Crowder picks up two transfers

The start of the baseball season for the Crowder Roughriders is on Feb. 6, and at the start of the recent semester the team picked up two talented transfers.

Newcomers to the roster include Kyle Hardy, a redshirt sophomore, and freshman Ethan Mather.
Mather comes in from Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz., where he signed last year after completing a successful career at Ozark High School.

Prior to signing with the Sun Devils, Mather was recruited to play for Travis Lallemand’s Roughriders.

After a little time at ASU, Mather decided to come back to Missouri.

“Crowder is closer to home and financially, it is better on my family,” Mather said. “I like this program a lot. My family is a big fan of Crowder College and I have a couple of old teammates playing here.”

The teammates he refers to are the Neill brothers, John and Brett. Also at Crowder is former classmate Khyrstyn Brumley, who plays basketball.

Mather will be relied on mostly as a pitcher, as the staff looks to fill a starting rotation that was depleted by graduation. At Ozark last year, he was 5-0 with 2 saves and a 2.00 earned run average. In 35 innings on the mound, he struck out 51. He struck out a season-high 14 against Republic last year and held opponents to a .129 average.

Mather has four pitches he normally uses – a fastball, curve, slide and change up.

At the plate, Mather is also a strong player. He hit .435 with 25 RBI.

“I just want to come in and help out the club, because I’m the new guy,” Mather said. “I want to work on myself and where I need to be.”

Mather, 19, is a general studies major at Crowder.

“Ethan will help out with depth on the mound,” Lallemand said. “We are excited to have him. He is a very competitive kid. We know he will have that bulldog mentality for us on the mound.”
Mather will start out of the bullpen, Lallemand said, as he continues to build up arm strength and works with a new delivery.

The other transfer is Hardy, who comes from Miami-Dade Community College in Miami, Fla.

Hardy is a 6-foot-3, 200-pound third baseman who could step in and start right away for Crowder.

A transfer from Miami University to his junior college meant less playing time, so Hardy started to look around for new places to play. It was his summer baseball coach, Judd Kindle, that helped lead him to Crowder.

Kindle was the coach of the Sedalia Bombers and played at Crowder prior to a standout career at Missouri State. On his Bomber baseball team this summer was Kyle Zimmerman and Bubby Williams, both former Crowder players.

“Judd was the one that sent me over here,” Hardy said. “Playing time and I wanted to get away from home are the main reasons for my transfer. It’s a different world here.”

When asked about his goals, he said, “I definitely want to play at a bigger school, that is the next stop after JUCO. I hope for Division I. I’d like to go to Missouri or Missouri State. I wouldn’t mind getting drafted this year, but I want to get a little bit of eduction under my belt.”

Hardy, 20, is a general studies major at Crowder.

“Kyle has a chance to be a plus-defense and hit in the middle of our line-up,” Lallemand said of the former high school shortstop. “He will compete with Coby Peebles for the third base job. He helps bring depth to the position, which was an issue in the fall.”

Lallemand noted though, with his talent on defense, he could play either corner position for Crowder.