Former long-time assistant Hutchins now in charge of Providence Pioneers

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Scott Hutchins has spent 27 years in a Our Lady of Providence High School baseball uniform — four as a player for then-head coach Ben Hornung and the past 23 as an assistant coach to Scott Hornung (Ben’s cousin). In 25 seasons, Scott Hornung went 473-233 with 13 sectional title, six regional crowns, one semistate championship and one state title.

Now 1991 Providence graduate Hutchins is in charge of the Clarksville, Ind.-based Pioneers program and carries things he learned from the Hornungs and ideas he’s formed on his own.

Hutchins recalls how prepared Ben Hornung was for each day’s practice.

“He was very organized,” says Hutchins. “He made every single person feel like they were an important part of the team and that they were a big contributor.

“(Scott Hornung) had the ability to cultivate relationships with all the players. He had a lot of respect for all those guys. He listened to his assistants and would take your advice.

“I hope to take a little bit of all those things when I get started.”

Hutchins has already put Providence players through fall Limited Contact Period baseball workouts (two hours, twice-a-week for seven weeks).

“We had good weather and got all 14 practices in,” says Hutchins. “We really focused on individual player development. We did a little bit of team stuff.

“I like the Limited Contact rule because we are allowed to instruct.”

There was individual defensive work and time spent in the batting cage.

“We had a super productive fall,” says Hutchins. “In December, we’ll do conditioning and lifting. I doubt we’ll even pick up a baseball in December.

“In January, we’ll focus on getting our pitchers ready for the season.”

Ideally, Hutchins would like his players to be able to throw a little during conditioning times, but the rules do not currently allow that though the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association is working with the Indiana High School Athletic Association and Indiana Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association on proposals, including one that would extend the period of arm care.

Hutchins says he would like to stretch out his starters and have his bullpen pitchers throw a lesser number of pitches two or three days a week to get used to doing that during the season.

“Right now, it’s hard to get their arms ready,” says Hutchins.

His assistants include Providence alums Jacob Julius (2004), Tre Watson (2016) and Colin Rauck (2015) plus former Indiana University Southeast pitcher Elliott Fuller and Jennings County graduate and former IUS player Brian Jackson.

Associate head coach Julius played and coached at the University of Arkansas and played in the Baltimore Orioles organization. Watson was on the Pioneers’ state title team in 2016 and is now the hitting coach. Fuller works with pitcher and is the head junior varsity coach. Jackson works with catchers. Rauck is a JV assistant.

Providence (enrollment around 360) is an athletic independent with no conference affiliation.

Among 2019 opponents were Austin, Brownstown Central, Clarksville, Corydon Central, Eastern of Pekin, Gibson Southern, Jeffersonville, Lanesville, New Albany, North Harrison, Salem, Silver Creek, South Central of Elizabeth and Washington in Indiana plus Glenbrook South and Metamora in Illinois and Trinity in Kentucky.

The Pioneers are part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping with Austin, Clarksville, Crawford County, Eastern of Pekin and Henryville. Providence has won 18 sectional titles — the last in 2017. The Pioneers were 2A state champions in 2016.

Several recent Providence graduates have gone on to college baseball, including Joe Wilkinson (Indiana University), Christian Graf (Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn.) and Adam Uhl (Franklin College), Timmy Borden (University of Louisville), Reece Davis (Bellarmine University in Louisville), Jake Lewis (Eastern Kentucky University) and Jay Lorenz (Hanover College).

No current Pioneers have made college baseball commitments.

Hutchins has a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Indiana University Southeast. He teaches Chemistry and is Dean of Students at Providence.

Scott and Traci Hutchins have two baseball-playing sons — senior Bryce Hutchins and freshman Logan Hutchins. Both are second basemen.

The Hutchins family (from left): Bryce, Logan, Traci and Scott. After 23 seasons as an assistant, alum Scott Hutchins is now the head baseball coach at Our Lady of Providence High School in Clarksville, Ind.

 

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IHSAA Tournament Success Factor has Hornung-led Providence Pioneers moving up to Class 3A in 2018

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Pushing the pace has put the Pioneers of Our Lady of Providence High School in Clarksville among Indiana’s baseball elite.

“We want to be a very aggressive team,” says Providence head coach Scott Hornung. “We’re always looking to take the extra base.

“We want to be aggressive from the first pitch on. As pitchers, we want them to be overly aggressive on their first pitch to get ahead in the count.”

Hornung has helped push the Pioneers to a 433-224 record since the 1981 Providence graduate became head coach at the private Catholic school in 1995, including 28-5 with a second straight semistate appearance in 2017. The 2016 squad won the program’s first state championship.

Providence has claimed 18 sectional baseball titles (13 of those with Hornung as head coach).

The Pioneers have claimed a 2A sectional trophy three of the past five seasons (2014 and 2017 at Providence, 2016 at Clarksville) and went on to claim regional crowns the past two seasons (2016 and 2017 at Providence) plus the program’s first semistate championship (2016 at Plainfield).

The 2017 season ended for the Pioneers (28-5) with a loss to eventual state champion Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter at the Plainfield Semistate.

Is there such a thing as too aggressive?

“The regular season as opportunity to learn,” says Hornung. “They need to learn difference between being aggressive and being stupid. We do have to let them make mistakes. That’s the only way they’re going to learn.”

In 2018, the Pioneers will learn what it means to compete in the postseason at Class 3A after years in 2A.

By earning 13 IHSAA Tournament Success Factor points in 2015-16 and 2016-17, Providence moves up to 3A for the next reclassification period ( 2017-18 and 2018-19).

By rule, schools that achieve six points (1 for a sectional championship, 2 for a regional championship, 3 for a semistate championship and 4 for a state championship) are required to move up.

Hornung is not a fan of the rule in its current form.

“The span of years is too little,” says Hornung. “It needs to be over a four- or five-year span. In two years at the 1A or 2A level, you could have a couple players be dominant (and rack up Tournament Success Factor points). They graduate and then you go back to just being competitive.”

Hornung says the Tournament Success Factor rule is “football-driven” and “Catholic-biased.”

“We’re penalizing everybody for that reason,” says Hornung. “(The IHSAA) need adjustments.”

Adjusting in 2017 to the new pitch count rules (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) was not a hardship with Providence and its mound corps depth.

But Hornung sees where other schools — especially smaller ones — felt the effects.

“The smaller the school, the harder it is for that team to pitch effectively,” says Hornung. “We’re not the kind of (coaching) staff that overuses pitchers in any way. A few people making bad decisions have forced the hand and they made the rule across the board.

“I wish they’d leave it up to the discretion of the staff to determine the health of a pitcher’s arm. We don’t (enforce pitch counts) in the college or the pros.”

Providence does not belong to a conference. The Pioneers play an independent schedule.

“Most of the time I like it,” says Hornung. “But it’s getting frustrating. Teams won’t schedule us.

“I like to be able to make my own schedule and have my pitching rotation based around certain games. We play three to five games with Kentucky schools every year. But can’t make extended contracts because they have a mandated schedule and we don’t always if dates will correspond.”

Providence plays its home games on-campus on a field with an artificial turf infield installed by The Motz Group of Cincinnati (at a cost of between $250,000 and $300,000, according to Hornung) and a grass outfield.

Hornung and one of his assistants can be be found riding the mower.

“It’s kind of therapeutic,” says Hornung. “(Maintaining) the infield, I don’t miss it at all. That was a nightmare and it got harder as I got older and I wanted to do it less.

“I wouldn’t go back (to a grass infield) unless we had all the manpower and tools to do it right. This is a high school program and we don’t have access to all that.

“Statistics have shown that there is more cost effectiveness (with turf) in the long haul. It’s all the maintenance etc. that is saved over a 10-year period.”

Hornung’s 2018 coaching staff includes Scott Hutchins, Jacob Julius, Matt Schaab and newcomer and pitching coach Elliott Fuller at the varsity level and Shawn Hoffman and Collin Rauck with the junior varsity.

Among the returnees for 2018 are seniors Timmy Borden (University of Louisville commit), Reece Davis (Bellarmine University commit) and Nathan Proctor and juniors Joe Wilkinson (Louisville commit), Adam Uhl and Kaden Williams.

Their head coach is very familiar with the recruiting process in baseball and in the volleyball world. All three of Scott and Elly Hornung’s daughters are volleyball players. Jacquie Hornung is a sophomore at Bellarmine. Marissa Hornung is a Providence senior who recently signed to play at Purdue University. Ali Hornung is Providence freshmen.

Hornung says he gets as involved with the recruiting of his baseball athletes as much as they want.

But things recruiting landscape has changed.

“The high school coach is not as relevant as they used to be as the travel ball coach is,” says Hornung. “Colleges send messages to the travel or high school coach. I’m fine with that.

“The player recruits themselves anymore. That’s just the way it is. They go out and play and it’s up to them and their contact with the schools.”

Scott Hornung, a 1981 graduate of Our Lady of Providence High School in Clarksville, has been Pioneers head baseball coach since 1995. Providence won an IHSAA Class 2A state championship in 2016.