ANDERSON — Right now is not a good time to get Anderson University catcher Brad Lantz to talk about himself.

The Ravens are in a stretch drive to grab a spot in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament. They needed three wins this weekend against Bluffton and then for Rose-Hulman to defeat Transylvania at least two of three games to get in.

“We’ve got our backs against the ball,” said Lantz. “We’ve got to go out and produce, get big hits and play good ball.”

Anderson did just that in the opening game of a Saturday home doubleheader against the Beavers, winning 13-0 behind the four-hit pitching of Pendleton Heights graduate Brad Schnepp.

Doing “whatever it takes” to help a team win is a term almost threadbare in its overuse. But in Saturday’s opener, Lantz turned the words into action.

In the opening inning, Lantz allowed himself to be plunked by an inside breaking ball from Bluffton starter Timothy Kay. But the umpire refused to let him take first base.

“He said I leaned into it,” said Lantz. “I don’t know why he didn’t let me take my base.”

Lantz worked Kay for a walk and scored in a three-run first inning.

Lantz was undaunted. As the second hitter in what would be a seven-run third inning, he was again hit by a Kay breaking pitch. This time he made it convincing enough to get first.

“It wasn’t a fastball,” laughed Lantz, who leads the team in being by a pitch with 10. “Those aren’t going to hurt too much when they hit.”

Twice in the opening innings, Lantz showed some surprising speed on the bases. He went from first to third on a single by Daniel Hiatt and scored from second on another Hiatt single to right field.

“Yeah, I got a chance to run a little bit,” said Lantz. “They get on me on a team about being a catcher and being slow.” Apparently the AU coaches are in agreement, as he hasn’t attempted a stolen base yet this season.

His real value to the team is three-fold. He can hit. He plays his position well and his is durable, having started all 36 of AU’s games.

“It is difficult to take him out of the lineup,” said AU coach Don Brandon “He’s a strong leader as a junior. You want that out of a catcher. When he goes on the field, he’s in charge. He handles the pitching staff really well.” Lantz has just four errors and 11 passed balls on the season.

His hitting has been as good as anyone on the team. He took a .345 batting average into Saturday’s games with seven doubles, two triples and six home runs. He’s driven home 31 runs and scored 33 himself.