<p>When it comes to his family’s legacy in Whiteland baseball, Luke Helton bats cleanup.</p><p>Helton, a four-year starter who plays shortstop for the Warriors when he’s not pitching, is the fourth family member to leave his mark on the Warriors. Overall, it’s a tradition dating back over half a century.</p><p>Twin brothers Lehman and Raymond Helton excelled for the Warriors before graduating in 1965. Lehman’s son, Mike, started at first base as a sophomore on the Whiteland team that advanced to the 1985 state semifinal before losing, 8-2, to eventual champion Kokomo.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]<p>Mike Helton hit 10 home runs that spring and is still Whiteland’s career leader in that category with 26.</p><p>In all three cases, those are big stirrups to follow.</p><p>Not that Luke Helton, who inherited his father’s quiet nature and willingness to work hard, would ever admit it.</p><p>“I really didn’t feel any pressure just because of the kind of baseball I play in the summers got me ready for high school baseball,” said the Morehead State recruit, who is 9-1 on the mound this season with a 1.48 earned-run average.</p><p>“I think we’re two totally different players, because he didn’t throw really hard. He hit a lot of home runs. I’ve hit the fence a lot.”</p><p>Luke Helton did finally clear the fence in last Friday’s 5-3 victory at Indian Creek. It was the first round-tripper of his high school career.</p><p>Mike Helton played baseball at Franklin College. He insists he didn’t pressure either of his sons to follow in his cleat marks. Drew Helton, a seventh-grader at Whiteland Middle School, has also grown up playing baseball.</p><p>“I pretty much left it up to Luke, but he gravitated toward it very early. Obviously, there were baseballs and bats and gloves around, so I never really had to push him to play,” Mike said. “He started when he was about 5.</p><p>“I’m glad he played. I think you can learn so much from sports. The teamwork and work ethic. My pressure was different in the fact that I had a really, really good sophomore year when we went to the Final Four.”</p><p>Aside from home runs, Mike Helton led the team with 11 doubles as a sophomore while posting the Warriors’ best batting average (.392). He said the pressure he put on himself his final two seasons at Whiteland made them less enjoyable.</p><p>The experience taught him a lesson when it came to watching his own kids play. During their games, Mike will stand with a few friends near the fence by the left-field stripe.</p><p>“It’s more about me. I kind of like to be away from things a bit. It’s really nothing more than that,” Mike Helton said. “But it definitely gave me the perspective to help Luke because he had a pretty good sophomore year himself.</p><p>“When you do have a good early year, it can be tough because teams get more up for you. They have something to prove, I guess, because you had success early.”</p><p>Lehman Helton, Luke’s grandfather, was a right-handed pitcher, while Raymond delivered to opposing batters from the left side.</p><p>Both played briefly in the New York Mets farm system after graduating high school. Lehman Helton was released within weeks, while Raymond Helton made it to Double-A before being released a few months into his professional career.</p><p>The twins went on to serve in the Army and were stationed in Korea near the end of the Vietnam War. It was approximately halfway through their respective tours of duty they realized they were stationed less than 100 miles from each other.</p><p>Lehman Helton passed away in late 2016. Raymond, 72, is retired and lives in Pikeville, Kentucky.</p><p>Butch Zike is a 1968 Whiteland graduate and former Warrior coach who has seen all four of the Heltons perform on a baseball diamond.</p><p>He was a freshman when the twins were seniors, and he claims Raymond Helton is one of the best hitters in Whiteland history.</p><p>“Luke is a combination of his dad and his grandfather. He’s a pitcher like his grandfather was and plays shortstop like his grandfather. What he gets from his dad is his hitting,” Zike said.</p><p>“I think it’s genetics. When I think of the Heltons in baseball, they’re all just really good.”</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="If you go" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p><p><strong>Class 4A Martinsville Sectional</strong></p><p><strong>Wednesday</strong></p><p>Franklin vs. Franklin Central, 5:30 p.m.</p><p>Whiteland vs. Center Grove, 7:30 p.m.</p><p><strong>Monday</strong></p><p>Wednesday’s winners, 10 a.m.</p><p>Martinsville vs. Greenwood, noon</p><p>Championship, 6 p.m.</p><p><p><strong>Class 3A Bishop Chatard Sectional</strong></p><p><strong>Thursday</strong></p><p>Herron vs. Indian Creek, 5 p.m.</p><p><strong>Saturday</strong></p><p>Indianapolis Manual vs. Beech Grove, 11 a.m.</p><p>Bishop Chatard vs. Thursday’s winner, 1 p.m.</p><p><strong>Monday</strong></p><p>Championship, 11 a.m.</p><p><p><strong>Class A Morristown Sectional</strong></p><p><strong>Wednesday</strong></p><p>Morristown vs. Indianapolis Lutheran, 5:30 p.m.</p><p>Greenwood Christian vs. Edinburgh, 7:30 p.m.</p><p><strong>Saturday</strong></p><p>Wednesday’s winners, 10 a.m.</p><p>Southwestern vs. Waldron, noon</p><p><strong>Monday</strong></p><p>Championship, 10 a.m.</p>[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title="Scouting area sectionals" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p><p><strong>Class 4A Martinsville Sectional</strong></p><p>Players to watch: Center Grove — Drew Dillon, Bryce Eblin, Grant Herron, Jackson Young; Franklin — Jace Fowler, Luke Miles, Tyce Miller, Luke Torrance; Franklin Central — Bryce Durm, Cade Fitzpatrick, Matt Hall, Collin Lytle; Greenwood — Cameron Crick, Nick Duffey, Oliver Rau, Ben Sobieray; Martinsville — Brandon Dodson, Josh Ham, Michael Hoppel, Justin Reed; Whiteland — Garrett England, Ryan Glithero, Luke Helton, Iyan Pelfree</p><p>Record against the field: Center Grove 5-0, Whiteland 6-2, Franklin 4-5, Martinsville 3-4, Franklin Central 1-2, Greenwood 1-7</p><p>Outlook: Martinsville drew a bye into the semifinal round, which might give it the option of saving ace pitcher Brandon Dodson, a junior already committed to Purdue, for the championship game. Five days separate first-round games from Saturday’s three contests, so rest won’t be an issue for pitchers. However, semifinal pitching matchups could determine which arms are available for the title game that evening. A rested Dobson would make the host Artesians difficult to beat as they vie for their second sectional title in three years. Center Grove, though, has won 21 games in a row and has a deep stable of available arms.</p><p><p><strong>Class 3A Bishop Chatard Sectional</strong></p><p>Players to watch: Beech Grove — Nic Ancelet, Garrett Esposito, Seth Walters; Bishop Chatard — Mitchell Ayers, Leo Dilts, Michael Mates, Jack Phelps; Herron — Brady Adams, Eben Oakes, Grant Williams; Indian Creek — Trevor Ankney, Xavier Ferris, Wyatt Phillips, Dustin Sprong; Manual — Ervin Crabtree, Charles Farmer, Christian Phillips</p><p>Record against the field: Indian Creek 2-0, Bishop Chatard 1-0, Herron 1-1, Beech Grove 0-2, Manual 0-2</p><p>Outlook: Indian Creek seeks its fourth consecutive sectional championship and sixth in school history, the hardest part likely being a Saturday afternoon semifinal against the host Trojans. The Braves hope their pitching depth makes it possible for a rested Dustin Sprong (0.52) to be on the hill for that game, which would likely be the only serious challenge for the Braves in this bracket.</p><p><p><strong>Class A Morristown Sectional</strong></p><p>Players to watch: Edinburgh — Ethan Armel, Ian Buchanan, Zach Giles, Coltan Henderson; Greenwood Christian — Colton Crick, Dane Crick, Payton Modlin; Indianapolis Lutheran — Matthew Alter, Matthew Holm, Jared Sneed; Morristown — J.D. Blackburn, Jarrod Fogle, Mathew Vankirk; Southwestern (Shelbyville) — Anthony Atwood, Christian DeArmitt, Jack Hartsell; Waldron — Cody Beal, Bryce Flippen, Eli Jones</p><p>Record against the field: Southwestern 8-0, Indianapolis Lutheran 2-1, Edinburgh 3-2, Waldron 3-6, Greenwood Christian Academy 1-2, Morristown 0-6</p><p>Outlook: GCA and Edinburgh, who didn’t meet in the regular season, will square off in Wednesday’s first round with a semifinal bid at stake. Ninth-ranked Southwestern has just one sectional crown (1999) but fields a squad good enough to break the 20-year dry spell, but Indianapolis Lutheran, which seeks its eighth consecutive sectional title, is still the team to beat.</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]
