Baseball in Fort Wayne

Archive for the ‘College Ball’ Category

Taylor University will conduct a baseball skills camp on three consecutive Sundays (January 25, February 1, February at the Kesler Student Activities Center on Taylor’s campus in Upland.  Offerings include sessions on hitting, pitching, and catching. 

Instructors are Taylor head coach Kyle Gould, his staff and players.  Each participant will receive a Taylor Baseball Camp T-shirt. 

For camp registration, contact Coach Gould at (765) 998-4635 or kygould@taylor.edu.  Visit www.taylor.edu/athletics/baseball for more detailed info.

Notre Dame head baseball coach Dave Schrage announced the signing of five student-athletes to national letters of intent today. The class will be eligible beginning in the fall of 2009 and includes Homestead’s Patrick Veerkamp.

“I’ve been a Notre Dame fan for my entire life and when offered the opportunity to play baseball there, it was a dream come true,” said Veerkamp. “After visiting the campus and meeting with the coaches, I felt at home and that it was the right place for me. The academic excellence and the success of the athletic programs at Notre Dame can’t be beat.”

Schrage on Veerkamp: “Patrick is a power arm right-hander that throws three pitches for strikes. He has a power breaking ball and fastball that will touch 90 miles per hour. Patrick will be ready to pitch right away as a freshman. His fastball will also continue to develop as he gets stronger.”

Three-year starter and letterwinner at Homestead High School … went 6-1 with a 3.46 earned run average with 33 strikeouts in 26.1 innings of work last spring … led Homestead to a runner-up finish in the 4A state tournament … two-way player also batted .347 with a .613 slugging percentage for the 26-6 Spartans … ranked as the sixth-best player from the state of Indiana by the Prep Baseball Report … been named to the honor roll every semester of high school … member of the National Honor Society and also a AP Scholar of Distinction

[source: The College Baseball Blog].

The College Baseball Foundation has announced its pre-season release of the 2009 Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Watch List (h/t The College Baseball Blog. The Wallace Award is presented annually to the nation’s top collegiate baseball player in conjunction with the College Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies.

The only name I saw on the list with local ties was IPFW’s left-handed pitcher, Brandon Knowling. Knowling is a graduate of McCutcheon High School in Lafayette. Before joining IPFW, Brandon attended Kaskaskia Community College.

The 2009 award banquet will be at 7 p.m., Thursday, July 2, in the United Spirit Arena on the campus of Texas Tech University. Congrats Brandon and best of luck to you and IPFW this season.

When Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) head baseball coach, Billy Gernon stepped down after nine seasons to accept a position at Michigan State, the school was suddenly in need of a new head coach. Today, Metropolitan State College of Denver (Metro State) announced that their head baseball coach, Bobby Pierce has resigned to success Gernon.

Pierce spent the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons at Metro State after arriving from Arkansas-Little Rock.

He led Metro State to Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) tournament berths in each of his two seasons at the helm. The Roadrunners went 55-54 in two seasons under Pierce, including a 43-34 mark in RMAC play. Pierce and Metro State had an outstanding 2008 season, going 38-19.

Prior to his arrival at Metro State, Pierce spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Arkansas-Little Rock. He was also an assistant coach at Central Arizona College. Pierce earned a bachelor’s degree from New Mexico State in 2001.

As previously reported, IPFW baseball coach, Billy Gernon has resigned to take a jobe with Michigan State. That means the school needs a new head coach:

Head Baseball Coach Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), an NCAA Division I institution and a member of the Summit League, is accepting applications for the position of Head Baseball Coach. The head coach is responsible for all aspects of IPFW’s Baseball program, including (but not limited to) practice and game preparation, recruiting and retention of student-athletes, budget management, fundraising, scheduling, public relations, community service and strict adherence to all NCAA and university rules. Additionally, this position is responsible to instruct health, physical education and recreation (HPER) classes for the School of Education. The successful candidate must be committed to the student-athlete’s academic, personal and athletic development, and will demonstrate the ability to successfully recruit and motivate Division I student-athletes. Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, and should have successful collegiate coaching experience at the Division I level; extensive recruiting experience with a strong familiarity with Indiana high school baseball programs; strong communication, interpersonal and organizational skills; a working knowledge of NCAA rules a willingness; a record of integrity and leadership to advance the goals of the IPFW Department of Athletics including fundraising and a commitment to the academic success and graduation of student-athletes. Apply online at www.ipfw.jobs/jobs, Job # 0801042

IPFW head baseball coach Billy Gernon has stepped down after nine seasons at the helm of the Mastodons program to accept a position at Michigan State. He will join the staff of new Michigan State head coach Jake Boss, Jr. who came from Eastern Michigan after leading the Eagles to their first NCAA Regional appearance since 2003.  Gernon’ coaching duties with the Spartans will include offense, outfield, and baserunning.  He will begin those duties immediately.

In nine seasons as the Mastodons coach, Gernon compiled an overall record of 157-275-2.  He was 115-222-2 with the ‘Dons at the Division I level. Gernon’s IPFW teams consistently excelled in the classroom, averaging better than a 3.0 grade point average during his tenure and he also spearheaded numerous improvement projects to Mastodon Field, including the construction of the new outfield wall at the ballpark last season.

source: CSTV.com

Coastal Carolina University third baseman Scott Woodward was named to the both Baseball America and Rivals.com All-America Freshman first teams.

Woodward, who graduated from Norwell in 2007, hit .364 with 15 doubles, one triple, seven home runs and 45 RBI in 64 starts for the Chanticleers. He also had a .540 on-base percentage, which is a single-season school record. He was hit by a pitch 30 times, which is also a school and Big South Conference record.

Woodward was named to the NCAA All-Conway Regional team, scoring 10 runs and hitting .600 in the three games. Woodward was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI in the championship game against East Carolina June 1. He drove in five runs in a win over UNC Asheville April 19 and had five hits in a win over Charleston Southern April 12. He led the Big South with 82 runs scored and 42 stolen bases and walked 58 times. Woodward was named to the All-Ping! Baseball Third Team and the Freshman All-Ping! Baseball First Team. He also was a Second Team Freshman All-American by the NCBWA, a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American and a Second Team All-Region selection by the American Baseball Coaches Association.

On July 6, USA Baseball announced that Woodward was also added to the USA Baseball National Collegiate Team. Woodward will leave for the Netherlands on Wednesday and join the team for the remainder of its European tour.

More coverage at: Bluffton News Banner |  MyrtleBeachOnline | South Carolina Now

Photo lifted from Coastal Carolina University’s website.

Several mini-news items that I have not been able to keep up on as of late. Here’s a quick recap with links:

• Back to traditional rotation (LaMond Pope: May 23) – The Wizards officially pulled the plug on the 8-man (piggy-back) rotation and went back to the traditional 5-man rotation. The setup had its critics and its champions, but I think everyone – players and fans – are pleased with the return to normalcy so-to-speak.
• Scott Woodward makes All-Big South (Bluffton News Banner: 5/23) – “Coastal Carolina freshman third baseman Scott Woodward, a 2007 Norwell graduate, was named to the first team of the 2008 Big South Conference baseball team. Woodward also was Freshman of the Year. Woodward ranked first in the Big South in the regular season with 35 stolen bases, 42 walks, a .513 on-base percentage and 25 hit-by-pitches. He also ranks seventh in batting average (.352) and second in runs scored (64). In Big South games, he was third with a .405 batting average and was first in stolen bases, walks and on-base percentage, while ranking second in runs scored. He also was among the top 10 in slugging percentage in overall and conference games. Nationally, he is 10th in the country in stolen bases and fifth in hit-by-pitches.”
• Billy Hogan Plays for the Atlantic City Surf (The New Ottowa Rapidz Blog) – Former Fort Wayne Wizard, Billy Hogan was selected by the Padres in the 5th round in 2003. He’s suiting up for the Atlantic City Surf of the CanAm League.
• IPFW: Knowling Named Summit League First Team (NCAA: 5/27) – IPFW junior Brandon Knowling was named to the Summit League’s First Team in voting conducted by conference coaches. The lefty was third in the league in ERA with the 2.91 mark and fourth in the conference in batting average by opponents at .249. He was tied for fifth in wins (7), and ninth in strikeouts per nine innings with 6.75. Senior center fielder, Jared Davis, was selected to the conference’s second team. His slugging percentage of .574 and doubles mark of 36 are also school records.
• I want this interview, in fact, I’m begging for it (ScoutAbout: 5/18) – Scout was inspired by a TV segment that featured former Fort Wayne Daisies player, Pat Scott. “I realized, I want an interview like that. I want to interview someone who played in the AAGPBL and I want to be able to reflect on the memorabilia and the memories. Yeah, I’m a sentimental softie, but I’m a sentimental softie who loves sports and how they were able to make the history books not by records but by paving ways and creating opportunities for people to succeed who otherwise wouldn’t have been given a chance.” Might I suggest Isabel Alvarez?
• Peter Ciofrone Named Pacific Coast League Batter of the Week (The Raw Feed: 5/28) – Ciofrone, 24, batted .429 (12-for-28) with four homers, three doubles, 10 RBIs, 10 runs scored and a .964 slugging percentage in seven games played during the week. It was enough to earn him the award; the second Portland Beavers player to earn it this season. Maybe he’ll be part of the big changes coming to the Padres later this summer.
• Pinto: Soria deal makes sense for Royals (The Sporting News: 5/21) – David Pinto weighs in on why the extension of the former Wizards pitcher makes sense for the Kansas City Royals.
• Former Wizard, Michael Cuddyer isn’t worried about power, but he did lead the Twins to an extra inning win.
• Hardball Capital not posting latest stories (Fort Wayne Observed: 5/28) – Mitch Harper points out that Fort Wayne Wizards’ owners, Hardball Capital have been a bit lax in posting news stories to their website as of late. Hmmmm….
• Jake Peavy Resumes Throwing (Friar John’s Blog: 5/27) – The former Wizards pitcher and current Padres’ ace, is on the disabled list because of an elbow strain. He rested the elbow and was to resume throwing last Saturday, but soreness persisted so the second MRI was ordered. That came up clean and he’ll begin throwing again.

Former Carroll High School Standout, Jarrad Miller has signed to play baseball with the Wilmington Sharks of the Coastal Plain League. The freshman righty out of Valparaiso University has had a solid rookie campaign while closing for the 16-28 Crusaders, leading the team with six saves. Miller has appeared in 19 games, compiling a 3-1 record while posting a 5.96 ERA. He’s struck out 17 and walked eight in 25.2 innings pitched.

While at Carroll High School, Miller was a three-time letter winner whose accolades include Honorable Mention All-State, First-Team All-Northeast Hoosier Conference, First-Team All-Area, and Team MVP in 2007 as a senior. Miller also participated in the North-South All-Star Game during his senior season.

The Wilmington Sharks are a member of the Coastal Plain League, one of the nation’s hottest summer collegiate baseball leagues. Celebrating its 12th season, the Coastal Plain League features 14 teams that play in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. The CPL gives college players the chance to refine their skills with the use of wooden bats. Players are housed with local host families for the summer. The Sharks home opener will be May 28 versus the Wilson Tobs.

[Sources: Photo from Valparaiso University's website | WWAY-TV; North Carolina]

MARION, Ind. – The Taylor University baseball team hit seven home runs in total; including one from North Side standout, Nathan Hillary, to top the University of St. Francis before bowing out at the hands Huntington University in the Mid-Central Conference Tournament where they fell 9-2, ending their season at 27-19.

Starting pitcher Chris Howell (Bishop Dwenger) picked up the win for the Trojans in the first game to improve his record to 5-1.

In the second game, Taylor Kinzer (Homestead) got the starting nod. He pitched three innings and gave up three earned runs in the loss.

After finishing the regular season third in the MCC standings, Taylor matched that effort with a third place finish in the conference tournament.