Columbus State’s Ihle finds home long way from Australia

Columbus State baseball senior infielder Ryan Ihle sits atop the Cougars’ hitting stats with a .416 batting average heading into the NCAA Division II Southeastern Regional tournament this week.

However, the story of how he got to Columbus is quite the opposite, starting down under — as in his hometown of Ferny Grove, Australia, a small town outside Brisbane.

Despite being born in Arizona, Ihle spent the majority of his formative years growing up in Australia. One thing he took with him when he left the U.S. was his love for the game of baseball.

“When I moved to Australia, I really wanted to continue playing,” Ihle said.

When people think of Australia and sports, baseball admittedly isn’t the first one that comes to mind. Other sports like cricket, rugby and Australian rules football are at the top of the list in popularity among Aussies.

“Cricket never really interested me; it was too slow moving of a sport,” Ihle said. “Mum never really wanted me to play rugby or Australian rules football. There’s no padding or anything, they just give you a mouth guard.

“My parents encouraged me to play baseball, and I found some local clubs I got involved in. I kept improving and made some higher level teams. I was able to be coached by some guys who played professional baseball (in the U.S.) as Australians. They took me under their wing and helped me a lot. I credit a lot of them for my success.”

“From an early age, he was pretty good in a place where baseball wasn't played,” said Ihle’s father, Jeffry. “It's a very minor sport in Australia. He came over here as a 13-year-old to play in the Cal Ripken World Series for Australia. He got a taste of it then, and it's never left his mouth.”

Ihle says baseball played in Australia is just like the game played in the U.S., although Australians are known worldwide for their competitive spirit.

“We play the game hard,” Ihle said. “When we play other teams, they definitely know the Aussies are going to bring it to them. It's the pride we take. We may not be the best in the sport, but we definitely bring it to the best in the world.”

Upon graduation from high school in Australia, Ihle knew he wanted to realize his dream, to jump back across the pond to continue his baseball career at the collegiate level in the U.S.

“We looked around, sent some e-mails out to schools I wanted to go to,” Ihle said. “We talked to some ex-neighbors of ours and they gave us some contacts.”

Ihle’s college baseball career started in the Midwest at Colby Community College, a two-year school in Kansas.

“We talked to a guy in Colby and they recruited me out there and gave me a shot. It definitely got me to where I am today,” Ihle said.

Ihle excelled at Colby, and once his two years there were up, he possessed the talent to make the jump to a four-year school. He caught the eye of the Cougars at a tournament in Kansas.

“We went to a sophomore showcase that all the junior colleges in Kansas send their sophomores to,” Ihle said. “(CSU assistant coach Patrick) Collins saw me at the showcase and brought me and my dad down here to look at the school. It just felt right as soon as I arrived in Columbus. I knew where I wanted to be, and this was it.”

Ihle enjoys being in a quite more temperate climate than Kansas, one that more closely mirrors that of home, and being in the South in general.

“Down here is a lot similar to where I was instead of Kansas,” Ihle said. “Kansas was freezing, snowy, windy. That's another reason I wanted to come down here. The climate is so much similar to back home.”

Ihle took home some hardware last week from the Peach Belt Conference, being named to the first team all-conference as well as being named to the PBC All-Academic team.

He also received another treat as his parents made the trip from Australia to watch him play out the stretch. They rented a motor home, accompanied the team to Florence, S.C., last weekend to witness the Cougars’ PBC tournament victory, and will be in Columbus this week as CSU plays host to the Southeastern Regional.

“It is so awesome,” said Ihle’s mother, Leanne. “You get to hug and say hi to your son who you haven't seen in months. The other advantage is that you don't have to get up at 3 or 4 in the morning, set the alarms, and get up to watch the games. Coming here and seeing it live is just magical.”

Ihle has also adjusted to life in the South and doesn’t sport a thick Australian accent. However, he did throw in a “mate” that Aussies use interchangeably with “friend” during media interviews.

He does wish to debunk one stereotypical saying, though.

“The big one is ‘put another shrimp on the barbie,’ ” Ihle said. “We don't call them shrimp, we call them prawns. We don't even say that, but I guess that's a Hollywood quote for you.”

This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 6:42 PM with the headline "Columbus State’s Ihle finds home long way from Australia."