By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer

Which one intimidates E.J. Devarie more — stepping up to the plate to play college baseball, or dealing with upper Midwest winters?

Neither one, the affable Gateway High School shortstop said.

Devarie, on the strength of just one year playing for the Panthers and a strong summer travel ball campaign, recently signed a scholarship to play at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.

The 6-0, 170-pound Puerto Rico native was one of three players signed by Falcons’ first-year coach Alex Marconi in the early signing period.

“He is a top-level defensive shortstop who is a good athlete,” Marconi said in a BSU press release. “He is a switch hitter who can run well and we are ecstatic to have a player like him in our program. He is a fundamentally sound player who will add strength at Ball State and his future is very bright.”

Devarie, who said that UCF was the only other school to talk with him, said signing with Ball State, a member of the Mid-American Conference, came about through a chance meeting.

“I was playing with Team Mizuno at a tournament in Georgia last summer, and Coach (Jeremy) Plexico saw me and talked to me about playing for them,” Devarie said. “I talked with their coaches over the summer to hash it out, and I decided that’s where I wanted to go. Playing baseball is what I want to do, and I could play right away up there.”

He said he’d likely major in engineering at the school, which is not far from where Gateway baseball coach Rob Hammond grew up.

“I spent a lot of time in Muncie,” Hammond said. “Their coaches really like his arm and his glove, and so do I. He works as hard as anybody I know, and that work ethic and his physical talent will serve him well in college.”

Devarie’s father, Wilberto, said the family is more excited than sad that their son is headed so far away in about eight months.

“It’s what we wanted for him all along. It will be a good experience for him, a chance to mature,” Wilberto Devarie said.

Devarie, who came from Caguas, Puerto Rico and hit second last year for the Panthers, batted .309 and led the team with 23 runs.

He said with his signing now behind him he can focus on his senior year with Gateway, which he’s already excited about. The Panthers play in 6A District 6.

“We want to make the playoffs, and I want to hit over .350,” he said.

“Everybody’s excited that we can have a good season.”

Ball State, which won the 2009 MAC baseball championship, has turned out top-level talent.

Pitcher Bryan Bullington was the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2002 by Pittsburgh.

Second baseman Kolbrin Vitek was selected 20th overall last year’s MLB draft by the Boston Red Sox.

The Falcons were 29-29 last year, with a 19-8 mark in MAC play.