Lafayette is the host city for the 2023 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North-South All-Star Series. A banquet is slated for 7 p.m. Friday, June 23 at Loeb Stadium. All-stars will be recognized and the Indiana Baseball Player of the Year Award will be given. All three games will be contested on the turf at Loeb Stadium. There is a noon doubleheader on Saturday, June 25 and single wood-bat game at noon Sunday, June 26. Indiana all-stars are seniors nominated by IHSBCA members and selected by a committee. Also, the Futures Game — which is actually a noon doubleheader featuring four teams of underclassmen — is slated for Wednesday, June 21 at Loeb.
Varsity baseball on Indiana college campus gets the attention. But those teams aren’t the only ones taking to the diamond representing their schools in 2022-23. National Club Baseball Association — a division of Pittsburgh-based ColClubSports — features two squads at Indiana University (D-I and D-II) and one each at Ball State, Notre Dame and Purdue. These four plus Illinois and Illinois State belong to the NCBA Great Lakes South. Squads played one or two series in the fall. Most games are in March and April. The four-team NCBA D-I Great Lakes Regional is slated for May 12-14 at Ash Centre/World Baseball Academy in Fort Wayne, Ind. The eight-team NCBA D-I World Series is May 26-June 2 in Alton, Ill. D-II regionals are May 5-7 at sites to be determined with the eight-team D-II World Series May 19-May 23 in Alton. Indiana-based teams are made up of players with high school and/or high level travel ball experience. The NCBA tracks rankings, statistics, standings and selects All-Americans. Notre Dame is No. 9 and Illinois State and Illinois are vote-getters in the D-I Week 16 poll. NCBA Great Lakes team previews can be found HERE.
Indiana IU club officers are president Garrett Larson (Lucas, Texas), secretary Spencer Puett (Eden Prairie, Minn.), treasurer Jacob Kortenber (New Haven, Ind., graduate) and social media chair Casey Fanelli (Westfield, Ind., alum). Brenden Schrage (Elmhurst, Ill.) is a future vice president. Games tend to be on Saturdays and Sundays. Indiana’s D-I team went 2-4 in the fall — 1-2 against both Illinois and Illinois State. Beginning the Week of March 13, the spring season sees IU play Eastern Kentucky, Marquette, Ohio State and Tennessee for single games. Ball State visits for three games and the Hoosiers play three-game sets at Notre Dame and Purdue. The D-II squad went 4-2 in the fall — 1-2 vs. Xavier and 3-0 vs. Eastern Kentucky. Beginning the Week of Feb. 27, the spring season includes a three-game home series against Michigan State, three at Akron and three at home against Ohio State. “The club experience is a great one not only for myself but a lot of other people because our club consists of mid- to high-level high school baseball players who could not make it at the next level or wanted to only play Division I college ball or go to a bigger school and get a better education,” says Larson, a junior Sports Media & Advertising co-major. “Club baseball is a way for us to keep playing the game we love.” At Indiana in 2022-23, 85 to 100 players tried out for 26 vacancies on two teams. There’s about 20 players on each squad. The club is responsible for securing playing fields and off-campus practice facilities, umpires and uniforms. Club dues and fundraising helps pay expenses. Bloomington North High School is Indiana’s home field. “We’re very appreciative for that opportunity,” says Larson. The club makes a donation to the school for the use of the Cougars’ diamond. In past seasons, the club played some games at Bedford North Lawrence High School. The club also supports the varsity Hoosiers when they play at Bart Kaufman Field aka The Bart. “We go to those games all the time,” says Larson. “A lot of our best players tried to walk on and came to play for us.” Club players tend to sit close to the home dugout and backstop and can be heard on TV and radio broadcasts. Kortenber, a sophomore Sports Marketing & Management major, played for Dave Bischoff at New Haven High School and explains his reason for playing club baseball. “I just really wanted to stay connected to the game and meet a bunch of new people,” says Kortenber, who considered being a manager for the varsity team. “Then I decided I could actually keep on playing.” A club sports fair during “Welcome Week” is a big recruiting tool. The club is open to anyone who wants to practice. Then there’s a travel roster. Both D-I and D-II teams at Indiana practice together. Schrage gives his “why.” “It gets me out of the house,’ says Schrage, who now calls Indianapolis home and is a sophomore Informatics major with a Business cognate. “I like to collaborate with different people. I enjoy baseball players. That was my crowd in high school. “I just want a competitive edge outside of doing lifting and homework. It’s nice to travel on the weekends and be part of a team.” Indiana’s Twitter handle is @ClubBaseball_IU. The Instagram address is iuclubbaseball. The D-I roster can be found HERE and schedule HERE. The D-II roster can be found HERE and schedule HERE.
Ball State BSU club officers include president Ross Culy (Winchester, Ind., Community High School graduate), vice president Clay Hamm (Blue Valley alum) and social media manager Ben Carr (Zionsville Community graduate). Ball State lost three-game series to Notre Dame and Purdue in the fall. The spring slate begins the Week of March 20 and the Cardinals play a series at Indiana with home series against Illinois State and Illinois. Culy, a third-year senior on pace to graduate in the spring with a double major in Analytics and Economics, talks about what he gets from club baseball. “It definitely starts with a lot of friendships and relationships you make,” says Culy. “Relationships are really important in life. “Being president has developed my leadership abilities and people skills.” The club is hoping to play one home series on the varsity field (Ball Diamond) and will play the other at a local high school or perhaps Gainbridge Field at McCulloch Park in Muncie. Fall home games are played at Ball Diamond. Club dues are $350 for the year or $175 per semester and pay for jerseys, travel, umpires etc. “We try to keep our costs as low as possible and keep guys in the club,” says Culy. The club had to disband during the COVID-19 pandemic and came back in 2021-22. “We’re accepting anybody who wants to play,” says Culy. “We have from former college players and high-level high school to kids who never played before. “We don’t currently have enough to make cuts. This year we had huge growth. We have 30-ish guys which is a big improvement from last year. Most recruiting was done at the club fair at the beginning of the school year. “A lot of it is just getting our name out there and getting the players who have the talent and interest,” says Culy. Three member of Ball State’s swimming and diving program — Michael Burns (South Bend, Ind., Riley High School graduate), Erkan Ozgen (Burr Ridge, Ill.) and Porter Brovont (Eastern of Greentown alum) — have indicated they will join the baseball club at the conclusion of their season. Hamm, a sophomore Sport Administration major, split his high school days between New Castle and Blue River Valley before playing one season at the University of Northwestern Ohio and transferring to Ball State and joining the club. “I just wanted to get back into baseball,” says Hamm. “It’s a lot of fun. Everybody wants to be there and wants to play.” Carr, a freshman Sports Administration major and Marketing minor, tells why he’s involved. “I love baseball,” says Carr. “I played it all my life. I played throughout high school and had some opportunities to play (intercollegiate ball). Ball State was the best first for me. “I got involved (in club baseball) and it’s a blast.” As an Indiana Expos travel ball player, Carr was coached by former Indiana club member Leo Tobasco. Carr is a submarine pitcher. He was throwing from a three-quarter arm slot as a high school junior and looking to see how he could help on a staff of fireballers. “One of my coaches suggested that I try to see if I could throw sidearm or lower,” says Carr. “I kept messing with it and kept messing with it. I became an effective groundball pitcher.” As social media manager, Carr has been able to tap into skill he learned from his father who is a graphic designer and get his friend who is a photographer to provide compelling shots. “I’ve edits for our schedule on Instagram that I’m pretty proud of,” says Carr. Cooper Roach, a Delta High School graduate and freshman Data Analytics major, was smitten by baseball growing up in Muncie. “There’s something different about it I love,” says Roach. “I don’t think I can ever get away from baseball because of it.” Ball State’s club fair is how he found out about the opportunity to keep playing in college. “I’d like to see the club aspect pushed a little more,” says Roach of club sports overall. Ball State’s Instagram address is ballstatebaseballclub. The roster can be found HERE and schedule HERE.
Notre Dame ND club officers are president Josh Dippold (Fort Wayne Bishop Luers graduate), interim vice president Sam Sikkink (Minnetonka, Minn., and serving for Lafayette, La.’s Jacob Tate who is studying abroad), secretary Chris Ayres (Malvern, Pa.) and treasurer Brady LaBahn (Apple Valley, Minn.). Players pay $315 per semester to pay for travel, umpires, league, registration etc. Donation also come in from alumni and family during “ND Day.” The Irish won the 8th annual Battle Creek Blast in the fall as the wild card, besting Illinois State B 11-1 and Michigan-Flint 21-1 and losing 5-4 to Michigan in pool play before topping Michigan 11-4 and Illinois 18-1 in the single-elimination bracket. Besides taking that 12-team event at C.O. Brown Stadium, Notre Dame also swept a three-game conference series against Ball State. The spring began this past weekend with a three-game sweep at Kentucky. Next is a series at Illinois then home series vs. Indiana, Illinois State and Purdue. South Bend Clay High School has been a home field for Notre Dame. The club is hoping to play some games on-campus at Frank Eck Stadium — home to the varsity Irish. Notre Dame lost to Michigan in 2022 regional championship. “It was nice to see them this fall in Battle Creek,” says Dippold, who played his home games while at Bishop Luers at the Ash Centre. He grew up playing travel ball around Fort Wayne, including with the Summit City Sluggers and Lance Hershberger-led Fort Wayne/Northeast Indiana Buzz. Dippold, a senior Theology major with a Pre-Health supplemental major and Latino Studies minor, intends to go to medical school. The club president says about 50 players try out in the fall. There are currently 29 on the roster (33 is the maximum). “I love baseball and the leadership that comes with being around so many ballplayers and friends,” says Dippold. “It’s for the love of the game and you need to be heads-up to be a good ballplayer. It’s America’s Pastime to me. “I see the freshmen and sophomores on our team and I want to give back to the game. When I’m older I know I will be a coach of some sort. “I’m incredibly grateful that God has bestowed this opportunity for me to still be playing the game as a senior in college. This year I feel like we have something left in the tank and some unfinished business. “I’ve always been a competitor. I look forward to being something more than an academic competitor and let it loose on the baseball field.” Jake Fuehrmeyer, a graduate of Bishop Noll Institute in Hammond, Ind., and a senior Science Pre-Professional (Pre-Med) major, decided to attend Notre Dame rather than play varsity baseball and study at a smaller school in Illinois. He expresses his appreciation for club ball. “It’s been everything to be college experience-wise,” says Fuehrmeyer. “I never would have thought I’d still get to play ball once I got to Notre Dame. “It’s allowed me the opportunity to continue to compete at a high level. My favorite thing to do is play baseball. “All of the guys on the team are such great dudes. I look forward to going to practice. I look forward to competing in games. It’s given me a ton of new friends.” While vans were to be used to travel to the Kentucky series, players typically car-pool to away games. “It’s a sacrifice we’re willing to make,” says Fuehrmeyer. “We’ll go wherever the baseball is.” In-season, Notre Dame tends to practice twice a week for 90 minutes. Outside of practice, Fuehrmeyer seeks time to get in swings on his own or long toss with a friend. There is an on-campus practice space. RBIs Unlimited in Mishawaka offers an off-campus training option. While he’s got a full plate, Fuehrmeyer does carve out time to follow the varsity Irish. “College baseball is some of the most-exciting baseball you can watch,” says Fuehrmeyer. “It’s evolving at a rapid pace. We’re seeing some outstanding talent come through Notre Dame. “We’ve got some serious talent on the varsity team and it’s reflected in how good our club team is. “I look at some guys and say, “Wow! Why aren’t you playing (NCAA) Division I baseball somewhere?” Notre Dame’s Twitter handle is @NDclubbaseball. The Instagram address is ndclubbaseball. The roster can be found HERE and schedule HERE.
Purdue PU club officers are president Daniel Stephen (Fort Wayne, Ind., Northrop High School graduate), vice president Ross Ostrager (Plainview, N.Y.), treasurer Jacob Knaust (O’Fallon, Ill.), fundraising officer Jeremy VanTryon (Plainfield, Ind., High School alum), community service officer Joe Patton (Kansas City, Kan.) and safety officer Kyle Goff (Fort Wayne, Ind., Carroll graduate). Dr. Howard Zelanik is advisor. Purdue went 6-5 in the fall — 3-0 vs. Ball State, 2-1 vs. Eastern Kentucky, 0-3 vs. Illinois State and 1-1 vs. Miami (Ohio). Beginning the Week of March 13, an 11-game spring includes contests against Ohio, Tennessee, Ohio State, Iowa and Wyoming in Panama City Beach, Fla., before a three-game series at Illinois, three at home against Indiana and three at Notre Dame. Purdue senior James Ham, a Lafayette (Ind.) Harrison High School alum, pitched a no-hitter Oct. 1, 2022 against Ball State with 15 strikeouts in seven innings. The no-no was caught by junior Ostrager. The club was present at the B-Involved Fair and had callouts last August. Tryouts were last September at the Purdue Intramural Fields. Home games are played at Crawfordsville (Ind.) High School. The team has a set of bats, helmets, and catchers gear. Hats, jerseys, black pants, gold stirrups and a gold belt are provided. Players must have their own glove, cleats, white baseball pants, gray baseball pants, black socks and black belt. Semester dues can vary depending on expected club expenses. They are typically around $300 for returning members and $350 for new members. The Twitter handle is @PUBaseballClub. The Instagram address is pubaseballclub. The roster can be found HERE and the schedule HERE.
Other Places George Boardman is a pitcher on the Vanderbilt University club in Nashville, Tenn. Boardman, of LaPorte, Ind., is a freshman Law History Society major. After playing for coach Kurt Christiansen, he graduated from Culver (Ind.) Academies in 2021. “I’m pretty serious about going to law school so playing for an actual college team was too much of a time commitment,” says Boardman. “I selected Vanderbilt for many other reasons, but (club baseball) was an added benefit. “Most of the people on our team could have played (NCAA) D-III baseball.” Like Boardman, they those Vandy for its academic rigor. “Club baseball here at Vanderbilt is really, really balanced,” says Boardman. “We practice three days a week — Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. We usually play six or seven series (in the spring and fall) with three games each. “Attendance at those series is completely optional. The flexibility is perfect. If you have a class or a ton of homework, just text your coach or (club) president and say, ‘I can’t make it.’ “You can pretty much make out of it what you want.” The club plays many of its home games at nearby Belmont University though there is a contest scheduled April 9 against Georgia State at Hawkins Field — where the Vandy Boys varsity plays.
Indiana University’s club baseball team. (IU Club Baseball Photo)
Indiana University’s club baseball team. (IU Club Baseball Photo)
Indiana University’s club baseball team. (IU Club Baseball Photo)
Indiana University’s club baseball team. (IU Club Baseball Photo)
Indiana University’s club baseball team. (IU Club Baseball Photo)
Indiana University’s club baseball team. (IU Club Baseball Photo)
Indiana University’s club baseball team. (IU Club Baseball Photo)
Ross Culy. (Ball State Club Baseball Photo)
Clay Hamm. (Ball State Club Baseball Photo)
Ben Carr. (Ball State Club Baseball Photo)
Cooper Roach. (Ball State Club Baseball Photo)
Notre Dame seniors with 2022-23 Battle Creek Blast trophy. Notre Dame club baseball seniors in the fall of 2022 (from left): Peter Colevas, Brady LaBan, Sam Sikkink, Jake Fuehrmeyer and Josh Dippold. (ND Club Baseball Photo)
Notre Dame wins 2022-23 Battle Creek Blast trophyNotre Dame club baseball’s Battle Creek Blast champions in the fall of 2022 (from left): First row — Tony Ingram, Peter Colevas, Chris Ayres, Sam Sikkink and Josh Dippold. Second row — Tommy Hoefling, Tommy Toole, Hawkins Suter, Daniel Kim, Jake Fuehrmeyer, Andrew D’Arcy, Luke Brandau, Chris Hoofing, Brady LaBahn, Keaton Rodgers, Danny Durkin, Peter Royeca, Joe Bollard, Joey Vaughan, Justin Zach and Brady Soenen. (ND Club Baseball Photo)
Notre Dame club baseball’s Josh Dippold (7) in the bullpen in the fall of 2022. (ND Club Baseball Photo)
Notre Dame club baseball in the fall of 2022 (from left): First row — Peter Royeca, Tony Ingram, Sam Sikkink, Josh Dippold and Chris Ayres. Second row — Peter Mercurio, Jacob Tate, Keaton Rodgers, Brady LaBan, Grant Woodward, Dash Muller and Chris Hoefling. (ND Club Baseball Photo)
Purdue’s club baseball team organizes for 2022-23. (Purdue Club Baseball Image)
Purdue’s James Ham pitched a no-hitter against Ball State in the fall of 2022. (Purdue Club Baseball Photo)
Purdue’s Jacob Knaust earned NCBA Great Lakes South Player of the Week honors in the fall of 2022. (Purdue Club Baseball Photo)
George Boardman, of LaPorte, Ind., and a Culver, Ind., Academies, is a student and club baseball player at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.
Vanderbilt University’s club baseball team after a 2022-23 win against Mississippi State. (Vanderbilt Club Baseball Photo)
Matt Voorhees has won regularly in his two stints as head baseball coach at North Montgomery High School in Crawfordsville, Ind. He eclipsed 100 wins 2009-14 and saw the Chargers go 17-11 in 2022. But that’s not the focus for the graduate of Crawfordsville High School (1993) and Wabash College (1997). “At North Montgomery we truly believe in developing the person above the player,” says Voorhees. “Our coaches truly invest in the individual and talk about the importance of helping them become quality people. “We take an active interest in the academics and promote responsibility. Each player is held to a high standard. “We promote team unity and try to make it a family atmosphere. Every player should have leadership qualities and we try to give them the opportunity to be leaders not only on the field but in their everyday lives. The better the person the more complete the player! “Every player in our program should complete their high school career knowing that they mattered.” North Montgomery (enrollment around 525) is a member of the Sagamore Athletic Conference (with Crawfordsville, Danville Community, Frankfort, Lebanon, Southmont, Tri-West Hendricks and Western Boone). SAC teams play each other two times. The Chargers are part of an IHSAA Class 3A sectional grouping in 2023 with Frankfort, Northwestern, Twin Lakes, West Lafayette and Western. North Montgomery has won 12 sectional titles — the last in 2018. Voorhees is a law officer. He started with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department and has been with the Indiana State Police the last 24 years. He has also served as an assistant coach at Marian University in Indianapolis and coached at Southmont High School in Crawfordsville. As a high schooler, Voorhees played left field as a freshman and three years as a catcher. His head coach was John Froedge, an Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer. Rhett Weliever was an Athenians assistant and still fills that role. “Coach Froedge was amazing in the development of men! His Christian values will always stick with me as he demonstrated great concern and care for his players. “Every day I knew that he cared about our integrity and the quality of people that we were. It was easy to give maximum effort for a coach that you admired and trusted. “Never once did I doubt that his decisions were anything but pure and in our best interest. He has gone on to win numerous conference and multiple State championships. He definitely left his mark on Indiana high school baseball.” Voorhees was a catcher at Wabash College in Crawfordsville. Head coach Scott Boone and assistant Bill Boone then led the Little Giants. “(Bill Boone) is an amazing coach that truly invested in our lives,” says Voorhees. “Bill was a person of character that went on to become the head coach at Wabash for a stint. He always would say, ‘Carpe Diem — Sieze the day!!!’ And boy did he live his life that way. Much like Coach Froedge, Bill left all of his players knowing that he truly cared about them. He was a great model for me.” In 1997, Voorhees graduated from Wabash with a degree in English and minor in American Education. He earned a Masters in Organizational Leadership from Indiana Tech in 2020. North Montgomery’s 2023 assistant coaches include Ryan Cole, Bill Warren, Alex Hall, Shawn Verhey, Kai Warren, Curt Dyson, Joe Swick and Griffon Lawson-Fuller. Cole was a four-year starter at Purdue University and a former Indiana Bulls player. Bill Warren was a pitcher and catcher at Wabash College. Hall played middle infield at Wabash College. Verhey was an pitcher/outfielder at Glen Oaks Community College in Centerville, Mich. Kai Warren was pitcher and middle infielder at Wabash College. Dyson played at Crawfordsville and has been an Indiana Thunder coach. Lawson-Fuller played at North Montgomery and is a U.S. Army veteran. There are currently 38 players for varsity, junior varsity and — perhaps — C-team games. “We are very blessed to have such an interest in our program. The Chargers have two on-campus diamonds. “Our coaches take great pride in the field at North Montgomery High School,” says Voorhees. “We believe that it is the least we can do. “Our players work hard on the game so we will work hard to give them a nice field to play on.” Baseball is valued in Crawfordsville and the North Montgomery program is fed by recreation, club, middle school, travel and American Legion baseball. “I cannot begin to thank all of the coaches that have an impact on our players development from 6-year olds all the way through high school seniors,” says Voorhees. “We have a lot of unity throughout the organization.” “I’m just very blessed to work at a school like North Montgomery. The administration is phenomenal and does a great job in investing in the students. “A special ‘thank you’ to our athletic director (and former Rockville High School and Butler University baseball player) Matt Merica. He is amazing to work with.” Matt and wife of 28 years Buffie have two daughters — Jesika Voorhees (25) and Ashlynn Lawson-Fuller (23).
Family: Ashlynn Lawson-Fuller (left), Jesika Voorhees, Buffie Voorhees and Matt Voorhies.
North Montgomery High School baseball field.
Matt Voorhees pays mound visit for North Montgomery High School.
A gathering at the mound with North Montgomery High School head baseball coach Matt Voorhees.
A Purdue University graduate is applying some lessons he learned while playing for the Boilermakers in his role as an assistant baseball coach/recruiting coordinator at Kent (Ohio) State University. Barrett Serrato, a graduate of West Chicago (Ill.) High School, played four seasons for head coach Doug Schreiber at Purdue (2009-12) and received a Physical Education degree and experienced a Big Ten Conference championship in 2012. Former Boiler assistants Jamie Sailors (current Lafayette Aviators managers) and Spencer Allen (now a Northwestern University assistant) were involved in Serrato’s recruitment. “It’s hard to pick one experience,” says Serrato of his time at Purdue. The whole thing was so enjoyable for me. “We’ve got a team group chat now. Any time anybody texts it’s like we never left.” Among players who were on the 2009 and 2012 rosters with Serrato are Kyle Bischoff (New Haven High School graduate), Ryan Bridges (Griffith), Eric Charles (Zionsville), Sean Collins (Pendleton Heights), Joe Haase (Knightstown), Jake Hansen (Westfield), Robert Ramer (Sunnyvale, Calif.) and Tyler Spillner (Fort Wayne Northrop). Bridges was head coach at Hanover Central High School. Three future big leaguers were juniors on the 2012 team — Cameron Perkins (Southport), Kevin Plawecki (Westfield) and Nick Wittgren (McCutcheon). Brett Andrzejewski (Westfield) was also on that team. “We all really got along,” says Serrato. “We all jelled. On the field and off the field we really enjoyed our time. “Winning conference in 2012 was the icing on the cake.” That squad went 45-14 overall, 17-7 in the Big Ten and beat Indiana twice to win first Big Ten Tournament title. Serrato was named to the all-tournament team. Another memorable moment for him came in 2011 while Purdue swept a three-game series from visiting Indiana. It was the first sweep of the Hoosiers in 14 years. “I remember a couple of fans getting on top of the IU dugout (with brooms),” says Serrato. “That’s as good as it gets.” In 177 games (151 starts) at Purdue, the lefty-swinging Serrato hit .309 with eight home runs, 117 runs batted in and 116 runs scored. Lessons learned from Schreiber (who is now head coach at Purdue Fort Wayne) included discipline. “You have to have discipline in everything you do,” says Serrato. “Be the toughest team on the field at all times. Play hard and don’t back down. “If you have high goals and high standards you have to be able the stuff that comes with it.” Serrato says Schreiber stressed fundamentals and following the path. “You knew the standards and the rules,” says Schreiber. “Nobody got any special treatment. This is how we do things and we’re going to do it this way. “That’s been the biggest carryover to what I do now.” In Serrato’s last three seasons in West Lafayette, Jeff Duncan was a Boilers assistant and is heading into his 10th season as Kent State coach in 2023. Selected in the 48th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Florida Marlins out of high school, Serrato was later picked in the 30th round by the Texas Rangers in 2012 and played in the minors in 2012 and 2013. Serrato was on Duncan’s Golden Flashes staff 2015-17, coached 2018-19 at Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn., and was at the University of Central Florida in the fall of 2019 before coming back to Kent State in January 2020. “Coach Dunc is a people person,” says Serrato. “He relates to every type of person. “He’s good at making sure each guy feels important.” As recruiting coordinator, Serrato is after a certain kind of player. “Here at Kent we have a bit of a track record in western (Pennysylvania) and Ohio,” says Serrato. “We have a similar stomping grounds to Purdue. We go into Chicago and Wisconsin. We get some guys from around the Detroit area. It’s a tough kind of kid. “We’ve got high standards here. We’re going to go into some big places. We’re going to play some really good teams and we’re going to expect to win. If we don’t have a strong mental will — hey, we’re going to get this done — we’re not going to accomplish what this program has set out to do.” With relationships as a priority, Serrato wants to bring the right people into the Golden Flashes fold. “If there’s a bad attitude, we’re out,” says Serrato. “At the end of the day we need people who can handle failure and be mature in what they do.” While looking at potential recruits, he is readying body language, energy and gathering information from multiple sources. “Off the field are they positive people?,” says Serrato. “What are others saying about them?” As a hitting coach, Serrato prepares his players to have mature conversations — something he gleaned from pro ball — and preaches three things in this order: mentality, approach and fundamentals. “It’s that toughness, that go-get-it attitude,” says Serrato. “Anybody who’s been around this game knows that as a hitter you’re going to fail a lot. Guys who can’t take some punches are really going to struggle. “With two strikes, we shortened up (our swings) and sacrifice power. Our motto is ‘win fastballs away with two strikes.’ If we get beat (inside) we tip our cap.” Barrett, 32, and wife Karlie met at Kent State. The couple has two daughters.
New head baseball coach Aaron Wood has long been a part of athletics at West Lafayette (Ind.) Junior/Senior High School. As a 2000 West Lafayette graduate, Wood earned eight varsity letters for the Red Devils — three in baseball, three in football and two in basketball. His head coaches were Dan Walbaum in baseball, Ernie Beck and Lane Custer in football and father David Wood in basketball. Wood has been an assistant coach for all three sports at West Lafayette. “It’s my way of giving back,” says Wood, who has gotten to work with Walbaum and Joel Strode in baseball, his father in basketball and Shane Fry in football. “I’ve been a member of this baseball program for a long time. The opportunity (to be head coach) presented itself and I took it.” In Wood’s 13 years on the baseball staff, West Lafayette won three sectionals, two regionals and seven Hoosier Conference titles. Next year will mark two decades for Wood with Red Devils football. He was the running backs coach under Fry this fall and the 2022 team was ranked No. 1 in IHSAA Class 3A and finished 13-1. “I have really enjoyed my time with that program,” says Wood. “I hope in some ways we can mimic the success (football) has had in the baseball program in terms of the postseason. “We want to have some fun and win a whole bunch of games in the process.” David Wood retired after the 2020-21 season — his 27th as Red Devils head boys basketball coach. He earned nine sectional titles, including in 1999 and 2000. Aaron Wood, who is in his fifth year as a Physical Education/Health teacher and strength and conditioning coach for West Lafayette, was hired last week to lead West Lafayette on the diamond. Strode is the Red Devils athletic director. West Lafayette (enrollment around 730) is a member of the Hoosier Conference (with Benton Central, Hamilton Heights, Lafayette Central Catholic, Lewis Cass, Northwestern, Rensselaer Central, Tipton, Twin Lakes and Western). Each conference baseball team plays each other twice in a home-and-home series during the same week. The Red Devils are part of an IHSAA Class 3A sectional grouping in 2023 with Frankfort, North Montgomery, Northwestern, Twin Lakes and Western. West Lafayette has won nine sectional titles — the last in 2011. The Red Devils play home games on Bob Friend Field, a facility which recently got new paint and work on the dugouts. West Lafayette went 13-8 overall and 8-1 in the conference last spring. Senior Evan Cooke (.353 with six home runs and 27 runs batted in and 4-2 on the mound with a 1.51 earned run average for 2022) and junior Jack Shaeffer (.400 with 18 RBIs and 2-3) are expected back for 2023. Cooke scored 34 goals this fall for West Lafayette’s 20-1-1 boys soccer team. While it is not affiliated with the school, West Lafayette Youth Baseball teaches the game at the younger levels. While he was busy with football, Wood noticed that some baseball players were getting in work at various places in the fall. He looks forward to the next IHSAA Limited Contact Period (Dec. 5-Feb. 4) where baseball activities will be permitted two times a week for two hours. Wood is in the process of assembling his coaching staff. “We need to get administrative things out of the way and start focusing on player development,” said Wood. A former multi-sport athlete himself, Wood is a believer in it. “We have to have it for our school to have success,” says Wood. “It does wonders for your support and it develops the sort of toughness that we need to win. “You’re remaining in competitive environments.” Wood went into the working world out of high school and earned an degree in Organizational Leadership and Supervision degree from Purdue University more than a decade later. The husband of West Lafayette Elementary School third grade teacher Jennifer Wood later decided to go into education. “I have a passion for students and coaching,” says Wood. “I got a graduate certificate from Indiana Wesleyan and here I am. “It’s the best decision I’ve ever made professionally.” With Aaron and Jennifer both being teachers they are on the same schedule and able to spend time together and with daughter Carson (6) and son Carter (3). “They enjoy being at the various fields and making it a family affair,” says Wood.
Rob Jordan was to lead his first Tipton (Ind.) High School baseball season during the spring of 2020. But the COVID-19 pandemic kept the Blue Devils from playing a game. Jordan’s first on-field campaign as head coach was 2021. Most of the players from that team graduated, leaving very little varsity experience in 2022. “Last season was pretty tough on us,” says Jordan of year where Tipton went 2-18 with 27 players in the program. “We had a whole new pitching staff.” Jordan does expect most of his pitching to return in 2023, meaning they will have more experience. There is a big freshman class and the Blue Devils should have eight seniors (Zane Goodrich, Chase Higgins, Houston Nasser, Jack Nasser, Clark Rodibaugh, Joe Shelly, Eli Shook and Austin Smith). “We’ve got good young kids,” says Jordan. “With our veteran leadership, we hope it’s a breakout year.” Ten to 15 players — those not in a fall sport — have been going over fundamentals with Jordan at twice-a-week IHSAA Limited Contact Period fall practices. Tipton (enrollment around 450) is a member of the Hoosier Athletic Conference (with IHSAA Class 2A Tipton, 3A Hamilton Heights, 2A Lewis Cass, 3A Northwestern and 3A Western in the East Division and 3A Benton Central, 1A Lafayette Central Catholic, 2A Rensselaer Central, 3A Twin Lakes and 3A West Lafayette in the West Division). The Blue Devis were part of an 2A sectional grouping in 2022 with Blackford, Eastbrook, Eastern (Greentown), Madison-Grant and Taylor. Tipton has won seven sectional titles — the last in 2009. Tipton plays its games on-campus. A new 30-by-30 college-style scoreboard was installed in the summer and new dugouts are nearing completion. Feeding the high school program are travel baseball teams plus Tipton Youth Baseball League (Little Sluggers ages 3-5, Pee Wee 5-8, Cal Ripken 9-12 and Babe Ruth 13-15). Right-handed pitcher Trayjan Phifer (Class of 2021) moved on to Cleary University in Howell, Mich.). Jordan says pitcher/first baseman Vince Hoover (Class of 2024) has been getting looks for colleges. Jordan’s coaching staff for 2023 includes varsity assistant Steve Cherry, junior varsity head coach Andy Hussong and JV assistant Brian Middleton and possibly two more. A 1988 graduate of Tri-Central Middle/High School in Sharpsville, Ind., Jordan played for Trojans head coach Dave Driggs. “We got a fair opportunity,” says Jordan of his prep days. “Politics wasn’t a factor for playing time.” At the time, there was a big rival between Tri-Central and Tipton and the Trojans are still on the Blue Devils schedule. At Missouri Valley College (Marshall, Mo.), first baseman/utility player Jordan played three seasons and learned about conditioning and hard-nosed play from Vikings head coach Ron Givens before an arm injury ended his career. Jordan coached youth league baseball before taking the reins at Tipton. Rob is foundation seed manager for Beck’s Hybrids. He and wife Laura had a daughter (Jessica) and son (Dylan). Dylan Jordan passed away in 2019 at 16. He was in the Tri-Central Class of 2022.
Terry Rooney has returned to a familiar role in his second season as a Purdue University baseball coach. Rooney is the Boilermakers pitching coach on head coach Greg Goff’s staff for 2022-23. Since his coaching career began in 1997, Rooney had been a recruiting coordinator and pitching coach. He focused just on recruiting in 2021-22 as he rejoined Goff (the two worked together at the University of Alabama during the 2017 season). “He’s one of the greatest coaches there is in college baseball,” says Rooney of Goff. “What he brings to the field every single day is unmatched.” With a 15-0 start, Purdue went 29-21 overall and 9-12 in the Big Ten Conference in 2022. This fall, which includes an exhibition game at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8 against Dayton in West Lafayette, Rooney is evaluating his pitchers while implementing systems. “We want to be an ultra-aggressive, confident, strike-throwing pitching staff … guys that pound the strike zone,” says Rooney. “We have a phrase around here — A3P and that’s ‘ahead after three pitches.’ One of our main focuses is to get to that advantage count of 1-2. “The difference in a hitter hitting in a 2-1 count and a 1-2 count is about 200 points (roughly .360 vs. .160). We say it all the time — 1-2 is our full count. We’re doing everything we can to get to that advantage count of 1-2.” Rooney says the goal is to be able to throw something other than a fastball on 1-2. “You want to have the ability to throw multiple pitches for a strike,” says Rooney. “We talk about locating fastballs ahead (in the count) and controlled off-speed pitches behind.” It’s all about attacking the strike zone. “It’s hard to be ultra-competitive and ultra-confident and aggressive if you’re falling behind 2-1 and 3-1 all the time,” says Rooney. “Your actions have to mimic what you want to be.” Rooney says the challenge that players face at the highest level of college baseball — as opposed to high school or even junior college — is a smaller margin for error. There are more great hitters at NCAA D-I. “As a pitcher the stuff hasn’t changed,” says Rooney. “You’re still the same guy. But you can get away with more at those levels. Here, you can’t get away with much. You’re exposed so to speak.” With all the concentration on velocity Rooney says the change-up has become almost a lost art. “A change-up is a switch pitch,” says Rooney. “That’s how you mess up (the hitter’s) timing. The hitter is swinging at the arm speed of the pitcher and it looks like a fastball. “They’re taught on breaking balls, sliders and cutters to lay off that pitch until two strikes. But the change-up you can’t lay off because it looks like the fastball.” Rooney came to Purdue in July 2021. “My relationship with Coach Goff was certainly the No. 1 reason (for coming to West Lafayette),” says Rooney, 48. “Last year was the first time in 24 years that I didn’t do the pitching. For the chance to come in and really focus on recruiting was another reason that I did it. “The third thing is just what Purdue is, what I think it’s going to be and what it has been.” Coming back to a “college town” really appealed to Terry and wife Shaun (who have a daughter, Milly Margaret). The couple met when Terry was on Paul Mainieri’s staff at Notre Dame (2004-06). “We have been in a lot of college towns together,” says Rooney. “We loved our time in Houston (Texas) and I had a great four years there.” Rooney enjoys the fact that he lives 10 minutes from Purdue’s Alexander Field. A native of Fairfax County, Va., and the Washington D.C. area, Rooney pitched at Davis & Elkins College (Elkins, W.Va.) in 1993 and Radford (Va.) University 1994-96. Purdue is the 10th school where Rooney has coached. It started with George Washington University (Washington D.C.) in 1997, followed by James Madison University (Harrisonburg, Va.) 1998-99, Old Dominion University (Norfolk, Va.) 2000-01, Stetson University (DeLand, Fla.) 2002-03, Notre Dame, Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, La.) 2007-08, University of Central Florida (Orlando, Fla.) 2009-16, Alabama and the University of Houston 2018-21. He was an assistant to Mainieri at LSU and went to the College World Series with the Tigers in 2008 and head coach at UCF. Rooney recruited or signed future Major League Baseball all-stars Justin Verlander (Old Dominion), D.J. LeMahieu (LSU) and A.J. Pollock (Notre Dame). He coached six different schools to NCAA regional appearances (10 total bids): 2000 (Old Dominion), 2002-2003 (Stetson), 2004-2006 (Notre Dame), 2008 (LSU), 2011-2012 (UCF) and 2018 (Houston). He was part of the coaching staff with six 40-win teams, including talented teams at Stetson, Notre Dame, LSU and UCF. Rooney counts himself lucky to have worked with so many good coaches during his career. Three of them — Mainieri (1,505), Pete Dunn (1,312) and Tom Walter (790) — have 3,607 victories between them. Current Wake Forest head coach Walter was Rooney’s boss at George Washington. Dunn was in charge when Rooney was at Stetson. A 30-day NCAA recruiting window is coming to a close soon. While coach Chris Marx has been on the road for the Boilermakers much of the time and volunteer Daniel Furuto has been very engaged, Rooney has generally worked with pitchers on-campus during weekdays and hit the recruiting trail on weekends. “We have devoted almost all of our (fall) efforts to junior college,” says Rooney. “The summer is really high school dominant along with the (NCAA) Transfer Portal. Besides the Dayton game, Purdue has scheduled 3 p.m. open scrimmages for Oct. 12, 13, 14 and 18, the Black and Gold Series Oct. 20-22 and Halloween Bash at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27.
Circumstances have caused Conner Tomasic to build his baseball and academic careers in unique ways. The 2018 graduate of Lake Central High School in St. John, Ind., went to Purdue University in West Lafayette for two seasons (2019 and 2020), transferred to South Suburban College in South Holland, Ill., for one (2021) and then came back to the Big Ten with Michigan State University (2022). The right-handed pitcher has another year of college eligibility, but his next move might be as an independent pro. This fall, Tomasic is a commuter student at Purdue Northwest in Hammond, Ind., while staying prepared for his diamond future. His major is Construction Engineering and Management Technology. Tomasic entered college as a Kinesiology major. Having had Tommy John surgery in high school he had worked with plenty of physical therapists. A Biology course at Purdue made him decide that was not the path for him. He followed some teammates and went with construction. “I like to see things in front of me and work with my hands,” says Tomasic. “It felt like a teamwork class. I felt comfortable with it. “You learned how to deal with people and work a job site. An associate degree was earned at South Suburban, a two-year school. But Tomasic also faced a bit of a curve. He had to switch his major at Michigan State to Psychology to stay eligible. A 6-foot-1, 185-pounder, Tomasic took the mound 17 times (nine as a starter) for head coach Jake Boss Jr.’s MSU Spartans. He went 4-4 with a 5.40 earned run average, 41 strikeouts and 26 walks in 65 innings. Because of the work load, Tomasic did not play summer ball, focusing on strength training. In July, he began traveling from Schererville, Ind., to PRP Baseball in Noblesville, Ind., to work with Director of Player Development/Pitching Anthony Gomez. The two have known each other since Tomasic — who turned 23 in August — was an eighth or ninth grader and Gomez was coaching in northwest Indiana. “We’ve always been close,” says Tomasic of Gomez. “It’s nice to work with someone who’s seen me grow up and develop. “He knows my delivery almost as well as I do. He knows what I need at the end of the day.” His PNW classes meet Monday through Thursday then Tomasic heads to central Indiana for workouts later that day or on Friday before returning to The Region. Tomasic has three pitches — a four-seam fastball, slider and change-up. His four-seamer was clocked at 92.9 mph this summer at 93 mph at South Suburban. His slider — often thrown between 77 to 79 mph — has evolved. “When I first started throwing it, it was a ‘gyro,’ says Tomasic of the pitch’s movement. “Now it’s getting mike more a ‘bullet’ slider. You can see the dot (as it rotates). “My change-up, some people think it’s a splitter. It depends on what it’s doing that day. The majority of the time it’s going to sink and have arm-side run. But sometimes it dives straight down.” Tomasic describes his delivery as “a little funky.” The arm angle is about mid-three quarter overhand. But the delivery comes low. “It’s something (opposing batters) don’t see that often,” says Tomasic. “My fastball plays up in the zone so it seems fast than it is.” Tomasic sees determination and focus as two of his best athletic qualities. “I’m a guy who know how to separate his sport from his daily life,” says Tomasic. “If I have a bad, I flush it. If I have a good day, I forget about it quick. “You’ve got the day ahead of you in baseball.” Born in Hammond and raised in Schererville, Conner is the oldest of Jerry and Dena Tomasic’s two children. Jennifer Tomasic (Lake Central Class of 2021) played basketball at Indiana University Northwest in Gary and Governors State University (University Park, Ill.). Jerry Tomasic was born in Yugoslavia before that country split and moved to the U.S. around 2. He played baseball but not past junior high and went on to play basketball at Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa. Dena Tomasic works at Cheers Food & Drink in Munster, Ind. Conner played for the Dyer team that finished runner-up to eventual Little League World Series qualifier New Castle in 2012. When he was ready for a travel ball transition outside northwest Indiana at 15 to 16 he was unable to play for Top Tier because of his injured elbow. Tomasic shined as a two-way player at Lake Central and got to swing the bat for head coaches Mark Wasikowski and Greg Goff at Purdue and Steve Ruzich at South Suburban. As a three-year letterwinner and four-time scholar-athlete at LC, he played for head coaches Jeff Sandor and Mike Swartzentruber. The Indians won sectional titles in baseball and basketball in 2018 and Tomasic played a part while earning LCHS Pride, Hustle and Desire in both sports. He also earned 2018 Perfect Game All-American and All-Region Team honors. He was the Roger Maris MVP in leading Team Serbia to the title in the 2018 International Baseball Challenge Tournament in Whiting, Ind. In two seasons at Purdue, he hit .250 (3-of-12) with a triple in three runs batted and made one putout and five assists in the field. He pitched in 19 games (all in relief) with an 0-1 record, 4.30 ERA, 18 strikeouts and 11 walks in 25 1/3 innings. At South Suburban, the pitcher/middle infielder was an National Junior College Athletic Association all-region selection as he hit .392 with 60 hits, including eighth home runs, three triples and 12 doubles with 49 RBIs, 28 walks and 15 stolen bases. On the bump, he was 6-1 with a 4.64 ERA, 81 strikeouts and 22 walks in 64 innings. Tomasic played for the Northwoods League’s Bismarck (N.D.) Larks and Midwest Collegiate League’s (now Northern League’s) Northwest Indiana Oilmen in the summers of 2019 and 2020. Along the way the focus became pitching rather than two-way player. “I think I’m athletic enough,” says Tomasic. “I can pull it off.”
Carter Doorn enjoyed a super season in his first summer since becoming a college baseball pitcher. The right-hander saw limited action at Purdue University in the spring then turned heads with the 2022 Lima (Ohio) Locos of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League. The 2021 graduate of Lake Central High School in St. John, Ind., made four mound appearances for the Boilermakers (all in relief) and went 0-0 with a 9.82 earned run average, five strikeouts and five walks over 3 2/3 innings. Combining the regular season, a 1-2-3 frame in the July 12 GLSCL All-Star Game in Mason, Ohio, and the playoffs, Doorn pitched in 10 games (eight starts) representing the Locos and went 2-1 with a 1.13 ERA, 54 strikeouts and 23 walks over 48 innings. During his award-taking summer, he was named the Lou Laslo Pitcher of the Year and Tony Lucadello Top Pitcher Prospect in the GLSCL’s North Division and was also chosen first-team all-league. Doorn fanned 11 in six innings July 15 against the visiting Grand Lake Mariners (Celina, Ohio) and whiffed nine in six frames June 21 in a road game vs. the Muskegon (Mich.) Clippers. In a one-inning stint in Game 3 of the league championship series July 31 against the Hamilton Joes, Doorn achieved a personal-best with a 96 mph four-seam fastball. The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder landed in Lima thanks to a Purdue connection. Boilers volunteer assistant coach Daniel Furuto is a former Locos manager and is the brother of 2022 Lima manager Matt Furuto. Purdue infielder Ty Gill (Valparaiso High School Class of 2021) also played for the team this summer. Doorn’s pitch selection has changed over time. With the Locos, he used the four-seamer (which sat 90 to 92 mph), sinker, slider, curveball and change-up. He went with the four-seamer, curve and slider in 3-2 counts. When behind in the count, Doorn would often use his sinker (combination one- or two-seamer) that goes drops and gets on the hands of right-handed hitters. His slider — thrown in the low 80s — is a mix of a cutter and traditional slider. “It does not have much depth,” says Doorn, 19. “It moves a lot from right to left. It moves away from a right-hander.” Throwing from a three-quarter arm slot, his curve drops almost 12-to-6 on the clock face. It goes away from a righty and into a lefty. “My curveball is my best breaking pitch,” says Doorn. A “circle” change-up moves into a right and away from a lefty. Born in Chicago, Doorn grew up in Schererville, Ind. His 11U summer was his last at Dyer (Ind.) Little League and his first in travel ball with Morris Baseball. He played for some other travel teams in tournaments, but was primarily with Morris. He spent his 17U summer with the Dave Sutkowski-coached 5 Star Great Lakes Chiefs (formerly the Hammond/Morris Chiefs). “Coach Bush is really, really wise,” says Doorn of Sutkowski. “When he says something you have to listen.” Doorn, who committed to Purdue even before that summer leading into his senior year of high school, respects how Sutkowski takes a different group of 17-year-olds year after year and helps them find a college baseball home. “He shows how much he cares for these kids’ development and the career they have ahead of them,” says Doorn. Carter is the oldest of Karl and Carli Doorn’s two children. Carpenter/contractor Karl Doorn played baseball and football at Thornwood High School in South Holland, Ill., Veterans Administration nurse practitioner Carli Doorn played volleyball and basketball and Illiana Christian High School when it was located in Lansing, Ill. Indiana Wesleyan University-bound Mia Doorn (18) played four seasons of varsity volleyball at Illiana Christian, which is now located in Dyer. Carter spent his first two prep years at Illiana Christian and his last two at Lake Central. His head baseball coaches were Darren DeBoer with the Vikings and Mike Swartzentruber with the Indians. “He’s an awesome dude,” says Doorn of DeBoer. “He’s super, super caring for players and the program. Being athletic director and a coach shows his devotion. “I never had a bad experience with him. He always knows what to say at the right time. He’s really good with words.” Though the COVID-19 pandemic took away the 2020 season, Doorn did get to experience Swartzentruber. “He’s one of the most competitive people I’ve ever met in my life,” says Doorn of Swartzentruber. “He always wants the best for whoever he associates himself with “He’s a gritty coach and you can always ask him questions.” In his one season for Lake Central (2021), Doorn was an all-Duneland Athletic Conference honoree, Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association District A Player of the Year and an IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series selection. The pitcher/corner infielder was also finalist for IHSBCA Player of the Year after posting strong pitching and hitting numbers. On the mound, he was 8-1 with a 1.21 ERA, 0.97 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) and 94 strikeouts in 48 innings with a no-hitter. He struck out 12 and 14 in consecutive starts. He also hit .406 with 47 runs batted in and a 1.212 OPS (.522 on-base percentage plus .690 slugging average) in 28 games. Doorn spent the summer of 2021 living in central Indiana on weekdays training at PRP Baseball in Noblesville, Ind., and playing for the Greg Vogt-coached 18U Mambas on the weekend. Deciding he wanted to throw a baseball harder, Doorn gave up basketball after his ninth grade year and hit the weights to put some muscle on what was then a 6-3, 135-pound frame. His goal has been to develop year after year he got to work on becoming bigger, faster and stronger at PRP while continuing work with former Morris Chiefs coach Anthony Gomez. Thinking he would pursue a path to become a dentist, Doorn entered Purdue as a Biology major. He has since changed to Construction Management Technology. “I grew up on the construction scene on my dad’s job sites,” says Doorn for his decision to switch majors. Doorn, who turns 20 on Aug. 24, plans to heads back to West Lafayette a week before that. A team meeting is planned for Aug. 21, followed by six weeks or so of individual work then full team practice. With a number of graduations, transfers and pitchers being selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, Doorn expects Purdue pitching staff to look much different in 2023. Gone are all three weekend starters — Jackson Smeltz (drafted in the 10th round by the San Diego Padres), Wyatt Wendell (signed as a free agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks) and Troy Wansing (transferred to Texas A&M).
Carter Doorn. (Purdue University Photo)
Carter Doorn. (Purdue University Photo)
Carter Doorn. (Purdue University Photo)
Carter Doorn. (Purdue University Photo)
Carter Doorn (left) and Kyle Wade. (Purdue University Photo)
A thumbs-up from Carter Doorn. (Purdue University Photo)
He has been introduced to a winning culture established by Fire head coach Adrian Dinkel and his staff.
“I didn’t know about Southeastern when I was getting recruited,” says Bridge, 22. “I just needed to find a school in Florida. I wanted to play down there.
I get here and find out they are a top five team in the country. They win 40-plus games every year. This team we have right year can go and compete with most (NCAA) D-I ’s.”
Bridge says the Fire’s first mission was to win the Sun Conference and then set its sights on the NAIA College World Series in Lewiston, Idaho.
No. 2-ranked Southeastern (47-7) host the five-team NAIA Opening Round Lakeland Bracket. SEU’s first game is tonight (May 17) against the USC-Beaufort (S.C)-Fisher (Mass.) winner in Winter Haven.
The righty-swinging Bridge is a utility player. As he grew up, Bridge played all over the infield. In college, he’s been in the infield and the outfield. Last year at Southeastern, he was in center field. Now he’s in right field.
In 47 games (30 starts) this spring, Bridge is hitting .357 (45-of-126) with seven home runs, eight doubles, 33 runs batted in, 39 runs scored, 7-of-9 in stolen bases and a .986 OPS (.399 on-base percentage plus .587 slugging average).
“The confidence I have in the (batter’s) box is unmatched right now,” says Bridge. “I get in there and I’m like, ‘throw me something I can hit.’
“I’ve always been a pretty good hitter. I’ve known that I can hit. It’s always like a mental thing for me.”
A pinch-hit home run April 17 against Florida Memorial led to a start in SEU’s next game and built Bridge’s confidence.
“My mindset’s been a complete 180 (from the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021,” says Bridge, who is in his last year of college eligibility. “I stopped putting pressure on myself and starting playing the game like I did when I was a little kid. It’s fun. Enjoy it.”
In 2020 — a season that ended prematurely because of the COVID-19 pandemic — Bridge played in 26 games (21 starts) and hit .370 (27-of-73) with four homers, five doubles, 20 RBIs, 21 runs, 4-of-6 in stolen bases and a 1.056 OPS (.453 on-base percentage plus .603 slugging average).
“I’ve always focused on baseball,” says Bridge. “These degrees are definitely helping me further my knowledge in the business world. That’s what I want to do when I’m done with baseball.
“It’s also really helped with my leadership skills. I’m able to communicate better with people.”
Brian and Shanna Bridge have two children — daughter Hunter and son Carter. Dad works for Lafayette Masonry, Mom for State Farm Insurance and sister for Purdue University. Only Carter did not attend Purdue.
Bridge was at Western Michigan for the fall semester of his freshman year then transferred to Heartland, where he spent his freshman spring and all of his sophomore year.
With the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II member Hawks, he was able to build a brotherhood.
“I was able to build those relationships with those guys I knew absolutely nothing about,” says Bridge. “In my sophomore year (2018), we were the No. 2 team in the country. We were a really good team. That stemmed from the brotherhood that team had built.”
Bridge was recruited to Indiana by Chris Lemonis and Kyle Cheesebrough, but both coaches left for Mississippi State. Bridge got into three games with the 2019 Hoosiers and transferred to Southeastern.
Bridge was born and grew up in the West Lafayette area. His first travel ball team — the Tippecanoe Wolfpack — was started by his father.
“He introduced me to what I should expect at the college level,” says Bridge, who was the Lafayette Journal & Courier Big School Player of the Year with the Raiders. “He’s also big on the little things — the fine little details of the game.
“That’s what makes him really good coach. He doesn’t let things slide. He’s really stern and he knows what he’s doing.”
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