Home, sweet home
For Brian Warheit and Aaron Ordy, a home team means staying home.
The 2007 Butler graduates have signed to play for the Butler BlueSox in the team's inaugural 2009 Prospect League season at Pullman Park this summer.
Warheit is a sophomore pitcher at Seton Hill University in Greensburg while Ordy is a sophomore shortstop at California (Pa.)University.
Both were teammates last summer for The Baseball Academy, a Tri-State Collegiate Baseball League team based in Robinson Township.
"I was planning on going to Virginia or North Carolina to play ball next summer,"Ordy said. "When I found out about the BlueSox, my college coach talked to (Sox majority owner)Leo Trich about it.
"Leo called me, we talked about it and I'm excited about staying home. Now my family can come to the games."
Ordy batted .413 with 13 stolen bases as The Baseball Academy's shortstop last summer. He hit .275 as a second baseman for California last spring.
Ordy figures to play shortstop for Cal this spring, then move to second base for the BlueSox.
"It's a fun experience, playing in these collegiate summer leagues," he said. "You get to test your mettle against Division I, II and IIIguys, and using wooden bats makes it more challenging."
Warheit said the wooden bat leagues favor pitchers.
"As long as you throw strikes, it definitely does,"Warheit said. "Hitters aren't as powerful with the wooden bats. The games seem to be more defensive."
Warheit was 2-2 with a 3.23 earned run average, 29 strikeouts and eight walks in 30 innings at Seton Hill last year.
One of his Seton Hill teammates, pitcher Andrew DiNardo, is expected to join the BlueSox as well."One of us will be a starter in conference games at Seton Hill and the other will be the closer," Warheit said. "I'd prefer to remain a starter, but I'm open to either role."Warheit started in nonconference games for the Griffins last year."When I heard this team was coming to Butler, I asked my coach to look into it,"Warheit said. "I wanted to play for that team so badly."Talk about an opportunity. Getting that kind of competition and playing at the new Pullman all summer?You can't ask for anything more."In other BlueSox news:• The team is posting player profiles on its website. Players under contract include Tulane University catcher-first baseman Karl Mundt, Murray State catcher Jason Laws and Penn State first baseman-third baseman Jack Greenberg.Greenberg, an Upper St. Clair product, hit .300 for the Nittany Lions last spring and .382 for the Washington (Pa.)BlueSox last summer.Laws hit .267 with 20 RBIfor Palomar College in California last season. Mundt hit .420 with 14 home runs and a school-record 126 RBI at Northlake Christian High School in Louisiana.• The BlueSox will have some of their players available to meet the public from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Monday at Texas Roadhouse.
