Rosters set for June 22 IHSBCA Futures Game at Indiana Wesleyan

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

Rosters have been established for the 2022 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Futures Game.
The showcase for players with remaining high school eligibility is slated for Wednesday, June 22 on the turf at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion — site of the IHSBCA North/South Series June 24-26.
Beginning at 9 a.m., Futures Game participants show their skills. Games are slated for noon (Navy vs. Gold) and 2 p.m. (Gray vs. Red).

FUTURES GAME SHOWCASE ROSTER
3b Josh Adamczewski (Lake Central)
p R.J. Anglin (LaPorte)
p Charlie Baker (Indianapolis North Central)
c Bryce Berkemeier (Rushville)
p Koen Berry (Nortwestern)
mif L.J. Bevier (Elkhart Christian)
c Drew Bradley (Jasper)
c Caleb Branam (NorthWood)
of Joel Bueltel (Forest Park)
1b/p A.J. Burkhalter (Northwestern)
mif Brayden Coffey (Decatur Central)
mif Braden Cook (Elkhart)
3b Jaxon Copas (Central Noble)
p Cale Coursey (Crawfordsville)
mif Henry Cruz (Springs Valley)
1b Aiden Darlage (Seymour)
p Jordan DeAtley (Southwestern of Hanover)
c/p Andrew Dillon (Wabash)
of Bradyn Douglas (Frankton)
mif Daxton Dudley (Wapahani)
c Bret Echelbarger (Western)
of/p Cade Epp (Western)
mif Kade Flores (LaPorte)
p Brayden Grass (South Central of Union Mills)
1b Jack Grunkemeyer (Batesville)
p Cole Gruppenhoff (Bloomington North)
3b Lance Hanna (Rossville)
p Brycen Hannah (John Glenn)
mif Quincy Harper (Heritage Christian)
p Alec Hershberger (Fairfield)
p Maddox Holsclaw (Plainfield)
1b Vince Hoover (Tipton)
p Ricky Howell (Pendleton Heights)
of Landyn Iden (Columbia City)
mif Braden Kauffman (Westview)
p Ben Kearns (West Vigo)
of Grady Kepplin (New Prairie)
3b Bo Kerns (Lakeland)
if Denham Kozy (Munster)
c Adam Lehmann (Penn)
c Chase Long (Delph)
p Cole Long (Delphi)
3b Logan Marsell (McCutcheon)
mif Cooper Martin (Plainfield)
of Cam Martinez (Fort Wayne Bishop Luers)
of/p Treyton McCormick (Seymour)
mif Quaid Mull (Hagerstown)
p Jake Mulvehill (South Bend Adams)
of Braxton Myers (Connersville)
of Jayden Ohmer (Brebeuf Jesuit)
3b Ben Orrill (Madison)
p Tayvion Ortman (New Prairie)
p Andrew Parker (Kankakee Valley)
mif Ian Potts (Peru)
of Micah Rienstra-Kiracofe (Indianapolis North Central)
p Sam Russo (Elkhart)
of/p Dominic Sharp (Boonville)
of Grant Shepherd (Greenfield-Central)
of Nate Simpson (Avon)
1b Rylee Singleton (Evansville North)
1b Carson Terrell (Northeastern)
1b/p Easton Terry (South Vermillion)
3b Cannon Vandever (Avon)
p Brady Watts (Austin)
p Kale Wemer (Crawfordsville)
1b Matthew Wright (Jasper)
c Bryce Yoder (Homestead)
mif Maddux Yohe (Mishawaka)
3b Zach Zychowski (Hanover Central)

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Malott has South Dearborn Knights playing ‘old school’ baseball

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Jay Malott comes from the “old school” when it comes to coaching baseball.

“We have the dirtiest uniforms,” says Malott, the head coach at South Dearborn High School in Aurora, Ind., and a South assistant for the 2019 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches North/South All-Star Series in Madison. “We’re sliding head first.

“We’re always intense. We don’t have a problem taking extra bases. We’ll bunt. We’ll do anything we can to win. Pitching-wise, we’ll throw inside and outside.

“The system seems to work and we just pass it down. People say I’m softer than I was when I first started.

“I think I’m doing the same thing.”

After assistant stints at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (with Craig Moore) and Brownstown Central High School, Malott has been coaching in the South Dearborn program for 34 years and is coming up on 25 years of leading the Knights.

Larry Hornbach (who died Dec. 16, 2018) and Mallot are the only head coaches in program history. Mallot has also been a linebackers coach for SD football.

South Dearborn (enrollment around 825) is a member of the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference (with Batesville, Connersville, East Central, Franklin County, Greensburg, Lawrenceburg and Rushville Consolidated).

In 2018-19, the Knights were part of an IHSAA Class 3A sectional grouping with Batesville, Franklin County, Greensburg, Lawrenceburg, Madison Consolidated and Rushville Consolidated. With 2019’s South Dearborn Sectional title, the Knights have won 12 sectional championships.

This spring produced a 21-8 mark, a co-championship in he EIAC and a Charlestown Invitational title. South Dearborn lost to Silver Creek in the semifinals of the Jasper Regional.

Malott is a 1977 graduate of Eastbrook High School in Marion, Ind., where his baseball coach was Tim Sumner.

“He was a heck of a coach,” says Malott of Sumner, who went on to assist American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Ron Polk and coach future big leaguers Rafael Palmeiro, Will Clark, Bobby Thigpen and Jeff Brantley at Mississippi State University.

What did Malott learn from Sumner?

“Probably about everything,” says Malott. “I became a social studies teacher because of him. I tried to coach like him, but personality’s different so it still comes out different.

“Your personality comes out in your players, too.”

Malott has coached several IHSBCA North/South All-Stars, including Jim Townsend (1986), Brad Tyler (1987), Mark Morris (1994), A.J. Gray (1996), Jared Cutter (1997), Korey Kirkpatrick (1999), Jeremy Legge (2000), Sam Schmeltzer (2007), Wyatt Schwing (2016) and Ethan Getz (2019).

The 2008 IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series was held in Evansville and Malott was a South assistant.

“My favorite day is the one where they use the wooden bats and you can see all the kids’ (high school) uniforms,” says Malott. “I’ve been coaching a long time and I get to meet some of the other coaches and tell stories.”

Stepping back on Gary O’Neal Field at Madison brings fond memories to Malott. His South Dearborn team played the Cubs in the sectional championship game in 1999, the year Madison won the 3A state title.

“It was a close game (5-3),” says Malott. “They were better than us.

“We played these guys in football, basketball and baseball and six times in Legion ball (Malott coached with South Dearborn American Legion baseball for more than 25 years). I knew most of these kids’ families.”

Ben Reel, the head baseball coach at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany since the 2009 season, played at South Dearborn for Malott.

His assistant coaches in 2019 included, Adam Wheat, Dave Burress, Greg Hughes, Tim Studer and T.J. Schomber. Most of them played at SD for Malott and know the system and are able to pass it along to the high schoolers and those in the junior high program which is part of the Knights feeder system.

Youth baseball in Aurora, Dillsboro, Manchester and Moores Hill as well as select teams in the Cincinnati area (Aurora is 25 miles west of Cincy) help develop players for South Dearborn.

Highlander Park, located adjacent to the South Dearborn campus, is the Knights’ home field. In the past three years, the lighted facility has had a nine-inning scoreboard installed with new dugouts, press box and wind screens.

“We keep trying to update it,” says Malott.

Jay and Teresa Malott have one daughter — Ashley. She lives in Lafayette with her husband and three children.

Jay Malott has been coaching baseball at South Dearborn High School in Aurora, Ind., for 34 years and is coming up his his 25th in charge of the Knights program. He was an assistant for the South in the 2019 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South All-Star Series in Madison. (Steve Krah Photo)

 

 

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.

Armstrong, Madison welcoming IHSBCA all-stars this summer

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

A baseball-mad town and surrounding area will be the focus of the Indiana high school diamond community this summer.

The 2019 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North-South All-Star Series are scheduled for the week of June 17.

“We’re going to make it a week-long event,” says Tim Armstrong, head baseball coach at Madison Consolidated High School. “We’re exciting about having an opportunity to host. We want to do it up right.

“We’re going to make the all-stars feel like all-stars.”

Festivities are to be held at Madison Consolidated, nearby Hanover College as well as on and along the Ohio River.

Madison boasts the “largest contiguous national historic district in the United States” with sites, landmarks and tours plus speciality shopping, restaurants and cafes and the lure of Clifty Falls State Park.

Madison Consolidated will be the site of three all-star games for seniors (25 each representing the North and South) on the weekend. Hanover will house the players and be the site of the Futures Games (replaces the Junior Showcase) and all-star banquet.

Armstrong says Armstrong says Governor Eric Holcomb has agreed to throw out a first pitch. Indiana University head coach Jeff Mercer has been tapped to be the keynote speaker at the all-star banquet.

The plan is to get local youth leaguers and Boys & Girls Club members involved in the fun.

Madison has long considered making a bid for the North-South Series. When Armstrong returned to the Madison Consolidated program for his second stint as head coach, he and former assistant Mike Modesitt (who now tends to all of Madison’s outdoor athletic facilities) began planning and got the mayor’s office and tourism folks involved.

Armstrong served as Madison’s mayor (Jan. 1, 2008 to Dec. 31, 2011) and was a city police officer for many years. He is currently certified through the Jefferson County Sheriff’s office and a resource officer at Madison Consolidated.

Basketball is also dear to Armstrong. He was varsity assistant in boys basketball at Madison two different times and was a lay head boys hoops coach at Shawe Memorial Memorial High School in Madison for two seasons.

The baseball-playing Madison Cubs call Gary O’Neal Field home.

Former Madison head coach Gary O’Neal, who retired for the second time after the 2002 season with 601 career victories, is a member of the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Armstrong graduated from Shawe Memorial in 1979. He became an assistant to O’Neal at Madison in 1982.

He started as Shawe’s head coach in 1989 and took the Hilltoppers the IHSAA Class 1A State Finals in 2001, losing 1-0 to eventual state champion Triton in the semifinals.

After sitting out the 2002 season, he returned as Madison’s head coach from 2003-07, resigned to serve as mayor and then got back into law enforcement. He returned to the program for the 2017 season.

Gary O’Neal Field is getting a new scoreboard and windscreen this spring and plans call for an expansion to permanent seating.

During Armstrong’s first stint with the Cubs, he enlisted the help of Madison American Legion Post 9 and got upgrades to the park like irrigation, a new back stop and fencing and a three-tier press box.

“It’s constant work if you want a nice facility,” says Armstrong. “We’ve got a lot of work to do between now and June. But we’re getting there.”

Madison Consolidated (enrollment around 875) is the smallest school in the Hoosier Hills Conference (which also includes Bedford North Lawrence, Columbus East, Floyd Central, Jeffersonville, Jennings County, New Albany and Seymour).

A tournament determines the HHC champion.

“It’s a great conference,” says Armstrong. “It’s traditionally strong.”

The Cubs are part of an IHSAA Class 3A sectional grouping with Batesville, Franklin County, Greensburg, Lawrenceburg, Rushville and South Dearborn. Madison has won 22 sectionals — the last in 2009. A 3A state championship was earned in 1999 as the Cubs topped Fort Wayne Carroll 10-0.

Bryan Bullington was the winning pitcher in that contest, capping off a 15-0 senior season.

Bullington was selected in the 37th round of the 1999 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Kansas City Royals, but opted to go to college. He played three seasons at Ball State University and was chosen No. 1 overall in the 2002 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He made his MLB debut with the Pirates in 2005 and went on to pitch for the Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays and Royals then in Japan.

Armstrong’s 2019 assistants include Joe Jenner, Ryan Mahoney and Drew Frazier with the varsity and Derek Wynn, Peyton Head and James “Doc” Boyd with the junior varsity or C-teams.

Local attorney Jenner and insurance agent Mahoney both played on Madison’s 1999 state championship team. Frazier played for Armstrong during his first stint as head coach.

Wynn also played one season for Armstrong at Madison. Head is a Hanover student. Boyd played at Evansville Memorial.

Armstrong’s core coaching values include taking responsibility for one’s actions.

“I stress accountability,” says Armstrong. “I hold them accountable for what they do on and off the field.”

The coach also looks to build a relationship and a sense of trust with his student-athletes.

“I’m very personable with my players,” says Armstrong. “We’re building the character and the type of person they will be once leave high school.”

Armstrong says he appreciates the drive and camaraderie of his current group.

“These kids work hard and they get along together,” says Armstrong. “That’s a big part of it.”

There are 30 in the Madison Consolidated program in 2019.

“Our middle school program is really strong,” says Armstrong. “They are athletes and baseball players. They’re going bump our numbers back up.”

There are close to 30 for seventh and eighth grade squads that play in the spring. The Madison Junior High School field is inheriting the old scoreboard and batting cage from Gary O’Neal Field.

This year, Madison Baseball Club aka Mudcats will field eight travel teams ranging from 7U to 14U. The 14U team, made up mostly of seventh and eighth graders, goes by the Madison Fusion.

Not strictly a Madison organization, players are welcomed from all over southeastern Indiana.

“We want to give kids an opportunity where they can play and not travel far and play a lot of money,” says Armstrong, who indicates that costs to families are cut through fundraising and sponsorships.

Mudcats and Fusion players are encouraged to participate with the local recreation leagues during the week and their travel teams on the weekend.

Madison American Legion Post 9, which won a state championship in 2000, went on hiatus in 2018. Armstrong and Jenner were coaches and would like to bring the team back in the future.

“(Post 9) pays for it all,” says Armstrong, who saw American Legion Post 9 Field become a reality at Shawe Memorial and games move to Gary O’Neal Field when he landed there. “It doesn’t cost the kids a dime to play.”

Armstrong played Legion ball for Delbert Liter in the ’70s and later coached with him.

Tim Armstrong is in his second stint at head baseball coach at Madison (Ind.) Consolidated High School.

Stanley wants confidence, consistency for Shenandoah Raiders baseball

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Confidence and consistency.

They are the foundation of the baseball program Bruce Stanley has built as head coach at Shenandoah High School in Middletown, Ind.

Taking a cue from Tug McGraw and Stanley’s last college coach, Rich Maloney, the Raiders carry the motto: Ya Gotta Believe!

“I’m big on consistency. Make the routine play. Throw strikes. It’s basic things of baseball like competing and believing in yourself,” says Stanley, who enters his fifth season as head coach in 2019. The 1993 Shenandoah graduate has also also served two stints as an assistant at his alma mater. “Everything you attack in life, you gotta believe you’re going to do it and do it well.”

Shenandoah (enrollment around 450) is a member of the Mid-Eastern Conference (with Blue River Valley, Cowan, Daleville, Eastern Hancock, Monroe Central, Randolph Southern, Union of Modoc and Wapahani).

MEC teams play each other one time to determine the conference champion. The Raiders joined the league in 2017-18. Stanley says plans call for conference games to be played on Tuesdays and Thursdays in 2021.

Among Shenandoah’s non-conference foes are Alexandra-Monroe, Anderson, Centerville, Frankton, Hagerstown, Jay County, Mt. Vernon (Fortville), Muncie Central, New Castle, Pendleton Heights, Richmond, Rushville and Wes-Del.

The Raiders are part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping with Frankton, Lapel, Monroe Central, Muncie Burris and Wapahani. Shenandoah has won 12 sectional titles — the last in 2006.

Stanley’s assistant coaches are Ryan Painter (varsity) and Rusty Conner (junior varsity). The Raiders normally have about 30 players in the program each spring.

Shenandoah plays home games on its campus at the Dale Green Field complex. In recent years, the facility has gotten new dugouts, a new backstop and fencing has been replaced. This spring will bring a new scoreboard.

The feeder system for the high school includes Little League and Babe Ruth program in Middletown and several travel baseball organizations, including the Indiana Bulls, Indiana Longhorns, Indiana Nitro, Indiana Premier, Indiana Prospects and Midwest Astros.

Stanley, who was chosen for the 1993 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South All-Star Series, was selected three times in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft — 1993 by the Pittsburgh Pirates (41st round), 1996 by the Baltimore Orioles (11th round) and 1997 by the Kansas City Royals (18th round).

The right-handed pitcher says the first time he was drafted, he planned to go to college (he earned four letters at Ball State University). The second time the money wasn’t right and the third time he decided it was time to move on and start a family.

Bruce and Holly Stanley, who attended Shenandoah and Ball State together, have two children — Cy (18) and Meg (15). Cy Stanley is a freshman left-handed pitcher at Taylor University. Meg is a sophomore softball player at Shenandoah.

Other recent Raider player now in college baseball is shortstop-second baseman Max McKee (Indiana University Kokomo).

Current Shenandoah senior pitchers — left-hander Hadden Myers (Indiana Tech) and right-hander Gavin Patrick (Wabash College for baseball and football) — are also college-bound.

Pat Quinn was Ball State’s head coach when Stanley arrived in Muncie.

Stanley appreciates the way Quinn instilled work ethic and competitiveness.

“(Quinn) was a big influence,” says Stanley. “He showed me how to go about things in a professional way.

“He brought intensity to the game. It really helped me be successful.”

Stanley says Maloney was also intense and set expectations high.

“He was good at bringing about the family atmosphere,” says Stanley. “We were working for each other. He was a great mentor, leader and father figure.

“I’d have run through a wall for him repeatedly.”

Stanley has been a teacher for 20 years. He spent 14 years at South View Elementary in Muncie and is in his sixth year as a special education teacher at Shenandoah.

Bruce Stanley (left) coached his son at Shenandoah High School in Middleton, Ind. Cy Stanley (right) now plays for Taylor University.

Holly and Bruce Stanley both attended Shenandoah High School and Ball State University. The couple have two children — Cy and Meg. Bruce is head baseball coach and a special education teacher at Shenandoah.

 

Alum Stang now guiding Franklin County Wildcats baseball

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Derek Stang received more and more responsibility from the two previous head baseball coaches at Franklin County High School in Brookville, Ind., and now he’s the man in charge.

After serving two seasons each on the staffs of Tony Windle and Dave Miley, 2007 FCHS graduate Stang is leading a Wildcats program that is used to success.

Franklin County has won 15 or more games in five of the past six seasons. The Wildcats have been consistent contenders in the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference and earned seven sectional crowns — the last in 2013.

Stang played for Windle as a young boy and at FCHS.

“(Windle) always stressed relationships with kids,” says Stang. “He made them feel comfortable around the coaches. It’s their program. They respected him and enjoyed playing for him.”

Miley brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to Franklin County. He managed or coached many years in professional baseball, including 2003-05 as manager of the Cincinnati Reds.

“Learning from him the last few years has been a great thing,” says Stang. “Dave had me coach third base the past two years. He gave me the freedom to do what I need to do.

“It won’t be a huge transition.”

Miley’s wife, Andrea, is from Franklin County and he is still local and in contact with Stang.

With his connections, Miley has helped bring Marty Brenneman, Tom Browning and Ron Oester to town for “A Night With A Legend” team fundraisers.

There is continuity on the staff since pitching coach Brett Rauch, junior varsity coach Scott Carie, freshmen coach Randy Bolos and volunteers Roger Miller and Gene Hodges are all returnees.

“That consistency is going to help a lot,” says Stang. “We know how we want to play.”

Stang plans to have his Wildcats playing a lively brand of baseball.

“We want to be aggressive — at the plate or on the bases,” says Stang. “We want to put pressure on the defense and make them make plays.”

When the other team is at the plate, he wants Franklin County fielders to make the the routine plays.

“We do not want to get too sped up on defense,” says Stang. “That starts with pitchers throwing strikes.”

Pitchers who can’t find the zone have a tendency to put their defense to sleep.

“Staying in the game is half the battle sometimes,” says Stang. “We also want to cut down on our number of strikeouts. Even the guys with the most RBI’s last year had too many strikeouts.”

During the current limited contact time when teams can practice two times a week for two hours, Stang and his coaching staff are trying to make the most of the opportunity.

“It’s a challenge this year,” says Stang. “We’ve got varsity, JV and freshmen in a two-hour time period and trying to get pitchers to get their pitch counts up.”

Players spend half their time at hitting stations then rotate to an agility station.

When it comes to defensive work, players are grouped by position. Catchers do a progression drill that focuses on receiving the ball, a POP drill that emphasizes footwork and a blocking drill.

In the old Brookville High School gym, infielders concentrate on fundamentals and take some ground balls. Middle infielders get some double play reps and work on communication.

Outfielders do zig-zag and angle drills — the latter to help prevent a gapper from turning from a single into a double.

“We utilize every foot of that space,” says Stang. “We make the most of it and get done what we can get done.”

Stang expects to have program numbers in the high 30’s this year.

In recent years, the Wildcats have sent players on to college baseball. Joe Monroe, Blake Ripperger and Jake Fields went to Miami University Hamilton and Brennan Meyers to Wright State University-Lake Campus.

Many players take part in travel baseball while participate in the Franklin County Recreational Baseball League (T-ball through age 12) and Franklin County Babe Ruth League (ages 13-15).

Each June, Stang, Rauch and some FCHS players conduct a youth camp. The youngsters who look up to the high schoolers enjoy being taught by them. There is also a youth night during the spring where kids get into the game free by wearing their uniform and are recognized on the field.

Franklin County plays its home games on its campus. This year the facility will be named Jim Hughes Field in honor of the former coach and educator at Brookville and Franklin County. The Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer died Nov. 12, 2018.

Franklin County (enrollment around 750) is part of an IHSAA Class 3A sectional grouping with Batesville, Greensburg, Lawrenceburg, Madison Consolidated, Rushville Consolidated and South Dearborn.

A member of the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference, Franklin County competes with Batesville, Connersville, East Central, Greensburg, Lawrenceburg, Rushville Consolidated and South Dearborn. In 2018, the EIAC went to a format where each team played a home-and-home series against each other on Mondays and Thursdays and that will continue in 2019.

Stang also played basketball at Franklin County for coach Josh Johnson. He was an assistant coach at the high school the past four years and switched to eighth grade this winter.

He has also been a baseball and basketball assistant at Daleville High School and coached basketball at the AAU level for the Spiece program and at Zionsville Junior High.

A math teacher at FCHS, Stang attended Indiana University in Bloomington and received his degree from Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis.

Derek and Heather Stang have a daughter — Amelia. She turned 1 on Thursday, Feb. 7. Heather is a sixth grade teacher at Mt. Carmel Elementary in Cedar Grove, Ind.

Derek Stang is heading into his first season as head baseball coach at Franklin County High School in Brookville, Ind. He is a 2007 FCHS graduate and has served the past four seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater.

 

Goal-setting, evaluation important to Bergman, Triton Central Tigers

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Justin Bergman wants to keep the lines of communication open with his Triton Central High School baseball team. He wants his Tigers to set and achieve goals.

To do this, he has set up some systems for his program based in Fairland, Ind.

“We really talk about three types of goals — Process, Performance and Outcome,” says Bergman, who is heading into his fifth season as Triton Central head coach in 2019.

Process goals revolve are controllable concepts such as working hard, attitude, hustle, mechanics and knowing your role.

Performance goals, which can be adjusted from week-to-week, include getting 60 to 65 percent first-pitch strokes, an on-base percentage of .400 or better, scoring eight runs a game, fielding at a .975 clip or better, having 75 percent Quality At-Bats and winning the “freebie war.”

Outcome goals are winning game at a time and ratchet up to being state-ranked, top four in the Indiana Crossroads Conference, winning the conference, sectional, regional, semistate and state titles.

Bergman also puts a lot of stock in evaluation.

“We want them to know their strengths and weaknesses,” says Bergman. “It’s something we as a coaching staff focus on.”

When he was head coach at Ohio Northern University (2006-11), Bergman hired Jeff Mercer (now head coach at Indiana University) as an assistant coach. The two worked out a system for evaluating players.

Justin Parker, now pitching coach at IU, was also on Bergman’s ONU staff.

At Triton Central, Bergman and his assistants meet with each athlete prior to the season to discuss where they rate and help them set goals.

Hitters, infielders, outfielders and catchers are all rated on a 1-to-5 scale in five categories. Pitchers are rated in six areas.

TC coaches look at hitters in terms of average, power, mechanics, approach and knowledge, infielders for hands, range, mechanics, arm strength and knowledge, outfielders for route, mechanics, speed, arm strength and knowledge and catchers for receiving, blocking, knowledge, athletic ability and arm strength. Pitchers are rate for mechanics, arm strength, mound presence, location, off-speed pitch and movement.

Bergman’s 2019 assistants are Travis Hensler, Scott Brown, Scott Lattimer and David Chapman. Hensler is in the paid position and handles hitting, operations and the junior varsity team. Brown is in charge of infielders, Latimer outfielders and Triton Cental graduate Chapman pitchers. Bergman works with catchers and helps with the other areas.

Numbers in the program have fluctuated between 15 and 24. This year, the Tigers have 12 seniors.

Triton Central (enrollment of about 475) plays each conference foe (Beech Grove, Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter, Indianapolis Lutheran, Indianapolis Scecina Memorial, Monrovia, Park Tudor and Speedway) once each, typically on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Working with athletic director Bryan Graham and athletic secretary Barb Guhl, Bergman has built a non-conference schedule featuring Arsenal Tech, Decatur Central, Greenfield-Central, Greenwood, Heritage Christian, Rushville, Shelbyville, South Decatur and Traders Point.

“We really try to play some bigger schools,” says Bergman.

The Tigers are in an IHSAA Class 2A sectional pairing with Eastern Hancock, Heritage Christian, Indianapolis Howe, Indianapolis Scecina Memorial, Irvington Prep Academy and Knightstown. Triton Central has won three sectionals – the last in 2012. Triton Central won a 2A state championship in 2003.

Home games are contested on-campus.

“We’ve done a ton with the facility, painting, cleaning up and edging it,” says Bergman. “We take pride in the presentation of our field.”

Development is aided with the addition of a portable batting tunnel and access to a fieldhouse.

Feeding the high school program is a new Triton Central Middle School team (19 players participated in 2018) as well as Triton Central Tigers 10U and 12U travel teams. The Future Tigers Athletics is active. There is a T-ball league for ages 3-5 (48 kids played in 2018) and coach pitch for ages 6-8 (68 took part in 2018). A 9-10 division is being added for 2019.

There was an FTA Night at an Indianapolis Indians game and the camp last March drew 118.

“The growth and development has taken some time,” says Bergman. “It’s definitely going in the right direction.”

Bergman is a 1997 Rushville Consolidated High School graduate. With the Lions, he played baseball for head coach Jim Bush

“He was always positive,” says Bergman of Bush. “You never heard anything negative from Coach Bush.”

Bergman played football and baseball at Franklin (Ind.) College. He arrived at the school the same years as Lance Marshall, who was his receivers coach in the fall and head baseball coach in the spring. The Grizzlies struggled on the diamond the first spring. By 2001, Franklin was nationally-ranked.

“He showed a toughness and determination in building a program,” says Bergman of Marshall. “It’s the hard work he’s put in on the recruiting path.”

In 2005, Bergman was a full-time coach for Marshall.

“He let you do your thing as an assistant,” says Bergman, who sent Jordan Crouse from Triton Central to Franklin to study and play baseball.

After receiving his undergraduate degree in secondary education from Franklin in 2001, Bergman pursued his masters in business leadership at Manchester College (now Manchester University) and coached the 2002 to 2004 seasons on a Spartans staff headed by Rick Espeset.

“I was very fortunate,” says Bergman. “Espy gave me a ton of responsibility with recruiting, hitting and outfield play.

“Espy is a great leader. He gives suggestions, but he lets his assistants make

make it their own.”

Manchester had talented players during Bergman’s time there and the Spartans qualified for two regionals and the 2004 NCAA Division III World Series.

In the summer of 2002, Bergman was tapped to coach the Fort Wayne-based Indiana Dox collegiate team. Owned by future Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Famer Colin Lister, the Dox went 44-10 and earned a berth in the National Amateur Baseball Federation World Series.

Besides coaching, Bergman works as an Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance agent in Shelbyville. Jeremy and wife Amber have two children — son Ty (8) and daughter Avery (4).

The Triton Central Tigers call Fairland in Shelby County, Ind., home.

Justin Bergman has been the head baseball coach at Triton Central High School in Fairland, Ind., since the 2015 season.

 

 

Alum Harpring has led Rushville Lions baseball program since 2013 season

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Baseball is important at Rushville (Ind.) Consolidated High School and the the place where the Lions roam is getting a facelift.

The school took over the diamond once run by the Rush County Council of Clubs and facility is going through some major renovation.

New fences and dugouts are expected for the 2019 season. The field already has lights.

“The kids are really excited about it and that’s what it’s about,” says Kyle Harpring, a 1998 Rushville graduate who is heading into his seventh season as Lions head coach. “We’re hoping with the upgrades we’ll get a chance to host a sectional.”

Rushville is in an IHSAA Class 3A sectional grouping with Batesville, Franklin County, Greensburg, Lawrenceburg, Madison Consolidated and South Dearborn. The Lions last won a sectional title in 1999.

A member of the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference (with Batesville, Connersville, East Central, Franklin County, Greensburg, Lawrenceburg and South Dearborn) since 2013 after years in the Hoosier Heritage Conference, Rushville is coming off a 2018 season where it went 15-10 overall and 7-7 in the conference, which was won by Franklin County.

The EIAC determines its champion with home-and-home series on Mondays and Thursdays.

Among Rushville’s non-conference opponents are 3A’s New Castle, 2A’s Centerville, Hagerstown, Shenandoah and Triton Central and 1A’s Edinburgh and North Decatur.

Mason Springman (.487), Aaron Duncan (.360) and Cameron Craig (.348) were among the top hitters and three-year ace Tyler Wilson (3-4 in 11 appearances), Tyce Carroll (6-0) and Duncan (3-3) the top pitchers in 2018 and are expected to be part of the 10-member senior class in 2019.

Harpring says he expects to have about 25 players for varsity and junior varsity squads with about the same number in the middle school program.

Former Rushville left-hander Brad Busald pitched at Lincoln Trail College in Robinson Ill., in 2017 then transferred to Indiana University.

Harpring’s coaching staff features Eric Harpring, Jason Pavey and Jordan Hoeing at the high school level with Mark Mathews and Billy Martin tending to the middle schoolers.

Eric Harpring, who was a pitcher and outfielder at Huntington University, is Kyle’s brother.

“Eric brings a lot of knowledge to the table,” says Kyle Harpring. “I enjoy being able to share experiences with him.”

The Lions have produced five Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South All-Star Series players and there are related — Brian Harpring (1989), Eric Harpring (2006) and Caleb Fenimore (2010). Brian is an uncle and Caleb a second cousin to Kyle and Eric.

Jeremy Vale (1993) and Jarod Springman (1999) are the Lions’ other former All-Stars.

Pavey and Hoeing are also Rushville graduate. Hoeing played with Fenimore and Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne.

Billy Martin is the son of former Rushville Consolidated and Robert L. Jenkins American Legion coach Eric Martin and the brother of Wabash College head coach Jake Martin.

Kyle Harpring played for head coach Jim Bush in high school, Keith Perin in high school and Legion baseball and Eric Martin in Legion ball.

“I was really lucky,” says Kyle Harpring. “I got to play for some really invested baseball guys.

“They were good about instilling the importance of being fundamentally sound, playing hard all the time and knowing the focus you have to have as your progress up the levels. You can’t take plays off.”

Harpring grew up in what he calls a baseball family.

Kyle is the oldest of Mark and Karen Harpring’s three sons. Second son Scott is two years younger than Kyle. Eric was eight grades behind Kyle in school.

After graduating from Franklin College (2003), where he did not play baseball, Kyle Harpring went into teaching. His first job was at Lawrenceburg, where he was an assistant to Tigers head coach Joe Vogelesang and on the same staff with current Lawrenceburg head coach Nick Tremain.

“Joe was phenomenal to coach with,” says Harpring of Vogelgesang. “I was a middle infielder. Joe pitched professionally (in the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays systems). I learned an awful lot about pitching from Joe.

“He’s very intense and cares a lot about the kids and the game and playing it the right way.”

Harpring taught middle school for 10 years and now instructs fourth graders at Rushville Elementary East.

A basketball coach while still in college, Harpring has coached that sport from seventh grade through varsity assistant with roles at Rushville, Lawrenceburg, Shelbyville and Triton Central.

Kyle and Ashley Harpring have been married for 10 years. The couple has three children — sons Hudson (7) and Micah (5) and daughter Ella (2). Micah was the “sectional baby” born the night of a first-round game against South Dearborn.

Kyle Harpring, a 1998 Rushville (Ind.) Consolidated High School graduate, is heading into his seventh season as the Lions head baseball coach in 2019.

 

Tremain, Lawrenceburg Tigers baseball embraces grind

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Rise and grind.

That’s what the Lawrenceburg (Ind.) High School Tigers do in the off-season and it’s paid off during the spring.

During baseball workouts, head coach Nick Tremain has his team at the gym at 6 a.m.

“In Indiana high school baseball, we only get to play about eight weeks,” says Tremain, a 1998 Lawrenceburg graduate who led his alma mater to a 21-9 overall mark and 10-4 ledger in the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference in 2018 (The 2017 Tigers went 31-2 and won the program’s 20th sectional title). “The work comes the rest of the year.”

Some schools have a big fieldhouse.

Not so for the Tigers.

“You make due with what you have,” says Tremain, who enters his seventh season as Lawrenceburg head coach in 2019. “We have an auxiliary gym with two drop-down cages. We think of it as a baseball facility. We get in as many swings as we possibly can.”

The ’18 team led the EIAC with 226 runs scored — 7.5 per game.

Why the 6 a.m. workouts?

“Nobody else is fighting for that time slot,” says Tremain. “The kids have embraced that.”

At a school of about 600 students near the boot heel in the southeast corner of the state in Dearborn County, Tremain has athletes looking to improve and compete.

“We focus on the process and grind of everyday,” says Tremain. “We’re creating a culture of doing all the little things correct.”

Since Tremain has been head coach, the Tigers have had as many as 28 players in the program for varsity and junior varsity squads.

“We keep pretty large JV teams,” says Tremain. “We make sure we play a full JV schedule to get as much work for the guys as we can and develop them.”

Tremain’s 2019 coaching staff features Guy Buddenberg as pitching coach, Mark Fette as head JV coach and Mark Turner as first base coach

Volunteers with the varsity and JV are Ryan Howard, Mark McCool and Jim Kittle.

Lawrenceburg is now an IHSAA Class 3A school, but spent many years in 2A. Tremain’s first season was the Tigers’ first in the larger class. They are in a sectional grouping with Batesville, Franklin County, Greensburg, Madison Consolidated, Rushville and South Dearborn.

Located 25 minutes from downtown Cincinnati, the Tigers can schedule Ohio and Kentucky schools.

“There’s a lot of good baseball in the tri-state area,” says Tremain. “There are good programs that are close. It helps prepare us for the postseason.”

Lawrenceburg plays varsity games on-campus at Pat O’Neill Memorial Field. The junior varsity uses nearby Lawrenceburg Conservancy District Community Athletic Park (The CAP).

Lawrenceburg Babe Ruth, Lawrenceburg Little League and travel teams play a role in developing Lawrence ballplayers. Some travel teams play in the Southwest Ohio League.

“We want to allow opportunities for a lot of kids to play,” says Tremain.

Recent Lawrenceburg graduates to move on the college diamonds include first baseman Kyle Kittle (Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati) and right-handed pitcher Jordan Houze at Thomas More University in Crestview Hills, Ky. Shortstop Clay Woeste, right-hander Grant Bradley and outfielder/right-hander Eli Helton all went to Indiana University-Southeast in New Albany.

Tremain played for Mark Knigga at Lawrenceburg High School and Lawrenceburg American Legion Post 239.

The Tigers made it the championship game of the 2A Richmond Semistate in 1998.

Assistants included Joe Vogelgesang (who followed Knigga as LHS head coach) and Jerry Schoen (who was head coach at Hauser).

After one season as JV coach under Terry Turner at Anderson High School, 2003 Indiana University graduate Tremain spent seven seasons as head coach at South Central (Elizabeth).

Vogelgesang pitched in the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays systems. Turner has won two state title at Daleville (Ind.) High School.

“I’ve been fortunate,” says Tremain. “I had some pretty good mentors.

“I’ve tried to be a sponge with those guys and pick up as much as I can.”

The multi-sport athlete is the rule rather than the exception at Lawrenceburg.

“We encourage kids to compete in as many ways as they can,” says Tremain, who teaches physical education at both the high school and middle school. “Most of them play at least two sports.

“To win at our level we need to have the best athletes in the school playing multiple sports. We work together as programs.”

The summer brings a school-wide weight regimen.

Nick is the oldest of Jack and Susan Tremain’s three children. His siblings are Nathan and Jessica.

Nick Tremain is entering his seventh season as head baseball coach at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) High School in 2019. He is a 1998 Lawrenceburg graduate.

 

Pierce puts long-term plan in place for D-I Fort Wayne Mastodons

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Going from a squad full of veterans and experiencing NCAA Division I baseball success in 2016, the Mastodons of Fort Wayne had much less college experience and suffered growing pains in 2017.

With a new focus, Fort Wayne is looking to get things turned around in 2018 under the guidance of 10th-year head coach Bobby Pierce.

“We wore it last year,” says Pierce, who saw the Mastodons go 9-43 after losing 14 impact players — senior shortstop Greg Kaiser, senior outfielder Brandon Soat and and drafted sophomore pitcher Evan Miller among them — from a 33-26 campaign in ’16 that included a second straight trip to the Summit League tournament finals. “(Junior college) guys made the (2016) team as good as it could be. Freshmen (in 2017) need to learned how to play here and do damage on the Division I level.

“But we like to think over the next three or four years, that was worth it. Strategically, it’s the right move to get where we want to get. We have to think more long-term. Up until this time, we were using a steady mix of high school and junior college guys and it was holding us back a little bit.”

Fort Wayne just wrapped annual fall workouts with the Blue-Black intrasquad series with teams captained by sophomore infielder Travis Upp and junior pitcher Damian Helm on one side and junior infielder Brandon Yoho and senior pitcher Brandon Phelps on the other.

“We got after it somewhere in the middle of September,” says Pierce. “We’ve been grinding it out until this (past) weekend.”

Pierce, assistants Grant Birely and Connor Lawhead and the Dons will continue work in preparation for the 2018 campaign.

As he goes forward, Pierce has the longest tenure as head coach in program history. Previous coach Billy Gernon (now at Western Michigan University) was also in charge for nine seasons.

Pierce, who turned 39 on Oct. 17, came to Fort Wayne with lessons learned as a player, assistant coach and head coach.

A Las Vegas native, Pierce played for Rodger Fairless at Green Valley High School in Henderson, Nev. Fairless coached 12 state championship teams at three Nevada schools. He helped develop Greg Maddux before going to Green Valley and turning that school into a diamond powerhouse. With the Gators, he produced a state champion in the program’s third season. Two Green Valley players — Chad Hermansen and Dave Krynzel — went on to the big leagues.

Pierce, a middle infielder, played at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Central Arizona College and New Mexico State University.

Clint Myers was Pierce’s head coach at Central Arizona. National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association Hall of Famer Myers won more than 1,000 games as a baseball and softball coach with a number of national titles to his credit.

At New Mexico State, Pierce played for National College Baseball Hall of Famer Gary Ward and his son, Rocky Ward.

“I’m very fortunate to come from a very good pedigree of coaches,” says Pierce. “(Fairless) was super disciplinarian and fundamental coach and that was a great start for me. I got indoctrinated in it during my high school career. (Myers) taught me a team management perspective.”

Through structured live play drills in practice, Pierce is able to grow a player’s intelligence in playing the game — something he gained from Myers.

Pierce considers Gary Ward one of the best offensive-minded coaches of all-time and styles his Fort Wayne offense based in the Hall of Famer’s philosophy.

After he was done playing (he developed a labrum injury at New Mexico State), Pierce had planned to become an accountant in Albuquerque.

But fate intervened — hiring was curtailed after Sept. 11, 2001 and he was asked to go back to college for more schooling.

Pierce instead pursued coaching, first serving as an assistant at Central Arizona then the University of Arkansas-Little Rock (where he pulled his first tarp) before becoming head coach at Metropolitan State University of Denver for two seasons before becoming head coach at Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne for the 2009 season.

“The early years were hard. I was cutting my teeth,” says Pierce. “But you have to cut your teeth and learn your craft somehow.”

Pierce explains why he has stayed longer in the position than anyone else.

“It speaks to the people I work with and the community,” says Pierce. “The city of Fort Wayne is great. My family (Bobby and Lizette Pierce have two children — Bobby Jr., and Daycee) has grown roots and really love it here.

“I’ve been very fortunate to coach some student-athletes and been around great people. I love this job and I love baseball.”

Fort Wayne pulls many players from northern Indiana and the Indianapolis area, but is able to draw from outside of the state with the school’s policy of out-of-state students paying 150 percent of what in-staters pay.

“Before, we couldn’t afford out-of-state players,” says Pierce. “Their dollar goes further now. Indiana residents are still cheaper on our books. We target Indiana kids. We still like home cooking. We try to turn rocks up here.”

NCAA Division I allows 11.7 scholarships for baseball. Pierce says that of the 35 players on the roster, 27 of them can be on scholarship and those are broken up based on a number of factors, including performance and need.

“There is no such thing as a full-ride,” says Pierce.

Like most programs, most money goes to pitchers and then to the interior of the defense (catcher, shortstop, center field).

“We think we can do a good job of developing hitters,” says Pierce. “We spend the majority of our money in pitching.”

Balance must also be considered.

“Like pro baseball, if you overspend in one area, you are going to be light in another area,” says Pierce. “It becomes a numbers game.”

Pierce is proud to say that the Mastodons have performed well in the classroom with three straight years of 3.0 or higher (on a 4.0 scale) as a team grade-point average. All players are encouraged to graduate in four years and take 15 hours in both the fall and spring semesters.

To help them meet their scholarly goals, schedules are made to limit the amount of missed class time. There is an academic advisor, study halls and the resources of the Mastodon Academic Performance Center.

“I’ve proctored exams,” says Pierce. “Professors on our campus are willing to work with us. We’ve got it figured out.”

Being in the Summit League with Denver, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Omaha, Oral Roberts, South Dakota, South Dakota State and Western Illinois, there is plenty of travel.

But it’s not like the first few years of NCAA Division I status as an independent. That’s when Fort Wayne was on the road for all but a handful of its 56 regular-season games away from Mastodon Field. Having no conference ties meant a berth in the NCAA tournament was virtually impossible.

One former Don player is seeing the world while still playing the game. Caleb Fenimore, a senior catcher on the 2014 team, was recently named the top hitter in the North in the German Professional League. The Rushville Consolidated High School graduate has played in Germany in the summer and Australia in the winter.

Bobby Pierce is entering his 10th season at head coach of Fort Wayne Mastodons baseball in 2018. The NCAA Division I program is a member of the Summit League. (Fort Wayne Mastodons Photo)