A hot dog and nachos.
That's the food Ball State University junior closer Kyle Heyne prefers at the ballpark.
"Give me a hot dog and maybe some nachos with some jalape+â-¦os," Heyne said. "You got to have some jalape+â-¦os on those nachos."
Not only is Heyne Ball State's closer, he also happens to be one of the best in the nation. At least the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association believes he is.
In February, the NCBWA released its watch list for Stopper of the Year, and Heyne was one of the 35 selected. Then just a few weeks ago on April 19th, the NCBWA announced its midseason watch list that once again included Heyne.
"I was pretty surprised by it," Heyne said. "It's an honor, but it really doesn't mean anything unless we win."
Heyne's team's have typically been successful. Prior to winning the Mid-American Conference tournament last season, Heyne won two sectional titles in Ohio during high school.
Heyne grew up playing in Coldwater, Ohio, eventually going to Coldwater High School.
"Growing up back home, we had a very, very good baseball program in the really late 90's," Heyne said. "Growing up around that, it was a dream to play baseball for Coldwater. It was something you wanted to do and you took pride in it."
Heyne was a starting pitcher in those days, throwing around 100 pitches each outing.
Coach Greg Beals saw potential in the lanky pitcher. Heyne is 6-foot-5.
"I saw a tall, thin kid who had a loose arm," Beals said. "You see a kid that is as tall and lean as he is and you see a loose, free and easy arm action; it leads you believe that there is room for him to grow up, for that arm to develop and his body to develop as he gets older."
Being a starter in high school forced Heyne to bat, something he was quite good at. He batted .424 in his high school career, an average that swelled to .438 his senior year.
"Hitting was fun in high school. I miss it, but it's part of the game," Heyne said. "You got to go on."
Heyne is not the only pitcher at Ball State who could swing the bat well, Beals said.
"We have some other pitchers on our staff who were pretty good hitters in high school," Beals said. "But there's been no offense whatsoever in Kyle's college career."
While there has been some offense with Heyne on the mound, there hasn't been very much.
With Heyne's next save he will tie Ron Schrock for the all-time record at Ball State.
Like many closers, Heyne pitches with intensity and anger.
"I like being intense, I like having the adrenaline rush," Heyne said. "I like to think I'm the baddest dude on the field and no one can beat me. I don't care who's in the batter's box; I don't even know who's in the batters box half the time."
When Heyne arrived at Ball State he had an over-the-top delivery, but that quickly changed.
"Coach [Mike] Stafford looked at me when I came in, throwing overhand, but I wasn't working correctly on my mechanics, and he decided to drop me down to a sidearm," Heyne said.
The sidearm delivery makes it difficult for batters to see the type of pitch Heyne is throwing.
"It's a different look for a batter to see. It's out of the ordinary" Heyne said.
In addition to the quirkiness of the arm motion, Heyne said his sidearm delivery gives his fastball better movement, making it work like a sinker.
Heyne has a changeup, a slider and the sinking fastball in his pitching repertoire. He uses all three to rack up strikeouts.
"It depends on who the hitter is and how I'm feeling with my pitches," Heyne said. "I like to throw my fastball a lot. To a righty I like to try to throw a hard slider on the outside and see if he will swing, and to a lefty I like to try to work in my changeup."
Heyne's intensity and stellar statistics lead Beals to believe Heyne will have a shot to pitch in the minors or in the major leagues.
"I think he's certainly going to get a chance to play at the next level," Beals said. "We'll see what he can do because he's a guy that takes advantage of every opportunity."
All this from a guy who prefers the most traditional of ballpark snacks, the hot dog.
"Has to be a hot dog," Heyne said. "Ketchup, mustard. If you're lucky you get a Carter hot dog and get some chili cheese on the hot dog."
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