Taylor Lehnert wasn’t happy with the way his junior baseball season panned out.

He was 4-2 with a 2.85 ERA, so he started throwing as much as he could.

Every day he would find someone else to throw the ball to. In turn, his pitches got better and better.

It was enough to catch the eye of Central Michigan University, which offered a full baseball scholarship to the Lake Central senior.

“I knew playing with the Indiana Bulls that if I did pitch well, I would have a chance with some of the best colleges out there,” Lehnert said. “They are ready for me to come out there and start working and hopefully bring and hold up the success they’ve had there.”

Lehnert improved his breaking pitch and added some velocity to his fastball that is hitting closer to 90 on the radar gun. With the improved pitching, he still has his senior season to add to the Indians pitching staff.

“He just figured it out,” L.C. coach Jeff Sandor said. “I don’t know how to attribute what he was doing. He had some trouble with his breaking ball over the spring, and he kinda shored that up. As that became sharper … now that he’s throwing a breaking ball for a strike, he’s getting a little more confidence in his own ability.”

Lehnert plans to major in special education while in Mount Pleasant, Mich.

Central Michigan was the Mid-American Conference champion in 2010 and after 2011 sent three players to the pros, including Clark grad Trent Howard.

“Taylor has put himself in the position that pro guys are going to have to check him out next year,” Sandor said.