Lakers' Lewis to play baseball at Eastern Michigan
IL pitcher signs with Division I program
By Aaron LaBatt
Bellefontaine Examiner Staff Writer

Indian Lake’s Kendall Lewis gets the job done in the classroom and on the baseball field. That combination helped land the Lakers’ pitcher an opportunity to play Division I college baseball at Eastern Michigan University.

“I’m very excited to go to a Division I program,” said Lewis. “It took a lot of hard work, but it feels good to get this opportunity.

“I really liked their campus and on the field, I liked their intensity and the way they develop their players.”

Indian Lake head baseball coach Brian Tidwell looked on with pride Monday when Lewis signed his letter of intent.

“Kendall is very deserving of this,” said Tidwell. “He has worked hard for this and the kids look up to him. We are all real happy and excited for him.

“He is a good kid and is very coachable. He doesn’t say a lot and is pretty quiet, but he leads by example. He loves the game of baseball. He means a great deal to this team.”

A 6-4, right-handed pitcher, Lewis has been an anchor for Indian Lake the past three seasons. The senior has two nohitters to his credit.

Lewis is a hard thrower, but he also has the ability to keep hitters off-balance with a good curve and changeup.

“I like to compete,” said Lewis. “I attack the hitter with my pitches and I think I have good off-speed pitches.”

“He is your prototypical right-handed pitcher that college teams like,” said Tidwell. “He has a good fastball he has worked hard on, he has a curve ball and is working on a changeup. He has three good pitches that he is consistent with and that is something (Eastern Michigan) looked at. He has a tremendous upside and continues to get better.”

Another area the standout already excels at is the classroom.

“He is a wonderful kid in the classroom,” said Tidwell. “He had a 4.0 the first nine weeks of this school year and he had a high ACT score.”

The Lakers’ ace is anxious to get his feet wet once he arrives at the Eagles’ camp.

“I would just like to get there and start pitching and get better,” said Lewis. “I’d like to be a starter, but it will depend on what they want to do. I will do whatever they ask of me. If I start or if I’m a reliever, that is fine with me.”

“He is going to a good program,” added Tidwell. “Whether he is a starter or a reliever he’ll do a good job filling that role.”

Eastern Michigan went 21-4 last spring in Mid-American Conference and won the West Division title. The Eagles held a 32-24 overall record.