Nate Brumfield has played for teams with the name of his hometown emblazoned across his jersey for most of his life.
Those days are running out for the 2024 Valparaiso graduate, who will continue his baseball career at Wabash. But Brumfield is playing for Valparaiso Post 94 College Prep this summer, giving him a few more opportunities to wear the name.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow, but I’m trying to take in every moment possible,” he said. “We still practice and play sometimes on my high school field, and it’s always in the back of my mind that I don’t know when it’s going to be the last time I’m out there.”
Brumfield’s American Legion season continues this weekend, when Post 94 competes for the state championship in Terre Haute.
Brumfield, a catcher who hit .364 as a senior for Valparaiso (20-3), is batting .302 with 18 RBIs for Post 94 (15-8). His success at the plate has given him more confidence about his transition to college baseball.
“I was hoping that this team would get me ready for college,” he said. “Seeing some of the college arms that are going to be throughout the league next year helped prepare me for what’s to come.”
A familiar face, Post 94 pitcher Jackson Fronek, will accompany Brumfield at Wabash. But until this summer, Fronek, a 2024 Crown Point graduate, and Brumfield had known each other only as a Duneland Athletic Conference opponents.
“I think I’d talked to him one time before playing on this team, and that was about it,” Brumfield said. “But it’s been good to get to know him, to build that chemistry early on as a pitcher-catcher duo. The pitch-calling and everything else has gone super smooth.”
Fronek joined Post 94 after being invited by pitching coach Ryan Troxel, who had been working with him well before this summer. Fronek said it was strange being a Crown Point player on a Valparaiso team at first, but he and Brumfield had the same goal in mind.
“I knew there’d be a bunch of college-level players on the team, so there’d be a drive and intent to win,” Fronek said. “It was a little awkward at first after we were all going against each other for the last four years. But we’ve managed to work it out, and they’re all good dudes.”
Fronek, who struck out nine during a complete-game shutout to clinch the Region 1 championship for Post 94, said Brumfield’s spot on the team influenced his decision.
“I thought I’d get to know him a bit anyway because we’ve already been down to Wabash a few times in the summer,” Fronek said. “But starting to build that relationship with him behind the plate was another factor because he’ll be my battery mate for the next four years.”
There are similar connections all over the Post 94 roster. The batting order typically begins with 2024 Chesterton graduate Brayden Barrett, followed by Gabe Bush, who will be a senior at Valparaiso. Barrett and Bush have committed to play at Purdue Northwest. Drew Catron and Ben Dubbs are 2024 LaPorte graduates heading to Indiana-South Bend.
Those bonds are part of the chemistry that has guided Post 94, according to manager Chad Bush, Gabe’s father.
“We don’t have any superstars. It’s a team,” Chad Bush said. “They’re all good, college-level baseball players who play good defense and solid, fundamental baseball.”
If Post 94 wins the state title, it would advance to the Great Lakes Region, scheduled for August 7-11 in Carol Stream, Illinois.
“I’m just hoping to keep having fun with my teammates one more time before they all go off to wherever it is that they’re going,” Brumfield said.
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter.
