A season where the squad was written off and doubted after their early season 2-7 record to make its second straight trip to Cary, the UIndy Greyhounds look poised to once again finish their season at the USA Baseball National Training Complex for the World Series.
How can the squad repeat that performance from 2023 and 2024? Without stars like Caleb Vaughn (.326, 10 HR, 27-29 in stolen base attempts), Drew Donaldson (.364 career hitter), Dakota Sill (.336, 17 stolen bases) on offense, and Will Spear (.306, threw out 30% of runners) behind the dish and at the plate? What will their identity be offensively? “Disciplined Aggressiveness.”, said UIndy Head Coach Al Ready. It will continue to be their brand of baseball. An offense that finished first in Division II with 76 sacrifices, fourth with 18 bunt hits, and ninth with 162 stolen bases last season, the use of the small game has been their M.O. under the direction of Coach Ready, who enters his 7th season leading the program and his 18th season overall as a coach in the program.
A key piece to replace is closer E.J. White, who had 13 saves with a 4.08 ERA over 46 ⅓ innings last season and a career 3.96 ERA over 77 innings. “He had a bulldog mentality on the mound, and he’s the one that represented it the most.”, said Coach Ready. “We want guys to have that mentality and we take the mental side of the game seriously here.” Ready is no slouch to finding replacements and getting production. Think back to 2022, before this run to Cary, the Hounds had GLVC Pitcher of the Year Xavier Rivas, who went 7-0 with a 2.28 ERA over 80 ⅓ innings (IP). Prior to the 2023 season, he transferred to Division I Ole Miss. How was he replaced? With a collection of guys. Brandon DeWitt (now an assistant coach at UIndy) threw 93 ⅓ IP to a 3.95 ERA, which included a 10 strikeout complete game against potent offense Quincy in the super regionals. Seth Spencer (transfer from NAIA St. Katherine) threw 84 ⅔ IP to a 4.89 ERA, which included a 14-strikeout game against Maryville in the regional and a 6 1/3 inning, 2-run performance against Quincy in the super regionals. Brady Ware (transfer from St. Katherine) threw 50 ⅓ IP to a 4.80 ERA, which included a game where he threw both a no-hitter and hit for the cycle in the same game.
In 2024, the team had to replace all of those pitchers in the rotation, plus the production of DeWitt offensively (.353 BA as the leadoff hitter, 17 stolen bases). How was that replaced? Easton Good (returning in 2025) stepped up big as the leadoff hitter, leading the team with a .360 batting average and 40 stolen bases. He also had 31 extra base hits (XBH) and 60 runs batted in (RBI). While on the staff, Diego Cardenas (81 ⅔ IP, 3.64 ERA) relished as the team’s ace and will also return in 2025.
We traveled to Greyhound Park and watched as they took Danville Community College in a fall scrimmage.
Let’s break down some players on both sides of the ball that may make an impact for UIndy in the spring, first on offense.
Already mentioned is Easton Good, who is on the short list amongst the best shortstops in Division II Baseball, excelled with four hits (all to left-center), including a triple to go with three RBI. The senior from Kokomo, Indiana will look to replicate the numbers he put up last year. There’s no reason not to think he will put on a similar season.
Also returning on the left side is third baseman Cole Hampton. Last season Hampton hit .318 and led the team with 62 runs driven in after transferring in from Missouri S&T. The senior from Edwardsville, Illinois looks to slot in the cleanup spot in the hopes that he’ll have plenty of success in driving in his teammate and same-sided infielder in Good.
Speaking of the same-sided infield, both Good and Hampton struggled a bit defensively, fielding .924 and .892 respectively on the left side, but early indications show they’ve improved, as Hampton made a few plays on defense at the hot corner. Good, meanwhile, didn’t get much action.
An impact bat that we expect to have a great season is transfer Austin Bode. Bode who played at D1 Louisville in 2022 before transferring to Indiana where he was last year, came as a catcher but will be an outfielder on this team. He has a sweet swing and had four hard hits, including a near home-run in the 6th inning that bounced off the top of the fence before a moonshot home run in the 7th. “He came here as a catcher and it seemed like he was written off completely at the D1 level”, said Ready. “We had an opportunity to bring him aboard and he’s excelled this fall.” Bode played in left field during the scrimmage and is likely to be the team’s starting left fielder in the spring. In just 39 at-bats at the Division 1 level, Bode hit .282.
Catcher Chase Mason, who transferred from Junior College Carl Sandburg College, seems to be the replacement behind the dish for Will Spear. Mason had some solid at-bats, including ripping two hits into left field. Mason has some strong catch-and-throw ability, as he had a dot of a throw down to nearly get a runner who had a big lead. Al Ready talked about him a bit, “He’s a great defensive catcher behind the plate, both with calling the game and his catch-and-throw ability with some offensive talent.”
At the end of the day, though, having experience goes a long way. Armen Torosian exemplifies that. The senior from Schaumburg, Illinois had a few hits in his day at the plate and will serve as a leader on the team, regardless of his role. “Having a guy like Armen is so crucial. It’s his fourth year here. He knows the expectations of the program. He knows how our style of baseball operates. Being amongst his teammates, he can help teach our style of baseball”, states Al Ready.
Going to the pitching side, there’s a lot of returners and guys who may step up this season.
Ace Diego Cardenas, who was briefly in the transfer portal, returns as he will retain his role of the No. 1 starter. Cardenas threw 81 ⅔ innings to a 3.64 ERA and looked well in his inning, throwing a tick or two higher than his high 80s mph fastball. His changeup had some great arm-side run as he struck out a batter with it and played off his fastball well. His breaking ball was also sharp, as he struck out two batters in his inning of work. He will be amongst the top tier of pitchers in the GLVC in 2025, and there’s a chance he will compete for the conference Pitcher of the Year.
Payton Plym looked solid in his inning of work. Plym looks to be a big backend piece for this team. The 6’2 right-hander threw 45.1 IP in 19 relief appearances to a 5.96 ERA. Walks were an issue a year ago, but his outing showed he’s improved his command. As the spring rolls around, expect him to be one of the main bullpen arms for this UIndy baseball club.
LHP Andrew DeWitt looks to be a key piece of the bullpen, consistently throwing strikes in his two innings of work. He got limited work last year, throwing just 13 innings with a 5.54 ERA and 14 strikeouts to just 7 walks. However, there’s real opportunity for him to double, even triple the amount of innings from a season ago.
Austin Bestul looks to be in the lead for the closer role. Bestul, 2nd on the team with 3 saves, got a lot of swing and miss with the slider and has been a key piece of this bullpen last year, throwing 43 innings with 43 strikeouts over 27 appearances in relief.
When asked about the opportunity to have a lot of arms returning, Ready stated, “We had to get a little bit creative with our bullpen arms, but I think that helped us last year.” There’s a chance they may be put in a similar situation in 2025. Similar to how the Detroit Tigers operated their staff this season may be how UIndy operates theirs in 2025. Diego Cardenas is the team’s ace, then after that, there’s room for creativity. Talking with pitching coach Adam Cornwell, here’s what he had to say about it, “We have numerous guys who can be special, both returning and newcomers. We’re still in the process of figuring out the right roles, but the opportunity to be creative and utilize guys in those roles can help us win games in the future.”
The UIndy fans treated this fall ball doubleheader as if it were a spring game. These fans know this team is good, and they have every opportunity to represent the Midwest Region at the World Series for a third consecutive year in 2025.
Comments