By Thad Satre
Prep Baseball Report, Indiana 

No. 16, Columbus North HS 

The Columbus North Bulldogs, led by Head Coach Brian Muckerheide, finished the 2012 season with a 24-3 overall record. The Bulldogs claimed the Conference Indiana title with a perfect 7-0 conference record. Coach Muckerheide returns five starters and three pitchers who are eager to get rid of the sour taste left from a season ending sectional championship loss to rival Bloomington North. 

The talented duo of Daniel Ayers (left) and Devin Mann will lead the way for the Bulldogs in 2013.  Ayers is the No. 2 ranked prospect in Indiana’s 2013 class, and No. 9 overall in the overall PBR rankings.  Ayers sits 88-92 mph with his fastball and was a member of Team Indiana at the 2011 Under Armour Midwest Future Games.  The senior LHP finished last season with a perfect 6-0 record and a 1.33 ERA. 

Mann (right) is a talented sophomore, currently ranked as the No. 17 prospect in the 2015 class. He led the Bulldogs with a .418 average during his first varsity season last year and was selected to the All-Conference Indiana 1^st team as a shortstop.   Mann will be a member of Team Indiana at this year’s Under Armour Midwest Future Games. 

Senior Coleden Hoeltke was Honorable Mention All-Conference Indiana Iast season and batted .343 as the Bulldogs starting second baseman. Other impact players in 2013 for the Bulldogs will be seniors Dennis Brumfield (CF) and Nick Wingate (OF). Brumfield hit .429 in limited action last season after being slowed by injury. Wingate batted .381 in limited starts but will be asked to step into a starting role this spring. 

Also expected to contribute are junior Christian Glass (RHP/SS) and sophomores Evan Finke and Cody Burton who will split time between third base and catcher. 

Columbus North will defend its Conference Indiana title against rivals Bloomington North, Bloomington South, and Lawrence Central. 

No. 17, Jasper HS 

Coach Gobert and his Jasper Wildcats will look to improve on an impressive 2012 campaign.  Jasper finished 2012 with a 26-4 overall record and were sectional champions before losing to Silver Creek 4-1 in the Regional. 

Jasper returns a bulk of the innings on the mound with No.1 Mark Geisler (Xavier) and No. 2 Nick Gobert returning. Both are mid to upper 80’s right handed pitchers. Geisler has been as high as 89 while Gobert has been as high as 85. Pitching will be the key for Jasper in the beginning of the year, as the Wildcats will have 3-4 new faces in the lineup that will need to adjust to varsity pitching. 

In the field Jasper loses 7 seniors off of last year’s team. Key returning positional players will be seniors Devon Traylor (CF), Nick Gobert (3B), and Mark Giesler (1B). Two underclassmen that received time last year are junior Spencer Otto and Sophomore Austin Alles. Alles is a big physical corner infielder who should hit in the middle of Jasper’s lineup. Another sophomore to keep an eye on is OF/MIF Ben Moore.

No. 18, Greensburg HS

The Greensburg Pirates and Head Coach Scott Holdsworth are coming off an impressive 2012 season going 27-2, and bringing home a Sectional and Regional Championship. With the Pirates bringing back seven of their nine starters from the Semi-State lineup, they should expect similar success in 2013. On the mound they will have to replace their 2012 ace Kevin Meyer, but do bring back their next three pitchers. 

Greensburg is led by two of the top positional players in the state in senior catcher Austin Schultz (left,Northern Kentucky commit) and junior shortstop Macy Holdsworth (Indiana commit) to hit in the middle of the order.  Schultz is the No. 20 ranked prospect in Indiana’s 2013 class while Holdsworth is the No. 7 player in Indiana’s 2014 class, and the No. 63 ranked prospect in the overall 2014 PBR rankings.  Holdsworth (right) was also a member of Team Indiana at last summer’s Under Armour Midwest Future Games. 

The Pirates also bring back their 1-2 hitters in Senior Tyler Burcham and Junior Collin Rigney. Three other returning starters that will be key to Greensburg’s success include; junior Andy Meadows, senior Riley Billieu, and sophomore Josiah Bell. 

With the loss of Kevin Meyer Greensburg will need Burcham (43 IP), Billieu (30 IP), or senior Luke Kane (26 IP) to step into that role. Greensburg was a fairly young team in 2012 and with another year of varsity experience behind them this should be one of the toughest teams in the state. Look for them to make a deep run in the 3A state tournament.

No. 19, Valparaiso HS 

The Valparaiso Vikings finished the 2012 season with a 22-11 overall record and a 7-6 mark in the Duneland Athletic Conference. Led by Head Coach David Coyle, the Vikings had a successful postseason run, winning their sectional championship in convincing fashion. The Viking’s 2012 season came to an end in the regional round. 

Leading the way for Valparaiso in 2013 will be senior Devin Bafia (LHP/OF). Bafia (left), an Evansville commit, led the Vikings last season with a .410 average and 22 RBI’s. On the mound Bafia was 5-3 with three complete games and one shutout. In 45 innings of work Bafia led the Viking pitching staff with 67 strikeouts and he compiled a 3.07 ERA. Another senior, Jeff Holmes, will be a key member of the lineup this spring. Holmes hit .378 with seven doubles and 20 RBI’s. 

Coach Coyle’s rotation will be topped by Bafia and junior Andrew Sykes. Sykes, also a lefty, was 4-2 in 2012 with a 2.05 ERA. Sykes will be the Viking’s second starter and his workload will increase this season. Sykes showed promising talent after throwing a complete game and one shutout in only 27 innings of work last season. 

The Vikings lineup will be full of experience with a talented group of seniors expected to make an impact this spring including CJ Gear (C), Ethan Lehnen, Rene Lozano, Jake Miller, and Stephen Simms.

No. 20, Bloomington South HS 

The Bloomington South Panthers, led by Head Coach Phil Kluesner, open the 2013 season with high expectations as all eight starters and five pitchers return. The 2012 team finished 17-10 overall and 4-3 in the challenging Conference Indiana. 

Leading the way for Coach Kluesner’s squad is Vanderbilt commit Nolan Rogers (right). Rogers is a seniorCF/RHP who batted .403 and stole 19 bases. Rogers is the No. 4 ranked prospect in Indiana’s 2013 class, and No. 16 in the overall PBR rankings. On the mound he sits 84-89 mph with his fastball. 

Gage Rogers, No. 13 in Indiana’s 2014 class and younger brother of Nolan, is a junior third baseman who hit .357 and recorded 30 hits including 7 doubles. Also in in an excellent class of juniors are first baseman Isaac Barrow and catcher Joe Crider. Barrow led the pitching staff in 2012 with a 5-0 record and an ERA of 2.69. Crider is a good defensive catcher who flashed offensive skills in 2012 with a .274 average and 19 RBI’s. 

Other players expected to make an impact are juniors Tyler Bivins (INF), Jack Drew (LHP) and sophomores Cameron Prince (LHP), JC Lukens (OF), and Cole McNeely (C). 

Bloomington South will battle with city rival Bloomington North, Lawrence Central, as well as defending Conference Indiana champion Columbus North for the 2013 title.