By Pete Cava
PBR Indiana Correspondent

Follow @PBRIndiana

Substitute a sword and a horned helmet for his bat and baseball cap, and Logan Sowers could pass for an extra in a Viking movie. 

Instead of raiding and pillaging European castles, the blond, 6-foot-4, 212-pound Indiana University sophomore outfielder terrorizes college pitching staffs.  

“I’m feeling pretty comfortable at the plate this year,” said Sowers, who came to Indianapolis for Tuesday’s IU-Notre Dame at Victory Field.  “I’m seeing the ball well, trying not to swing at balls out of the zone.  That’s really helped me.”   

Not long after Sowers was born in Royal Oak, Mich., his parents, Shawn and Valerie, relocated to Indianapolis.  The Sowers clan moved to Lafayette when Logan was about eight years old.  He grew up there, rooting for the St. Louis Cardinals and Albert Pujols, his favorite player. 

Sowers took to sports the way crows take to cornfields.  Family photo albums include pictures of Logan at age two or three, hitting whiffle balls off a tee.  When he entered Lafayette’s McCutcheon High School in the fall of 2010, there was talk Sowers might be another Clayton Richard – the Mavericks’ two-sport standout who was named Indiana’s Mr. Football in 2002 and won 2003 Mr. Baseball honors.     

A quarterback like Richard (who played both sports at the University of Michigan and currently pitches for the Chicago Cubs), Sowers opted to concentrate on baseball.  “I decided football wasn’t my sport,” he said.  

As a senior in 2014, Sowers hit .365 for McCutcheon with 11 home runs, 30 runs batted in and a .514 on-base percentage.  Like Richard, he won Mr. Baseball honors and had several athletic scholarship offers.  

That June, the San Diego Padres selected him in the 31^st round of the June draft.  Sowers said he gave some consideration to a professional career, but decided college was his best choice.  “I wanted to go to college and develop my skills more,” he said.  

Sowers picked Indiana over Kentucky.  “It was close to home,” he said.  “I really liked the coaching staff and recently, (IU’s) big tradition of winning.”  

In 2015, his first year of college ball, Sowers won Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors four times.  He was one of four Hoosiers to start all 59 games, finishing the year with six homers, 36 RBI and a .257 average.  He was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team.  

Besides the quality of competition, Sowers believes the biggest difference between high school and college ball is the schedule.  “Just having to show up every day – a lot more games,” he said.  “More of a grind.”         

A fixture in left field this season, Sowers played a key role in Sunday’s 8-4 win in 11 innings at Michigan State.  He went 2-for-6 with a pair of clutch doubles and three RBI.  “It was a good game,” he said.  “I was trying to stay relaxed and just have fun.” 

Sowers came to Indianapolis with a .337 average through IU’s first 38 games.  Over his last six contests, he was hitting at a .409 clip (9-for-22).  Against Notre Dame, he went 0-for-4 as five Irish pitchers limited the Hoosiers to six hits in a 5-0 triumph. 

Sowers likes the way the Hoosiers (23-16) are playing this year.  IU has won 11 of its last 14 contests.  “We’re playing a lot better recently,” said the recreational sports management major.  “We need to build on everything that we’ve been doing.”  

Caught on the Fly:  Familiar names dot the IU and Notre Dame rosters.  

For the Irish, junior second baseman Cavan Biggio is the son of Hall of Famer Craig Biggio (second baseman/catcher, Astros 1988-2007).  Junior catcher Ryan Lidge's cousin Brad is a former major league pitcher (Astros 2002-2007, Phillies 2008-2011, Nationals 2012).  Junior outfielder Torii Hunter Jr. is the son of five-time All-Star outfielder Torii Hunter (Twins 1997-2007, Angels 2008-2012, Tigers 2013-2014, Twins 2015). 

In the Hoosier dugout, junior first baseman Austin Cangelosi's pop is John Cangelosi (White Sox 1985-1986, Pirates 1987-1990, Rangers 1992, Mets 1994, Astros 1995-1996, Marlins 1997-1998, Rockies 1999).  Freshman infielder Scotty Bradley's dad is ex-big league catcher Scott Bradley (Yankees 1984-1985, White Sox 1986, Mariners 1986-1992, Reds 1992).  The elder Bradley is currently the head baseball coach at Princeton University. 

Eleven IU players prepped at Indiana high schools, including senior left-hander Will Coursen-Carr (Fort Wayne Southside);  junior outfielders Alex Krupa (Greenwood) and Craig Dedelow (Munster);  junior righties Kent Williams (Zionsville), Luke Stephenson (Triton Central) and Jake Kelzer (Bloomington South);  sophomore infielder Colby Stratten (Bloomington North), sophomore outfielder Logan Sowers (McCutcheon), freshman lefty Tim Herrin (Terre Haute South), freshman right-hander Paul Milto (Roncalli) and freshman outfielder Luke Miller (Cowan).   

Notre Dame has four players who came up through Indiana schools:  senior right-handed pitchers Nick McCarty (Cathedral) and Connor Hale (Brebeuf Jesuit), junior infielder Kyle Fiala (Carmel) and freshman infielder Nick Podkul (Andrean),  

Pete Cava is the author of Indiana-Born Major League Baseball Players:  A Biographical Dictionary, 1871-2014, now available from McFarland Publishers