MICHIGAN CITY – Follow-through on swings, concentration on the bases, pitch velocity – these are important facets of competitive baseball and softball. However, when seminarians and priests gathered on the diamond, two other factors took priority: fellowship and fun.
Among the dozens of fans in the stands at the Marquette Athletic Complex (MAC) for the third annual Collars vs. Scholars Classic on June 10, family members and friends shared stories of their favourite seminarians, enjoyed cookout foods and, in at least one case, sounded a European war horn.
Father Steven Caraher joined what had been a shorthanded seminarian lineup featuring eight men. They faced a group of nine diocesan priests, which included the recently ordained to more seasoned clergymen such as Father Ben Ross, who is 40.
Not in the lineup, but designed as “5” on his jersey, the fifth Bishop of Gary, Robert J. McClory, affirmed that the annual vocations promotion event struck the right tone on the early summer evening.
“This has become a tradition – and there’s a lot on the line with a little bit of healthy pride and good-spirited competition and sportsmanship,” said Bishop McClory. “It’s not just a game; it brings people together.”
The diocesan shepherd added some color commentary about the line-up, offering a deadpan analysis of what could have been had he called home seminarians Gianni DiTola and Ryan Pierce, who are studying at the Pontifical North American College.
“I am just going to acknowledge that there are some who wish that I would have used my episcopal authority to summon back two of our seminarians who are in Rome so that they could play in this game,” he explained.
The bishop continued, “I decided that it is better for their spiritual and apostolic formation to keep them there … but I have every confidence that the Scholars will do fine with the team we have assembled.”
Pierce, who had considered pursuing baseball in college, joined other collegians in 2025 for an audience with Pope Leo XIV, the world’s most famous White Sox fan. There the seminarian did not raise his allegiance to the Cubs.
Joining the vocations backers was first-time Classic attendee Kathleen Orlando, who spoke about her son John LaCorte. Recently accepted as a diocesan seminarian, LaCorte is the youngest among her 12 natural-born children.
“John is very thoughtful of others. He’s creative, and has a lot of energy,” she said.
Orlando added that LaCorte may have inherited some athletic acumen from his siblings. "I think they’re all pretty athletic, most of them.”
Sponsored by the diocesan office of vocations, the Classic was moved to the MAC from the original site at Andrean High School in the wake of the damage to the Merrillville campus from the June 11 tornado.
In the spirit of civic duty and sportsmanship, the Classic began with an invocation by Bishop McClory and the singing of the National Anthem.
The formality of the opening ceremony quickly yielded to the humorous remarks of the announcers and the banter between some competitors. Whereas the seminarians were praised as “young guns” making spectacular plays, some priests were jokingly called out for still owing the broadcasters “money for coffee.”
At one point, Father Christopher Stanish, whose diocesan title was declared as “your boss,” or the “general,” for vicar general, by the announcers on the public address system, razzed the discerners. He suggested that they needed to hit from a tee.
Suffice it to say (or write) that a repeat of last year’s Classic, which was a 24-13 drubbing of the Collars (the priests) by the Scholars (the seminarians), was not in the cards.
The Collars opened the three-out, six-inning game with a 10-hit, 10-run frame where nearly every clergyman got on base. The Scholars would notch two runs in the first inning, then stymie the priests in the second, preventing a run from crossing the plate.
But the priests outpaced the seminarians seven runs to four in the third, where the Collars led in the hit department 17 to 8, as some of their blasts were bobbled in the outfield.
The Burgo family of Fish Lake came to cheer the diocesan fishers of men, and each plate appearance by Father Zachary Glick elicited the sounding of Solomon Borgo’s homemade war horn.
The fanfare was inspired by Father Glick’s email inviting members of the young adult group at Mary, Mother of Mercy parish in Michigan City to the Classic.
Burgo read a tongue-in-cheek email from Father Glick, “There is no cost to attend; you just need to cheer for me and the priests and not John LaCorte and the seminarians.”
In the third inning, LaCorte hammered a pitch beyond the left field fence, adding two runs to the seminarians’ column. Despite the gaudy numbers put up during the contest, it was the evening’s only home run.
“As a kid I loved the sport; it was something I played in the backyard with the family,” said LaCorte. “My siblings taught me to listen to those who have something to teach, and they always made time for me even though I was younger than them.”
New seminarians and first-year Classic participants also included Mark Akert, Joseph Bojda and Isaac Ford.
The priestly players allowed two seminarian runs in the fifth inning but then countered, sending eight runners across the plate. After the seminarians put a goose egg on the scoreboard in the sixth frame, the contest mercifully wrapped with a 25-10 final tally. The reverend rivals secured a 2-1 all-time lead over the Scholars in the Classic.
“We can still hold our own,” said Father Nathaniel Edquist, diocesan vocations director. “We’re all, if not pushing 40, right around there or younger. Some of us still go cycling together from time to time.”
The de facto team manager added, “It was a great night … and this place has a more Field of Dreams feel … the atmosphere was great, and it shows that people really support their priests and seminarians.”
Longtime Serra Club member Agnes Zeller is heartened to see four men step up this year to discern a calling to the priestly life. Stepping up to the plate was also part of a Godly plan, she said.
“God wants you to be happy; if you have fun, you’re being happy,” said Zeller, outreach minister for the vocations support organization.
PJ Caraher, Father Caraher’s dad, was a walking encyclopedia of baseball and softball advice as an unofficial coach for the Scholars squad. “You can run through first base!” “Don’t Stop Believin’!” he proclaimed from the seminarians’ dugout.
Father Caraher tipped his hat to his dad, who he said started coordinating the priest’s personal spring training in March.
“Sometimes you are kind of worried as a young man entering seminary because you wonder, ‘if I become a priest, do I lose myself?'" Father Caraher explained. “But the truth is that God is calling you and it’s the same you that played little league with your dad. It’s a really cool testament.”
Caption: Sister Mary Amata Naville, OSF, (center) signals that the runner, Father Alexander Kouris (front), is safe at third base as seminarian John LaCorte (right) walks away during the Collars vs. Scholars Classic, hosted on July 10 at the Marquette Athletic Complex in Michigan City. The annual recreational event brings out a competitive spirit in the clergymen and discerners who participate, but is mainly designed to encourage support for priestly vocations from among area faithful. (Anthony D. Alonzo photo)
