Kurt Hartfelder
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Just two weeks after he thought his baseball career had come to a close, Wittenberg University baseball standout Kurt Hartfelder, class of 2004, got one of those rare second chances in life. A righthanded pitcher who accepted a medical red-shirt designation from the NCAA to play a fifth college season, Hartfelder was the first overall draft pick by the Frontier League's Mid-Missouri Mavericks on Tuesday, May 10, at the conclusion of the league's 2005 Tryout Camp and Draft at Falconi Field in Washington, Pa.
The camp started with 177 hopefuls from 31 states working out in front of representatives from all 12 Frontier League teams. After two days of workouts, Hartfelder, who led the Tigers in almost every major pitching category in 2005, was the No. 1 choice by the Mavericks, a team based in Columbia, Mo.
Hartfelder was scheduled to make a start against the College of Wooster in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals on Sunday, May 1, but the Tigers were swept in the first two games of the best-of-three series, ending their 2005 season with a 21-16 overall record. Hartfelder had pitched the Tigers into the tournament with a complete-game victory over NCAC West Division champion Denison on Wednesday, April 27.
"Kurt was really disappointed when he didn't get a chance to pitch in that series," said Wittenberg Baseball Head Coach Jay Lewis. "We talked about it afterward, the fact that his career may have ended. That could have been it."
But the Mavericks took a chance on Hartfelder, an All-NCAC honoree as a freshman in 2001 when he posted a 3.91 earned run average and a 5-1 record in eight appearances, including five starting assignments. In 2002, Hartfelder finished with a 4-2 record and a 5.82 ERA before injuring his elbow and subsequently going through ligament replacement surgery, better known in the baseball world as Tommy John surgery.
He tried to come back as a junior in 2003, but he made just two appearances and pitched just 1 1/3 innings before shutting it down and accepting the medical red-shirt. Midway through the 2004 season, Hartfelder made a strong comeback, appearing in five games, four of them in relief, posting a 5.19 ERA in 8 2/3 innings.
That set him up for a dazzling senior campaign. He made eight starts and never gave way to a relief pitcher, compiling a 7-1 record with a 3.57 ERA, the fifth-lowest earned run average in a season in school history (based on at least 25 innings pitched). He allowed 53 hits and just 14 walks in 53 innings pitched.
"When Kurt hurt his elbow, he spent a lot of time working his tail off to get to this point," Lewis said. "He essentially lost two years to the injury and rehabilitation, but I have never had a player work harder to come back.
"He had a fabulous senior season. I'm really happy for him, and I think he's got a chance to excel at that level."
Hartfelder is the latest in a long line of Wittenberg baseball players to take advantage of the opportunity to play professional baseball. Three recent alumni of the program - Ryan Born, class of 2004, Ryan Peters, class of 2001, and Brent Parke, class of 1999 - are among the recent Tiger alumni to jump to the Frontier League, a 12-team independent professional baseball league with teams in seven states, including Ohio. None of them, however, were the top choice in the league's annual five-round draft.
In addition, Kris and Keith Cooper, class of 1996, played professional baseball in an independent league, and Kevin Tatar, class of 1990, Phil Scott, class of 1990, Milt Thompson, class of 1976, and Greg Murphy, class of 1977, all spent time with Major League Baseball organizations after graduating from Wittenberg. Tatar had one of the longest professional baseball careers, spending six seasons with the Cincinnati Reds organization.
Preseason camps got underway May 11 for all 12 teams, with opening day scheduled for May 25. The Mavericks play a 96-game schedule, and the top two teams in each division qualifying for the Frontier League playoffs in September. Mid-Missouri finished the 2004 season with a 28-66 overall record, a full 30 games out of first place in the West Division.
016-05