Cardenas carries confidence to the bump for U. of Indianapolis

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

NCAA Division II University of Indianapolis — ranked No. 2 in the Midwest/No. 20 in the nation by National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association — close the 2024 regular season in Romeoville, Ill., with a four-game Great Lakes Valley Conference series May 2-4 against Lewis University (one game Thursday, two games Friday, one game Saturday).

Greyhounds head coach Al Ready and pitching coach Adam Cornwell have decided to hand the ball to junior right-hander Diego Cardenas to start today (May 2). First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. Central Time.

Cardenas, a 21-year-old South Bend, Ind., native and Environmental Sustainability major, brings up the same word when describing Ready and Cornwell.

“It’s amazing,” says Cardenas of playing for Ready. “It’s a great experience. It’s a unique way of coaching and a lot of the players get along with it. He’s very brave and confident in his guys.

“He trusts all of his players and that’s pretty sweet.”

Cardenas says Ready, who played at UIndy and is in his 17th season coaching in the program (sixth as head coach), does not go by the book.

“He’s very unorthodox,” says Cardenas of the man who has the Greyhounds at 32-14 overall and 27-5 at the top of the GLVC standings. The team has won 11 straight.

Says Cardenas, “(Cornwell) gives me a lot of confidence by giving me my own space and making corrections when they’re due.

“He lets us be our own person which is great.”

Cardenas has gone from a reliever going into the season to a mid-week starter and then a weekend arm for conference games.

In eight mound appearances (all starts) in 2024, Cardenas is 5-0 with a 2.70 earned run average, 37 strikeouts and 25 walks in 46 2/3 innings. Opponents are hitting .195 against him.

The 5-foot-11, 200-pounder throws from a three-quarter arm angle and uses a two-seam fastball, change-up and slider to get hitters out.

“I get a ton of arm-side run,” says Cardenas of his two seamer which has hit 91 mph and sets at 86 to 89. “Not a lot of vertical (movement), more horizontal.”

A combination of splitter and change-up, he calls that pitch a “splange” and it goes 80 to 83 mph.

“I choke the daylights out of it,” says Cardenas of the grip.

Wedging the ball deep in his hands in a traditional slider grip, the righty makes deliveries at 77 to 80 mph.

Born and raised in South Bend with Larry and Kelly Cardenas as parents and former John Adams High School ballplayers Esai Cardenas and Benicio Cardenas (who also on the team at Marian University’s Ancilla College) as older brothers, Diego played at South Bend East Side Little League as a youngster and travel ball as a teen with the Indiana Nitro.

At Adams, 2021 graduate Diego Cardenas was a middle infielder when not on the mound.

Mike Cass was and still is the Eagles head coach.

“He kept it simple,” says Cardenas of Cass.

Cardenas underwent Ulnar Collateral Ligament reconstruction (Tommy John surgery) and redshirted for the 2022 UIndy season. That summer he played in the College Summer League at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind., for the Turf Monsters.

In his debut season with Indianapolis in 2023, Cardenas got into nine games (all in relief) and went 0-0 with a 9.00 ERA, eight strikeouts and 11 walks in eight innings. 

He split his summers between contracts with the Prospect League’s Terre Haute (Ind.) Rex and Northwoods League’s Waterloo (Ind.) Bucks. He has signed to play this summer with the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League’s Olney (Md.) Cropdusters.

But before that there’s business to attend at UIndy. The eight-team GLVC tournament is May 8-11 in Marion, Ill. After that comes an NCAA D-II Midwest Regional May 16-19 at a campus site and a chance to advance to a Midwest Super Regional May 24-25 at a campus site and then the D-II World Series June 1-8 in Cary, N.C.

“We’re playing loose and confident,” says Cardenas. “We’re playing in a very fun way.”

While he has no real allegiance to an MLB team, Cardenas does have a favorite player.

“I’ve always been a big fan of Marcus Stroman,” says Cardenas of the New York Yankees right-hander. “I love his confidence and his flash.”

Cardenas has two years of remaining eligibility. He expects to take one in 2025 while finishing his undergraduate degree then a graduate year. He says if he had to decide on his concentration now it would be in Management Sciences.

After baseball, he foresees a career in renewable energies, performing research and analytics and hands-in field work.

“I love the outdoors,” says Cardenas. “It’s pretty awesome.”

Diego Cardenas. (University of Indianapolis Photo)

Diego Cardenas. (University of Indianapolis Photo)

Diego Cardenas. (University of Indianapolis Photo)

Diego Cardenas. (University of Indianapolis Image)

Diego Cardenas. (University of Indianapolis Photo)

Diego Cardenas. (University of Indianapolis Photo)

Diego Cardenas. (University of Indianapolis Photo)

After four seasons at Spalding U., righty Parisi transfers to Indiana State

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

Tell Jack Parisi he can’t do something and that’s just the motivation he needs.
“My whole baseball career — starting in high school, people said I’m never going to play college baseball and I’m never going to throw 90 mph,” says Parisi, a right-handed pitcher who four seasons at NCAA Division III Spalding University in Louisville, Ky. (2018-21), and is now at NCAA Division I Indiana State University for a graduate transfer year in 2022. “I bundled it all up, threw it aside and went to prove all these people wrong.
“Once somebody tells me a goal of mine can’t be achieved I know they’re wrong and I go to work to make it possible.”
Parisi, a 2017 graduate of Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, Ind., made 41 appearances (38 starts) for Spalding, going 21-8 with four complete games and a 2.97 earned run average. He produced 269 strikeouts and 107 walks in 218 innings while holding opponents to a .215 batting average.
In 2021, the 22-year-old righty made 12 starts for Eagles head coach Matt Downs and pitching coach Tayler Sheriff and was 8-3 with two complete games and a 1.67 ERA. He racked up 96 K’s and 29 walks in 75 2/3 innings and foes hit .200.
“He is definitely baseball-driven and has a positive mindset,” says Parisi of Downs. “He’s a great friend who I can have trust in.”
“One of my best best qualities as an athlete is I’m goal-driven and willing to put in the work to get better,” says Parisi. “I have a strong mindset — on and off the field. I’m very in-tune with everything happening around me.
“I’m a pretty focused athlete.”
Parisi, a 6-foot, 210-pounder, decided to take his extra year of eligibility granted because the COVID-19 pandemic shortened the 2020 season, began getting calls and texts just minutes after entering the transfer portal.
“I let it all come to me,” says Parisi. “Indiana State was one of the first teams to reach out to me.
“They were very interested in me. This is a chance to play for a great coaching staff and great team. I want to prove that I can pitch against the best out there and get my (Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft) stock up and keep my name out there.”
ISU head coach Mitch Hannahs indicated that he wanted Parisi to make a visit to the Terre Haute school’s campus as soon as possible. As a Sycamore, he gets to work with a staff of Hannahs, associate head coach Brian Smiley, assistant Brad Vanderglas and volunteer Justin Hancock while continuing to develop as a pitcher.
Parisi moved to Terre Haute last week — about two weeks before the start of fall classes — to familiar himself with the ISU weight room and athletic trainers.
He earned a Business Administration degree with a focus in Marketing and a minor in Communication at Spalding and plans to pursue a masters in Sport Management at Indiana State.
Throwing from a low to middle three-quarter overhand arm slot, Parisi throws a four-seam cutter, sinker, change-up and two kinds of sliders.
“My junior year of high school someone noticed that the ball was cutting out of my hand,” says Parisi. “I began calling my fastball a cutter.”
His fastest pitch is the sinker, which has been clocked as high as 95 mph and sits at 90 to 93.
He uses a “circle” change. His hard slider has a sharp bite at the end a tops out around 85 mpg. His soft slider is more of a “gyro” ball that moves across the plate like a frisbee and maxes out near 79 mph.
Born and raised in Fort Wayne, Jack played from 4 until 12 at Don Ayres Little League then had travel ball stints with the Mark DeLaGarza-led Summit City Sluggers, AWP and the Javier DeJesus-coached Fort Wayne Diamondbacks.
At Homestead, Parisi played for two Spartans head coaches — Steve Sotir as a freshman and Nick Byall the last three seasons.
“I learned a lot from both of them,” says Parisi. “(Byall’s) a great guy and a great coach. He’s there for his players. He’s one of those teachers you can reach out to.
“He’s looking out for your best interests.”
During his college summers, Parisi has been with the Manatees of the Port Lucie-based Central Florida Collegiate League in 2018, Casey Harms-coached Waterloo (Iowa) Bucks of the Northwoods League in 2019 and trained with Greg Vogt at PRP Baseball in Noblesville, Ind., in 2020 and 2021.
He credits his time at PRP last summer with developing his sinker and hard slider.
Casa Restaurants director of operations Tom Parisi and wife Kathy Parisi have two sons — J.T. (28) and Jack. J.T. Parisi played baseball at Homestead then graduated from Indiana University and law school at Vandberbilt University. He is now a lawyer in Chicago.

Jack Parisi (Spalding University Photo)

Jack Parisi (Spalding University Photo)

Jack Parisi (Spalding University Photo)

Jack Parisi (Spalding University Photo)