Most teams have an ace of their pitching rotation. Crawfordsville baseball and their rich history of pitching often has two or more pitchers they can rely on. The 2023 season is no different for the Athenians. They’re led by the dynmaic duo of senior Cale Coursey and junior Kale Wemer. Cville already has two games under their belts (9-0 win vs Riverton Parke, ) and is currently down in Murfreesboro, TN to play four games in three days.
In that 9-0 win both Coursey and Wemer got off to a great start. The duo combined to pitch four innings where they gave up a single hit combined while striking out nine.
The work ethic that both Wemer and Coursey have put in to perfecting their craft has led them to be the dominant 1-2 punch for an Athenian team that always has high goals and apspirations.
“Both of these guys work year round on their craft,” Crawfordsville coach Brett Motz said. “Wemer has worked harder than any player that I’ve ever seen as a coach or even as a former player. He has such a dedication and commitment to the sport and will do whatever is necessary to improve. The same can be said for Coursey. He would come in to our workouts and put in the same commitment while still playing basketball this past winter. Ther”e’s a different level to both of them because they’re passionate about it.”
For Wemer his velocity on his fastball showed how special of a player he can be last year in his sophomore season. A year later its gotten even better. This past off-season he spent his time with ‘Top Velocity’. The program allowed him to hone his craft even further.
“It was really about dedicating myslef to what they were teaching me,” Wemer said. “I trusted what they were teaching me and then it came down to really working hard at it to get to where I am today.”
While the spring season with CHS is top priority for Wemer, this summer he’ll pitch for one of the top organizations in the state with the Indiana Bulls.
“It’s going to be great competition,” Wemer added of playing with the Bulls. “They’re a terrific organization and the main thing for me was to get my name out there more. I know getting to play with them will allow college coaches to see what I can do.”
Coursey moved into the Athenian program during his sophomore season and has instantly made an impact in his first two years, elevating himself to be the ace of the staff. The success that he’s had in previous two seasons as set him up to have what all believe will be his best season yet.
“That feeling of success is something that all pitchers crave I think,” Coursey said. “When you love baseball like I do, you want to continue to build off of that success. I was quickly taught the standard of what was expected to be a Crawfordsville pticher and felt like I had to go out there and make a name for myself. The biggest thing that I’ve gained from my coaches has been the confidence. Being confident in myslef everytime I step out on that mound is something that I’ve put at the top of my list.”
Both Coursey and Wemer have been able to been taught from longtime Athenian pitching coach Rhett Welliever. Welliever who has seen the likes of Trent Johnson, Cam Hobson, and Steven Rice and countless other Athenian pitchers go on to do great things. He thinks the same of both Coursey and Wemer.
“Both of these guys first and foremost are very coachable,” Welliever said. “They both work with all of our pitchers to make sure that everyone is getting better. When your top two guys buy in to what you’re teaching them, they go out and teach those younger guys the same things. Both of them have the chance to be at the very top of the pitchers that have come through the program. They’ve both worked so hard to even be in that position and go into each at-bat thinking they’re better than the hitter they’re facing.”
In 11 games last year, Wemer went 5-2 and struck out 74 batters in 45.1 innings to the tune of a 2.31 earned run average (ERA). Before suffering a season-ending thumb injury Coursey was just down right dominante going 5-0 in six starts while striking out 48 in 30 innings. His ERA was a stellar .700.
Both of them have set the tone for the entire Athenian pitching staff and look to lead CHS into another successful season by fooling opposing hitters on a routine basis.
