By John Stegeman

Six of Ohio’s top high school baseball programs will participate in a season-opening showcase March 23 at the Athletes in Action Sports Complex in Xenia. The event features exclusively Catholic high schools, a celebrity speaker and Mass.

Mike Hoendorf, the showcase’s director and founder, is a long-time baseball coach and has spent the last decade working in Catholic ministry. He has a passion for both his Catholic faith, and sports.

“I’ve been wanting to do something like this for a while, so probably about a year ago, I just said, [Okay] I’m going for it,” he said. “We are connecting our Catholic faith to sports. Two of the things I love most in this world.”

Three teams from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati are participating: St. Xavier (Cincinnati), Chaminade Julienne (Dayton) and Badin (Hamilton). The other three teams are St. John’s Jesuit (Toledo), Bishop Watterson (Columbus) and Archbishop Hoban (Akron). The showcase is sponsored by Catholic Athletes for Christ.

On Friday, March 22, the teams and staff will gather for a welcome dinner. The keynote speaker will be Craig Stammen, a 13-year veteran Major League pitcher who played for the Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres. Stammen, who played collegiately at the University of Dayton, is an outspoken advocate for his Catholic faith.

On Saturday, following morning Mass it’s an all-day triple header beginning at 11 a.m. While the competition is ongoing, Hoendorf said confession will be available at the ballpark for anyone in attendance. Admission to the showcase is free, but donations will be accepted to offset the cost of the event and to support Catholic Athletes for Christ sports ministry.

St. Xavier Head Coach Don DiGiacomo, entering his second year at the Bombers’ helm, said the showcase was a perfect fit for St. Xavier, athletically and faithfully.

“Our participation is motivated by the quality of the competition and the shared faith-based values we all, as catholic schools, strive to instill in our athletes through athletic participation,” DiGiacomo said. “St. Xavier is grounded in our mission of formation into ‘men for others.’  We strive to provide an environment of support for each student with our motto as our connection to our mission. It drives every aspect of our baseball program.”

Hoendorf hopes the experience will benefit the athletes who participate, helping them to place baseball in the proper context.

“I’m now 20 years out of high school,” Hoendorf said. “If you would’ve given me this opportunity, how different would my life have been, if I would’ve been able to put sports in that perspective. Yes, you play to win games. You don’t sign up to play on the high school baseball team to hope to go 0-27, right? However, at the end of the day, if I get done with the game, if I gave it everything I had, I tried my best.

“I want [this event] to be a way you get to live out your discipleship, your brotherhood with your teammates, that type of thing,” he added. “Hopefully it’ll just be the first of many events.”

For more information on the showcase visit cacbaseballshowcase.com.