Situation hitter
By Brittany Brownrigg, March 4, 2010
Junior second baseman Ian Sanders has earned some extremely high accolades throughout his baseball career, but he would never tell you that himself.
Sanders was born on a military base in Ft. Knox, Ky. His father, Keith, spent six years in the Army so the Sanders family moved around often. When Sanders was three years old, his family moved to Kendallville, Ind., where Sanders first remembers terrorizing neighborhoods with flying baseballs.
Sanders’ father and grandfather, Greg Zenk, took him out at a young age to hit baseballs. Sanders vividly remembers playing ball in the backyard.
“I’ve played ever since,” Sanders said. “Putting dents in my neighbor’s car; I’m proud of that.”
After the success of hitting in the neighborhood, Sander’s parents put him in a tee ball league where his baseball career began. He continued to develop his baseball skills, while adding soccer, basketball and football at Bellmont High School.
Sanders’ years of experience paid off when he got selected to be a part of a successful travel team during his freshman year of high school. This team opened a door for Sanders that would change his college path.
“I got selected to play on a travel team, which was kind of elite, up north,” Sanders said. “That’s where I got my baseball scholarship.”
Sanders was offered a baseball scholarship to Ashland University (D-II) in Ohio. According to Sanders, Ashland had an excellent baseball team and offered him a chance to accomplish his main goal — play baseball in college.
In order to play collegiate ball Sanders had to face multiple struggles throughout his senior year. Both Sanders and his grandfather became very ill.
“I grew up a lot in high school,” he said.
Sanders’ grandfather was diagnosed with throat cancer that spread to cover over 60 percent of his body.
While Zenk was struggling with cancer, Sanders was facing serious illnesses of his own. He was diagnosed with West Nile Virus and Mononucleosis (Mono) and had to have an appendectomy. Doctors also found a cyst between his brain and skull.
“When I was a senior in high school we both got really sick,” Sanders said. “I got sick to the point where my life wasn’t in question, but I didn’t think I was ever going to be allowed to play athletics again and my grandpa was diagnosed with throat cancer.”
Sanders’ was able to recover from his illnesses, but missed 35 days of school because of them. On the other hand, his grandfather’s cancer became so bad that the family was called in to say their goodbyes. Then, by what Sanders calls miraculous events, the doctors could not find any cancer in his grandfather’s body.
“It disappeared overnight,” Sanders said.
His grandfather’s recovery inspired Sanders to continue to play baseball.
“He’s my hero,” Sanders said. “He’s the reason I still play today, outside of the fact that I like to play the game myself … Prior to being sick he was at every game I ever played and since then he hasn’t been able to come … but he’s the inspiration to keep playing because of what a fan of me he was.”
Sanders began wearing a wristband in high school with his grandfather’s initials on it to remind him that life is bigger than the game of baseball and of the bond that he and his grandfather share.
Like his gradfather, Sanders recovered. He was able to go to Ashland on a baseball scholarship. Once Sanders got there he began to realize that he was not satisfied with just the game anymore. Sanders said that this realization was eye-opening.
“I’ve been the guy that thought baseball was it,” Sanders said. “I got [to Ashland] and learned there was a lot more to life than baseball. I just kind of realized that there was more and since I’ve realized that … I’ve become a better person.”
While at Ashland, Sanders’ baseball coach told him that he was not good enough to play collegiate baseball. Sanders refused to accept those words and chose to work harder. He decided to transfer to Franklin College after one semester. Sanders brought along a picture of the Ashland coach, which now hangs on his dorm room wall.
“He kind of told me I wasn’t any good, but I wasn’t willing to listen,” Sanders said.
Sanders said that he looks at that picture every day and says, “You’re wrong.”
Sanders claims hitting was his ticket back into the sport.
"Plus, Chicks dig the long ball," he said.
But it does not just happen.
“I live in the fitness center,” Sanders said.
Head coach Lance Marshall agrees and said that he works hard both as a baseball player and as a student.
“The first thing I think of when I think of Ian is not performance on the field. It’s all the work he puts in to lead up to it,” Marshall said. “He embodies exactly what we want from our student-athletes both in the classroom and on the field … He’s a tremendous student.”
Marshall also said that Sanders is a great leader on the team and that he has a bright future ahead of him.
“His goals are not individual; they are team-oriented,” Marshall said. “I know its cliché, but he’s a leader by example … He’s got a huge heart … Whatever he chooses to do he’s going to be successful at because his work ethic precedes everything.”
Sanders had a school-record 59 RBIs and a .718 slugging average along with a .408 batting average (69-for-169). He hit 10 home runs, two triples and 17 doubles. Sanders was named second-team All-American at the end of the season and helped the Grizzlies claim an HCAC regular season title.
“Last year was incredible,” Sanders said.
Sanders has already had a great start to this season. He is co-captain of the team along with Luke Mehringer and has earned a spot on the D3baseball.com All-American Honorable Mention list. Collegiate Baseball newspaper also placed Sanders on their “Players to Watch” list.
“If I want something, I’m willing to work for it,” Sanders said. “I was blessed to have a good season. It’s not something I’m ready to take for granted, but it’s also nothing I’m satisfied with. I’m still working hard. I won’t be satisfied until we’re playing in the World Series, that’s my goal."
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