From ihsaa.org
The field of eight schools for the 43rd Annual IHSAA Baseball State Finals includes three former state champions and three first-time participants.
The Class A state championship game is scheduled for Friday, June 19, at 7:30 p.m. ET, while the 2A, 3A, and 4A games will be contested at 1 p.m., 4 p.m., and 8 p.m., respectively, on Saturday. All four games will be played at Victory Field in Indianapolis, home of the Indianapolis Indians, the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Friday’s Class A game features No. 2 Lafayette Central Catholic (27-4) taking on unranked Vincennes Rivet (16-10). The Knights are making their third championship game appearance in the last six seasons, having won titles in 2004 and 2007. Central Catholic has outscored its five tournament foes 46-5, including a 16-run outburst in the semistate. Rivet will be seeking its first state championship in any sport after collecting its first baseball regional and semistate crowns the last two Saturdays. The Patriots’ girls basketball team came away as state runner-up in March, and a member of that team, Emily Montgomery, plays left field on the baseball team.
She is believed to be the first female in any sport to play in an IHSAA state championship game as part of a boys team.
Saturday’s 2A game between unranked Cass (19-8) and No. 9 Heritage Christian (24-6) features the same two schools that battled for the Class 2A football championship won by Heritage Christian, 17-14, last November. Both are new to the baseball state finals, however. Heritage Christian will be gunning for the school’s third state crown of this school year (the Eagles also won their fourth straight title in 2A girls basketball). Cass will be chasing the school’s fourth overall title in six years, having won in 2A boys basketball (2003) and 2A softball (2006, 2008).
The 3A final looks to be a hotly contested game between top-ranked Andrean (32-2) and No. 3 West Vigo (28-1). The 59ers, the 2005 state champs, have outscored their last five opponents 55-7, while the Vikings have outperformed their six tourney foes 52-12. West Vigo is playing in the state finals for the second time in baseball and will be looking for the school’s first championship in any sport. Vikings catcher Jeremy Lucas was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft earlier this month. Andrean’s girls softball team played in its state championship contest last Saturday.
The weekend’s finale in 4A showcases unranked teams as Fort Wayne Snider (23-3) tangles with No. 11 Westfield (24-5). Snider toppled top-ranked Crown Point, 4-2, in the South Bend Semistate on Monday and returns to the state finals for just the second time after winning it all in 2006. The Panthers have won their last three games by no more than two runs and will be representing their school in a state title game for the third time this year (girls soccer and boys basketball both finished runner-up). Westfield knocked out defending state champion Decatur Central in the regional semifinal and No. 6 Castle in Saturday’s semistate and will play for the state championship for the first time since 1998, when the Shamrocks fell to Jasper for the 3A trophy. Westfield senior pitcher Kyle Kramp was picked by the San Francisco Giants during the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft earlier this month.
The probable starting lineups:
CLASS A: Vincennes Rivet (16-10) vs. #2 Lafayette Central Catholic (27-4)
Lafayette Central Catholic
1. 26 Scott Windler CF
2. 17 Cole Hruskovich LF
3. 3 Dru Anthrop SS
4. 6 Reed Drysdale 2B
5. 32 Tyler Chlid C
6. 24 Taylor Glaze P
7. 28 Chas Bobillo 3B
8. 5 Matt Combs RF
9. 12 Austin Munn DH
10. 44 Jason Aldridge 1B
Vincennes Rivet
1. 32 Mitchell Bahr SS
2. 40 Tyler Vieke RF
3. 27 Matt Sievers 1B
4. 24 Philip Halter C
5. 17 Spencer Wirth 3B/P
6. 44 Cory Montgomery CF
7. 12 Brady Mouzin 3B/P
8. 10 Derek Potter 2B
9. 38 Jordan Campbell DH
10. 8 Emily Montgomery LF
CLASS 2A: #9 Heritage Christian (24-6) vs. Cass (20-8)
Cass
1. 7 Keith Lee LF
2. 11 Colton Zeck C
3. 22 Damon Foreman 2B
4. 16 Brody Edgerly 1B
5. 8 Andrew Troutman P
6. 6 Evan Depew CF
7. 15 Dave Diedrick DH
8. 12 Tee Plank 3B
9. 3 Drew Fowler RF
10. 21 Cam Cummings SS
Heritage Christian
1. 3 Cameron McWilliams LF
2. 5 Sterling Harpst 2B
3. 6 Chris Ward SS
4. 17 Ryan Ledbetter P
5. 7 Christian Rector 3B
6. 15 Jeremy Sherrill C
7. 9 Scott Kreeger RF
8. 2 Tanner Stis SS
9. 11 John Miley 1B
CLASS 3A: #3 West Vigo (28-1) vs. #1 Andrean (32-2)
Andrean
1. 12 Kyle Kovach CF
2. 3 Ryan Dineen SS
3. 10 Adam Norton P
4. 13 Kevin Franchetti C
5. 5 Ken Mahala 3B
6. 24 Mike Pokers 2B
7. 6 Evan Rapacz LF
8. 1 Tyler Ochi DH
9. 21 Matt Doolin 1B
10. 2 Thomas Polus RF
West Vigo
1. 2 Jordan Pearson P
2. 5 Cameron Fagg 3B
3. 3 Tyler Wampler SS
4. 32 Jeremy Lucas C
5. 33 Aaron Welch 1B
6. 8 Brodey McCalister LF
7. 22 Scott West 2B
8. 30 Cody Thornton RF
9. 21 Dylan Aff SS
CLASS 4A: #11 Westfield (24-5) vs. Fort Wayne Snider (24-3)
Fort Wayne Snider
1. 19 Spencer Anderson LF
2. 26 Daniel Sullivan CF
3. 24 Devon Rush DH
4. 6 Drake Everson P
5. 20 Alex Mitchell C
6. 21 Cody Johnson IB
7. 16 Kyle Bowman RF
8. 12 Justin Scott SS
9. 9 Nathan Kipfer 2B
10. 15 Lukas Richardson 3B
Westfield
1. 7 Zach Galyean CF
2. 4 Andy Gehr 3B
3. 30 Kevin Plawecki C
4. 24 Matt Hammel 1B
5. 27 Brandon O’Connor LF
6. 21 Taylor Luna RF
7. 20 Brandon Thomas 2B
8. 10 Andrew McCafferty DH
9. 12 Nick Crouse SS
10. 22 Kyle Kramp P
Of additional note …
Defending state champions in the field
None
Returning to state finals from 2008
None
Former state champions in the field
4A: Fort Wayne Snider 2006 (4A)
3A: Andrean 2005 (3A)
A: Lafayette Central Catholic 2004 (A), 2007 (A)
First-time participants in the state finals
2A: Cass, Heritage Christian
A: Vincennes Rivet
Dave Stauffer to be honored as top baseball official
Dave Stauffer of Berne is the recipient of the 2009 Interscholastic Athletic Official Association Award for excellence in the sport of baseball. Stauffer will be honored in a special ceremony at this weekend’s state finals tournament.
Each year, the Indiana High School Athletic Association, in cooperation with the National Federation of Interscholastic Officials Association, recognizes and honors an outstanding official in each of 11 sports during the school year. Stauffer was selected for this honor by a committee representing the officials associations.
During his career, Stauffer has worked 10 regionals, three semistates, and two state finals tournaments. He also played on the South Adams baseball team that finished as the state runner-up in 1972.
Stauffer, who has completed 27 years of officiating in the sports of baseball, basketball, and volleyball, has been a member of the Lime City Officials Association. He served as its baseball vice-president from 1988 to 1994 and on the board of directors for four years.
Stauffer attended Indiana State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business. He has been engineering new product design at Elkhart Products Corporation for 23 years and has been with the company for 30 years. He has been married to his wife, Anna, for 28 years. They have two children, Todd and Jenna.
In Indiana, there are 26 associations made up of men and women who give up much of their personal time to assist in providing wholesome, worthwhile, and healthy activities for the student athletes in our state. Statewide, there are more than 8,000 officials licensed by the IHSAA in 11 sports.
STATE FINALS
Dates: Friday, June 19; Saturday, June 20
Times: Friday 7:30 p.m. ET; Saturday 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 8 p.m.
Site: Victory Field (Indianapolis), 501 W. Maryland St., Indianapolis
Admission: $9
Home team: The winner of the north semistate will be the designated home team in each game.
CLASS A: Vincennes Rivet (16-10) vs. #2 Lafayette Central Catholic (27-4). Fri 7:30p
CLASS 2A: #9 Heritage Christian (24-6) vs. Cass (20-8). Sat 1p
CLASS 3A: #3 West Vigo (28-1) vs. #1 Andrean (32-2). Sat 4p
CLASS 4A: #11 Westfield (24-5) vs. Fort Wayne Snider (24-3). Sat 8p
