University of Southern Indiana Baseball announced the signing of six freshmen and three transfers in the 2018 early signing period. Of the eight student-athletes signed by USI and Head Coach Tracy Archuleta, four are from Indiana, two from Kentucky, one from Illinois and one from Colorado.

Selecting USI to continue their education and begin their collegiate baseball careers are right-handed pitcher Garrett Welch (New Castle, Indiana) right-handed pitcher Reece Kleinhelter (Jasper, Indiana), middle infielder Jacob Hartline (Herrin, Illinois), infielder Ethan Hunter (Terre Haute, Indiana), right-handed pitcher/outfielder Sam Mudd (Louisville, Kentucky) and right-handed pitcher Blake Graham(Morgantown, Kentucky). Transferring to USI to continue their baseball careers are right-handed pitcher Peter Wissel (New Castle, Indiana),right-handed pitcher Dalton Lewis (Parker, Colorado), and first baseman/catcher Jayden Beshears (Evansville, Indiana).

“We really needed to focus on bringing in talented arms for the 2018 season since we will be losing several quality arms,” Archuleta said. “Coach (Jeremy) Kuester and first year Graduate Assistant Coach Ryan Bertram have a very talented class coming in for next season.”

“The two NJCAA arms of Wissel and Lewis will be counted on to make an immediate impact next season on the mound, while Beshears adds a big bat to the line-up,” continued Archuleta. “The four high school arms of Graham, Welch, Kleinhelter and Mudd will compete for quality time on mound as well.”

“Mudd also has the ability to help us in the outfield, while the two infielders, Hartline and Hunter, give us the needed depth for the future,” concluded Archuleta.

Biographies of USI Baseball’s fall signees:

Beshears: The first baseman/catcher is in his second year at Olney Central College…batted .378 with four home runs and 37 RBIs as a freshman…a baseball and football letter winner at North High School (Evansville, Indiana)…was twice named All-Conference and All-City in baseball.

Welch: The right-handed pitcher had a 2.94 ERA in 29 innings pitched his junior year at New Castle High School (New Castle, Indiana) while also hitting .375…earned All-Conference and All-County honors his sophomore and junior years…helped the team win sectional championship freshman year…played for Indiana Bulls Black and also lettered in basketball.

Wissel: Transfer from Vincennes University…the right-handed pitcher was 6-7 at VU with a 4.86 ERA and 8.10 strikeouts per nine innings ratio in 2016…was a two-time first team All-State selection at Blue River Valley High School (New Castle, Indiana).

Kleinhelter: A right-handed pitcher from Jasper High School (Jasper, Indiana), where he lettered in baseball, football and swimming…also played for Ironmen Baseball Club.

Hartline: The middle infielder hit .390 as a sophomore and .380 as a junior at Herrin High School (Herrin, Illinois)…earned All-Conference, All-South region honors and was team MVP during his junior year…also lettered in football and basketball, helping football team win three conference championships and earning All-Conference honors.

Hunter: The infielder had a school-record .962 fielding percentage while also batting .368 to earn first team All-State in 2016 at Terre Haute South High School (Terre Haute, Indiana)…helped legion team win state championship in 2015 and regional and super regional championships in 2016.

Mudd: The outfielder and right-handed pitcher hit .444 in the state tournament to help St. Xavier High School (Louisville, Kentucky) win the 2016 state championship…earned Perfect Game Honorable Mention in 2016…also played football and for Ironmen Baseball Club.

Graham: A right-handed pitcher that led Morgantown High School (Morgantown, Kentucky) to a district championship in 2016…also lettered in football and basketball.

Lewis: Transfer from Trinidad State Junior College…the right-handed pitcher appeared in eight games, starting four, and had 10 strikeouts with a 1-0 record…lettered in football and baseball at Mountain Vista High School (Highlands Park, Colorado).

Innovative Equine Marketing, which provides manufacturer discounts to the horse world through its Equine Equipment program, is launching America’s first internships for college students interested in the field of race-track maintenance and getting on course to being a track superintendent.

Keeneland Association in Lexington, Ky., and Hollywood Gaming Mahoning Valley Race Course in Youngstown, Ohio, have been awarded the first Equine Equipment Track Internship scholarships for 2017. Seed money for the internships will be provided by Equine Equipment, which gets facilities and active participants in the horse industry leading discounts through local dealers on tractors, mowers and paint with best-selling brands such as Toro, Massey Ferguson, Exmark, FarmPaint and Challenger.

“This is just my idea to give back to the industry and to support the racing facilities and the tracks that support me,” said Innovative Equine Marketing founder Steve Andersen, a life-long racing enthusiast. “Maybe a University of Kentucky ‘ag’ student doesn’t want to work in soybeans, corn and tobacco. But he likes dirt, likes equipment and likes being outside. We want to give them the opportunity to see the wonderful world of being a track superintendent.”

Andersen is working with the University of Kentucky and Youngstown State University to provide candidates for the internships at Keeneland and Mahoning Valley. Keeneland track superintendent Javier Barajas and Mahoning Valley track superintendent R.J. Moore will then pick the recipients.

“Keeneland is excited to be able to offer this internship to introduce college students to race-track maintenance and encourage them to pursue a career as a track superintendent,” Barajas said. “With a dirt track, turf course and all-weather training track at Keeneland, a student will receive a unique opportunity to learn about the maintenance of three different surfaces.”

Mark Loewe, vice president for racing operations at Mahoning Valley, applauded a program that will give smart and motivated students the opportunity to learn under the direction of two of the best track superintendents in the business.

“It’s a great idea. As an industry I think we should be looking at more internships for other positions,” Loewe said. “Working race tracks is a science, certainly not something that anybody can walk in off the street and do. It’s a great idea if we can get some young people interested in it. And it’s a very interesting profession, to say the least.”

Other tracks can apply for a 2018 Equine Equipment Track Internship by contacting Andersen at steve@equineequipment.com or (877) 905-0004, as well as by seeing him and Equine Equipment’s display at the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program’s Dec. 5-7 Global Symposium on Racing and Gaming at Tucson’s Loews Ventana Canyon Resort.

“These guys are the hardest-working guys on the track,” Andersen said of track superintendents. “There are many of them working the track all night long so it doesn’t freeze. It’s not a question of ‘What time are you coming home?’ It’s ‘Are you coming home tonight?’ They’re often expected to hold equipment together with fishing line, duct tape and gum and hope it holds up because they’re not going to get the budget to do or buy more. And sometimes it’s ‘Don’t spend too much on the gum.’

“It’s a tough business, and track supers have to fight to get the equipment they need and get the very best value and take care of it. They have to appease the horsemen and appease management.”