When Clay Keltner was looking for a summer baseball team, he looked to his past.
Keltner, as a member of the Indiana Saints U-14 travel team, was coached by Northwest Indiana Oilmen manager Adam Enright.
“I shot him a text in the fall when I was looking for a team to see if there were any spots open,” Keltner said. “He called me back a month later and said there was a spot if I wanted it. I live about 10 minutes away, so I can’t complain about this at all.”
Enright had just completed his senior season at Southern Indiana when he was one of the coaches for Keltner’s team in 2011. He was supposed to coach them again two years later, but Enright’s own coaching career sent him to Little Rock instead.
But the two were reunited on the Oilmen this summer, and Enright said the 2015 Highland graduate hasn’t changed.
“He’s still pretty much the same as far as his demeanor and attitude,” Enright said of Keltner. “He’s an even-keeled guy and doesn’t get too high or too low. That’s how he was when he was 14, too.”
Keltner’s career took off during his freshman year at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids. He entered the year projected for the JV, but ended up with a 4-2 record in 43.2 innings of work at the NAIA school.
“It was a blast,” Keltner said. “It was exciting to be out there as just a freshman. I had a decent start and it took off from there.”
Keltner got off to a similar start with the Oilmen this summer, posting a 1.30 ERA and a 3-2 record in his first six starts to earn a spot in the Midwest Collegiate League All-Star Game.
His first start of the second half wasn’t as smooth, though, as the Southland Vikings tagged Keltner for 11 hits and nine runs in a three-inning start last weekend.
“It was humbling,” Keltner said. “Everything was going fine, then I went out and gave up 11 hits. But that’s baseball. You can have your best stuff and then the next day you get crushed.”
Keltner displayed that laid-back mindset when talking about his prior outing, as he joked about the bad omen he encountered prior to that start.
“I left my glove here (after a game) last week and that was the first time I’d used it again,” Keltner said. “I didn’t have it at all. I was angry. I was letting little stuff get to me that I normally wouldn’t. It was out of character for me.”
To get back into that rhythm, Keltner will likely feature the pitch that’s been his best weapon since high school.
“It’s definitely his changeup,” Enright said. “It’s been really good in terms of his arm speed and how it comes out of his hand. It looks just like his fastball and it’s much, much slower.”
Keltner, who spoke an hour before starting Friday night against the DuPage County Hounds, sounded like a pitcher ready to move on.
“I’ll control what I can control,” he said. “That’s in the past. If it’s out of your reach, then just let it go.”
Dave Melton is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.
