By STEVE KRAH
When you’re at a small school where two- and three-sport athletes are the reality and not the exception, it might take some time for a team to hit its stride.
Mitch Simmons, who is in his third season as head baseball coach at Parke Heritage High School in Rockville, Ind., knows this.
“We have to make sure we can get everything we can out of every kid who can play,” says Simmons, who took over the Wolves program after six seasons as head boys basketball coach at nearby Riverton Parke (2015-16 to 2020-21). “We understand that we’ll have a basketball player or wrestler come in and they’re not quite ready. Our biggest point of emphasis is development — not just in January but we have to continue to work and develop. The point is to be good in the last week of May. That’s always been our push. We’re going to have growing pains. We’re going to have mistakes.
“When there’s no tomorrow is when you need to be your best. That’s when all the cards are on the table.”
Basketball is a big deal at Parke Heritage, where the Wolves are coming off a 24-5 season with sectional and regional titles in 2023-24 and are 117-49 with four sectionals, three regionals and one semistate in head coach/athletic director Rich Schelsky’s seven campaigns.
“We’re doing what we can to make baseball what it’s supposed to be. We have to get all the best athletes.”
Parke Heritage (enrollment around 360) is a member of the Wabash River Conference (with Attica, Covington, Fountain Central, North Vermillion, Riverton Parke, Seeger and South Vermillion).
WRC games tend to be Saturday doubleheaders. The Wolves are part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping in 2024 with Cloverdale, Greencastle, North Putnam, South Putnam and Southmont. Parke Heritage, which opened its doors in 2018 as a consolidation of the old Rockville and Turkey Run high schools, has won two sectional titles — 2021 and 2022.
Other teams on the 2024 schedule include Clay City, North Central of Farmersburg, Sullivan, Terre Haute North Vigo, Terre Haute South Vigo, North Montgomery and West Vigo.
There are 16 players in the program, including eight freshmen. While there is nothing scheduled yet, a few junior varsity games may be sprinkled in to give some of the younger players some playing experience.
Noble Johnson (Class of 2022) is on the baseball team at Vincennes (Ind.) University.
Simmons says current Wolves with college baseball potential are 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher Brendon McCamis (Class of 2024) and catcher Renn Harper (Class of 2025).
Mark Harper and Michael Featherling are Simmons’ assistant coaches.
Harper is the head girls basketball coach at Parke Heritage and was a baseball assistant to Bob Kyle at Rockville and Ron Alabaugh at Parke Heritage.
Featherling played baseball at Lake Land College in Mattoon, Ill., and the University of Indianapolis. He was a boys basketball assistant at Riverton Parke in 2023-24.
Stan Gideon Fields are about 1/10 of the mile northwest of the school on Strawberry Road and are home to Parke Heritage baseball, softball and tennis.
The lighted baseball diamond sports a spacious outfield.
“It’s one of the bigger ones in the state,” says Simmons. “I’ve seen three homers in two years. It takes an absolute shot to get out of that dude.
“When we’re setting lineups, outfield speed becomes very important.”
Feeding the Wolves are Parke-Vermillion Youth Baseball (T-ball to 13), a school-affiliated baseball program for seventh and eighth graders and area travel organizations.
An annual youth camp drew more than 40 third through fifth graders last fall.
“We start early and show them that it is fun,” says Simmons. “That goes a long way.”
When high schoolers came in for January practice, so did junior high players.
“There are certain techniques that need to be taught,” says Simmons. “I don’t want to teach you how to get ready for a ground ball as a freshman when you should already be doing that when you’re in junior high.”
Simmons is a 2007 Turkey Run graduate. Jimmy Nevins was the Warriors head baseball coach his senior year.
Much of what Simmons knows about sports and life comes from his father.
“My dad was the voice of reason in my ear,” says Simmons. “He is the reason I’m in this position.”
Mitch watched many Chicago Cubs games and traveled to Victory Field in Indianapolis with his dad.
Keith Simmons died in June of 2020 and Mitch took the Parke Heritage baseball job that October.
“This is one of those this is what I’m supposed to do type of things,” says Simmons.
Making his living as a farmer, Simmons works just under 1,000 acres near Turkey Run State Park. The farm features cattle, corn and soybeans.
Mitch and Brittany Simmons were married in 2014 and have three children — son Hagen (12) and daughters Harlow (7) and Hazlee (3) — with another son due in June.
A nod to local baseball history can be found about four miles east of the school. That’s where the Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown memorial sits on a farm on Nyesville Road. Brown won 239 big league games and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1949.
www.IndianaRBI.com 