Marysville’s Blake Storr raps a base hit during a game from his 2019 senior season. Storr’s first spring season at Indiana Wesleyan University was halted early due to the coronavirus. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
Marysville High School graduate Blake Storr started his spring collegiate baseball career with a bang earlier this year.
The remainder of the campaign, however, grounded into an early season-ending out due to COVID-19.
Storr, a 2019 MHS graduate, started his spring freshman season with Indiana Wesleyan University in February.
He hit .338 as a Monarch senior a year ago and continued that hot pace once IWU’s spring season began.
The former Monarch owned a .371 batting average before the Wildcats’ campaign was shut down after only 19 games and with a 10-9 record.
Storr played in 11 of those contests, with 10 of them going as starts in the infield.
He recently talked to the Journal-Tribune via telephone about college baseball and the fact his first season ended on an abrupt note.
“College baseball is a lot different from high school,” said Storr.
“The pace of play is so much faster and everyone on the team was the top player in his home town,” he said. “The guys are also better athletes.”
Even so, Storr, who is studying youth ministry, was able to keep up with the pace.
“I got to play more as our fall season progressed and I adjusted to the pace of play,” he said. “I think I’ve made a pretty good adjustment so far.”
The early end to the spring season, however, has been disappointing.
“We had a great group of guys on this team and we were all very close,” said Storr. “It’s disappointing we couldn’t play a full season.”
Although the Wildcats won’t be able to live out the type of season they could have had, Storr said the shutdown will actually help him.
“I’m going to work with the weights as much as I can,” he said. “You really can’t do that during the season.
“I’m doing that at home and also dealing with my footwork,” he said. “I’m still a little slow for a college infielder and also as far as beating out infield hits while batting.
“I’ve got to work to get quicker and become more agile and flexible,” said Storr. “I feel that will help me get ready for my sophomore season.
“I’ll be in pretty good shape when I return to school next fall.”
Storr is completing his workouts along with his on-line studies from home as his freshman year comes to an end.
“The on-line classes have been an adjustment, but we’ve had Zoom meetings that are still structured,” he said. “We can’t have any classes with our professors, but I’m in contact with them daily.”
Storr’s sophomore season at Indiana Wesleyan may also feel a little more like home than his frosh campaign.
“Andrew (MHS senior Van Hoose) is going to be coming in here next year,” he said. “He’s also going to be my roommate.”
College baseball players often find teams on which to play as a way to maintain their skills once classes dismiss for the summer.
Storr, though, hasn’t really thought that far ahead.
“I don’t have any summer baseball plans right now,” he said, “I’m just working on my own game as much as I can.”