As the end of the school year approaches, so is the Indiana Wesleyan University Wildcats’ baseball season as the team heads toward the MCC Tournament in May.

The Wildcats went against Goshen College in a doubleheader on March 31, losing the first game 4-3. The Wildcats fell behind in the second game as well, but some seventh-inning heroics in the form of four runs brought IWU to a 7-6 victory.

“Losing the first game kind of put us in our place,” pitcher Michael Caley (jr) said. “We knew our backs were against the wall and that they could beat us, and we kind of came together in the last inning and knew we had to beat them.”

The Goshen games brought IWU’s overall record to 14-17. Coach Chad Newhard said his team still has more work to do.

“We just have to continue to play good baseball,” Newhard said. “I think every game is important for us. Every win we can win is helpful for us. We can’t ever overlook anyone, and we make sure we are playing at a high level every day.”

The win against Goshen was important, just like every game, because MCC teams must be in the top five in conference standings at season’s end to be in the tournament. The Wildcats are currently in a tie for fourth with Mount Vernon Nazarene, Grace and Marian with a record of 6-6 in the MCC.

Caley said he isn’t worried about making it to the tournament just yet, but instead about each individual game.

“I think as a team we need to focus on playing the best baseball we can play,” said Caley. “And when we play to the best of our abilities, there aren’t many teams that can beat us. We beat Spring Arbor, the best team in the nation.”

Spring Arbor University has an MCC record of 9-3, second only to Taylor University. IWU played the Cougars in two doubleheaders, resulting in a pair of splits.

Wildcat catcher Alex Ridlen (sr) said the team has great chemistry, and it’s that chemistry and hard work that will move IWU forward to the MCC tournament.

“For all of us, a major goal is just to be the hardest-working guys out there because we know that if we’re going to beat teams, we’re going to have to work harder than them,” Ridlen said. “We’re looking to win 21 games at conference because that’s what we’re looking to have to get into tournament.”

Newhard said the team continues to practice every day and sometimes even has an extra practice in the morning. But his main focus is keep the team’s dynamic together and in the right direction.

“We are a true essence of a team,” Newhard said. “If we are to have success, our offense and defense need to play at a high level instead of getting caught up in ‘what I’m doing.’ We need to get caught up in ‘what we’re doing.’”

Like any living, breathing human being, I don’t like to admit when I’m wrong. As little as I try to let this phenomenon happen, sometimes things just slip through the cracks. Today is a day where I correct, or maybe more accurately clarify, one of those mistakes.

A few months ago, I wrote a piece about the prospects of Indiana Wesleyan University getting a football team. How it didn’t happen last year, how it probably won’t happen for a while but how we can all look forward to the Wildcat logo on a gridiron … someday.

But I failed to consider the cost.

I don’t take back anything I said. Should IWU ever field a football team, I will be first in line for tickets. I’ll be at every game. I’ll cheer until I can’t anymore. But until that happens, I will not be cheering for this school to pick up the pigskin.

It’s not because I hate football, it’s actually my favorite sport. It’s because I love IWU without football and getting a team would change some fundamental things about this university.

Education and athletics have always had an interesting relationship. Ever since you were in high school and the drama club wondered why it was stuck with second-rate props while the basketball team got all the funding it needed. That precarious relationship continues through the college ranks. Starting a football team at a small school like IWU adds more than just something new to do on Saturdays.

One of the more noticeable aspects football adds is sheer numbers. Taylor University is a comparable college that already has a team. The Trojans’ website lists more than 70 active players on the football roster.

At IWU, with an on-campus undergraduate population of around 3,000, it’s easy to wonder where those 70 athletes would come from. The answer is most likely an increase in overall enrollment, another step away from the personal, small-college experience that runs a cool $30,000 a year.

With those additional students would inevitably come a different type of IWU student. This is not always the case, but football would bring student-athletes who come solely for football and are uninterested in contributing to the other aspects that make this school what it is. This goes for any school and any activity, but in my opinion, football at Christian universities tends to be the greatest offender.

Then we have the issue of money. At a university making many cuts to prevent further financial difficulties, is the high cost of a football team and all the accoutrements that go with it really what IWU should focus on at this point?

Two weeks ago, we learned IWU is fielding a Wildcat club football team. This is intended to be a step in the direction of an intercollegiate squad, but on a level that is much less of a financial risk. The players on the Wildcat roster will probably come from current IWU students and not be used as a recruiting tool for high school athletes.

I’m not looking to cause a stir. If nothing else, I hope my words promote contentment for the situation the Wildcats are in right now. A situation that is on purpose, because as IWU’s much-beleaguered administration has rightfully determined, this is not a good time for intercollegiate football.

Maybe the right time is coming. When or if that day comes, you can find me at the 50-yard line. I’ll be painted from head to toe in red, screaming my head off like a moron. But until then, I’m more than happy to cheer for the teams we do have.

Some of the best stories can’t be contained in a box. There are some stories that seem almost too good to be true.

This is one of those stories.

Javier Aponte (jr) spent nearly his entire life in Puerto Rico. His journey to the United States a few years ago wasn’t planned. It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t without sacrifice. But it was worth it.

This is his story.

Shortly after Aponte was born, his mother suffered a massive stroke, forcing his brothers and aunt to raise him since his father worked around the clock to provide for his family.

Things didn’t get any easier for Aponte as he grew up. He knew his family was struggling and he knew he needed to help. A normal childhood for Aponte was out of the question.

“If I didn’t learn how to cook, if I didn’t learn how to do all that stuff, who was going to do that in my house? Nobody. My mom couldn’t, my dad wasn’t home and my brothers were in school so I had to learn to do that stuff,” Aponte explained. “I wasn’t focused on playing, I was focused on what I was going to eat tomorrow, what I was going to eat today.”

But cooking and household chores alone were not going to help his family survive. Aponte found out how he could make a difference, though it was not strictly legal.

“I started fighting. Fighting was my thing. I was very, very, very good at it,” he said.

At first, Aponte wasn’t fighting just to fight; he was fighting for the defenseless.

“I was always defending the people that were not brave, that were not as blessed as I was in that area. I started doing that, that’s how it started, and then after that it changed. It completely changed,” Aponte said. “Then I started doing illegal fights, like fighting in the streets for money.”

After spending a few years fighting in the streets to make enough money to provide for his family, Aponte’s sister gave him an out. She offered him a place in the United States his senior year in high school. After spending two years at a prep college, Aponte was invited to try out for coach Chad Newhard and soon after was officially a member of the Indiana Wesleyan University baseball team.

“His experiences have been good for our team, he brings a different point of view for our team, just the way he’s grown up and the experiences he’s been through,” coach Newhard said. “Nothing’s really been handed to him. He’s worked hard to be here.”

After impressing coach Newhard and the rest of the team, Aponte has been working with the Hodson Hall chaplain Cole Maxwell (so) on his walk with Christ.

“I’ve never seen someone so adamant about making his faith his own,” Maxwell said.

After a tough childhood, an incredible journey and a few new friends, Aponte is settling nicely into the IWU community. But there’s something Maxwell wants you to know: “A lot of people would read this story and say ‘He has had a tough past,’ but that doesn’t change the genuine, nice, good-hearted person that he is. He really enjoys people, he’s a genuine person.”

Aponte also made a request, mixed with a little advice.

“If they want to know something about me, just come ask me,” he said. “I just want people to know, because of where you come from or where you been or situations like that, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person.”

So there you have it, an unbelievable story that shouldn’t be boxed up or labeled. It’s a story that should be shared with the world.

Indiana Wesleyan University represented itself well in the 10th annual All-Star Classic at IWU’s Recreation and Wellness Center on March 28. Intramural basketball teams from Anderson University, Taylor University and IWU battled on the courts for the coveted golden basketball. Both IWU’s men’s and women’s teams took home the crown, each defeating their Anderson opponent in the championship game 44-34 and 33-30 respectively.