Park Hill South senior left-handed pitcher Adam Schemenauer towers over most of the batters he faces in any given game. At 6’7” tall, his height was a key component of the Panthers’ basketball program and their deep runs into the state playoffs in recent years, but it’s on the pitching mound where he feels most comfortable and has done more than enough to prove to opposing hitters and, more importantly, college and professional scouts, that it’s where he was meant to be. With a scholarship and roster spot reserved for him at the University of Louisville in the fall, the end of Park Hill South’s season will only be the beginning of what will be a summer full of baseball and new experiences as part of a promising future.
“He’s one of the biggest competitors we’ve got and wants to win more than anyone else. He says and does all the right things,” Coach Josh Walker said. “His focus is on Park Hill South Baseball and when that’s done his focus will be on Louisville unless he gets drafted.”
Yes, another potential path for Schemenauer is the Major League Baseball draft which is scheduled in early June. The unique part of baseball’s draft compared to other professional sports is that players can be selected and then decide whether they would like to sign a contract with a professional team or go to school and play college ball instead. It’s a choice many talented high school players are faced with right out of graduation each summer.
“He’s had a lot of interest. I think he’ll get picked. It might be later on, but that’s ok with him because he has a great place to go in Louisville,” Walker said. “He’s in a win-win situation.”
Even without the draft, which Schemenauer says he’s not worried about right now, after receiving his diploma this weekend and playing out the remainder of the high school season, he’ll will jump right into competitive play with a team from Lawrence, Kansas in June before moving to Louisville to take a couple summer courses in July and workout with the school’s strength coach before starting classes and playing ball in the fall.
“I’ve closed before and it’s harder than it looks, but I’m going to leave that up to the college coaches,” Schemenauer said. “I’m sure they’ll test me everywhere just to see what works best.”
With much on the horizon, Schemenauer still has his focus on the current Panthers’ season, which has seen them crawl back from well below .500 to a 12-11 record, clinching their first conference title since 1999 last week on the heels of a six game winning streak capped off with a 11-3 thumping of Winnetonka, who they were formerly tied with atop the conference leader board. Working his way back from an early season shoulder injury, Schemenauer says he’s seen not only himself improve as the season has gone on, but also sees his team as dangerous entering the district tournament this weekend.
“We’ve had our ups and downs, we’re rolling at the right time and you want to be playing your best at the end of the year,” Schemenauer said. “The way we’re playing right now I think our team can be a dangerous team to play even though our record might not show it.”
Walker says South has been aided not only by Schemenauer’s strong performances, but by those of Bryce Turner and John Christopher who have also been throwing the ball well and has been backed up by good defense. The key for the Panthers moving forward is offensive production which has come and gone throughout the season.
“We’re doing whatever it takes to win. If I don’t see anything the first time or two through the lineup, we’re going to have to force some situations and run a little more. It’s a chance we have to take because we have to get runs. Hitting wise a bunch of different people are stepping up. It’s a different guy each day,” Walker said.
As for the Panthers’ district tournament outlook, Walker says the field is a toss-up and you could ‘throw all the teams in a hat’ to pick a winner. The clear top seed is Truman which has already secured the tournament’s only bye.
