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As high school baseball finally starts to rev up this week after the endless rains, let's take a closer look at the five teams in the Bloomington area and their big question to answer heading into the 2025 season.
Remember, new sectional alignments will be in place at the end of the regular season. Class 4A at Terre Haute North: Bloomington North, Bloomington South, Martinsville, TH North and TH South; Class 3A at Cascade: Cascade, Edgewood, Indianapolis George Washington, Northview, Owen Valley, Speedway and Class 2A at Sullivan: Barr-Reeve, Eastern Greene, Linton, North Knox, South Knox, Sullivan and West Vigo.
HEAD COACH — Phil Kluesner, 17th season. LAST YEAR— 15-8-1, 2-2-1 CI.
RETURNING STARTERS — Connor Osborne, Sr. OF/P; Keagan Palileo, Sr. OF; Caleb Oliver, Jr. INF/P; Luke Arnett, Jr. 1B/P; Sam Giles, Jr. OF; Xavier Hemingway, Jr. INF/P; Collin Marcum, Jr. P
OUTLOOK — Huge junior class of 14 and four seniors are looking for a long-awaited postseason breakthrough. South had to go with a youth movement for a pitching staff and injuries to key members only made things even tougher for them. The silver lining: more arms with varsity experience with most everyone healed up (Hemingway is now out) and that includes Indiana University commit Marcum. "We should be improved from last year," Kluesner said. "We've got more pitching depth. They work hard. They're motivated and put in work on their own."
More: Ambassadors for the sport: How Bloomington South's first boys volleyball team builds for the future
Pitching: Marcum, Oliver and junior Connor Couch are three arms South didn't have last year. Osborne returns and will eat up a lot of innings. Junior Tyler Morris, senior Teddy Kroeger, sophomore Reid Walker are back and will be joined but a strong cast that includes juniors Tyler Morris and Amos Ewer and senior Teddy Kroeger. Arnett will also toss on occasion. "Marcum's a long strong and throws harder," Kluesner said. "His secondary pitches are pretty decent and he has a better understanding of what we're trying to do. Couch throws hard and his second pitch is pretty good but he's untested at varsity. Oliver doesn't throw as hard as he can yet coming off surgery, but he's back earlier than he planned."
Batting order: Junior Jake McCammon takes over as starting catcher. Arnett is the new first baseman with Ewer and McCammon able to fill in. Walker and juniors Boston Held and Max Surdam will handle the middle infield spots while Morris, Couch and Oliver cover third. The outfield will see Marcum, Palileo, Ewer, Giles, Osborne, junior Blake Azcui and senior Ty Webb all in the mix and all quick enough to man center. That depth should pay off as they push each other for playing time. Offensively, Kluesner is looking for unselfish at-bats. "Not much different than last year, just do what the situation calls for," Kluesner said. "We've got to be situational, not just take hacks. Be flexible and do what takes to get guys in." South has added some new faces to the schedule in Silver Creek, Hamilton Southeastern, Greenwood and Plainfield.
HEAD COACH — Richard Hurt, 31st season. LAST YEAR — 8-17, 1-4 CI.
RETURNING STARTERS — Chris Barnett, Sr. SS; Will Breedlove, Sr. C; Brady Leonard, Sr. P/INF; Jake Mayer, Sr. 1B; Drew Wagner, Sr. P/INF/OF; Luke Freel, Jr. P/INF; Liam Smith, Jr. INF/OF.
OUTLOOK — The Cougars stumbled to the finish line last year, going 3-14 as runs became hard to come by. It was tough to swallow coming off a 20-win season and now a rebuilding team (10 seniors graduated) bolstered by a large sophomore class, is looking for brighter days and a lot more runs. "Last season just didn't turn out the way we or the kids hoped," Hurt said. "We've got a few players back but it's really going to be a new crew that's untested. It's going to be an interesting and fun season to see how things develop and how those kids play and adapt to the varsity level."
Pitching: That won't be the case for North's top three arms as Leonard, Freel and Wagner were key figures last year. Stepping up are sophomore Elio Miller, freshman Dodhi Pulley, who is a "good mound presence and has a good breaking ball," Hurt said. Juniors Brogan Hanna and 6-foot-6 Ryan Grupenhoff are also looking for innings. It's one area Hurt feels good about heading into the season and some run support will only make them that much better.
Batting order: The top hitter back is Smith at third base. Barnett will play short and leadoff, hoping for a breakout with the bat, Hurt said, and he's looking for better stats from Freel (2B) and Mayer (1B) as well as Wagner (IF). Breedlove will catch. Junior Zach Sipes can help on the infield or outfield and junior Jack Williamson is looking to backup first. A rebuilt outfield as Miller in left with Wagner, speedy junior Conor Steele and junior Aiken Urbanski looking to fill the other two spots. Leonard can play third when he's not pitching. With limited pop, North will need to manufacture runs base by base as often as not.
HEAD COACH — Bob Jones, 40th season. LAST YEAR — 18-6, 10-0 WIC.
RETURNING STARTERS — Will Lawson, Sr. CF/P; Will Inman, Sr. P/SS; Nolan Hudson, Sr. P/INF; Gunnar Perry, 1B; Carter Hayden, Jr. 3B/P; Anthony Shields, Jr. P/OF; Sam Lawson, So. C; Aaron Murphy, Sr. OF.
OUTLOOK — Edgewood is getting a late start due to all the rain but also had some injuries to deal with, including Murphy (knee) and Perry. There are a lot of unknowns with the graduation of a big senior class. "We're still trying to round them into a consistent team," Jones said. "Right now, we're going 100 mph, rushing to make plays instead of getting ourselves into a rhythm. We're trying to do things too fast instead of letting our bodies and minds do the work." That said, the numbers are strong, with 35 in the program.
Pitchers: Jones is also working with his pitchers to understand accuracy is often better than speed. Shields, Hudson, Will Lawson, Inman, Hayden bring back plenty of experience and innings for the Mustangs. Added are senior Jackson Huber and sophomores Mason Marotz, Noah Cosby, Nolan David and Jack Armstrong all looking to prove themselves at the varsity level. "Lawson has picked up his velocity which should help with his change up and curve," Jones said. "Hudson has been consistent. Shields needs to limit his walks. Inman and Marotz looked good in our scrimmage."
Batting order: Edgewood's infield will start with Perry, Hudson, Inman and Hayden around the horn with Sam Lawson and Kit Collier catching. Armstrong and David are in left with Will Lawson in center and Shields and Cosby in right. Senior Jaylin Luedemann (injured) is looking to help on the middle infield while junior Jake Blessinger is an outfielder. "We're not really a power-hitting team," Jones said. "We can homer if we get the right pitch but for us, we're just emphasizing put the ball in play. We're working a lot on bunts to add to that."
HEAD COACH — Trent Heckman, 5th season. LAST YEAR — 6-11, 2-8 WIC.
RETURNING STARTERS — Rhet Heckman, Sr. P/SS/1B; Calvin Dean, Sr. P/SS; Rhett Manuel, Sr. CF/P; Rylan Robinson, Sr. 2B; Jake Heidrick, So. LF.
OUTLOOK — The Patriots have nine back from last year's roster and will add nine freshmen to the mix. Four seniors come back as three-year varsity mainstays, including Heckman (.412), who will return to pitching this year after Tommy John surgery, Dean (.346 hitter, 36Ks in 34 innings pitched), who was sidelined during football season, and Manuel (25 Ks in 18 IP), who went through an injured hamstring last year. Three freshmen will have an impact this year in Parker Greene, Grady Bough and Camden Kay.
Pitching — Dean, Heckman and Manuel and sophomore Javen Hutchison will handle most of the duties on the mound with Greene, the starting quarterback last season, and Baugh also listed as pitchers.
More: IHSAA Softball: 5 Bloomington area teams and their big question to answer in 2025
Batting order: Dean and Robinson were at the top of the order last year. Heidrick will bat for himself this year. Juniors Isaac Inman (1B), Dominick Pursel (Util) and sophomore Ethan Wright (1B, 3B) also return. Trent Heckman also noted, "We will also need strong contributions hitting and pitching from several freshmen."
HEAD COACH — CJ Shelton, 3rd season. LAST YEAR — 14-10, 4-3 SWIAC.
RETURNING STARTERS — Jack Rees, Sr. C; Kasen Cullison, Sr. SS/P; Gavin Whitfield, Sr. 3B/P; Peyton Lewis, Sr. OF; Jacob Bellman, Sr. P.
OUTLOOK — The T-Birds took a big step forward last year in the win column and now led by seniors, they'll look to take another step. A SWIAC title may be up for grabs as several top-end starters across the league graduated. Eastern enters this year deep with arms and will have plenty of experience across the board.
Pitching: Cullison, Bellman, Whitfield, sophomore lefty Chaz Perry and senior Jason Koontz will eat up a lot of the innings but senior Jason Koontz will also help. "We've got 9-10 good arms," Shelton said. Cullison will get more work this year after working through a shoulder injury last year, but Whitfield is the likely choice to be Eastern's conference ace.
Batting order: The infield has Cullison switching to short, Whitfield at third and outfield and Perry at first and junior Kasch Cullison establishing himself as a varsity player takes over at second and will also pitch. Sophomore Landon Norris is also in the mix at 3B. Lewis (LF) will work in the outfield and occasionally first. Bellman will be a utility guy. Texas transfer junior Brenton Cook (CF/P), Koontz, sophomore Trevor Stogsdill and junior Cole Hays will fill the outfield spots. Lewis, Whitfield and Rees bring some pop to the middle of the order while Shelton likes the speed this group has so look for more action on the basepaths.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington area baseball previews: 5 teams and 5 questions for 2025
Continue reading...
Remember, new sectional alignments will be in place at the end of the regular season. Class 4A at Terre Haute North: Bloomington North, Bloomington South, Martinsville, TH North and TH South; Class 3A at Cascade: Cascade, Edgewood, Indianapolis George Washington, Northview, Owen Valley, Speedway and Class 2A at Sullivan: Barr-Reeve, Eastern Greene, Linton, North Knox, South Knox, Sullivan and West Vigo.
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Can South's arms stay healthy?
HEAD COACH — Phil Kluesner, 17th season. LAST YEAR— 15-8-1, 2-2-1 CI.
RETURNING STARTERS — Connor Osborne, Sr. OF/P; Keagan Palileo, Sr. OF; Caleb Oliver, Jr. INF/P; Luke Arnett, Jr. 1B/P; Sam Giles, Jr. OF; Xavier Hemingway, Jr. INF/P; Collin Marcum, Jr. P
OUTLOOK — Huge junior class of 14 and four seniors are looking for a long-awaited postseason breakthrough. South had to go with a youth movement for a pitching staff and injuries to key members only made things even tougher for them. The silver lining: more arms with varsity experience with most everyone healed up (Hemingway is now out) and that includes Indiana University commit Marcum. "We should be improved from last year," Kluesner said. "We've got more pitching depth. They work hard. They're motivated and put in work on their own."
More: Ambassadors for the sport: How Bloomington South's first boys volleyball team builds for the future
Pitching: Marcum, Oliver and junior Connor Couch are three arms South didn't have last year. Osborne returns and will eat up a lot of innings. Junior Tyler Morris, senior Teddy Kroeger, sophomore Reid Walker are back and will be joined but a strong cast that includes juniors Tyler Morris and Amos Ewer and senior Teddy Kroeger. Arnett will also toss on occasion. "Marcum's a long strong and throws harder," Kluesner said. "His secondary pitches are pretty decent and he has a better understanding of what we're trying to do. Couch throws hard and his second pitch is pretty good but he's untested at varsity. Oliver doesn't throw as hard as he can yet coming off surgery, but he's back earlier than he planned."
Batting order: Junior Jake McCammon takes over as starting catcher. Arnett is the new first baseman with Ewer and McCammon able to fill in. Walker and juniors Boston Held and Max Surdam will handle the middle infield spots while Morris, Couch and Oliver cover third. The outfield will see Marcum, Palileo, Ewer, Giles, Osborne, junior Blake Azcui and senior Ty Webb all in the mix and all quick enough to man center. That depth should pay off as they push each other for playing time. Offensively, Kluesner is looking for unselfish at-bats. "Not much different than last year, just do what the situation calls for," Kluesner said. "We've got to be situational, not just take hacks. Be flexible and do what takes to get guys in." South has added some new faces to the schedule in Silver Creek, Hamilton Southeastern, Greenwood and Plainfield.
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Can North's bats come back to life?
HEAD COACH — Richard Hurt, 31st season. LAST YEAR — 8-17, 1-4 CI.
RETURNING STARTERS — Chris Barnett, Sr. SS; Will Breedlove, Sr. C; Brady Leonard, Sr. P/INF; Jake Mayer, Sr. 1B; Drew Wagner, Sr. P/INF/OF; Luke Freel, Jr. P/INF; Liam Smith, Jr. INF/OF.
OUTLOOK — The Cougars stumbled to the finish line last year, going 3-14 as runs became hard to come by. It was tough to swallow coming off a 20-win season and now a rebuilding team (10 seniors graduated) bolstered by a large sophomore class, is looking for brighter days and a lot more runs. "Last season just didn't turn out the way we or the kids hoped," Hurt said. "We've got a few players back but it's really going to be a new crew that's untested. It's going to be an interesting and fun season to see how things develop and how those kids play and adapt to the varsity level."
Pitching: That won't be the case for North's top three arms as Leonard, Freel and Wagner were key figures last year. Stepping up are sophomore Elio Miller, freshman Dodhi Pulley, who is a "good mound presence and has a good breaking ball," Hurt said. Juniors Brogan Hanna and 6-foot-6 Ryan Grupenhoff are also looking for innings. It's one area Hurt feels good about heading into the season and some run support will only make them that much better.
Batting order: The top hitter back is Smith at third base. Barnett will play short and leadoff, hoping for a breakout with the bat, Hurt said, and he's looking for better stats from Freel (2B) and Mayer (1B) as well as Wagner (IF). Breedlove will catch. Junior Zach Sipes can help on the infield or outfield and junior Jack Williamson is looking to backup first. A rebuilt outfield as Miller in left with Wagner, speedy junior Conor Steele and junior Aiken Urbanski looking to fill the other two spots. Leonard can play third when he's not pitching. With limited pop, North will need to manufacture runs base by base as often as not.
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How fast can the Edgewood rebuild take shape?
HEAD COACH — Bob Jones, 40th season. LAST YEAR — 18-6, 10-0 WIC.
RETURNING STARTERS — Will Lawson, Sr. CF/P; Will Inman, Sr. P/SS; Nolan Hudson, Sr. P/INF; Gunnar Perry, 1B; Carter Hayden, Jr. 3B/P; Anthony Shields, Jr. P/OF; Sam Lawson, So. C; Aaron Murphy, Sr. OF.
OUTLOOK — Edgewood is getting a late start due to all the rain but also had some injuries to deal with, including Murphy (knee) and Perry. There are a lot of unknowns with the graduation of a big senior class. "We're still trying to round them into a consistent team," Jones said. "Right now, we're going 100 mph, rushing to make plays instead of getting ourselves into a rhythm. We're trying to do things too fast instead of letting our bodies and minds do the work." That said, the numbers are strong, with 35 in the program.
Pitchers: Jones is also working with his pitchers to understand accuracy is often better than speed. Shields, Hudson, Will Lawson, Inman, Hayden bring back plenty of experience and innings for the Mustangs. Added are senior Jackson Huber and sophomores Mason Marotz, Noah Cosby, Nolan David and Jack Armstrong all looking to prove themselves at the varsity level. "Lawson has picked up his velocity which should help with his change up and curve," Jones said. "Hudson has been consistent. Shields needs to limit his walks. Inman and Marotz looked good in our scrimmage."
Batting order: Edgewood's infield will start with Perry, Hudson, Inman and Hayden around the horn with Sam Lawson and Kit Collier catching. Armstrong and David are in left with Will Lawson in center and Shields and Cosby in right. Senior Jaylin Luedemann (injured) is looking to help on the middle infield while junior Jake Blessinger is an outfielder. "We're not really a power-hitting team," Jones said. "We can homer if we get the right pitch but for us, we're just emphasizing put the ball in play. We're working a lot on bunts to add to that."
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Can seniors lift Owen Valley back over .500?
HEAD COACH — Trent Heckman, 5th season. LAST YEAR — 6-11, 2-8 WIC.
RETURNING STARTERS — Rhet Heckman, Sr. P/SS/1B; Calvin Dean, Sr. P/SS; Rhett Manuel, Sr. CF/P; Rylan Robinson, Sr. 2B; Jake Heidrick, So. LF.
OUTLOOK — The Patriots have nine back from last year's roster and will add nine freshmen to the mix. Four seniors come back as three-year varsity mainstays, including Heckman (.412), who will return to pitching this year after Tommy John surgery, Dean (.346 hitter, 36Ks in 34 innings pitched), who was sidelined during football season, and Manuel (25 Ks in 18 IP), who went through an injured hamstring last year. Three freshmen will have an impact this year in Parker Greene, Grady Bough and Camden Kay.
Pitching — Dean, Heckman and Manuel and sophomore Javen Hutchison will handle most of the duties on the mound with Greene, the starting quarterback last season, and Baugh also listed as pitchers.
More: IHSAA Softball: 5 Bloomington area teams and their big question to answer in 2025
Batting order: Dean and Robinson were at the top of the order last year. Heidrick will bat for himself this year. Juniors Isaac Inman (1B), Dominick Pursel (Util) and sophomore Ethan Wright (1B, 3B) also return. Trent Heckman also noted, "We will also need strong contributions hitting and pitching from several freshmen."
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Can Eastern Greene nab a SWIAC title?
HEAD COACH — CJ Shelton, 3rd season. LAST YEAR — 14-10, 4-3 SWIAC.
RETURNING STARTERS — Jack Rees, Sr. C; Kasen Cullison, Sr. SS/P; Gavin Whitfield, Sr. 3B/P; Peyton Lewis, Sr. OF; Jacob Bellman, Sr. P.
OUTLOOK — The T-Birds took a big step forward last year in the win column and now led by seniors, they'll look to take another step. A SWIAC title may be up for grabs as several top-end starters across the league graduated. Eastern enters this year deep with arms and will have plenty of experience across the board.
Pitching: Cullison, Bellman, Whitfield, sophomore lefty Chaz Perry and senior Jason Koontz will eat up a lot of the innings but senior Jason Koontz will also help. "We've got 9-10 good arms," Shelton said. Cullison will get more work this year after working through a shoulder injury last year, but Whitfield is the likely choice to be Eastern's conference ace.
Batting order: The infield has Cullison switching to short, Whitfield at third and outfield and Perry at first and junior Kasch Cullison establishing himself as a varsity player takes over at second and will also pitch. Sophomore Landon Norris is also in the mix at 3B. Lewis (LF) will work in the outfield and occasionally first. Bellman will be a utility guy. Texas transfer junior Brenton Cook (CF/P), Koontz, sophomore Trevor Stogsdill and junior Cole Hays will fill the outfield spots. Lewis, Whitfield and Rees bring some pop to the middle of the order while Shelton likes the speed this group has so look for more action on the basepaths.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington area baseball previews: 5 teams and 5 questions for 2025
Continue reading...
