High school baseball teams are allowed to begin their regular season on Monday, and several teams in Hamilton County will be getting on to the field right away.
Carmel hosts Brebeuf Jesuit at 5:30 p.m. Monday at Hartman Field (on Main Street just east of Gray Road), while Fishers is taking a road trip to Fort Wayne to play Homestead in a 6:30 p.m. first pitch.
Westfield starts its season Tuesday by hosting Carmel at 5:30 p.m. All of these games are weather permitting, of course.
For the Greyhounds, there will be several new names on the roster after they graduated a large senior class last year. They will have one familiar name: Senior Jack Van Remortel, an All-State third baseman in 2017. The Michigan commit brings back a .404 batting average, with 36 hits, 35 RBIs, 30 runs scored, 10 doubles and three home runs.
“We will be new and inexperienced at most positions,” said Carmel coach Matthew Buczkowski. “Juniors Jared Greene and Jackson Adams have committed to play at Butler University but have no varsity experience. We like our youth. We think they can play, but just have not seen them yet at the varsity level.”
Fishers also graduated some talented seniors from last year, but the Tigers have a talented group of seniors this year. Seven of them are committed to play in college, including move-in Grant Richardson, an All-State outfielder who is signed to Indiana, and will also pitch for Fishers.
Also back are Naval Academy signee Matthew Wolff (pitcher/utility), Houston commit Craig Yoho (shortstop), and Kent State signee Luke Albright (pitcher). Alex Jamieson (Huntington commit) will flip between catcher and first base, while Ben Burton is headed to Franklin and will play infield. Yoho hit .340 last season with 22 RBIs and a team-leading five home runs.
Two juniors already committed are catcher Kiel Brenczewski, a .330 hitter who is also headed to the Naval Academy, while outfielder JJ Woolwine will play at Miami (Ohio). All of these players will factor into the Tigers’ defense of Hoosier Crossroads Conference and sectional titles.
“Coming off the school’s first HCC and sectional championships, the Tigers are expecting to repeat those accomplishments again this spring and erase the disappointment from a regional final loss to conference foe Zionsville,” said Fishers coach Matthew Cherry. “The Tigers once again possess a very talented pitching staff led by three-year starter Luke Albright.”
As for Westfield, three seniors are among the key returners. Matthew Meyer hit at a .333 clip and batted in 17 runs last season. Logan McClurg batted .329 and scored 17 runs, while Sam Eaton hit .315 with nine RBIs. Meyer and McClurg will return as pitchers as well.
“I’ve been encouraged this off-season,” said Shamrocks coach Ryan Bunnell. “The culture in our program has been closer to where it should be than it has been the last few years and I think the kids are excited and want to have success. I am looking forward to seeing what their work this off-season will produce for them.”
Carmel roster
Seniors: Luke Barnes, Robbie Levine, Evan Petruzzi, Ethan Pryor, Will Richter, Tanner Simmons, Tavic Simmons, Jack Van Remortel.
Juniors: Jackson Adams, Jared Greene, Drew Harding, Drew Kelly, Brayden Lentz, Drew Olssen, Zach Vogt.
Sophomores: Aiden Bradbury, Alex Brooks.
Westfield roster
Seniors: Sam Eaton, Logan McClurg, Matthew Meyer, Matthew Robinson, Chad Welch, Dylan Zellers.
Juniors: Zach Collins, Luke Hutson, Kyle Pepiot, Tyler Smitherman, Austin Wessell, Brandon Yoder.
Sophomores: Trey Anderson, Bryce Dorton, Payton Tamm, Zach Zaborowski.
Fishers roster
Seniors: Luke Albright, Ben Burton, Alex Jamieson, Alex Klotz, TJ Ratliff, Griffin Rhoads, Grant Richardson, Jack Roudebush, Matthew Wolff, Craig Yoho.
Juniors: Kiel Brenczewski, Tristan Baker, Daniel Owens, Jon Vore, AJ Waltermann, JJ Woolwine.
Sophomores: Nick Lukac, Kaid Muth, Grant Whetsel.