Locals Playing For The Love Of the Game

WINONA LAKE - When he can no longer play baseball, Josh Bailey says he'll take up the game of golf.

He then jokingly said it wouldn't be anytime soon because he doesn't want to ruin his swing.

The only swing the 28-year-old Bailey and his Warsaw Indians teammates care about right now is the one they have at the plate versus an opposing pitcher.

Wednesday evening, the Indians, a wooden bat team playing in the South Bend Amateur Baseball League, were at Grace College's Miller Field practicing for their four home games this weekend.

While the story of how each of the Indians players became involved in baseball may be different, for most of them the reason they're still involved is the same.

"A lot of guys when they get out of college want to continue to play," said 29-year-old John Edwards, a 1999 Grace College graduate who now sells insurance and who helped found the Warsaw Indians six years ago. "This is a great place for guys to keep playing. We're pretty good, and the league is very competitive."

The league is a member of the American Amateur Baseball Congress, and according to its Web site, aabc.us, is the largest amateur baseball organization in the United States for players above junior baseball age and the only amateur baseball program which provides progressive and continuous organized competition - sub-teens through adults.

When the Indians first became a team, they were a team in Goshen. The Indians won the championship three of the four years they played in the Goshen League, and when the team disbanded Edwards brought the team to Warsaw.

Six years later, here are the Indians, their roster loaded with former Grace College and Warsaw Community High School players.

A year ago, the Indians finished the season with a 24-14 record and were one win away from qualifying for regional competition. They'll take a 7-6 record into their four-game homestand this weekend.

The Indians host the Dugout Saturday for two games and the Patriots Sunday for two games.

All games will be played at Grace College's Miller Field. The first game each day is slated to start at 1 p.m.

Admission is free and the public is invited to attend.

"A lot of guys think this is a casual league," said Edwards, who plays pitcher, first base and second base. "They think if they were a pitcher 10 years ago they can be effective. That's not the case. The pitching in this league is good."

Last weekend, the Indians played a two-game set against the Portland Rockets, a team just outside of Ft. Wayne. The Rockets were loaded with players from Ball State University and Purdue University.

"It's very competitive, and we're out here playing for the love of the game," said Andy Manes, a 2000 Grace College graduate who now works for NatCity Investments and who along with Edwards and Bailey run the team. "It's a good place to play in the summer and it's a very competitive league."

Those that follow local sports will recognize the names of rostered players Gabe Koser, Geoff Walmer, Chris Nycz, Craig Lankford, Jeff Phillips and Hans Griepentrog.

All graduated from and were athletes at Warsaw Community High School.

Former Grace College players include Eric Gonzalez, Jeff Hamstra, Chris Gavranic, Edwards, Manes and Bailey, who is now the assistant baseball coach for the Lancers.

From Triton High School and Taylor University there's Mike Miller.

"It's a lot more loose, compared to high school," said Walmer, who played both baseball and basketball at WCHS and who will be a senior baseball player at Grace College next season. "It's still played the right way, and it's very competitive. It's hard to have everyone together because everyone has jobs, but when we're all together we're just as good as any of the other teams."

As far as practice goes, Koser, who after graduating from WCHS played one year of football at Butler University before transferring to Grace College, said the team gets together on Mondays and Wednesdays.

"We spend a lot of time in the (batting) cage," said Koser. "We won't get everyone here for every practice, it's hard to work around work, but we'll get in the cage and guys will work in the bullpen. The league is very competitive. The pitching is good. Sometime's we'll face a pitcher that throws in the lower 90s with a good curve ball. It's mostly college pitching."

While some of the Indians players have graduated college and some use the league to keep their skills strong for the next season, all of them are out there playing, as it was said time and time again Wednesday, "for the love of the game."