The start of the season is only 2 weeks away and the Ivy Tech team is preparing to take down some of the biggest names in Junior College baseball.
“We don’t have a five year plan, the goal is to win now and get to Enid, Oklahoma for the World Series” – Coach Hershberger
Lead by coach Lance Hershberger the team is ready to come up against some of the top teams in the region and also the country.
It is an exciting time to be involved in Ivy Tech baseball as they come into their second season, going 25-18 in the first year and looking to improve on that feat into their sophomore year.
As of now the schedule for the spring season starts on the first of March against Lansing CC away in Michigan and then playing them the next day at Shoaff Park in Fort Wayne, Indiana, however this may be postponed due to Lansing not being available on those days.
The schedule is jammed pack for the Titans with them being forecast to play 56 games however this of course is subject to change and will do with availability changing, weather intervening and the team not being able to make it to all their games.
Some highlights on the schedule are against Kellogg CC who the Titans play in two double-headers, one on the seventh of March and again on the seventh of May to round out the regular season. This is a big match up for Ivy Tech as they took down the college last year when they were nationally ranked #2 for Junior College Division 2.
This year the team will have some tough competition in the NJCAA Region XII with Sinclair from Ohio ranked 5th and Kellogg 10th. The goal for the Titans would be to crack this top 20 list and push their way past their rivals, becoming favorites in the region come playoff time.
The Titans also have three players in the top 100 players in the country as ranked by Baseball America in their start of year preview with shortstop Alex Vela, center fielder Turner Gentry and right fielder Nolan Aspaugh on the list. This sets them up well to make a charge for the World Series, with these three being accompanied by NJCAA Region XII Gold Glove winning catcher Tyler Rickert set to be behind the plate when they play their first game.
Some have also described the outfield at Ivy Tech as better than some Division 1 schools in the NCAA with Gentry, Justin Green and Aspaugh all manning the grass out there and looking to stop anything that comes their way.
The roster only gets made stronger by four international students in the program with RHP Matt Parker from Melbourne, Australia, OF Luis Vergara from Bogota, Colombia, LHP Joseph Yomar and RHP Kevin Roque from Puerto Rico making up the ranks. These four are the first international students in Ivy Tech history on the baseball team and all of them are making strong cases to be up there with the every day players.
From early signs all coaches and players are confident they can fight and go far in the season with the team being able to play in the regional and playoffs for the first time in their history.
From the inaugural season last year the team also have eight of them returning and coming back to play for Hershberger, a testimony to his intensity as they finished the season with 12 players and to have two thirds of them come back is an amazing achievement.
Every day now the team works to get better and will have their first game in just a matter of weeks, or whenever the weather takes a turn for the better, whichever comes first.
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