11 minute read
Sports
LEAVING THEIR FOOTPRINT
Fifth-year first baseman Trenton Quartermaine runs to first base in a game against Bowling Green March 20 at First Merchant’s Ball Park Complex. Quartermaine had two runs during the game.
AMBER PIETZ, DN
Four of Ball State Baseball’s nine fifth-year seniors reflect on their growth as leaders and people during their time as Cardinals.
Kyle Smedley
Reporter
Chase Sebby. John Baker. Will Baker. Kyle Nicolas. Chayce McDermott. Drey Jameson.
Adam Christianson. Nick Powell. Trenton Quartermaine. Tyler Ruetschle.
Two crops of leaders. One program.
Christianson, Powell, Quartermaine and Ruetschle each expressed their disappointment toward last season’s omission from a NCAA Regional bid after placing second in the Mid-American Conference, the slot Ball State Baseball has finished in three of the last four seasons. Whether it be leading by example with their on-field play or taking younger players under their wings, all four players have emphasized stepping up as leaders for the Cardinals as they conclude their final year with the program.
“Being able to be a part of such a special team that didn’t end up getting rewarded taught us a lot about dealing with failure, dealing with things that you can control and dealing with things you can’t control,” Ruetschle, fifthyear pitcher, said. “I think that’s probably the biggest life lesson I’ve taken away this year.”
- NICK POWELL, Ball State Baseball fifth-year outfielder
The student-athletes are four of nine fifth-year seniors on the Cardinal roster, along with five seniors. Powell, fifth-year outfielder, said he wants to make a positive impression on Ball State’s young players before he hangs up the red, white and black. “The guys who leave always talk to you about leaving your impact, leaving your footprint on the program,” Powell said. “[I’m] talking to the freshmen and trying to help them so that next year, when I’m not here, they’re still performing at a high level, and representing Ball State.”
Through playing video games such as “Call of Duty” and “Madden NFL” together, as well as going out to eat during their free time, Powell and his teammates have stayed connected and formed relationships off the diamond. He said he believes the team’s culture is the most relaxed since he arrived at Ball State.
Ruetschle credited Ball State head coach Rich Maloney for creating an environment he’s never experienced before and said success comes from different levels.
“There’s a lot of different responsibilities and the game of baseball is the same, but the lifestyle and just the way of life is different,” Ruetschle said. “I think that coach has done such a good
When you’re playing baseball, it gets tough, because it’s a mental game. When you’re playing with confidence, you’re a much better player, so I tell pitchers to throw with conviction and position players to go out there and play with no fear. You can’t be scared to make an error. You can’t be scared to strike out. You can’t be scared to mess up.”
- ADAM CHRISTIANSON,
Ball State Baseball fifth-year catcher
job of breeding a culture where there’s no hierarchy from class, and we have plenty of freshmen who have impacted the game.”
When Christianson first came into the program in fall 2019, he was behind 2019 MAC Defensive Player of the Year and former catcher Chase Sebby. While he hasn’t always been a leader, Christianson said, he was able to grow from his experience at Illinois Central College from 2018-19 and learn from Sebby, who he considers his mentor. Christianson started in 15 combined games during the 2020 and 2021 seasons before starting most of Ball State’s regularseason games in 2022.
“Adam Christianson waited his turn behind Chase Sebby,” Maloney said. “He never complained but kept working, and now, he is making the most of his opportunity.”
As a catcher, Christianson said he knows everything happening during games and leads the pitchers throwing to him by creating one-on-one relationships. Christianson said he recognizes that playing and leading with confidence is essential to Ball State’s success.
“When you’re playing baseball, it gets tough, because it’s a mental game,” Christianson said. “When you’re playing with confidence, you’re a much better player, so I tell pitchers to throw with conviction and position players to go out there and play with no fear. You can’t be scared to make an error. You can’t be scared to strike out. You can’t be scared to mess up.”
During his freshman and sophomore seasons, Powell said he wished he understood that it’s OK to fail. He credited his effort to building relationships with his teammates and self-growth in confidence to his success.
“Building up those relationships builds your confidence, builds your leadership skills, your communication — it all trickles down and everything,” Powell said. “You’re more confident and you play better. You play faster. You do everything better.”
Quartermaine, fifth-year first baseman, said the three years he’s spent at Ball State have been the best years of his life. From the teammates he plays with to the coaches he plays for, he said the Cardinals feel like a family, and those staying in the program or coming in the future shouldn’t take the game for granted.
“It’s bigger than us, and there’s a lot of players that came before us that we’re playing for,” Quartermaine said. “Don’t take plays off.”
Christianson, Powell, Ruetschle and Quartermaine arrived at Ball State as non-starters who looked up to previous upperclassmen and eventually grew into leaders. Now, sitting second in the MAC, the Cardinals are hunting for a MAC regular-season title.
Christianson is a biology major and said he’s thinking about moving into medical sales in the future, but this summer, he has a job at a warehouse in Peoria, Illinois, that holds race car parts. Powell said he is working toward his master’s in accounting and is studying to take the Certified Public Accountant Exam, something he said is tough to balance with academics and baseball but is teaching him timemanagement skills.
Ruetschle graduated with a business administration degree in spring 2021 and is working on obtaining a coaching certificate. However, he said he has interest in video media, something he’s had experience in for the past three years. Quartermaine is working on securing his master’s in marketing this summer and is currently coaching a 17U travel baseball team for Between the Lines Academy in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Maloney said all four fifth-year student-athletes have not only grown as players but also human beings over the course of their Ball State careers.
“These four guys and others have been a joy to coach and watch them grow from young men into young adults,” Maloney said. “They are our glue.”
Contact Kyle Smedley with comments via email at kyle. smedley@bsu.edu or on Twitter @smedley1932
Junior pitcher Tyler Ruetschle pitches the ball March 28, 2021, at First Merchants Ballpark Complex. The Cardinals won 8-7 against the Rockets. JADEN WHITEMAN, DN FILE Fifth-year catcher Adam Christianson hits the ball in a game against Bowling Green March 20 at First Merchants Ballpark Complex. Christianson had four RBI’s during
the game. AMBER PIETZ, DN
Corbin Hubert
Reporter
Books. Pencils. Whiteboards.
All three items are present in classrooms and used by teachers and students to learn, but educators plan their lessons and days outside the classroom.
Ball State Cross Country and Track and Field senior runner Emma Cunningham gained this perspective fi rsthand growing up from her mother, who she witnessed plan lessons.
“My mom is a preschool teacher and has been since I was 2, so that is all I remember her doing,” Cunningham said. “It was always fun to watch her prep for her lessons.”
Cunningham is fi nishing her major in elementary education. She decided to attend Ball State to pursue being a teacher, like her mother. Ball State offers around 180 majors along with 18 intercollegiate sports, allowing for student-athletes to explore and create their own experiences.
Cunningham narrowed on elementary education because of her background in helping her classmates and peers. Having formed many relationships in school before attending Ball State, she said she associates school with positive memories and took several opportunities to help younger kids as she grew older.
In high school, Cunningham took advantage of an opportunity to coach gymnastics, which reinforced her love of helping people. She said it was one of her “favorite things ever” because of how much she loved working with kids and being in a school setting. At 15 years old, Cunningham also volunteered with summer camps for gymnastics.
“I found that I was really good at it,” Cunningham said. “I always got really good feedback, and even though I was young and inexperienced, it came really naturally to me.”
As she grew older, Cunningham coached older kids and said her teaching performance comes from her ability to explain things clearly for people who may not understand. She credits her time as a gymnastics coach as the moment she experimented with different strategies in different age groups to see how they learn and respond.
As a student-athlete, Cunningham sees herself as a more relatable fi gure for those she coaches and works with as a student teacher in her third-grade classroom in Muncie Community Schools (MCS).
“Some of them are old enough to understand what track is, and some of them even run track for the elementary school’s track team,” Cunningham said. “I feel like it makes me a little bit more relatable and a bit cool.” Some of them are old enough to understand what track is, and some of them even run track for the elementary school’s track team. I feel like it makes me a little bit more relatable and a bit cool.”
- EMMA CUNNINGHAM,
Ball State Cross Country and Track and Field senior runner
As Cunningham participates in student-teaching, athletics and classes, Ball State Track and Field head coach Adrian Wheatley said her ability to balance several commitments simultaneously is what makes her stand out.
“The exciting thing about Emma is that she brings a competitive mindset and energy to training sessions while being in the school of education and student-teaching, which is not an easy thing to do,” Wheatley said.
Like Cunningham, Ball State Softball senior outfi elder Faith Hensley also experienced a lifechanging moment that led her to choose a double major in premedical preparation and biology. Instead of inside a gymnastics studio, though, Hensley made her discovery in a doctor’s offi ce.
“I was a competitive gymnast [when I was younger] in addition to playing softball and also very clumsy, so I was always getting hurt,” Hensley said. “I broke around 12 bones when I was a kid, and a lot of the time, doctors did not understand me or what it was like being a gymnast.”
After several bouts of wrist injuries prevented her from participating in gymnastics, Hensley went to see Roger Cornwall, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital pediatric hand and upper extremity surgeon. That visit was the spark that ignited Hensley’s desire to serve in the medical fi eld.
“I remember he explained so well to me what my injury was, how to heal it and my limitations [with the injury],” Hensley said.
Since the visit, Hensley has remained intrigued by science and became obsessed with knowing what made everything work, making her decision on a college major easier.
Earlier in her collegiate career, Hensley shadowed Michael C. Albert, Dayton Children’s Hospital chief in the division of pediatric orthopaedics, and Kate. E Berz, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital pediatric sports medicine physician. Both experiences offered Hensley a new perspective on doctors.
“It was a really cool experience to follow [Dr. Albert and Dr. Berz] and see their everyday lives and what they do and how they navigate problems,” Hensley said.
Hensley thinks her time with Ball State Softball, which will continue into the 2023 season due to COVID19-related NCAA eligibility rules, has prepared her mentally for her professional future post-graduation.
“The team-building and leadership skills that you acquire from the grind that is sports prepares you thoroughly for dealing with and solving problems once you enter the workforce,” Hensley said.
Contact Corbin Hubert with comments at cchubert@bsu.edu or on Twitter @corbin_hubert_.
- FAITH HENSLEY,
Ball State Softball senior outfi elder LOOKING FOR A JOB IN
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH?
WE’RE HIRING!
Open positions include: Case Managers, Therapists, CMAs, Nurses, School-based Facilitators, and more!
Only 30 minutes from downtown Cincinnati!
GREAT BENEFITS
• Flexible schedules • Generous paid time off • Public loan repayment opportunities • Tuition reimbursement • 401K match
