Mount Mercy ‘super, super senior’ Joel Vaske satisfies competitive streak with one last college baseball season

CEDAR RAPIDS — Joel Vaske worked a full-time job, helped on his family’s farm and coached football at Dyersville Beckman in the fall.

He seemed focused on the next chapter of his life, playing town ball for the Dyersville Whitehawks and entering the “real world” after a college baseball career with stops at Kirkwood, Southeast Missouri State and Mount Mercy.

Vaske initially dismissed the idea of returning to the Mustangs for one last semester of eligibility, however, nothing seemed to satiate his desire for competition. Baseball’s pull on his heart and soul was too much to foul off, so he consulted those closest to him.

“I still had that competitive edge and I couldn’t get rid of it,” Vaske said. “I talked with my family and girlfriend and decided to go back, conquer this beast. Let’s have at it. Do what we can do. That’s what led us here.”

Vaske has capitalized on a final season, ranking among the Mustangs’ offensive leaders and helping the team to a No. 3 seed at the Heart of America Athletic Conference baseball tournament, beginning Thursday at Ozark, Mo. Mount Mercy opens the tournament against defending champion and No. 6-seed Grand View.

“Right now, we’re swinging for the fences,” said Vaske, one of six graduate students that includes Kyle Moeder, Kyle Lehman and Trent Hooferwerf on the team. “This is anybody’s game. Anybody can get hot in the conference tournament. I like us as much as I like anybody else.

“I’d love to go out with a bang my super, super senior year in college.”

Vaske said it’s “kind of goofy” being back for a sixth year, which is his second with the Mustangs. He expected last spring to be the end, but those competitive juices started to boil, especially when he was working out, lifting and providing lessons. The love of the game was too much to overcome. He made his decision around late fall and early winter.

“I’ve had great support from friends and family, the coaching staff and even the players that are here,” Vaske said. “My biggest thing when I started talking about coming back is I didn’t want to overstep my boundary as someone who wasn’t here in the fall. I don’t want guys to think that I haven’t put the work in and stuff like that.”

Mount Mercy Coach Jack Dahm said he felt 70 to 75 percent certain Vaske would return to the Mustangs. He said being removed from the game might have been what led Vaske back.

“We all thought we’d be able to get him back,” Dahm said. “Time away was the best thing for Joel because it made him realize he had one more year to take advantage of it. Joel is a very mature person. It was important that it was the right thing for him, his girlfriend and family.”

Vaske laughed when he said his teammates and coaches knew his decision before he did. He said a fall roster had him penciled in as the starting left fielder. He maintained close contact with players and coaches, which made it easier to rejoin the team. Vaske also wanted to make sure players knew he had put in the work in the offseason and was coming in with the same commitment as everyone else on the team.

“I’ve been pretty comfortable coming back here,” Vaske said. “I’ve been around some of the guys previously, having friends still on campus and coming to visit them. I have good relationships with the coaches, keeping a text message line open and checking in on them. They kept up on how me and my family were doing in the fall. Just letting me know they still wanted me back.”

Vaske, a former Beckman three-sport athlete, has made an immediate impact with the Mustangs. Dahm said Vaske has a notable presence about him. He has plenty of baseball knowledge, coming from a family that included uncles who played professional baseball. Vaske demands a lot from his peers, leading by example whether it’s putting away equipment, setting up the field for practice or messaging a text group about working out.

“He’s a hard-working kid,” Dahm said. “He comes from a farming family. That’s all they do is work.”

Interestingly, the baseball season hasn’t interrupted his work on the farm that includes 350 head of cattle run by his dad and grandfather. Even though he plans to venture outside of farming in his professional life, he still plans to help his family. Just as he did when he received texts asking for his assistance at the start of practice.

“I ran back a day or two,” Vaske said. “We had to vaccinate about 75 calves about our second week of practice. I ran back on one nice day to help them out in between stuff.”

Vaske has fit right into the Mustangs lineup. He enters the conference tournament with a team-high in runs (44), on-base percentage (.494) and home runs (10). He is tied with Hoogerwerf for the team lead in hits (43) and is third with a .350 batting average.

“He’s just a strong, explosive player,” Dahm said. “I remember when Kirkwood came over and worked out at our facility. We watched him hit balls the other way onto the soccer field. The ball comes off his bat different. Last week, he hit four home runs. They were all touched but maybe his most impressive swing was a ball hit down to the third baseman. I swear it went through his glove he hit it so hard.

“He’s been gifted with that. At the same time, he works extremely hard at it. When he’s hot, he’s able to carry you for a while.”

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Vaske attributes his production to a change in perspective. Last season, he said he always played hard but was on the wrong side of the fence when it came to playing with reckless abandon. He was too patient or reserved. He shed those chains this season and turned off those thoughts.

“I have played with a sense of urgency, a sense to want to win, because I want to give Mount Mercy something that we haven’t had before,” said Vaske, who had four home runs last week. “It’s almost given me a sense of calmness. I haven’t felt overwhelmed as much, like I have in the past times. Like I have to deliver.

“Even this last week when I was insanely hot. Everything seemed to be clicking for me. I never felt rushed. I felt calm and never felt a moment was too big, which has been awesome. It’s a great feeling.”

Vaske appreciates the chance to compete one more season and contribute to the Mustangs’ success. He said this season has provided an awesome conclusion to his career.

“I don’t know if it’s the game or being around 20-some of your closest friends you won’t get to be with like this again,” Vaske said. “It’s just the experience of going out there with eight or nine other guys and playing your tail off every single day, seeing what you can bring to the field.

“You never know what the game of baseball is going to give you. It could hand you a pair of 3s or a pair of aces in the hole. You just have to go play with it.”

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