Martz commits to Kankakee Community College to continue baseball career. Huntington North senior Cole Martz made his college decision official on Tuesday afternoon Dec. 6, signing his National Letter of Intent with Kankakee Community College to continue his academic and baseball careers with the Cavaliers. Kankakee, a two-year junior college, is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association located in Kankakee, Ill. “I just like the way they do things,” Martz said at the signing. “Coach Shafer’s got a good setup going there and I’m ready to be part of it. They’ve had a lot of success there and lots of multi 30–40-win seasons, so I’m ready to be a part of that.” Martz has been a valuable piece of the puzzle for the Vikings, serving as one of the team’s pitchers. During his junior season, Martz made seven appearances on the mound, registering a 2–0 record. Martz recorded 25 strikeouts and allowed 12 hits and nine walks in 13.1 innings pitched. Offensively, Martz batted .314 with two doubles, one triple and one home run. “It has been my privilege to work with Cole in Viking baseball,” said Huntington North head coach Jarod Hammel. “Cole has continued to grow and I believe that his best days as an athlete continue to be ahead of him. Cole hates to lose and he has been a great guy to have in our dugout. He is humble enough to continue to receive instruction and learn from the game. I hope that Cole plays a huge part in our team’s success this season and continues to develop as a young man and baseball player.” Martz will continue in his pitching career with the Cavaliers but does not yet know if he will be a starter or reliever. Martz described his pitching repertoire as featuring the fastball, slider, curveball and changeup, but he most enjoys beating hitters with his fastball. Despite his current skillset, Martz knows he still has things to work on to be ready for the next level. “I just want to see everything get sharper, a little more put together, figure out how to balance pitches and just put everything together a little bit more,” Martz said. Martz envisions the two years at Kankakee as being a good way to further develop his abilities to hopefully take another step in his playing career after his time as a Cavalier. Martz is currently undecided on a field of study at Kankakee.
