High School | DeKalb TV

Rhodes Reviews 2012 Baseball Season

A few days ago, I had the chance to interview Dekalb Baron baseball coach Chris Rhodes. I hadn’t had a chance to catch up with Chris over the Summer, so we thought it would be a good time to talk a little baseball. To add to the festivities, Chris was able to bring his son Easton along to listen in.

This past Spring, Coach Rhodes finished up his 15th season leading the Barons. Dekalb was eliminated in the sectional semi-finals by Columbia City. With that loss, the Barons lost a number of seniors. Three of those players are going on to play college baseball. Ty Rottger is playing at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, Bayley Coleman is playing at Indiana Tech, and Nick McDonald is playing at Bethel.

Coach Rhodes told me he does with his incoming squad as the new school has gotten underway. A number of years ago, he started “open fields” in the Fall. The Barons will go until the weather doesn’t cooperate any more. Then it’s on to weights, and indoor conditioning, and before you know it, it is time to get going in the Spring once again.

I then switched gears with him to talk some pro ball, and he told me he has been a lifelong Cincinnati Reds fan. His favorite player growing up was Pete Rose. He likes “Charley Hustle” because of the way he approached and played the game. His favorite players he likes to watch now are Joey Votto & Josh Hamilton.

We talked some about the division races and the possible wild card teams. Even though Oakland has been scorching hot, he still thinks the LA Angels are going to make a run.

I asked him his prediction on a world series match up. He said as much as he likes the Reds, he thinks that the San Francisco Giants pitching is going to make the difference in the National League. Then he said that the Texas Rangers lineup is pretty powerful up & down. And that their pitching was pretty good as well. So it was Rangers vs Giants in world series. We didn’t pick a winner, but I’m going with the Rangers as the third time will be the charm.

We discussed the current state of the Auburn area youth baseball situation. He said it is in the hands of some very good people, and that a number of future Barons are well on their way to becoming part of “Dekalb Baseball.”

Dekalb Loses to New Haven, Faces East Noble Next

If you are around the Dekalb High School football sports scene, the question this week has been can the Barons start another win streak against their NHC rivals to the west, the East Noble Knights?

Landon Cochran Kicks Off for the Barons Last Week Against New Haven

To put it mildly, it won’t be easy. Dekalb was beaten by New Haven last Friday by the score of 47-7. While the Barons were losing to the Bulldogs, the Knights were getting it handed to them by the Homestead Spartans by the score of 65-21.

With the game Friday being played in Kendallville, it will be doubly hard for Dekalb to bounce back against East Noble, and their first year head coach, Luke Amstutz.

Both teams need to come into this contest fired up, ready to play & play hard for 4 quarters, and to try and control both the offensive and defensive lines of scrimmage. Whoever does that, should have a pretty good chance of having a W at around 9:45 pm.

Oh yea, a couple of other “keys” to the game. Limit your penalties, and take care of the football! These 2 issues plagued Dekalb in last Friday’s game, and if I’m a betting man, Coach Mike Cochran and his coaching staff have addressed those “keys.”

Coach Amstutz loves to put the football in the air. You probably remember the success that he had at Angola over the past few years with his aerial attack.

Dekalb must limit what East Noble does throwing the football, as well as being physical and nasty up front. The Barons must have time consuming drives that culminate in points.

For what should be an entertaining night of high school football, make the short drive west on Friday, and enjoy Dekalb & East Noble.

Solid Team Effort Key to Victory Over Rival Garrett

On Friday night, the Dekalb Barons went into their high school football game with their cross-county rival, the Garrett Railroaders, carrying the weight of a 22 game losing streak on their shoulders. Three hours after the contest started, they were walking on air, as Dekalb won the game by the score of 26-13.

As when these 2 teams hook up in any sport, there was a great crowd on hand, and it couldn’t have been a better atmosphere for a football game. (other than the fact that it was about 90 degrees at game time)

Dekalb TV Player of the Game, Evan Cochran

The Barons got solid performances from a number of players. Senior quarterback Evan Cochran led the offense in a cool, calm, & efficient manner as he spearheaded a number of time consuming drives just when Dekalb needed them the most. His short touchdown run with just over a minute to go clinched the win for the Barons.

Before that touchdown scamper, there was certainly a bit of consternation on Dekalb’s sideline, as the feisty Railroaders had cut a 19 point deficit down to 6 at 19-13 with just over 8 minutes to play. An electrifying 96 yard touchdown pass from Noah Follett to Drake Landes is the play that had the Barons squirming, and had wrested momentum over to the Garrett side of the field.

To Dekalb’s credit, they took the ensuing kickoff, and were able to regroup, and Cochran led them down the field to that clinching score.

With that 10 ton weight off their backs, the Barons will be going into conference play this Friday against New Haven with a new found sense of confidence & pride.

Congratulations Dekalb!

Dekalb-Garrett Will Be a Fun Night for Local High School Football

One of the best things that has happened concerning local sports in the past few years was when the administrations of Dekalb & Garrett high schools decided to renew their football rivalry.

Until last year, it had been 15 years since these teams had hooked up on the gridiron.

If you attended the game last season, you would be hard pressed to say that it wasn’t one of the best atmosphere’s for a high school football game in quite some time. Everyone involved at Garrett High School should be commended for insuring that everything was perfect come game time.

We were blessed with a beautiful late August evening, and the fans seemed to be streaming in from everywhere to enjoy the night’s festivities.

When the game did get underway, both teams were up to the task in putting on a show that had most of the spectators hooting and hollering for their favorite maroon and blue team, or their favorite black red & white team.

It was very close at halftime, with plenty of fireworks on the offensive side of the ball. Then in the second half, senior running back Todd Frickey took over, and the Railroaders ended up winning by 3 touchdowns.

This past Friday, when these 2 teams opened the 2012 season, Garrett won a wild one over Eastside, 32-27. Over in Mishawaka, the Barons lost to Mishawaka Marian, 48-17.

It is truly the case that when these rivals meet up, you can throw the records out the window.

Come on out to Dekalb High School this Friday night for a football game & an atmosphere as to how a rivalry game should be played. I’m confident that the festivities will be equal to what we saw last year in G-town. Get there early, get a good seat, and cheer on your team. It will be a lot of fun!

Was It the Greatest Baseball Game Ever Played at Dekalb High School?

A week or so ago, my son Ethan’s Summer league baseball team was sitting around in the dugout before a game, when I heard the subject change to talk about a tremendous high school baseball game that took place at DHS in May of 2010.

It was a game between Dekalb & Carroll with a share of the NHC conference championship on the line.

Ethan Prebynski’s Solo Home Run in the 5th was the Baron’s only Run for 12 innings.

This years Summer league team has a number of players who participated in that game. Jeremy Shelmedine, Steve Remesnik, Gavin Downs, and Zach Vanlandingham from Carroll. While ex-Baron players are Ethan Prebynski, Zach Pfafman, Casey Weaver, & Logan Sparkman.

The thing about that game that people don’t realize is, Dekalb played Prairie Hts. in a seven inning makeup game before the Carroll game on a Wednesday evening “school night.”

Skyler Rottger started on the hill for the Barons, while Remesnik toed the bump for the Chargers.

Both pitchers would be on their games from the get-go. Rottger had his only trouble of the night in the second inning when Carroll sent 6 men to the plate, and scored a lone tally. You didn’t know it at the time, but that would be the only run the Chargers would score in the game.

Skyler would end up throwing 10 innings on the night, would not walk a batter, gave up only 4 hits, and amazingly, only faced 35 batters in those 10 innings of work.

Remesnik was almost as sharp. The only run he gave in his 6 plus innings of work was when junior second basemen Ethan Prebynski blasted a home run deep over the wall in left leading off the fifth inning. Besides that HR, Ethan also had 10 assists from his second base position.

Senior Curtis Wise came on in relief for Carroll in the seventh inning, and he would go the rest of the way, which was into the 13th inning.

After those 10 innings of work, junior Zach Vance came in for Dekalb, and he would go the final 3 innings. he also did not walk a batter. 13 innings of work by Baron hurlers, and NO free passes!

You could honestly feel the tension in the air as that fateful 13th inning rolled around. In the top of the inning, with 2 outs and a runner on second, a Carroll batter drove a pitch to deep left field. Junior outfielder Chris Harpenau made a fantastic running catch to end the inning, and keep the game tied.

In the bottom of the frame, Casey Weaver led off with his second hit, a single to left. Catcher Shea Parrish laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt that got Casey to second. Then, in a way you would never expect, junior Jarrod Forrest hit a soft “tweener” that eluded the first baseman, the second baseman, and even the right fielder who was frantically charging on the play. Weaver raced home from second, and the Barons won 2-1, and shared the NHC regular season crown.

It was certainly a game for the ages, but the epilog is this. It would be Carroll’s last defeat of the season. They would go on to win back to back state championships. Unfortunately for Dekalb, as good as they were during those few seasons, Carroll was always standing in the way come tournament time.

Great Individual Seasons in Dekalb High School Baseball History

In the history of Dekalb Baron baseball, who had the greatest individual season at the plate, according to their respective statistics?

Nick Phillips, Todd Cobbs, & Bob Squires Were All Part of 1980 Team

If you are are a student of the game of baseball, you know that baseball is based on statistics, and the bottom line is, stats don’t lie.

I was going through the DHS baseball record book, and I decided that I would list what I considered the best overall years ever by an individual player according to the numbers.

I’ll start by saying that special kudos must go out to the only 2 players who hit at least .500 with a minimum of 50 at bats. In 2003, Troy Krider hit .544 to set the all-time Dekalb record. In 2001, Travis Coleman compiled a .517 average.

These accomplishments were quite noteworthy, but I wanted to recognize special seasons where DHS players dominated every facet of the stat sheet.

If you go back to what some people consider the “glory days” of Baron baseball, Dekalb had players in the years of 1979, 1980, & 1981 who would all qualify. In 1979, Ty Cobbs put up a .463 BA while collecting 38 hits, 17 doubles, 6 HR, 41 RBI, and scoring 31 runs.

In 1980, the year Dekalb won the state championship, Nick Phillips posted a .442 BA, had a Baron record 57 hits, had 11 doubles, 9 HR, 27 RBI, and scored 46 runs.

The following year, in 1981, Todd Cobbs batted .495, had 49 hits, 11 doubles, 7 HR, 36 RBI, and scored 30 runs.

In 1983, Bob Squires, who as a freshman, had the winning hit in the 1980 state championship game, compiled a .471 average, had 49 hits, 12 doubles, 14 HR, 49 RBI, and scored 37 runs.

In 1993, Todd Likens hit .490, had 49 hits, 7 doubles, 4 triples, 6 HR, 48 RBI, and scored 28 runs.

Conference Champs — Zach Pfafman Helped Lead DHS to a Conference Title

In what was probably the best “back to back” seasons by a Baron player happened in 1994 & 1995. Brad Weber, who would be named “Mr. Baseball” after the 1995 season, accomplished the following. In 1994, he hit .485, had 48 hits, 14 doubles, 6 home runs, 35 RBI, and scored 30 runs. He followed that up in 1995 with a .486 average, 51 hits, 16 doubles, 11 HR, 44 RBI, and scored 45 runs.

In 1996, Jeremy Sassanella put up the following numbers. A .462 BA, 48 hits, 10 doubles, 9 HR, 34 RBI, and 33 runs scored.

Jimmy Long had a tremendous season in 1998 leading Dekalb to the semi-state championship game. He hit .475, had 56 hits, 9 doubles, 4 triples, 11 HR, 43 RBI, and 51 runs scored.

Most recently, in 2009, Zach Pfafman put a season for the ages. Zach hit .490, had 48 hits, 14 doubles, 7 HR, scored 30 runs, and had a whopping 51 RBI, a record that will not soon be broken.

Who’s season was the greatest? I’ll leave that for you to decide!

Dincoff & Rinehart Moving on to College Careers

This past Monday, we had the pleasure of welcoming Bri Rinehart and Rachel Dincoff to the Dekalb TV studio. We were conducting an interview for the Ben Davis Sportstalk Show.

Both just graduated from Dekalb High School this past June. Now that the calendar will shortly be turning to August, we wanted to have the chance to talk with both of them before they left for college to continue their sports careers.

Bri will be attending St. Francis University in Fort Wayne, while Rachel will be going to IPFW, also in Fort Wayne. Rinehart will be playing basketball, while Dincoff will be continuing her track and field career.

The thing that stood out for me while doing the interview was simply the fact that these two fine young women are such good friends. When scheduling the interview, I just wanted to have them both on the same show, not realizing how tremendously well that they get along.

As is typical with young people I’ve had the chance to do the show with, they were both nervous initially. but as the show went on, they got comfortable, and were laughing and telling some great stories.

Bri and Rachel both played four years of varsity basketball at Dekalb. Rachel also was a four year track participant, that culminated with her winning the state championship in the discus this past Spring.

Both certainly seemed to enjoy their careers at DHS. They told some good stories about their experiences, especially stories about playing for Dekalb girls basketball coach, Nick David.

From watching them play over the years, both Bri & Rachel were treemndous competitors who hated to lose. They worked hard throughout their playing days at Dekalb, and the results speak for themselves.

We talked about senior night this past season, when Bri & Rachel played for the final time on the home hardwood. It was a festive and fun filled evening, with senior player and parent introductions that started the evening, and then the game against Heritage.

Then, in the blink of an eye, the fun stopped. With four minutes to go in the game, Bri went hard to the floor while making a cut out on the left wing, and before she hit the floor, she was writhing in pain. A torn ligament in the knee, high school career over.

That’s all behind her now, as she is well on the way to recovery. She expects to play in the Fall.

The day after we did the interview, Rachel was heading to Baltimore to participate in a National track and field event.

As I told Bri & Rachel, it seemed like they had been around forever at DHS. Now that they have left, it is a void that will not be easily filled. Great luck to both of them, as their careers have been unique and enjoyable. They are forever, Dekalb Barons.

Dekalb’s Boys of Summer

Over the years, Dekalb High School has been the “breeding ground” for many baseball players who have gone on to play at the collegiate level, as well as the professional level.

Currently, Jarrett Grube, class of 2000, is playing at the AAA level with the Seattle Mariners. Since Jarrett graduated from Dekalb, there have been a number of players who have made their mark playing college baseball.

Some who come to mind from the 2000’s include Troy Krider, Scott Hartman, Kevin Carper, Joey Prebynski, Chris Hansen, Jimmy Long, Kyle Beckman, Lyndon Coleman, Adam Sanborn, Caleb Ehmke, Colton Miller, Jonathon Knowles, and Skyler Rottger to name a few.

On Tuesday night down in Fort Wayne, 4 ex-Dekalb players, all currently playing at the college level, found themselves competing in a game in the Fort Wayne over 18 Summer League.

Logan Sparkman, Zach Pfafman, Ethan Prebynski, & Jarrod Forrest

Zach Pfafman, who plays at Evansville, Logan Sparkman, playing at Oakland, and Ethan Prebynski, playing for Trine were playing on one team, while Jarrod Forrest, who plays at Bellarmine, was on the other team.

It was a good game that had some good pitching, some timely hits, and for the most part, some good defense.

It was just a lot of fun watching these guys compete, who for so many years I watched grow up and become solid baseball players, as well as good young men.

You know what the best part is? This Sunday, these same 2 teams hook up in a doubleheader up at Trine University in Angola, and I’ll have the opportunity to watch them compete not just for one game, but for two.

As the umpire likes to say, “PLAY BALL!!”

A Very Rough Night at the OK Corral (Dekalb Baseball Sectional)

For one brief moment after the game started on Monday afternoon, you might have thought to yourself that the Dekalb Barons were going to knock off the Columbia city Eagles in the semi-finals of the Class 4A baseball sectional.

Senior Ty Rottger had launched a 2 run moon shot in the top of the first inning to give Dekalb the early lead, some confidence, and the momentum.

In the mere blink of an eye, as it so often happens in America’s pastime, the Eagles got their first 2 aboard in the bottom of the first. Then pitcher and 3 hole hitter Connor Slavich unloaded a lunar shot of his own, and Columbia City never looked back as they defeated the Barons 13-2 in a game shortened to 5 innings due to the 10 run rule.

Dekalb could only muster 4 hits in the game, and they continually shot themselves in the foot when they did have the chance to do some damage.

Coach Chris Rhodes will lose a number of talented seniors from this years squad, including Nick McDonald, who could not play in the game against the Eagles as he sustained a broken wrist in practice on Friday.

In the championship game on Monday night, columbia City ran into a buzz-saw known as the Carroll Chargers, and were defeated by the same 13-2 score. With the win, Carroll has now won the sectional 3 years in a row.

Unsung Heroes Lead Barons to First Game Sectional Victory

On Thursday night, the Dekalb Barons, playing in their Dekalb Class 4A sectional baseball opener, came from 3 runs down to rally and overtake the Northrop Bruins, and win by a score of 7-6.

Dekalb fell behind by 3 runs after the first inning, and things weren’t looking good. The Barons were possibly flashing back to their regular season game with the Northrop, a game that the Bruins won 10-0.

With the win, the Barons will move into semi-final play on Monday, where they will be taking on the Columbia City Eagles at 12:30 pm. The Eagles won their first game over FW Snider by a score of 6-4.

But then, starting in the second inning, Dekalb had a number of unsung heroes step up, and when it was all said and done, the Barons were moving on in sectional play.

In that second inning, Ty Rottger got things going with a double, and that hit was his first of three on the evening. Dekalb plated 2 runs in that inning, and they trailed by 1 going to the third. Northrop added 2 more runs in the second, and the Barons trailed by 3 once again 5-2.

Dekalb then came to bat in the pivotal third inning. After Bayley Coleman scored to cut the lead to 2, junior second baseman Logan Schilling stepped to the plate and launched a three-run blast to left field that gave the Barons a lead they would not relinquish.

Senior shortstop Scott Day drilled a solo shot of his own in the top of the sixth inning to make it 7-5. It was a very important insurance run, as Northrop scored in the bottom of the sixth to make it a one run game, but they would get no closer.

Kudos must also go out to junior pitcher for Dekalb, Dylan Cagle. After giving up those 5 early runs, he settled down nicely and pitched a complete game.

If the Barons can get the win against Columbia City, they will play in the championship game on Monday night at 7:00 pm against the winner of Carroll and East Noble.