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Wilson takes on state’s best at IHSBCA North-South All-Star Series
Keifer Wilson had two choices for this weekend.
Head west to the WVFCA All-Star Game or northeast to the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches’ Association North-South All-Star Series this Saturday and Sunday at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion.
For the Olney Central-bound catcher, it was an easy choice in the end, spending his second-straight season at the showpiece event, last year as part of the junior showcase and now as a second-straight Tiger Cub in the North-South Series.
“It’s awesome,” Wilson said about being at the showcase last year and the North-South Series this season. “It shows all the work I put in since last season paid off.”
Wilson is one of 30 members of the South team and one of three catchers on the squad alongside Shelbyville’s Charlie Rife and Shakamak’s Oscar Pegg.
Players will practice on Friday and enjoy a banquet at the Roseburg Center before playing two games on Saturday and a wood bat game on Sunday in their high school uniforms to complete the weekend.
Wilson said a difference between years was that the juniors had the stress of showing off for college scouts while this weekend, the players are there primarily for the love of the game.
“A lot of the guys that are going to be there are going to be different than last year,” Wilson noted. “Last year was more of a showcase, a chance to show off our abilities as juniors for colleges to see.
“This year, it’s more about the games. Some guys might still be looking for college recognition but most of us have already committed or at least know where we’re going, so it’s a group of guys who enjoy the game and want to get together to play good baseball.”
While not having as many familiar faces in the lineup as Nick Sutherlin did last year, Wilson said the weekend was a chance to go out and enjoy playing the game.
“It’s just about having fun,” Wilson said. “I’m going to enjoy probably the last chance I’ll have to play with guys like Landon and the talent that we’ll have in the game.”
“I’m not saying college has any less talent but it’s likely the last I’ll see of the talent that is in my grade. All these guys are going to play in college, so you can rely on them as teammates more to make the routine plays.”
Being a catcher at the North-South Series means working with a talented roster of pitchers, 11 in total for the South team.
While a great honor, Wilson said there was a lot of work that needed to be done in a very short window of time.
“It’s really awesome but at the same time really difficult,” Wilson said. “Never having seen a guy before and going to catch him can be difficult.
“Last year, at the showcase, the first four pitchers were lefties who had good curveballs. I’ve caught a few before but not as many. It’s about adjusting to the pitcher as no one has the same pitch as another.
“Learning their game, learning what they like to throw and what the most effective pitch they have against the batter is what I’ll be trying to do in the short day-and-a-half I have with them,” Wilson added.
That makes spending time with Rife and Pegg all the more important to share information during the three days of work.
“I’ll talk to the other guys about their pitcher, what they like in a pitcher and learn about their game,” Wilson said. “I’ll put that next to my game and compare the two.”
While being rotated in-and-out would be part of the process, Wilson said Sunday’s game would be special not just because of the occasion but because it was a chance to represent Greencastle one final time.
“It’s amazing to be a part of because not many Greencastle players have been accepted to the game,” Wilson said about Sunday’s game. “Nick (Sutherlin) went last year but I can’t remember another names aside from his the last five or six years to be selected.
“Representing my hometown and school means everything to me.”
Saturday’s games begin at 12 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. while Sunday’s game starts at 1 p.m.