Seeger’s Turner stresses pitching, defense, hard contact

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

“Putting the ball in-play and running like the dickens.”
In simplified terms, that’s the offensive philosophy Shawn Turner has as head baseball coach at Seeger Memorial Junior-Senior High School in West Lebanon, Ind.
“We try to put the ball in-play and in the middle of the diamond as best we can,” says Turner. “We want to put the onus on the defense to have to make plays.
“We’re not focused on launch angle. We’re not focused on things 15- to 19-year-old kids typically aren’t ready for.
“Contact and hard contact is the most-important thing.”
Turner led the Warren County-based Patriots to a 23-5 mark in 2022. Seeger hit .379 as a team with five home runs and 300 runs (10.7 per game). The pitching staff posted a 2.42 earned run average. The team committed 44 errors (1.5 per game).
“Pitching and defense is what we focus on more than anything else,” says Turner. “We don’t have the capabilities — year in and year out — to go out there and rely on the three-run home run. We have to manufacture runs. We’re going to try to be smart on the base paths and move runners by putting the ball in play.
“Once you get to tournament time and as you’re playing better teams, you face better pitching. Our kids recognize that they’re pretty good at hitting the ball when the pitcher’s not very solid. When he is that makes it a little more challenging so it’s easier for them to buy into what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Turner calls the The groundout to the second baseman — which can move a runner from from second to third or score a runner from third —  the most-overlooked play in baseball.
Seeger (enrollment around 400) is a member of the Wabash River Conference (with Attica, Covington, Fountain Central, North Vermillion, Parke Heritage, Riverton Parke and South Vermillion).
WRC teams meet twice during the same week — either two weekdays or Saturday doubleheader.
The Patriots are part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping in 2023 with Benton Central, Carroll (Flora), Clinton Prairie, Delphi Community and Lewis Cass. Seeger has won five sectional titles — the last in 2015.
Turner, who is also a math teacher at the high school, spent four seasons as head coach at Richmond (Ind.) High School, one as an assistant at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind., and 17 as head coach at Terre Haute (Ind.) North Vigo High School (1998-2014) after two as assistant. He was a McCutcheon assistant in 1994 and 1995, helped at West Vigo in 1993 and North Vigo 1990-92.
At Seeger, Turner is part of a school where the multi-sport athlete is the norm.
“We have very few individuals who are participating in (IHSAA Limited Contact Period activities),” says Turner. “We share athletes. I’ve got basketball players, wrestlers and swimmers.”
Turner expects to have about 25 athletes for varsity and junior varsity baseball in the spring. Of that number, nearly 20 are involved in at least one other sport.
“It makes it rough to have an aggressive off-season program,” says Turner, who also sees his baseballers go out for football, cross country and tennis in the fall. “It’s the nature of the beast.
“Once high school is over, it’s over. We’re at a school where kids have the opportunity multiple sports.
“We encourage that. It’s the day-to-day opportunities they’re going to remember not so much a win or a loss. It’s spending time with their teammates and practices along the way. We try to make sure they’re enjoying what they’re doing. It’s their team. It’s not my team.”
Turner wants players to go on to become fine young men and positive members of society. If they also get to play at the next level, so be it.
Two recent Seeger graduates and Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South All-Star Series participants are now in college baseball — pitcher and 2021 graduate Khal Stephen (Purdue University) and catcher and 2022 graduate Nick Turner (Shawnee Community College in Ullin, Ill.).
Nick is the youngest of Shawn and Tiffany Turner’s two sons. Austin Turner played at McCutcheon (Class of 2017) and Indiana Wesleyan University.
Three-year starters Caleb Edwards and Jace Ware are among the returnees for 2023.
Seeger assistant coaches are Mike Holland, Matt Pruitt and Robert Jones.
The Patriots’ home field is on-campus. The baseball and softball diamonds are due for major renovations following the 2023 season. That includes getting lights.
There is junior high baseball in the spring and summer for seventh and eighth graders.
Future and current high school players are also involved in youth leagues in Williamsport and Lafayette and travel and American Legion teams in Indiana and Illinois.

Nick and Shawn Turner at Seeger Memorial Junior-Senior High School in West Lebanon, Ind.

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Marker looking to make mark with Seton Catholic Cardinals

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Dave Marker made a mark on the record books as a college pitcher.

Decades later, he is looking to have an impact as first-year head baseball coach at tiny Seton Catholic School in Richmond, Ind.

The Cardinals are in the IHSAA Class 1A Seton Catholic Sectional at Don McBride Stadium this week. Among the 14 on Seton Catholic’s roster is senior right-handed pitcher/second baseman/third baseman and Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association District H Player of the Year Luke Leverton (a Miami of Ohio commit). 

“Last year we didn’t get to play,” says Marker. “We’re very young this year.”

Louie Falcone, a Seton Catholic graduate, was a freshman on the baseball team at Hanover (Ind.) College this spring.

Seton Catholic (enrollment around 90) wrapped the 2021 regular season with a 7-6 win against Union County. Patriots head coach Jordan Ashbrook, a former Richmond assistant, helped get the game moved to Day Air Ballpark — home of the High-A Central League’s Dayton (Ohio) Dragons.

The Cardinals are a member of the Pioneer Academic Athletic Conference (with Anderson Prep, Bethesda Christian, Central Christian Academy, Greenwood Christian Academy, Indianapolis Shortridge, International, Liberty Christian, Muncie Burris, Park Tudor and University). Each baseball-playing league team sees each other one time.

The Seton Catholic Sectional also includes Blue River Valley, Cambridge City Lincoln, Randolph Southern, Tri and Union City. The Cardinals have won three sectional titles — the last in 2014.

Seton Catholic, which has three buildings in downtown Richmond (elementary, middle school and high school), has added a middle school baseball program of grades 6-8 in 2021.

“There’s work to be done to grow the program,” says Marker.

Marker, who teaches K-5 physical education at Test Intermediate School and is in his 23rd years in Richmond Community Schools, was a baseball assistant to Shawn Turner for four seasons (2016-19) at Richmond High after 10 seasons as assistant to Red Devils softball coach Kyle Ingram. His assistants at Seton Catholic are Ingram, Robert Cornell and Brice Brown. 

A few summers back, Marker coached for the Midwest Astros travel baseball organization.

A graduate of Randolph Southern Junior/Senior High School in Lynn, Ind., where father Larry was a longtime athletic director, Marker played for the Rebels and for the John Lebo-managed Richmond Post 65 state runner-up team.

Marker walked on at Anderson (Ind.) College (now Anderson University). 

From 1984-88, Marker went and went 27-10 in 63 mound appearances for American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Don Brandon.

“He never recruited me,” says Marker. “But he redshirted me and taught me how to pitch.”

Marker also spent two summers with the Front Royal (Va.) Cardinals in the Valley League learning from Gary Gilmore, who went on to coach Coastal Carolina University to the College World Series title in 2016.

“I’ve had some pretty good coaches who took me under my wing,” says Marker.

It was in March 1986 while Marker was away playing baseball that his hometown was rocked by a tornado.

“That was before cellphones,” says Marker. “For three days, I did not get ahold of mom and dad.”

When he got back to Lynn, his parents were fine.

After college, Marker had a few professional tryouts and hurt his arm. He played for the Portland (Ind.) Rockets and in fast pitch softball with K&G Sporting Goods (Seymour) and New Construction (Shelbyville).

Marker also teaches summer school P.E., umpires church league softball and likes to run haunted houses.

Dave Marker

Kentucky’s Collett making most of his extra time on diamond

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

T.J. Collett was not sure he’d still be playing baseball a year ago and the University of Kentucky slugger is enjoying the opportunity.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March 2020, Collett and the rest of the Wildcats were getting ready to leave for a trip to Nashville, Tenn., to play Vanderbilt.

The series with Vandy was postponed. Then the players were sent home for two weeks. Then the season was called off and the rest of the spring semester was completed through online classes.

“For all I knew — for about a month — I’d never play baseball again,” says Collett. “I’m glad the NCAA gave me the chance to come back and finish my career on my terms.”

Offered an extra year of eligibility after completing his undergraduate Communication degree, Collett took it and pursued his Masters in Communication while also playing as a graduate student in 2021. He’s about four weeks from completing his work.

He began his college career as a Finance major, but changed.

“I went with Communication because I love people,” says Collett. “I can interact in a business environment and there’s wide variety of jobs.

“I’m not sure what I want yet.”

In 29 baseball games (all starts), the lefty-swinging first baseman is hitting .301(31-of-103) with nine home runs (including two in his first multi-homer game March 16 against Murray State), one triple, five doubles, 20 runs scored and 36 runs batted in to go with a .425 on-base percentage and .631 slugging average.

Kentucky is 20-9 heading into a Tuesday, April 13 non-conference home game against Bellarmine.

Collett (pronounced Caw-LET) has played in 147 games at UK (120) starts and is hitting .276 (135-of-490) with 35 homers, two triples, 22 doubles, 133 RBIs, 87 runs, a .373 on-base percentage and .543 slugging average.

He sits eighth on Kentucky’s all-time homer list behind John Wilson (50), Terre Haute South Vigo High School graduate and good friend A.J. Reed (40), Aaron McGlone (39), Collin Cowgill (37), Jeff Abbott (37), Randy Clark (37) and Jeff Shartzer (37). 

Most of the time Collett is in the No. 3 or No. 4 slot in the batting order. Recently, he’s been in the 2-hole.

“There’s not a huge difference,” says Collett. “I’ve noticed my at-bats come around a little bit quicker. I like it.

“But responsibilities don’t change. I do anything I can anything to get a run in — anyway we can score.”

Collett was recruited to Kentucky out of Terre Haute (Ind.) North Vigo High School as a catcher. He recovered fine from hip surgery his senior year but four more procedures had him switching to first base. 

He played summer ball for the Amsterdam (N.Y.) Mohawks of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League in 2017, recuperated from surgery in 2018 and was with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod League in 2019 and in the College Summer League at Grand Park in 2020.

At North Vigo, Collett played for IHSAA Class 4A state runner-up teams in 2014 and 2015 and was 2016 Indiana Mr. Baseball. As a Patriot he was coached by Shawn Turner and Fay Spetter. 

“They were two of the most influential people in my baseball people,” says Collett of Turner and Spetter. “They poured into me as much as they could.”

In travel ball, Collett spent his 14U through 18U summers with the Indiana Bulls and counts former Bulls coach and director of player development and current Indiana University assistant Dan Held as another who made a big impact on his game.

Collett’s first year at Kentucky was also the first for Wildcats head coach Nick Mingione.

“He’s a man of faith,” says Collett of Mingione. “He really has everybody’s best intentions at heart.

“When I first met him he had this insane energy. The past five years that energy has stayed up.”

Collett has put his energies into his studies and his play as well as community service and his a nominee for the 2021 Senior CLASS Award.

“It means a ton to me,” says Collett. “It’s more than just playing the sport.

“Maybe some younger players can be inspired by that.”

UK’s Troy Squires was the Senior CLASS Award winner for baseball in 2018.

“He told me that’s one of the coolest awards he’s ever received,” says Collett, who has spent much of his community service time with the NEGU/Jessie Rees Foundation helping children fighting cancer to “Never Ever Give Up.”

Notre Dame’s Daniel Jung is also on the 2021 Senior CLASS nomination list.

Timothy John Collett, who turns 24 on June 26, is the son of John and Sallee Collett. His older brother is Doug Collett (29).

T.J. Collett (University of Kentucky Photo)

Terre Haute’s Rosselli making things happen for Chicago Dogs

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

A combination of power, speed and confidence has carried Tony Rosselli through his athletic career and it’s now on display on the baseball fields of the independent professional American Association.

Rosselli, a graduate of Terre Haute (Ind.) North Vigo High School and Indiana State University, splits his time between left field and center field and bats from the right side of the plate for the Chicago Dogs. The team plays its home games at Impact Field in Rosemont, Ill.

“The best part of my game is my ability to make anything happen,” says Rosselli, a 6-foot-2, 220-pounder. “I don’t really have a cap on the limits on what I can do during a ball game. I don’t have a roof. I feel like when we’re down, I feel like I can be that guy every time (to pick the team up).”

Through games of June 13, Rosselli was hitting .284 with seven home runs, 20 runs batted in and 15 runs scored in 20 games played.

In four seasons at Indiana State (2014-17), Rosselli hit .290 and clubbed 22 homers, 16 doubles and stole 14 bases.

While playing for the summer collegiate Coastal Plain League’s Edenton (N.C.) Steamers in 2015 and 2016, Rosselli set a league mark for homers over a two-year period with 24 (10 in 2015 and 14 in 2016). Edenton won the league title in 2015.

Rosselli played 60 games with the Dogs in 2018 with a .240 average and eight homers.

A teacher of speed and agility classes who also works as a rehabilitation aide at Athletico Physical Therapy in Terre Haute in the off-season, Rosselli says his speed is displayed more in his ability to get around the bases and to track down fly balls than a 60-yard dash time or stolen base total.

“Baseball is really not a straight-line speed sport,” says Rosselli. “How much torque and power you have, that has a bigger impact.”

From a young age, Rosselli learned from parents Bruce (a former Indiana State track and field star who was an Olympic bobsled driver) and Cheryl (a former world-class table tennis player with 27 international titles for the U.S.) that to succeed you have to have carry yourself with certainty.

“They stuck that in my head,” says Rosselli, 26. “Know your the best, you’re going to perform at the highest level

“In any sport I’ve ever done, there’s never been a different message.”

Rosselli graduated in 2012 from North Vigo, who he hit .373 with eight home runs and 51 RBIs and was named the Wabash Valley Baseball Player of the Year as a senior for the Shawn Turner-coached Patriots. He redshirted his first year at ISU before playing four years for Sycamores head coach Mitch Hannahs.

The ISU coach emphasized the simple things.

“It is just a game,” says Rosselli. “But in order to play it, you have to grind it out every single day.

“We were blue collar baseball players that gave our best every time. In order to succeed, we had to put int he work. That gave us a mental edge on team’s we played. It allowed us to believe in ourselves.”

That’s why Indiana State was able to stand up to powers like Vanderbilt.

Among Rosselli’s talented ISU teammates were Austin Conway, Clay Dungan, Dane Giesler, Ethan Larrison, Triston Polley, Jeremy McKinney and Tyler Wampler.

Rosselli played for the Terre Haute Rex of the Prospect League (Bruce Rosselli is an owner/general manager of the Rex and league president) in the summer of 2014 and for a few games in 2017 before beginning his pro career with the Utica (Mich.) Unicorns of the United Shores Professional Baseball League. After that, he played in the Asia Winter Ball League (Taiwan).

Playing for the hometown Rex in 2014 gave the younger Rosselli another full season of swinging the wood bat.

He graduated from Indiana State with a degree in Sport Management. He minored in motorsports management and marketing.

With the Chicago Dogs, Rosselli plays for a squad managed by former big leaguer Butch Hobson. D.J. Boston is the hitting coach.

“The competition level is a lot higher than I thought it was going to be (in the American Association) last year and it’s even better this year,” says Rosselli. “It’s just a very competitive league, which I like.”

While the average age on the Dogs is 27, that number is brought up by Carlos Zambrano, a 38-year-old right-handed pitcher who played 12 seasons in the majors with the Chicago Cubs and Miami Marlins and is making a comeback.

“He’s had a really big impact on me,” says Rosselli of Zambrano. “He’s a pastor now. His life has changed around since he found God. He’s a new man. He’s brought that to the team.”

Tony Rosselli is single. Older sister Paige is in marketing sales for Embroidery Express in Terre Haute.

 

Tony Rosselli, a graduate of Terre Haute (Ind.) North Vigo High School and Indiana State University, is in his second year with the Chicago Dogs of the independent professional American Association. (Chicago Dogs Photo)

Tony Rosselli played four seasons at Indiana State University (2014-17) before beginning his professional baseball career — first with the Utica (Mich.) Unicorns and now with the Chicago Dogs. (Chicago Dogs Photo)

Tony Rosselli, a graduate of Terre Haute (Ind.) North Vigo High School and Indiana State University, brings a combination of power, speed and confidence as a player with the Chicago Dogs of the independent professional American Association. (Chicago Dogs Photo)

Abrell values life lessons while leading Plainfield Quakers baseball program

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

As a coach and educator, Shane Abrell looks for teachable moments.

Abrell and his coaching staff got the opportunity to teach their players about dealing with failure and about momentum during Abrell’s first season in charge of the Plainfield (Ind.) High School baseball program.

“Life lessons are really important in coaching,” says Abrell. “If we’re not teaching them about life, we’re failing them.”

Facing a formidable schedule, the 2018 Quakers got off to a 2-9 start then went on an 8-3 run on the way to 12-16-1. Right-hander Sam Tackett (an Indiana University Kokomo commit for 2019-20) hooked up in a pitchers’ duel with Braydon Tucker (now at Indiana University) as Plainfield bowed to Northview 1-0 in nine innings in the first round of the IHSAA Class 4A Avon Sectional.

“Now they know they can play with those teams,” says Abrell. “It gives us a lot of mental toughness as time goes on.”

Abrell and his assistants spent much time talking about the team.

“We have some really great conversations,” says Abrell, who welcomes back varsity assistants Josh Morris, Noah Lane and Jaylen Cushenberry, junior varsity coach Brian Holsclaw and freshmen coach Mike Harper for 2019. “We demand a lot of time and effort. But hese guys don’t skip a beat. They make my job easy.”

The coaches were honest with their athletes and admitted when they made mistakes in 2018.

The lines of communication are kept open through that sincerity.

“Baseball is so mentally tough on people,” says Abrell. It’s not for everybody.

“Kids are more willing to come to us when they’re struggling. We’re seeing more players are consoling each other.”

Abrell, who teaches computer science at PHS, was a Plainfield assistant to Jeff McKeon (now head coach at South Putnam High School) for one season before taking over the program.

Prior coming to Hendricks County, Abrell was an assistant to Kyle Kraemer at Terre Haute South Vigo High School from 2001-14 and helped coach youth teams around Terre Haute including the Junior Sycamores and with the John Hayes-managed Wayne Newton American Legion Post 346 program.

Abrell played for Kraemer at South Vigo, graduating in 1998.

“Kyle is probably one of the most organized people I’ve come across in coaching,” says Abrell of Kraemer. “He is very meticulous. There was very little down time in practice. You were always moving.”

South Vigo has enjoyed continuity on the coaching staff with assistants like Brian Pickens, T.C. Clary, Todd Miles and Chad Chrisman serving for decades.

“(Kraemer’s) been a great mentor and friend to me,” says Abrell, who will take his Plainfield team to the 2019 Braves Bash at South Vigo. The event also features Munster and New Haven.

Plainfield (enrollment around 1,700) is part of the Mid-State Conference (with Decatur Central, Franklin Community, Greenwood Community, Martinsville, Mooresville, Perry Meridian and Whiteland).

The MSC plays home-and-home series on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to crown its champion.

The Quakers are part of the IHSAA Class 4A sectional grouping with Avon, Brownsburg, Mooresville, Northview, Terre Haute North Vigo and Terre Haute South Vigo. Plainfield has won eight sectional titles — the last in 1997.

While in Terre Haute, Abrell had the opportunity to coach A.J. Reed and become close T.J. Collett and his family while coaching his brother Doug with the Post 346 junior squad and then as North Vigo athletic director.

Both A.J. and T.J. were Indiana Mr. Baseball honorees — Reed at South Vigo in 2011 and Collett at North Vigo in 2016.   

A walk-on at Indiana State University, Abrell’s coach with the Sycamores was Mitch Hannahs.

Abrell graduated from ISU in 2003 with a B.S. degree in Management Information Systems/Computer Science and worked various jobs, including web designer for Clabber Girl and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Reserve Deputy for the Vigo County Sheriff’s Department.

“That was an eye opener,” says Abrell of the issues he saw some students dealing with that have nothing to do with a baseball drill or home work assignment.

He makes a point of getting his players to give back by volunteering in the community at a food pantry or with Riley’s Children’s Hospital.

Gratitude is another life lesson Abrell teaches.

“We talk to the kids about thanking their parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents for all the time and money they spend,” Abrell.

He was a football, basketball and baseball coach at South Vigo. North Vigo, coached by Shawn Turner and Fay Spetter and featuring Collett, were 4A state runners-up in 2014 and 2015 with Abrell as AD.

Along the way, he attended Western Kentucky University (Master of Education & Kinesiology) and Indiana Wesleyan University (Education Administration).

Baseball has long been a big deal in the Abrell family.

Shane’s grandfather, the late John Abrell, was a long-time Connie Mack baseball coach and sponsor in Terre Haute.

Rick Abrell, Shane’s father, coached youth baseball at Prairie Creek, Prairieton and Riley and was president of Terre Haute Babe Ruth. He now tends to the baseball fields at both South Vigo and West Vigo.

The Abrells are close with Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famers Bob Warn and Steve DeGroote. Warn was head coach at Indiana State from 1975-2006. DeGroote assisted Warn at ISU and then led the West Vigo program.

Abrell says he took something from all the baseball men in his life.

“To be a good coach, you have to accept you’re not going to create something new in baseball,” says Abrell. “You take what you learn and you mold them all together.”

A love of tending the field was ingrained in Abrell. Kraemer had his team spend 30 minutes after each practice and game wielding shovels and rakes and Abrell does the same with his Quakers.

And there’s lots of time spent mowing and edging in the summer and fall.

“For every two hours practicing, probably another two hours working on the field,” says Abrell. “It’s therapy for me.

“We’re blessed at Plainfield. We have a beautiful complex and support from the administration.”

Principal Melvin Siefert and Assistant Principal of Athletics Torrey Rodkey are both former coaches.

The Quakers feeder system includes Plainfield Pee Wee Association, Plainfield Optimist Baseball League and Plainfield Teenage Baseball League (a Babe Ruth League) as well as a locally-based travel organization — the Plainfield Havoc.

“We’re trying to keep travel ball in the community,” says Abrell. “When they play together their whole life is when you have some of the better teams.”

When Abrell took over the program, he contacted Plainfield graduate Jeremy Kehrt. The right-handed pitcher was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 47th round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft and pitched in independent ball in 2017.

“He stops by a lot,” says Abrell of Kehrt. “He works with our pitchers. When he shows up, their eyes get huge.”

Connor Mitchell, a left-hander who pitched in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization in 2018, also visits to work on arm maintenance. His younger brother, Jackson Mitchell, was the Plainfield’s shortstop in 2018 and is now at Earlham College.

“It means a lot to have alumni reaching out,” says Abrell.

Current Plainfield outfielder/first baseman Jacob Sims is drawing interest from college programs.

A wedding is planned for Shane Abrell and Shannon Bormann in the fall of 2019. Shannon is a nurse anesthetist at IU Health Arnett Hospital in Lafayette.

T.C. Clary (left), Shannon Bormann, A.J. Reed and Shane Abrell meet at the 2018 Triple-A All-Star Game in Columbus, Ohio. Clary was a baseball teammate and coached with Abrell at Terre Haute South Vigo High School. Bormann is engaged to Abrell. Reed played at South Vigo and was a Pacific Coast League all-star. Abrell is now head baseball coach at Plainfield (Ind.) High School.

Shane Abrell is heading into his second season as head baseball coach at Plainfield (Ind.) High School. He is also a computer science teacher at PHS.

Turner has Richmond Red Devils focusing on the details

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Shawn Turner wants his Richmond (Ind.) High School Red Devils to sweat the small stuff.

“We focus on the details,” says Turner, a veteran coach who heads into his fourth season of leading the Richmond program in 2019. “We want give it our best effort 100 percent of the time. We pay attention to the defensive side and how we’re pitching.

“Offensively, we look to ‘get on, get over and get in.’ We play at a big facility (Don McBride Stadium). We don’t sit back and wait on the three-run home run.”

Turner looks for his Red Devils to hit balls to the gaps and rack up doubles.

“We teach the concept of using the whole field,” says Turner.

When it comes to launch angle, Turner says it is for the advanced hitter. T.J. Collett, who began working with Turner at a young age, put in the time to make himself into a potent left-handed hitter who named Mr. Baseball by Hoosier Diamond Magazine in 2016 and is now swinging for the University of Kentucky.

“It’s fantastic for kids with elite talent who have great hitting philosophy and the ability to execute it,” says Turner. “I’m more concerned with hitting a solid. Exit velocity is a factor. We do chart that. If you have four at-bats, we try to hit it hard four times and see what happens.”

Contact is key and strikeouts don’t help in moving runners.

“We do try to put pressure on the defense and put the ball in play,” says Turner, who coached his first season in Richmond in 2016 after serving as a Wabash College assistant in 2015.

The 1988 Terre Haute North Vigo High School graduate was head coach at his alma mater 1998-2014 after serving two seasons as a Patriots assistant.

The 2014 North Vigo team was IHSAA Class 4A state runners-up.

He was a McCutcheon assistant in 1994 and 1995, West Vigo assistant  in 1993 and Terre Haute North Vigo assistant in 1990, 1991 and 1992.

Turner played two seasons for Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Don Jennings and two for Steve Moore. He later was a part of Moore’s coaching staff.

“(Jennings) was always a very positive influence not only on me but on his coaches and the team as a whole,” says Turner. “In practice, we did a ton of offensive work. If we put runs up we had a chance of competing.

“(Moore) carried on a lot of Coach Jennings’ traits. My first couple of years coaching within were a continuation of what I learned in high school.”

Turner also gained from the teachings of North Vigo assistant Mike Sturm.

“He was more into fundamental skills and defensive work,” says Turner of Sturm. “He broke things into positions and individual parts.”

Turner played one season for head coach Jim Rendel at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology while studying civil and mechanical engineering.

“(Rendel) had the biggest influence on me becoming a coach,” says Turner. “He was an amazing individual that did so much for people through sport.”

Turner decided to change gears and pursue a different life path. He transferred to Indiana State University to major in mathematics and become a teacher and coach.

He did his student teaching at West Vigo and worked with Steve DeGroote then joined the staff of Jake Burton at McCutcheon. Both are IHSBCA Hall of Famers.

“Those two were cut from the same cloth,” says Turner of DeGroote and Burton. “They were Fantastic at setting up indoor practices where you were going from station to station and maximizing your practice time.”

Turner notes that there are areas around the state have embraced the idea of getting better at baseball and that’s where indoor facilities have popped up and produced many players who have succeeded at the lower levels and gone on to college and professional diamonds.

“We’ve got baseball talent in the state of Indiana,” says Turner, who gets indoor work done at Richmond at the spacious Tiernan Center and the school’s auxiliary gym.

While McBride Stadium is run by the city and is off-campus, the Red Devils sometimes take advantage of the turf on the football field for outdoor practice.

Turner gives a few private lessons on the side. Several Richmond players get in work at Cate’s Cages and Hitters Hangout. IHSBCA Hall of Famer John Cate started both facilities. He now teaches at Cate’s Cages along with Jordan Ashbrook, Patrick Flanagan and Mike Morrow. Tyler Lairson is an instructor at Hitters Hangout.

Former Red Devils moving on to college baseball in recent years include right-handed pitcher John Cheatwood (Lincoln Trail College in Robinson, Ill., and committed to Marshall University in Huntington, W.V.), right-hander Jordan Christian (Earlham College in Richmond) and middle infielder Austin Turner (Indiana Wesleyan University). Austin is Shawn’s oldest son.

Current senior outfielder/right-hander Josiah Sizemore has committed to Ivy Tech Northeast in Fort Wayne, Ind. Versatile Phillip Hobbs and right-hander/third baseman/shortstop Mikey Vance are also exploring their collegiate options.

When building his Red Devils pitching staff, Turner looks to develop a number of arms to lesson the workload on the top hurlers so they will be fresher for the postseason.

The exception might be Blake Holler, who threw many innings for Terre Haute North Vigo before going on to Stanford University and the Los Angeles Angels system.

But sharing the work has been a philosophy Turner carried in Terre Haute and long before 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).

“We focus on longevity,” says Turner. “The season is a marathon and not a sprint. I’ve always make sure our top two or three pitchers are strong at the end of the season. We might go eight-, nine- or 10-deep during the season.”

This approach also helps those pitchers to be ready the following season.

Turner’s 2019 Richmond staff includes Dave Marker, Scott Vance and Ben Fox. Marker is the Red Devils pitching coach and a former Randolph Southern head coach.

Richmond fields two teams — varsity and junior varsity. The most players Turner has had is 33 and he’s never made any cuts.

Contrast that with Terre Haute North Vigo, where he says the fewest number to try out was 80 and he’d keep 50 to 55 for three teams.

Richmond belongs to the North Central Conference (with Richmond, Anderson, Arsenal Tech, Marion and Muncie Central in the East Division and Harrison, Kokomo, Lafayette Jeff, Logansport and McCutcheon in the West Division). Teams play home-and-home series within their divisions then compete in a seeded cross-divisional tournament the two Saturdays in May.

The Red Devils, which are coming off a 14-14 season in 2018, are in an IHSAA Class 4A sectional grouping with Anderson, Connersville, Greenfield-Central, Mt. Vernon (Fortville), Muncie Central and Pendleton Heights.

Richmond has won 29 sectional titles — the last coming in 2011.

Shawn is married to Tiffany, who is Chief Nursing Officer at Paris (Ill.) Community Hospital. Their sons are Austin and Nick. Besides playing baseball, Austin Turner is neurology student at Indiana Wesleyan. Nick is a Richmond freshmen and a lefty-swinging catcher.

The Turners (from left): Nick, Tiffany, Austin and Shawn. The 2016 season was Shawn Turner’s first as head baseball coach at Richmond (Ind.) High School.

Austin Turner (27) is greeted by Terre Haute North Vigo baseball coaches Mark Sturm (left), Tony Smodilla, Lance Walsh, Steve Bryant, Fay Spetter and Shawn Turner at the IHSAA Class 4A State Finals at Victory Field in Indianapolis. Shawn Turner is now head coach at Richmond (Ind.) High School.

Terre Haute North Vigo High School head baseball coach Shawn Turner (left) talks with his son, Austin Turner (27), and assistant Fay Spetter during the 2014 IHSAA Class 4A semistate.

Shawn Turner enters his fourth season as head baseball coach at Richmond (Ind.) High School in 2019.

 

Phegley finding his way in baseball with Athletics

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Much was expected from baseball-playing Josh Phegley at an early age.

Sharing the same diamond with older brother John and his classmates, Josh was challenged.

Helping give that extra push was the boys’ father and coach — John.

“My dad was one of my biggest influences,” says Phegley, a Terre Haute native and catcher with the Oakland Athletics. “He wasn’t going to be the coach who just played his son. He was super hard on me and my brother. He expected you to be the leader and cornerstone of the field every time we were on the field.

“That’s what molded my brother and I into really good players.”

Josh’s early diamond path was supported by parents John and Joan and took him from Terre Haute North Little League to Terre Haute Babe Ruth League All-StarsT and travel baseball stints with the Terre Haute Indians (organized by his father) and the Indy Bulldogs.

Following in his brother’s footsteps, he was one of the few freshmen to play varsity baseball for coach Shawn Turner at Terre Haute North Vigo High School. In order to make that happen, Josh had to change positions.

While he had done some catching as a young player, he was a shortstop, center fielder and pitcher as he approached high school.

The Patriots had a need behind the plate and Turner led Josh know that was his ticket to varsity playing time as a frosh.

“It almost suited me perfectly. I stopped growing up and started getting wider,” says Phegley. “I have that build to be a catcher and I just wanted to be a varsity high school player.”

That’s when they went to a friend of the family. Brian Dorsett was a star at Terre Haute North Vigo and Indiana State University who went on to be a catcher in the majors for eight seasons. He still lived in town.

Dorsett had helped a young Josh with hitting lessons and Dorsett’s oldest daughter, Abby, was in Josh’s class. The Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Famer agreed to help young Phegley with his catching skills.

“We tried to utilize all the resources we could find,” says Phegley. “Having an ex-major leaguer catcher in the same town was pretty beneficial for me.”

That spring he played in a lineup that included nine players who would go on to play NCAA Division I baseball. Besides the Phegley boys — Josh (Indiana) and John (Purdue) —  some of those include Blake Holler (Stanford), Max Hutson (Wichita State), John Cummins (Purdue) and Chris Macke (Ohio State).

Left-hander Holler was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels and pitched two seasons of minor league baseball.

Phegley played four seasons for Turner (who moved on to Richmond) and spent three high school summers with Terre Haute American Legion Post 346, managed by John Hayes.

Post 346 brought together the best players from Terre Haute North Vigo and their three closest rivals — Terre Haute South Vigo, West Vigo and Northview.

“(Hayes) was all about having fun and enjoy the guys around you,” says Phegley. “Playing unselfishly and having fun — that’s how you can become successful. American Legion baseball is the most fun I’ve had in the summertime.”

The summer after high school graduation in 2006, Phegley and Post 346 finished second to Metairie, La., in the American Legion World Series. The young backstop also earned MVP honors at the IHSBCA All-Star Series and was named as Indiana’s Mr. Baseball.

Phegley’s last season at Terre Haute North was the first for Tracy Smith as head baseball coach at Indiana University and Phegley became the first player he signed to play for the Hoosiers.

Smith (who is now head baseball coach at Arizona State University) also liked to have fun, but insisted that his players know about accountability and responsibility.

“College baseball is a different animal,” says Phegley. “There’s a lot of work and you have to take care of things (academically) so you can play. Going to school and a heavy (NCAA) D-I schedule is hard to handle.”

Smith emphasized the importance of doing it all.”

“Being a leader on the team means taking care of everything,” says Phegley. “It’s being organized and put together and being a good example for the other guys. Causing us to run extra sprints after practice because I turned an assignment in late is nothing to be proud of.”

As an IU freshman, Phegley started 42 times as the team’s primary catcher. As a sophomore, the right-handed hitter finished second in the nation with a .438 average and was a second-team All-American and Johnny Bench Award finalist. As a junior, he was named Big Ten Player of the Year by Rivals.com and was a Johnny Bench Award and Golden Spikes Award semifinalist. He was selected as a supplemental pick in the first round of the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Chicago White Sox.

That’s when he began to see what a challenge baseball can really present.

“It doesn’t hurt to be drafted kind of high (38th overall) and knowing (the White Sox) were going to take the time and give you opportunities,” says Phegley. “They expect some ups and downs. That’s just baseball. You need to learn how to control the downs as well as the ups. You want to stay even keel and respect the process of the development.”

It’s easier said than done.

“You see a lot of guys getting lost in the minor leagues,” says Phegley. “It takes some years to get through it. I got drafted in 2009 and made my major league debut in 2013. You can get lost and forget what the final goal is

“Baseball is a game surrounded by failure. You can get consumed in day-to-day stats. It’s such a mental grind (especially in the ow minors). It can beat you up pretty good. It seems so far away. There are so many guys in front of you. How do I beat the masses that get drafted every year and get to the big leagues?”

Phegley got a serious surprise in his second pro season. In 2010, he was limited to just 48 games due to Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a rare autoimmune disorder that lowers platelet count.

“Out of nowhere my body started killing my own platelets,” says Phegley. “We battled through that 2010 season, doing different treatments to try to get back on the field. They took out my spleen in November 2010 and it totally flipped it back. It’s always in the back of my head. It can come back.”

When Phegley came back, he began to rise through the White Sox system, finishing at Triple-A in 2011, playing the whole 2012 campaign there and then seeing his first MLB action July 5, 2013. He made 65 appearances with Chicago in 2013 and and spent most of 2014 at Triple-A Charlotte.

Two weeks before Christmas in 2014, Phegley was traded along with Chris Bassitt, Marcus Semien and Rangel Ravelo to the Athletics for Jeff Samardzija and Michael Ynoa. Phegley was in 73 games with Oakland in 2015, 25 in 2016 and 57 in 2017.

Phegley hit .256 with a home run and 10 RBI in 2016, a season shortened due to two stints on the disabled list with a strained right knee.

He spent two stints on the disabled list and one one the paternity list in 2017. Josh and Jessica Phegley, who married in 2012, have a daughter and son — Stella (2 1/2) and Calvin (4 months). They have resided in Noblesville since April 2015. The couple met while Josh was living with Smith and training in Bloomington and Jessica was finishing graduate school at IU. She has three degrees (psychology, nursing and a masters in health promotion).

Josh’s older sister, Jennifer, also lives in the Indianapolis area. As a college softball player at St. Mary-of-the-Woods 2003-06, she stole 58 bases (26 her senior season for the Pomeroys).

One of Phegley’s Oakland teammates is Valparaiso-born Sean Manaea.

Josh Phegley, a 2006 Terre Haute North Vigo High School and former Indiana University standout, is now a catcher with the Oakland Athletics. He made his Major League Baseball debut with the Chicago White Sox in 2013. (Oakland Athletics Photo)

 

‘Five absolutes’ foundation of Richey-led Seymour baseball

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Jeremy Richey was a football and baseball standout during his time as a student-athlete at Seymour High School.

As the Owls head baseball coach, he takes something of a football approach.

Richey, a 1999 SHS graduate who played both sports at Cumberland College (now the University of the Cumberlands) and baseball at Indiana University Southeast, keeps a large coaching staff busy with three squads (varsity, junior varsity and freshmen) on the school’s one baseball diamond — American Legion Field.

“They all have positions and they’re all working,” says Richey, who was an Indiana All-Star as a player and a football assistant for 12 seasons at his alma mater.

Playing for head coach Joe Goodman, Richey once held Seymour career and single-season school records for receptions.

Jeff Richey — Jeremy’s father — was a football coach for 35 years, including nine as head coach at Seymour.

Richey, who played on the prep diamond for head coach for Bob Bowman and then Terry Stigall at Cumberlands and Rick Parr at IUS, heads into his seventh baseball campaign in 2017-18 with D.J. Henkle, Elvis Hernandez and Tim Perry as varsity assistants, Dan Henkle, Billy Rayburn and Justin Richey as JV coaches and Geoff Revalee and Brad Thompson leading the freshmen.

Upon taking the job, Jeremy sat down with a few of his coaches and formed the Owls’ belief system.

“We have five absolutes,” says Richey. “That’s who we are as a program.

“There’s Hustle, Compete, Self Discipline, Be A Leader and Character,” says Richey. “If we take care of those five things, the wins will take care of themselves.”

Competing in the talent-laden Hoosier Hills Conference (along with Bedford North Lawrence, Columbus East, Floyd Central, Jeffersonville, Jennings County, Madison and New Albany) and an IHSAA Class 4A sectional group which includes Bedford North Lawrence, Floyd Central, Jeffersonville, Jennings County and New Albany, Seymour has been competitive, usually getting win totals in the teens.

“We’re very competitive in our conference,” says Richey. “But more importantly we’re creating good young men. We’ve sent 13 young men to college in six seasons. We’re winning in the classroom and the community and getting pretty good results on the field.”

Richey sent Zack Brown to the University of Kentucky and he is now pitching in the Milwaukee Brewers system. They don’t all have D-I talent, but plenty of determination.

“We have a lot of gritty kids that do things the right way,” says Richey.

In his first season on the job (2012), the Owls went 21-5 and lost to Jeffersonville in the conference tournament and sectional final without hitting a home run all season.

Richey and his staff do a lot of work with players on situational hitting. The Owls employ the hit-and-run, delayed steal and bunts for hits.

“We’re going to see really good pitching down here,” says Richey. “

“We stay on top of the ball and we make things happen.

“Small ball is big for us.”

Richey, an Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association district representative, was an assistant coach for the 2014 IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series in Richmond. New Castle’s Brad King headed South coaching combo which also include Richey, South Spencer’s Brian Kuester and Terre Haute North’s Shawn Turner (now head coach at Richmond).

His involvement with the IHSBCA also allowed Richey to work with Hobart head coach Bob Glover on a proposal to add a fifth class to IHSAA baseball. The idea stemmed from the big size difference between the biggest and smallest schools in 4A.

Richey said the idea likely did not gain traction since only one class would be impacted by the move.

While Seymour plays everyone in the Hoosier Hills Conference, a blind-draw conference tournament is the only thing that counts toward the HHC title. There is flexibility in the schedule that allows the Owls to decide whom they are going to play and when.

In recent years, American Legion Field (Post 89 is located in Seymour) has gotten a new scoreboard, more seating behind home plate and a brick wall and screen to replace the old-style fence backstop.

The baseball feeder system includes Seymour Youth League (about 450 boys ages 5 to 12), the Southern Indiana Middle School Development League (independent from the school and featuring seventh and eighth grade teams) and travel baseball organizations.

The Owls last won a sectional title in 1995. Seymour won a state championship with Bowman as head coach in 1988.

Richey, who teaches Economics and U.S. History at SHS, has been married 11 years to Seymour graduate Danielle. The couple have two children — Braden (10) and Brookyln (6).

Seymour High School head baseball coach Jeremy Richey poses with wife Danielle and daughter Brooklyn (6) and son  Braden (10).