Alum Ashbrook teaching, coaching Union County Patriots

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

Jordan Ashbrook is invested in education and athletics in Union County, Ind.
The 2011 Union County High School graduate represents the third generation of his family to teach at Union County.
A physical education teacher, strengh and conditioning coach and head baseball coach at UCHS in Liberty, Jordan has a mother — Teresa Ashbrook — who teaches first grade at Liberty Elementary School.
Jordan’s grandfather — the late Norbert Bleill – was also a Union County teacher.
Born in Columbus, Ohio, Jordan moved to Oxford, Ohio, then to Union County as a preschooler. He played high school baseball then coached alongside Jeff Matthews and took over the Patriots program before the 2020 season canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ashbrook admires retired Navy Master Chief Matthews for his ability to motivate and to forge those with leadership leanings.
“You can talk about championships, but until you put in the work and effort to get there, it’s just talk,” says Ashbrook. “He really left it up to the guys he trusted in — his captains.”
A catcher and first baseman earlier in his prep career, three-year varsity player Ashbrook was an all-state second baseman as a senior.
At NCAA Division III Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, Ashbrook was a corner infielder and designated hitter for head coach George Powell.
Coming to the Cardinals at 5-foot-10 and 180, Ashbrook was encouraged to add 20 pounds of muscle by the spring. He came close, getting up to 195.
The lefty swinger hit .287 with four home runs and 29 runs batted in as a sophomore in 2013 and .200 with two homers and 14 RBIs as a senior in 2015.
Ashbrook was a double major at Otterbein in Health Education and Physical Education.
“It’s good to bring knowledge from college and see the development we’ve been able to have in the last three years,” says Ashbrook the strength and conditioning coach for all Union County athletic teams. “I have pre and post data. We max out about every fourth week. It’s nice to see the steady increase throughout the year. You see the change in bodies from fall to spring.”
With an enrollment around 400, Union County is full of multi-sport performers.
“Sharing the athletes here is something we have to do if we want to be successful,” says Ashbrook. “I tell my (baseball players) to play at least one other sport and be an all-around athlete.”
Teacher Pat Tafelski handled strength and conditioning duties when Ashbrook attended Union County.
An IHSAA Limited Contact Period goes from Aug. 30-Oct. 16. For the final five weeks of the window, Ashbrook intends to have traditional baseball practices on Tuesdays and intraquad scrimmages on Thursdays. The past two weeks he was regularly getting 16 athletes at weight room sessions. He expects around 20 at LCP dates.
Union County is a member of the Tri-Eastern Conference (with Cambridge City Lincoln, Centerville, Hagerstown, Knightstown, Northeastern, Tri, Union City and Winchester). TEC games are generally played once a week.
In 2021, the Patriots are part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping with Centerville, Hagerstown, Northeastern and Shenandoah. Union County has won eight sectional titles — the last in 2018.
Ashbrook is assisted by Union County teacher Daniel Taylor and longtime Pats assistant Ron Webb.
Union County plays on Bill Webb Field, which gives spectators, players and coaches a view of the Liberty water tower.
The varsity diamond is behind youth fields.
“It’s cool seeing all the kids you’re going to coach in the future playing alongside you,” says Ashbrook, who has ramped up to middle school baseball program at Union County and got 48 to come to a callout meeting last week. Those players are invited to participate in fall workouts with the high school.
Being a small school, Ashbrook says getting college exposure for his athletes calls for some grinding. He sends on profiles to help the process. Recent Union County graduates to move on to the next level include Mason Hornung (Wilmington College), Denton Shepler (University of Indianapolis) and Nate Webb (Ohio Northern University).
As a hitting and pitching instructor at the former Powerhouse Performance Training facility in Richmond, Ind. (now Morrow’s Yard), Ashbrook worked with several players who went on to play college ball.
Jordan and wife Shelby Ashbrook have a daughter — Mylee (16 months). Jerry Ashbrook is Jordan’s father. His younger sister is Taylor Ashbrook.

Jordan Ashbrook (Union County High School Photo)

Union County High (Liberty, Ind.) baseball.

Jordan Ashbrook (right) and Union County High School baseball players.

Feats of strength Union County High School (Liberty, Ind.) style.

Otterbein Cardinals’ Edgell always looking to ‘barrel’ baseballs

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Equations can be quite complex when you’re an Actuarial Science major.

Sam Edgell doesn’t tend to let numbers crowd his thinking on the baseball field, where the 2018 Zionsville (Ind.) Community High School graduate has played two seasons at NCAA Division III Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio.

“I look at statistics when I can for myself and my teammates, but I’m not a big numbers guy from a baseball standpoint,” says Edgell. “It’s fun to talk about (exit velocity and other baseball metrics) and try to get those up as high as you can, but when it comes to game time, I’d rather hit an 80 mph base hit and score a run than a 100 mph line-out.”

Playing for Zionsville head coach Jered Moore, Edgell was used as a first baseman most of the time. 

When he reached Otterbein, were George Powell is the head coach, there was an established at first base so he was used in other capacities. 

“They wanted to get my bat in the lineup so they moved me to the outfield,” says Edgell. “The best part of my game is the offensive side of it. I’ve been a strong hitter for a long time. 

“That’s what I love about baseball — going out and working on my swing and getting in as many swings as a I can.”

Edgell, a left-handed batter, is looking to “barrel” pitches.

“The approach we use at Otterbein is to stay inside the baseball and hit line drives,” says Edgell. “If those line drives carry over the fence, that’s great.

“But we’re going to put people on-base and we’re going to score runs through that.”

During the COVID-19-abridged 2020 season, Edgell started all 13 games in right field and hit .358 (19-of-53) with three home runs, 12 runs batted in, 10 runs scored and four walks. He was usually the Cardinals’ clean-up hitter.

Otterbein was coming off a March 10 win at Denison and the team got some news.

“We were on the bus and learned classes had been canceled for a month,” says Edgell. “We were all excited about that. One of my buddies — Luke Barber — said I hope this doesn’t mess with our baseball season. At the time, I was very incredulous. I thought, there’s no way this will mess with our season. I thought it was kind going to come and go.”

The next day, the Cardinals practiced while officials were in a meeting. By the end of workout, the season was canceled.

“It moved a lot faster than people were expecting,” says Edgell. “It was pretty disappointing to everybody.”

As a freshman in 2019, Edgell started in all 45 games (mostly as a designated hitter) and hit .306 (52-of-170) with no home runs, 26 runs batted in, 31 runs scored and 21 walks. He enjoyed 18 multi-hit games and a 10-game hit streak.

Edgell played for the Lebanon (Ind.) Merchants of the MidWest Prospect Baseball League in 2019 and was headed to the Xenia (Ohio) Scouts of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League before the 2020 season was canceled because of the pandemic. 

The College Summer League at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind., was put together and Edgell was placed with the Marksmen and is a teammate of Kyle Callahan, who he played with in high school. On Friday, July 10, the CSL played games at Kokomo Municipal Stadium.

“This league’s been awesome,” says Edgell, who has been picked to play for the Blue team in the CSL All-Star Game Thursday, July 16 at Victory Field in downtown Indianapolis. “The competition has been amazing. It really makes you better facing guys who are throwing 90 to 94 with good off-speed pitches.”

As a younger, Edgell played for the Zionsville Baseball Club. During his high school years, he got travel ball experience with the Indiana Bulls (15U and 16U for head coaches were Jeremy Honaker and Brett Andrzejewski) and Indiana Nitro (17U and 18U for Eric Osborn and Chris Poland).

Sam was born in Carmel, Ind., and lived in London when his father Eric’s job at Eli Lily sent the family to England. The Edgells and moved back to Zionsville when Sam was around age 3. Eric and Andra Edgell have three children — Rebekah, Abigail and Sam.

Sam Edgell, a 2018 graduate of Zionsville (Ind.) Community High School, has played two baseball seasons at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio. (Otterbein University Photo)