 2010).

The Twisters play home games at Liberty Park in Batesville — the same facility used by Batesville High School.

With more than a dozen incoming freshmen indicating a desire to play baseball in 2020, Behlmer says the program could have an all-time high of more than 30 players and could even have to make cuts for the first time.

When the program began, there was just 13 freshmen and the Twisters played a junior varsity schedule. That moved toward a full varsity schedule in the next few years.

The 2019 team was led on the mound by sophomore right-handers Chris Hautman, Andrew Oesterling and Riley Schebler and in the batter’s box by Oesterling, Hautman, Schebler, sophomores Race Carle and Patrick Thompson and juniors Matt Sedler, Adam Huber and Michael Hoff.

Senior Hunter Sullivan has committed to play baseball for Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa.

Behlmer’s coaching staff included former OA players Spencer Gommel, Patrick Kolks and Matt Bohman and pitching coach Jeff Ahaus (a Lawrenceburg eye doctor who had two sons play for the Twisters). Bohman is in charge of the junior varsity team.

Points of emphasis include dependability and hard work.

“If you say you’re going do something, make sure you do it,” says Behlmer. “Family, faith and academics all come in front of baseball.”

A 1988 graduate of Greensburg (Ind.) High School, Behlmer played for head coach Roger Cash.

“Coach Cash was an old school guy,” says Behlmer. “He believed in fundamentals and making the routine play. I’ve carried that over to our guys. Nothing too flashy. Be solid. Throw strikes. That sort of thing.”

Doug and Judy Behlmer have been married 21 years and have no children. He is employed by Hill-Rom in Batesville.