Jeff Chaney
Sports Scene
Several trips to ‘The Barn’ helped turned Josh Moody into an all-state pitcher.
The 6-feet-tall right-handed pitcher earned Division 2 all-state honors this year for the Alma High School baseball team thanks to a friendship he started with former Central Michigan University baseball coach Dean Kreiner.
After 28 years as an assistant and head coach for the Chippewas, Kreiner started a baseball facility in a pole barn in Mount Pleasant and called it ‘The Barn.’ Moody would spend many days there working on his skills and his pitching craft.
“This year I kind of performed,” Moody said of his senior season. “I put a lot of hard work in, and that work paid off. And coach Kreiner has helped me, both on and off the field at being a good player and being a good young man.”
Moody did perform this year, posting a 10-2 record on the mound with a 0.33 ERA. He struck out 122 batters and walked just 22, helping the Panthers go 22-8 on the year.
“Coach Kreiner helped me become so mechanically sound,” Moody said. “And he really helped with the mental part of pitching, letting me know to be a true pitcher and not just a thrower.”
Kreiner remembers the times when Moody and Bullock Creek pitcher Keegan Aiken showed up to work out.
“Both Josh and Keegan were all state this year, and I remember those two being on the same little league team and coming together to work out – they must have been 10 or 11 at the time,” Kreiner said. “And Josh and Keegan just continued to come. In fact, even when Josh was playing football and basketball, he would stop to work out. He would come so much, that I had to get him a key so he could work out even when I wasn’t there, he could throw by himself. He’s worked really hard, they both have, and I’m really proud of them both.”
It was smart of Moody and Aiken to lean on Kriener, with his 28 years of coaching experience at CMU.
“What’s nice, is now I consider him my friend,” Moody said. “He’s really helped me a lot.”
Moody hopes to take what he’s learned and move on to the next level. Right now he is considering extending his baseball career at Jackson Community College, Kellogg Community College, or Grand Rapids Community College.
“I do want to play college baseball; that has always been my goal,” Moody said. “I want to see what I can do.”