Bloomington South baseball’s coaching staff knew they had a special group of young arms three years ago and put them to work right away.
Sophomores Xavier Hemingway, Tyler Morris, Collin Marcum and freshman Reid Walker piled up 96 innings that year, carefully doled out, always with a quick hook if things started going sideways. Connor Couch joined the group last year and has been huge given Marcum and Amos Ewer’s absences on the mound due to injuries.
Fast forward to today, and that five-man band brings 319 innings of pitching experience, or about 140 more than Lake Central’s top five, heading into their IHSAA Class 4A state championship game this Saturday, June 20 at Victory Field in Indianapolis.
“Experience goes a long way,” South coach Phil Kluesner said. “That’s how you get through some of these games where they’re nail-biters and you’re getting no-hit and you win 1-0. Things like that.”
Set up to succeed
The Panthers won 15 games two years ago, 17 last year and sit 24-6 heading into the showdown with battle-tested Lake Central (27-8) in the school’s first title game appearance since 1972.
The run started by building up their confidence. Given South’s schedule, there were going to be tough moments. But knowing they would have to get through some combination of North, Center Grove and Mooresville to escape sectional, they had to be ready to face some of the state’s best batters.
“It was important a couple years ago not to set them up for failure,” Kluesner said. “There’s a fine line between getting that experience and demoralizing kids.
“Back then, we had a short rope for the kids so they didn’t get too deep into the hole. So, we pulled guys and used combination of guys to get that experience, but not let them roll off the cliff, so to speak.”
The result is Hemingway has a career mark of 13-3 with a 2.11 ERA with 114 strikeouts to just 32 walks in 29 appearances. Couch is 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA after pitching in 19 games, Morris is 4-0, 1.88 in 34 appearances and Walker is 2-0 with a 2.38 ERA and 18 strikeouts to just four walks this year. Marcum was 9-3 over 63 innings before this season.
Hemingway is headed to Marian University, Couch to Columbia and Marcum to Indiana.
“That experience is immeasurable,” Kluesner said. “And those guys got opportunities in the summer because of it. They played high level summer travel baseball, which helped us out because they were playing those really good teams and good competition.
“And now they come back to high school and it’s like, ‘OK, I’ve seen it before, I’m not fazed by it.'”
Which is how South has won three playoff games that came down to the last at-bat. Evansville North had the bases loaded when Walker got the flyball to left to end a 1-0 win for the semi-state title.
“That team we beat was really good,” Kluesner said. “But we have more experience than them in probably the most important spots.”
That includes at the catching position, where senior Jake McCammon has taken up residence the past two seasons.
“He’s done a good job,” Kluesner said. “He’s an encourager, he makes them look good. He’s solid defensively. When you have a guy who can throw guys out, it helps the pitcher control the running game.”
Making a South pitcher
Identifying who has the potential to be a varsity pitcher is as much science as art.
“Our job is to teach to command at the plate, be effective, throw strikes,” Kluesner said. “Last year, Xavier broke 80 (miles per hour), but he could command two or three different pitches, which made him effective.
“Now, he’s in the upper 80s, now they have to not only respect his fastball, they have to account for the breaking stuff that he throws.”
Throwing in the upper 80s and lower 90s is great, but not if it’s nowhere near the strike zone. Hemingway has walked just 17 this year. Couch, after a rough start due to an injury, has walked just three over his last 26 innings.
Morris and Walker have been super out of the bullpen. Morris has appeared in four straight games decided by three runs or fewer. Walker has walked two since May 1.
“We see what they can do, how hard they can throw, what’s their mental makeup?” Kluesner said. “Some guys have it, some guys don’t.
“We identify their mental makeup and what do they possess. Are they good at being around the plate? Do they have a pitch they can go to when they get behind in the count? What we’re really looking for is a command of their pitches.”
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Mounds of pitching experience paying off for Bloomington South baseball
Reporting by Jim Gordillo, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jim Gordillo, The Herald-Times | USA TODAY Network
