Category Archives: Titans baseball

Community invited to help select the city’s best hot wings, support Ivy Tech Titans baseball

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DETAILS:
At Titans Home Runs & Hot Wings, Ivy Tech Community College’s Fort Wayne Campus and the northeast Indiana community is invited to have a sample of hot wings from around the city to pick their best. Tickets come with wing samples, beer, and a tater tot bar. All fund raised will go to the Ivy Tech Titans baseball team.

First Base tickets are $35 and come with two wings from each competitor, two drink tickets, and the all-you-can-eat tater tot bar. Home Run tickets are $55 and include the wings and tot bar, plus a VIP beer pass.

Visit titans.ivytech.edu to learn more and purchase tickets.

WHEN:
6 to 9 p.m. June 14

8 p.m.: Best wings announced

WHERE:
Ivy Tech Community College’s Fort Wayne Campus
Steel Dynamics, Inc. Keith E. Busse Technology Center
3701 Dean Drive
Fort Wayne, IN 46835

Student athlete’s design selected for new Titans T-shirts

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This semester, Ivy Tech Community College’s Fort Wayne Campus hosted a contest to create a T-shirt design for the Ivy Tech Titans baseball program. The contest was open to all students, and a selection committee chose a design by Tyler Rickert, a business administration student who graduated from Leo Junior/Senior High School. He is also a catcher for the Titans baseball team.

 

Rickert has received a $250 scholarship from the Ivy Tech Foundation for his spring 2018 classes.

Ivy Tech’s Fort Wayne Campus hosted a contest to choose a new Titans T-shirt design. A selection committee chose the design by Tyler Rickert, an Ivy Tech business administration student and a catcher for the Titans. He received a $250 scholarship for his design. From left: Jim Papagiannis, assistant director of Resource Development; Rickert; and Christina O’Brien, director of Student Life.

 

The Titans are undefeated during their fall ball exhibition play and will begin their first official season this spring. Titans apparel, including shirts with Rickert’s design, is available for purchase now through Dec. 6 online at IvyTechEmpApparel.itemorder.com.

 

If you are interested in supporting the Titans baseball program in other ways, visit impact.IvyTech.edu.

 

Inside Ivy Tech: Beethoven-themed fundraising gala brings in more than $90k

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The night belonged to German composer Ludwig van Beethoven, as well as his many admirers.

In its sixth year, A Reason to Taste–the largest annual fundraising event for Ivy Tech Community College’s Fort Wayne Campus–was influenced by German classical music and cuisine. The charitable gala raised more than $90,000 on Oct. 28.

Donations to the Ivy Tech Foundation came through corporate sponsorships, silent and live auctions, and individual donations and benefited student scholarships, academic programs, and the Ivy Tech Titans Baseball Program. (The Ivy Tech Titans is a self-supported intercollegiate athletics baseball team that will begin formal play in the spring).

“I asked one of the donors after, did she have fun,” says Margaret Sturm, executive director of Resource Development. “She was at a table where she didn’t know anyone. She said, ‘You don’t need to know anyone because we’re all here for the same reason. It’s for the students, so everybody has something in common.’”

Students who won the European Competition at Ivy Tech’s Fort Wayne Campus in January created the menu and prepared the dinner for A Reason to Taste guests on Oct. 28.

At A Reason to Taste: Moonlight Sonata, guests were entertained by Beethoven’s compositions, and they enjoyed a multi-course menu prepared by students in Hospitality Administration who won an opportunity to study culinary arts in France and Germany this spring. Those students were winners of the College’s European Competition, hosted in January. They created the fundraiser’s menu based on their trip, and they cooked the dinner at the fundraiser.

Linda Jackson of Fort Wayne’s NBC emceed the event, which was hosted at Parkview Health’s Mirro Center for Research and Innovation. Donna Packnett, a community volunteer who has worked with A Reason to Taste since its inception, won the evening’s Ivy Award, which is presented to someone who exhibits outstanding community service and leadership in northeast Indiana.

Next year’s event is tentatively scheduled for mid-October. Those who are interested in sponsorship opportunities and/or serving on next year’s planning committee can contact Sturm at msturm7@ivytech.edu or 260-480-2010. Donations to this year’s total can still be made at IvyTech.edu/reason.

Thompson and Nance

Approximately 220 guests were entertained by Emily Thompson and Robert Nance, who played a variety of Beethoven’s late 18th- and early 19th-century compositions.

VIDEOS
Check out two videos broadcast at the event and featured on the College’s YouTube channel:

  • Lawrence Davis and Lydia Yaste are two of eight students who won the Chopped-style European Competition at Ivy Tech Fort Wayne in January. They traveled to France and Germany to study the culinary arts with the other winners. Based on the trip, the group helped create the menu for A Reason to Taste: be/MZY3opNm_9Q
  • Hospitality Administration chair Jeff Albertson and Richard Owens, a student in the program, talk about Grasshopper, the College’s food truck. A portion of the money raised at A Reason to Taste will benefit the food truck’s operation: be/5uLilHmlwPQ

SPONSORS
Presenting sponsor: Parkview Health

Reception sponsor: Plumbers & Steamfitters Local Union 166

Beverage sponsor: Calhoun Street Soups, Salads, & Spirits

Corporate sponsors: 80/20, Inc., Auburn Gear, BFGoodrich, Barnes & Thornburg, LLP, Brooks Construction Company, Inc., Fort Wayne Metals, Greater Fort Wayne Inc., Hagerman Construction Group, Ivy Tech Foundation, The James Foundation, Inc., Kelley Automotive, Lincoln Financial Foundation, PNC Bank, Questa Foundation, STAR Financial Bank, Sweetwater Sound, Whitley Manufacturing Co., Inc.

Media sponsor: Fort Wayne’s NBC

Event partners: A Party Apart, Armstrong Flowers, Cap ‘n Cork, Coplin Piano Service, Schrader Real Estate and Auction Co.

Entertainment: Emily Thompson, violin; Robert Nance, piano

Inside Ivy Tech: Hall of Famer selected to helm Ivy Tech Titans baseball

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Ivy Tech’s Fort Wayne Campus has hit a home run, launching a successful intercollegiate men’s baseball program with a 13-0 record during fall exhibition play and securing National Junior College Athletic Association Division II status.

The College announced its team intent with the Ivy Tech Titans at a press conference in late spring and named Lance Hershberger as head coach, a well-respected baseball figure in northeast Indiana.

Inducted into the Northeast Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 2017, Hershberger has several years of coaching experience at many levels of play, including the Wildcat Baseball Organization; Concordia, Bishop Luers, and Bishop Dwenger high schools; and Indiana Tech. At Indiana Tech, his teams appeared in five consecutive National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics World Series from 1998 to 2002.

“Under Lance’s leadership, Titans Baseball will provide a new opportunity for Ivy Tech students in northeast Indiana, allowing them to develop their potential on the field and in the classroom, as they prepare for their future,” says Jerrilee K. Mosier, chancellor of Ivy Tech’s Fort Wayne Campus.

The Titans roster consists of 26 full-time students, who began exhibition play at Shoaff Park in September. The College is providing these student-athletes with the opportunity to compete at an intercollegiate level, while also focusing on their academic studies at Indiana’s most affordable college, which makes the opportunity and experience more accessible for regional athletes.

“Fall ball is important for any college baseball program. It’s even magnified for a new program,” Hershberger says. “I liked what I saw, based on our 13-0 record, as our players got their feet on firm ground.”

The baseball program is being supported solely through sponsorships, private donors, and fundraising efforts at the College. Several donors have already made pledges to the program, such as Indiana Representative Bob Morris. Currently, the College is crowdfunding for student scholarships, and more than $18,000 has been raised to date. Donations are still being accepted to the Ivy Tech Titans Baseball Program.

The Titans face Sinclair Community College of Dayton, Ohio, during the team’s spring opener on Feb. 27.

College will begin men’s intercollegiate baseball program

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Ivy Tech Community College Northeast announced this morning it will begin an intercollegiate men’s baseball program at its Fort Wayne campus. The College has been exploring the process of becoming a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II team and has submitted a letter of intent to the association.

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The College named Lance Hershberger as head coach, a well-respected baseball figure of northeast Indiana. He began recruitment efforts for the inaugural team earlier this spring. In June, Hershberger will be named to the Northeast Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame. He is currently the Executive Director of Community Impact Zone and has many years of coaching experience at many levels of play, including Indiana Tech, Concordia High School, Bishop Luers, Bishop Dwenger, and the Wildcat Baseball Organization. At Indiana Tech, his teams appeared in five consecutive NAIA World Series from 1998 to 2002. (see provided detailed biography)

State Representative Bob Morris has been involved in making this become reality, and his commitment and vision to help get the program started is an example of his support of Ivy Tech furthering the future of northeast Indiana and the state.

“Under Lance’s leadership, Titans Baseball will provide a new opportunity for Ivy Tech students in northeast Indiana, allowing them to develop their potential on the field and in the classroom, as they prepare for their future,” says Ivy Tech Northeast Chancellor Jerrilee K. Mosier.

Ivy Tech Northeast will be able to provide student athletes the opportunity to compete at an intercollegiate level while also focusing on their academic studies at Indiana’s most affordable college, which makes the opportunity and experience more accessible for regional athletes.

 

Head Coach Lance Hershberger (left) with Ivy Tech’s first commit, Alec Agler, from Northrop High School
Titans Baseball mark

 

Ivy Tech Northeast’s Titan baseball program will play and practice outdoors at Shoaff Park, which is home to Bishop Dwenger High School. Winter training programs and practice will be at Strikezone Training Center. The use of Strikezone is being provided to Ivy Tech Northeast at no cost thanks to the local non-profit organization Community Impact Zone.

The baseball program will be supported solely through sponsorships, private donors, and fundraising efforts at the College. Several donors have already made pledges to the program, such as Representative Bob Morris, who is a proud supporter of this new venture at Ivy Tech Northeast. Currently, the College is crowdfunding for student scholarships and more than $12,000 has been raised to date. Donations to the Ivy Tech Titans Baseball program can be made at impact.ivytech.edu.

For additional information about NJCAA, visit www.njcaa.org.

A few years ago, Ivy Tech Northeast’s Student Government Association and Campus Activities Board voted to name the Fort Wayne campus mascot “Titans” for the club basketball and soccer programs.


About Lance Hershberger

Lance was born and raised in Fort Wayne and has lived in Fort Wayne his entire life, other than a short stint in Kansas City after college. Lance played Little League for PAL at the Fraternal site first behind WANE-TV and then at the Elks Country Club (his dad was president of the league when they built the field at the Elks and moved). He also played Wildcat Baseball at Franke Park, where he credits his Wildcat coach there, Mark Henry, with keeping alive his passion for the game even when he wasn’t “very good.” He went on to play in high school, junior college (team was ranked in NJCAA and went to the JC World Series), and four-year college. Lance then moved back to Fort Wayne, where he played for Leo and Joe Ochoa on the Blackie’s Corral / La Margarita, Stan Musial teams. He played on the Blackie’s team that was the first Stan Musial Team from the city of Fort Wayne to win the Stan Musial State Title.

Lance began his baseball coaching career at Bishop Luers as an assistant coach in 1982. In 1984, Coach Hershberger was named the fourth head baseball coach at Bishop Dwenger High School. In 1986, the Saints went 27-4, finishing the regular season with 17 straight wins and ranked sixth in the state (still in a single-class format). Coach Hershberger was named IHSBCA Regional Coach of the Year and The Journal Gazette Regional Coach of the Year. His 1987 Dwenger team was ranked 2nd in the state preseason and went on to win a sectional championship before losing in the regional championship.

During this time coaching baseball, Lance was also a teacher, a high school basketball coach for 13 years, and a long-time Wildcat Baseball League Director at Hamilton Park in Fort Wayne. In 1988, Coach Hershberger was featured for his work in both an article on the Wildcat League in Sports Illustrated magazine and an Assignment America segment on NBC Nightly News.

In 1990, Coach Hershberger started the baseball program at Indiana Tech. The Warriors showed steady improvement by increasing their victory totals each year until winning the NAIA Great Lakes Sectional and qualifying for the regional for the first time in 1996. From 1998 to 2002, Coach Hershberger’s teams won five consecutive Great Lakes Regional and Super Regional tournaments, qualifying for the NAIA World Series each of those years. These consecutive World Series appearances are more than any other Indiana college team on any level. The 1998 Indiana Tech team lost in the NAIA Championship, finishing as National Runner-up. Their second place finish along with St. Joseph’s NCAA Division II runner-up finish that same year (Indiana Tech beat St Joe 7-6 that year in a regular season game) are the highest finishes by Indiana college baseball teams in a national tournament. The 2000 Indiana Tech team finished third in the NAIA World Series.

During Coach Hershberger’s 13 years at Indiana Tech, he was named NAIA Great Lakes Sectional Coach of the Year, Wolverine-Hoosier Conference Coach of the Year four times, and NAIA Great Lakes Regional Coach of the Year four times. He also served a term as NAIA Great Lakes Regional Chairman and as an associate scout for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Under Coach Hershberger’s guidance, the Warrior Program progressed from one with no baseball facilities at all, to one that included a stadium and indoor facility. Eight former players of Coach Hershberger went on to play professional baseball. Numerous players went on to coach high school and college baseball, including Division I baseball. Coach Hershberger has won more than 600 games at the high school and college level. Coach Hershberger has served in other baseball related capacities in the Fort Wayne area. He has overseen the building or refurbishing of many baseball diamonds in the area. He founded the YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne / Coach Pitch Baseball Program. He served a term as President of the Summit City Sluggers travel baseball organization. He currently oversees the diamonds at Summit Middle School and Indian Trails Park for the Aboite Township Trustee. Coach Hershberger has coached teams from 4 year-olds in the Y coach pitch through college players who have gone on to be professional players. Lance has a daughter, Maddie (17), and a son, Grant (15).

Assistant coaches

  • Connor Wilkins: All-SAC catcher at Concordia High School; played at Indiana Tech; previous assistant coach at Northrop High School
  • Dru Sebastian: Played at Blackhawk Christian High School; played at Owens Community College; was a pitcher at IPFW
  • Todd Armstrong: Played at DeKalb High School; has been an assistant coach or head coach for various high school and collegiate teams; currently works with Summit City Sluggers
  • Mark DeLagarza: Founder of Summit City Sluggers travel baseball organization; was assistant coach at Manchester University and head coach at Southern Wells High School