'I'm excited for these kids': Inside Eastern Greene baseball's revitalization this spring

C.J. Shelton is an important connection in the revival of Eastern Greene baseball.

He was a player back when the T-Birds regularly had winning records and competed for conference and sectional titles. Years later, he was on Wes Arthur's staff and took over when Arthur moved on, providing a face familiar with the program and the players.

"I was here when that big freshman group came in," Shelton said of this year's juniors. Like with football and basketball, they were thrown into the varsity fire right away and it's been a tough learning process to go through.

"It was a little bit different. This year, things are a little bit more, since we've had a lot more success, they know what they're capable of. I definitely think that ties into a lot of things. There's a lot more grittiness, a lot more intensity, a lot of confidence."

And a lot of winning. Eastern Greene was 12-4 heading into a Wednesday game against Bloomington North, already more than last year's total of 11 and the best since 2014. Gone, too, are the blowout losses. Seven times last year, the T-Birds fell by six runs or more.

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T-Birds keeping heads above water

Eastern started this season with a 6-3 loss to Loogootee, then went on an eight-game win streak. Two of the three defeats since then are to two state-ranked SWIAC opponents, Shakamak and Bloomfield, by 2-0 scores.

The Cardinals saw lefty ace Boone Holtsclaw, son of the former Bloomfield head coach, toss a perfect game for 6 ⅔ innings before settling for a no-hitter. But the T-Birds stung the ball several times only to see a Bloomfield glove in the way. Will Inman was the tough-luck loser while Gavin Whitfield finished up with two clean innings, helping himself by snagging a bunt to start a double play, one of two EG turned on the day.

"We prepared for Boone for a couple days," Shelton said. "We were ready for him. We were on time for everything, just a couple balls that obviously went right at them. They played us pretty well and there's a couple situations where I could have performed a little bit better.

"But outside that, Will pitched a really good game, nice to see for a kid we've been trying to develop as an ace since he came here freshman year. Defensively, I couldn't have asked for better. It happens. Last year, we got no-hit by Brett Sherrard (now at Butler) but that was a lot different, a lot of strikeouts, not a lot of balls in play."

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It's a new feeling, to see teams in SWIAC play pulling out their aces, knowing the older T-Birds are now a threat. They've had seven games decided by three runs or fewer, so they are learning how to win pitcher's duals, where execution, moving the runner over and playing clean defense make all the difference.

"I'm still learning there," Shelton said. "Last year, we didn't play in a lot of tight games like this, so these are the games when the coaches get the spotlight, so I have to make sure I'm putting the kids in the right positions. I'm doing a lot better with that."

Eastern fielding a deep lineup

He's starting to settle on a top pitching rotation, with Inman (3-2, 2.15 ERA, 24K, 26IP), Whitfield (1-1, 7.33, 19K), Jacob Bellman (4-0, 2.25, 20K) and reliever Kasen Cullison (11K, 7IP).

"Will is doing really well," Shelton said. "Last year, he got lit up a lot but I told him he would be pitching a lot more this year and I think that gave him confidence. He knows he's pitching big games now. He knows his role and I think he's taken to that."

Inman is also the team's top batter at .415 with 17 RBIs and six doubles. Kullison is next at .400 with 14 RBIs then Bellman (.381, 13 RBIs), Peyton Lewis (.380, 3 HR, 13 RBIs), and Jack Rees (.333, 13 RBIs). All are juniors. In all, nine T-Birds have at least 10 runs driven in, so it's always a team effort on offense.

Shelton has put a lot of emphasis on hitting, including situational hitting this season. They want to control their own destiny and that includes making a run at the sectional title. A tough rematch with Linton awaits, then one of the Knox County squads if the opener works in their favor.

It makes a big difference these days that the T-Birds expect to win and are confident in how to make that happen.

"When Wes left, that's why I took this role," Shelton said. "I want them to be comfortable as much as possible. I think that helped them transition through the couple years that I've had."

Bigger crowds and bigger smiles at every home game behind the old high school are turning into a field of dreams.

"It definitely warms my heart," Shelton said. "I was a part of the team the last time it was successful, and seeing a lot more people, other graduates coming back to see a big game, I'm definitely excited for these kids."

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: 'I'm excited for these kids': Inside Eastern Greene baseball's revitalization this spring