Union County baseball players Joey Weller (L) and Leighton Schulte (R) announced they would be heading to Thomas More College in the fall.
LIBERTY, Ind. – A pair of Union County baseball players announced on Wednesday that they would be continuing their careers at Thomas More College.
Joey Weller and Leighton Schulte decided to attend the Kentucky NCAA Division III school located in Crestview Hills just south of Cincinnati.
“I liked the small campus,” said Schulte, who is the son of Veronica and Tom Schulte.
“They have pre-engineering,” he continued. “The coach is big on academics and I like that.”
The Saints are coached by Jeff Hetzer, who is in his 18th season.
“They saw me in a tournament last summer,” said Weller, who is the son of Amanda and Shane Weller. “I really liked it and they have an accounting program.”
Thomas More is currently 18-17 and 12-4 in the President’s Athletic Conference.
“They’ve worked hard during the off-season every single year,” Union County Head Coach Jeff Mathews said. “I couldn’t be happier for them.”
Going to the same college wasn’t the idea for the beginning for the duo, but as the recruiting process unfolded they decided to stay teammates.
“It just sort of happened,” Mathews said. “It’s a good thing that they’ll be together.”
Weller is currently 5-0 with an ERA of 1.01 on the mound for the Patriots, who are 13-2 overall and 5-0 in the Tri-Eastern Conference.
“Joey could always throw hard, but Joey has learned how to pitch,” Mathews said. “He’s hitting spots. He’s thinking and hitting locations. When he’s on, you’re not going to touch him.”
Both players are batting .500 heading into Thursday’s doubleheader against Richmond at McBride Stadium.
Weller has four doubles and has knocked in 11 runs.
Schulte, who bats at the bottom of the line-up, has a pair of homers and five doubles with 14 RBI.
“He’s the best No. 9 hitter in the state of Indiana,” Mathews said of his centerfielder.
“He just flat goes and gets the ball,” Mathews added. “He’s a game-changer on the defensive side. He’s got a cannon for an arm.”