MUNCIE — When Delta baseball senior and Taylor commit Zane Cline woke up Monday, June 2, he said he felt ‘confident’ ahead of the IHSAA Class 3A Sectional 24 championship game between the Eagles and Hamilton Heights.
“We know that we can go in there and compete with any team in the state,” Cline said. “I think just being able to have each other’s backs and just tie it all together was just the main thing for us.”
The blue and gold’s starting pitcher took the mound at Yorktown High School and struck out the first three Huskies he faced. Through his first 10 batters, he struck out seven, allowed one hit and forced a flyout and a fielder’s choice.
After four innings, Cline was relieved with nine strikeouts, allowing just the lone hit and one walk as the Eagles (21-9) topped the Huskies (10-19), 13-0 in five innings, hoisting the sectional trophy for the second straight year.
“It feels awesome,” Delta head coach Jacob Van Pelt said. “I have no complaints with the way they play. These guys have been working hard and it feels great.”
After the contest, Cline received multiple hugs from different Delta fans. To him, the embraces made the win even more special.
“I think that’s the main thing at the end of the day,” he said. “Just knowing that we all have each other and being able to go and see everybody, I think that just means even more for us.”
Though Cline’s inaugural three strikeouts sent the Delta supporters into a cheering frenzy, that wouldn’t be the last time they were heard in the opening inning. After catching fire early on the mound, Delta’s ace started the blue and gold’s offense with a leadoff single.
He revisited the plate in the first inning as the Eagles went through the entire batting order, recording seven hits — five singles, a double and a triple — to take a 6-0 lead.
“That’s just something we’ve been preaching to these guys … We feel like we’re a very talented team, but we’ve got to go out there and score first,” Van Pelt said. “We did everything we needed to do there.”
Following the inning, the Eagles’ offense became quiet in the scoring department. But the defense never lost its touch. Because of Cline’s performance and the Eagles’ zero errors on defense, the Huskies never found the momentum to get back in the game.
“I think these guys all feel [Cline’s] presence when he’s on the mound and they rally behind him. They love him,” Van Pelt said. “We are a really tight knight group, and a lot of these seniors have been playing together for a long time.”
Delta’s bats didn’t take too long of a break. After scoring one run in the bottom of the third courtesy a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch, the Eagles rallied to bring home six more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Though Hamilton Heights made two pitching changes to try and stop the bleeding, the blue and gold’s offense never lost its touch.
The Eagles finished the game with 10 hits and walked nine times. Seniors Chase Ritchie, Kaeb Stebbins and junior Brady Williams all went two-for-two on the day.
“I just went out there and refused to strike out,” Ritchie said. “I wanted to put the ball in play and move runners around, which really helped us get the dub.”
What is next for Delta baseball?
The Eagles will now advance to play the winner of Sectional 23 in a one-game regional final Saturday, June 7, which will either be Peru or Western. The location and time will be announced by the IHSAA no later than Wednesday, June 4.
Though Delta is coming off of last year’s semistate appearance, Van Pelt and the Eagles themselves are taking this postseason run one game at a time.
“No one’s going to say, ‘Oh, you made it to the semistate [last year], so here’s the regional,”’ Van Pelt said. “No one’s going to do that. So, we have to keep earning it, and that’s just how it’s going to be.”
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: ‘No complaints:’ How Delta baseball won a second-straight IHSAA sectional title
Reporting by Zach Carter / Muncie Star Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
