Coldwater's Tappenden signs letter of intent with Ivy Tech CC baseball

COLDWATER — Major League Baseball legend and Hall of Famer Babe Ruth once said, “Baseball was, is, and always will be the best game in the world to me.”

For those that love baseball, live baseball, breathe baseball, no truer words have been spoken and for Coldwater senior Nate Tappenden the words hit pretty close to home.

Tappenden will take that love and officially move on to the collegiate level as he recently signed his letter of intent to play baseball at Ivy Tech Community College.

“Ivy Tech is a smaller school and it’s close to home, plus they have a really good baseball program so I just thought they were the very best fit for me,” said Tappenden.

Anyone that knows anything about baseball will tell you a power left handed pitcher along with a solid bat and defense to boot, well that will be a hot commodity for baseball programs across the nation. There were several schools looking at Tappenden, including Olivet College and Trine University, but ultimately the program at Ivy Tech CC, located in Fort Wayne, IN., landed the talented senior.

Tappenden is coming off a breakout junior season that saw him voted as the Most Valuable Player by his teammates for the 2021 version of the Coldwater Cardinals in addition to earning awards for Most Valuable Pitcher and Most Valuable Offensive Player.

Tappenden finished the 2021 season batting .362 at the plate with 34 hits in 94 at-bats, recording 22 singles, eight doubles, two triples and two home runs with 23 RBIs and 32 runs scored. Tappenden’s on-base percentage was one of the highest on the team at .465 thanks in large part to a team high 19 walks drawn on the season, compared to only six strikeouts.

Tappenden was also no slouch in the field of play for the Cardinals, finishing the year with a fielding percentage of .986, recoding 56 put outs and 16 assists in 73 total chances with only one error on the season.

Tappenden was also a force on the mound, serving as one of the aces of a very deep and effective Coldwater staff. The big lefty finished the season with a record of 5-3 and an ERA of 3.632, only allowing 42 hits on the season in 44.1 innings pitched while striking out 45 batters.

Because of his prowess on both the mound, at the plate, and in the field, the opportunities for Tappenden at the collegiate level are limitless.

Tappenden is looking to play wherever he can at the collegiate level but he loves to play both outfield and loves to be on the mound, as long as he gets to play. “I like both, outfield and pitching, but in the long run I think pitching is where I want to be,” said Tappenden.

“Nate (Tappenden) has an inner focus that a lot of kids don’t have, he’s really dedicated and his hunger and desire are so high,” said Coldwater head coach Randy Spangler. “I want to see what this season brings but I think his college coaches are going to see that his hitting is just as good as his pitching, but it’s really hard to pass up a very good power left arm. We’ll see how big and strong he gets but he could play all over the place at the college ranks, it’s up to the individual coach really.”

Tappenden has decided to focus solely on baseball for his senior year and is already immersed in the Ivy Tech training program as he readies himself for his senior year at Coldwater High.

Ivy Tech, who finished their 2021 campaign at 28-23, are getting in Tappenden a hard working young man on the field of play and in the classroom as Tappenden earned numerous Academic honors during the 2021 season, including Interstate 8 Academic All Conference and MHSBCA Academic All District honors. At this moment Tappenden is undecided on a major.

Looking back at his three years at Coldwater, Tappenden spoke about his fondest baseball memory, the first time he hit a home run at the varsity level.

“My first high school home run is my best memory of the past couple of years, it was against Tecumseh I believe and I knew it as soon as it left the bat, almost cleared the trees behind the fence. Great memory,” said Tappenden.

Tappenden still has one more year as a Cardinal and now that his future is set he can focus solely on making more memories on the diamond.

Congratulations to Coldwater’s Nate Tappenden on his decision to further his academic and athletic career at Ivy Tech Community College.

Get To Know Your Recruit

Name: Nate Tappenden

School: Coldwater High School

College: Ivy Tech Community College

Major: Undecided

Favorite Food: Tacos

Favorite Dessert: Cheesecake

Favorite Movie: Surf’s Up

Hobbies: Skateboarding, fishing and hanging out with my friends

This article originally appeared on The Daily Reporter: Coldwater's Tappenden signs letter of intent with Ivy Tech baseball