Cut the grass and dust off the infield. It’s time for America’s pastime at Indiana Wesleyan University. The Wildcat baseball and softball teams have been hard at work gearing up for the first pitch of the season tomorrow, each with the same thing to prove. That they belong in their respective conference tournament conversation.

Respect is earned, not given.

The young men on the Indiana Wesleyan University baseball team know exactly what this means. After a disappointing 19-32 finish to last year’s season, coach Chad Newhard has taken things to the next level to ensure that this team is one to be respected and feared.

In fact, each player’s baseball cap, something that was once taken for granted, had to be earned this offseason. Coach Newhard introduced a point system. The players were awarded their hats only after earning a certain number of points.

“It had to do with different tasks, whether it was coming in and getting 50 extra swings in or helping clean up the storage area,” catcher Alex Ridlen (sr) said. “It was really designed to get everyone to think about the team first over themselves. We’re actually done with the system now, but it has created an environment that we do that stuff without even thinking.”

The team embraced the points system. Peter Engle (jr) saw it as incentive to get better.

“I think that’s the way most guys went about it because it’s a way to get a point, and it’s a way to prove ourselves as a baseball player,” Engle said.

Coach Newhard uses other methods besides the points system to keep his team in tiptop shape. The Wildcats started spring training at the beginning of the semester. In January.
“We practice six days a week right now,” Newhard said. “Baseball is an every-day sport. It’s a grind, we play 55 games, so our guys need to prepare their bodies to deal with that.”
With last year’s losing season looming over their heads and bodies aching from practice, the players have a chip on thier shoulders. But they have their sights set on more than just a winning season.
“I don’t think there’s any reason why we couldn’t win conference,” Engle said. “We have such a talented team, and if all the gears are working at the same time, I really believe we have the capability to do that.”
Ridlen agreed: “We expect to be conference champions. Anything less than that is failure.”
With eyes on the prize, the Wildcats are ready to prove that they can be conference champions and deserve respect.
Although there is one person who has already earned the respect of the baseball team: Coach Newhard.
“Our coach deserves more than two losing seasons because he kills it with us,” Engle said. “He does such a great job. A lot of us just want to win for him this year.”

George Jones IV (jr) told The Sojourn on Thursday that he will miss the remainder of the men’s basketball season with a torn right Achilles tendon. The Indiana Wesleyan University guard had been enjoying a stellar season before going down with the injury in the second half of IWU’s 72-70 Tuesday win over Saint Francis.

The win was the Wildcats’ fifth in a row, moving the team into a tie for first place in the MCC with No. 5-ranked Grace College. Three games remain on IWU’s schedule before the MCC Tournament begins Feb. 22.

“George has been obviously a significant piece,” Wildcats coach Greg Tonagel said Wednesday, before learning the extent of the injury. “What it means is we need somebody else to step up until George is back. I think that’s what makes a team special is when the next guy up is ready and we’ve got guys that are ready and they’re going to get their opportunity.”

Jones said he will have surgery next week and wear a boot for six weeks

If ever the Indiana Wesleyan University men’s basketball team needed a win, it was Tuesday night. Grace College stormed into the Wildcats’ lair as the fourth-ranked team in the NAIA. But there was a black hole waiting in the Luckey Arena stands, and the Lancers would not come out unscathed. The Wildcats rode an early lead to a huge 82-74 victory.

“I think that was the most excitement I’ve seen from the fans in a while,” guard George Jones IV (jr) said after the game. “It was really intense the whole 40 minutes, it was nuts. I just had a lot of fun.”

It was blackout night in Luckey, and IWU fans showed up in hordes to cheer on a Wildcat team that has been struggling of late. According to Jones, the buzz brought back some of the fun that might have been missing from the team’s play.

“That was fun basketball and I like that,” Jones said. “We’ll be definitely playing like that for the remainder of the season.”

Jones had a career day, shooting a perfect seven-of-seven from the field, scoring 16 points and hauling in seven rebounds. Jordan Weidner (so) added 16 points of his own while Patrick Hopkins (jr) scored 12. Even D.J. Bettinger (fr) made waves in the win, scoring nine points on a trio of three-pointers.

Bettinger’s point total was the same as his last four games combined, and Wildcats coach Greg Tonagel said the freshman takes advantage of the time he gets on the court.

“D.J. is one of the hardest workers,” Tonagel said. “You’ll find him in the gym late at night or in the morning. When you do that, you get the opportunity to make the most of it, and I think he makes the most of his opportunity.”

The Wildcats’ team has an opportunity to turn its season around starting with this pivotal win. That’s a chance Jones says he plans to make the most of.

“I think it gave a lot of guys confidence that we kind of lost as of late,” Jones said. “We’re going to just take it as a steppingstone to get better. We know how good we can be, so we’re just going to keep getting better.”

IWU is back in action on Saturday, Jan. 28 when Mt. Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) comes to Luckey to take on the revitalized Wildcats.

Brandon Beachy is doing things no one else who hails from Indiana Wesleyan University has ever done before.

The former Wildcat infielder turned professional pitcher said it has been a whirlwind ride to MLB fame since his playing days at IWU in 2005-08.

“It’s something I never expected to happen, up until midway through 2010,” Beachy said. “I didn’t think it was all that realistic. When I think about where I am today and where i was just two years ago, three years ago, it’s pretty remarkable.”

That humble attitude is just one of Beachy’s attributes that former coach and current IWU Athletic Director Mark DeMichael said has helped him get to this point.

“He’s not going to allow himself to be comfortable, and that’s what will make Brandon continue to be successful,” DeMichael said. “He’s going to continue to demand more of himself to be even better. I know he’s not hit his ceiling yet, I know he’s got a lot of room to get better.”

But Beachy isn’t all about what goes on in between the foul poles. He’s still the same private person from Kokomo, Ind.; he just happens to play for the Atlanta Braves.

“Being in the public now, I do get recognized every now and then and it’s just something you have to deal with,” Beachy said. “I don’t necessarily like the attention or want people to look at me differently because of what I do. That’s not who I am. When it comes down to it, what I believe hasn’t changed, and who I am hasn’t really changed.”

While baseball may be what pays the bills, Beachy has hopes of making an impact even when he steps off the mound.

“I hope to play this game for as long as I can, and I hope to do a lot of good outside of the game of baseball through the abilities that I have been blessed with,” Beachy said. “I’d like to use that platform for a much greater good.”

Some of that good has already been accomplished for his old stomping grounds. DeMichael said having a former player have the success Beachy has had helps the university gain positive recognition.

“Think about what that does for a school like ours to have Indiana Wesleyan University mentioned on “Sports Center,” ” DeMichael said. “Articles all over the country when they talk about his experience at Indiana Wesleyan University, that’s just something I think is something really cool for the school to be proud of.”

Even current IWU baseball players gain from having a player who came before them being in the pros. Wildcat pitcher Tim Zeigler (sr) said even from afar, Beachy has contributed to his old team.

“Our pitching coach has been telling us, whenever he talks to Brandon, the stuff that he’s learning in the Braves organization is the stuff that we’re learning here,” Zeigler said. “It gives you a confidence boost knowing that you’re doing the right things.”

Zeigler also said it gives players something to shoot for.

“When you’re a kid growing up, if you play a sport you always want to play professionally,” Zeigler said. “As you get older, yeah, that dream kind of dies down, but when you get here and you see [Beachy] make it into the pros it kind of gives you that little extra feeling of, ‘if he can do it maybe I can too.’ ”

Brandon Beachy is already making a name for himself on the baseball diamond, but the coming years could prove that his impact outside of the field could be as great as his fastball.