Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Adds Seven, Including Six Pitchers
August 04, 2015 | Baseball
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Ball State baseball team has added seven players to its roster this summer, including six pitchers. The Cardinals brought four transfers and three high school seniors on board for the 2016 season.
The team will welcome the following group to its crop of newcomers for the coming year:
TJ Harmon, RHP (Russiaville, Ind./McCutcheon)
Evan Korson, LHP, Middletown, Ohio (Lakota East/Northern Kentucky)
Kevin Marnon, LHP, Shelby Township, Mich. (Stevenson/Akron)
Nathan Scott, RHP, Wentzville, Mo. (Westminster Christian Academy)
Luke Whitfield, RHP, Berthoud, Colo. (Berthoud/Colby Community College)
Nick Zappala, RHP, Anthem, Ariz. (Boulder Creek)
Tyler Zimske, C/OF, Fort Wayne, Ind. (Homestead/Parkland College)
“These guys are all hungry to continue the winning tradition at Ball State, and we are excited to have them,” head coach Rich Maloney said. “They are extremely hard workers and good students. We were driven to create more competition on our pitching staff, so we went out and were able to land six pitchers who we feel will add great value to our team.”
TJ Harmon, RHP, 6-2, 207
Russiaville, Ind. (McCutcheon)
Harmon pitched and played both outfield and first base for coach Jake Burton at McCutcheon. He was an honorable mention all-conference selection and helped McCutcheon to a conference championship as a senior. He was limited on the mound because of injury in his final season, but he posted a .324 batting average and a .458 on-base percentage at the plate.
“TJ is a right-handed pitcher who throws in the upper 80s with a good breaking ball,” Maloney said. “We think he has a really good upside.”
Evan Korson, LHP, 6-1, 215
Middletown, Ohio (Lakota East/Northern Kentucky)
Korson joins the Cardinals after two seasons at Northern Kentucky, where he appeared in 30 games with nine starts. He logged a 5.84 ERA in 94 innings of work during his time with the Norse. Korson previously lettered two years at Lakota East for coach Ray Hamilton. He posted a 2.53 ERA for his high school career, helping his team to a pair of sectional championships and a district title.
“Evan is a left-hander who was in Northern Kentucky's starting rotation this past year,” Maloney said. “We think he can compete for a job in our rotation.”
Kevin Marnon, LHP, 6-7, 240
Shelby Township, Mich. (Stevenson/Akron)
Marnon pitched two seasons at East Tennessee State, appearing in 14 games, before transferring to Akron. He sat out last season but was projected for a larger role with the Zips in the coming year before Akron announced the elimination of its baseball program. Marnon lettered three years for coach Joe Emanuele at Stevenson, where he was an all-conference and all-county selection as a senior. He helped his team to a conference title and was selected for the Michigan High School All-Star Game.
“Akron was planning on having Kevin in the rotation next year, according to their coaches,” Maloney said. “He is a big left-hander who comes from the same area in Michigan as me. We are excited to have him competing for a spot in our rotation.”
Nathan Scott, RHP, 6-0, 185
Wentzville, Mo. (Westminster Christian Academy)
Scott lettered two years for coach Rich Van Gilst at Westminster, averaging 1.8 strikeouts per inning pitched over his career. He helped his team to a 60-11 record, two conference championships and a state title during his time with the program.
“Nathan is a right-hander from the St. Louis area who is throwing around 90 miles per hour,” Maloney said. “He is an extremely hard worker and very driven.”
Luke Whitfield, RHP, 6-0, 195
Berthoud, Colo. (Berthoud/Colby Community College)
Whitfield began his collegiate career as a reliever at Colby Community College in Kansas. He was part of Colby's super regional team in 2013 and then sat out the next season before returning to Colby's bullpen in 2015. He lettered three years for coach Buddy Kouns at Berthoud, where he was an all-conference selection.
“Luke has an outstanding breaking ball,” Maloney said. “We see him as a guy who can compete in the back end of games in a relief situation, which was a need of ours.”
Nick Zappala, RHP, 6-1, 190
Anthem, Ariz. (Boulder Creek)
Zappala lettered three years for coach Joe McDonald at Boulder Creek, where he finished his career second in school history for career wins and third for strikeouts. He posted a 7-3 record with a 2.35 ERA and six complete games as a senior. He was named to the all-section second team and was selected to compete in the Division I State All-Star Game.
“Nick is an extremely hard worker,” Maloney said. “He is a right-hander who throws three pitches for strikes and is very competitive.”
Tyler Zimske, C/OF, 6-1, 210
Fort Wayne, Ind. (Homestead/Parkland College)
Zimske spent one season at Parkland College in Illinois, where he posted a .368 batting average. He previously lettered three years for coach Steve Sotir at Homestead, where he was a first-team all-conference and all-area selection as a senior. He hit .360 with 12 doubles and four home runs in his final campaign, helping Homestead to conference and sectional championships. Zimske finished his career among the top five in the school's record books for runs scored, doubles and triples.
“Tyler is a hard-working player who has good potential with the bat,” Maloney said. “We look forward to having him join our program.”
The seven roster additions bring the Ball State baseball team's group of newcomers for next season to a total of 11. During the early signing period in November, the Cardinals picked up infielder/right-handed pitcher CJ Alexander (Fort Myers, Fla. /Bishop Verot), infielder Maverick Bacon (Waynetown, Ind./North Montgomery), right-handed pitcher Nick Floyd (Elkhart, Ind./Jimtown) and catcher Trent Theisen (Saline, Mich./Saline).
