Jackson native, Southern Indiana’s Lane Crowden ‘comfortable’ in second season with Catfish

After having his first season at the division one level cut short by injury, Jackson native Lane Crowden is looking to get back to his old self with the Cape Catfish.

Crowden joined the University of Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles this season after spending two seasons at Three Rivers College with the Raiders.

With the Raiders, Crowden appeared in 38 games and hit .277 with a .396 on base percentage and a .470 slugging percentage.

In the opening game of the season with the Screaming Eagles, Crowden was 3-for-3 with a triple and 3 RBIs before he suffered a broken collarbone that ended his 2023 season.

After recovering from the injury, Crowden is now back for his second season with the Catfish.

“Having the injury I’m just now getting back into things,” Crowden said. “I’m taking it one game at a time right now just trying to find my comfort zone.”

Crowden said he’s much more comfortable in his second season with the Catfish.

“This environment is so great,” Crowden said. “It’s hard to not be comfortable in an environment like this.”

Being from Jackson, Crowden loves the opportunity to play close to home.

“It’s so great,” Crowden said. “Getting to play in front of the home crowd, a lot of my friends that I grew up with and my family is such a blessing.”

In 2022, Crowden hit .302 in 44 games while driving in 24 runs and swiping 15 bases.

“I came in as a younger guy last year,” Crowden said. “I had a lot of older guys that I could go to.”

With the Catfish roster in 2023 being one of the youngest they’ve had, Crowden has taken on more of a veteran role.

“The roles are reversed this year,” Crowden said. “We have a lot of young talent here and I want to give back to them like the older guys gave back to me.”

Despite having the young roster, the Catfish are off to a 12-1 start in the Prospect League.

“We show up expecting to win,” Crowden said. “Everytime we show up to the ballpark we’re expecting to win. That’s just the chemistry with these guys, it’s just such a great group of guys and we all have one goal and that's to win every night.”

Crowden and the Catfish are back in action at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, June 16, when the Catfish begin a three-game road trip when they travel to take on the Burlington Bees.

Following the game in Burlington the Catfish will head to Quincy where they will play the Gems at 6:35 p.m. on Saturday, June 17, and Sunday, June 18.