The road to Victory Field, site of the IHSAA state baseball championships, begins this week, so lets look at sectionals in the Bloomington, Bedford and Martinsville areas.
Regionals in the southern half of the state will take place on Saturday, June 6 at Center Grove, Mooresville, Jennings County, Evansville Reitz (Bosse Field), Jasper, Floyd Central, Mitchell and Plainfield.
Class 4A, Sectional 13 at Bloomington South
SCHEDULE — Wednesday, May 27: Terre Haute North (19-5) vs. Terre Haute South (8-15), 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 1: Martinsville (1-23) vs. Bloomington South (17-6), 10 a.m.; Bloomington North (17-6) vs. TH North/TH South winner, 12:30 p.m. Championship, 6 p.m.
OUTLOOK — Conference Indiana’s three co-champs all meet up again so predicting the outcome won’t be easy. TH North beat South, which beat Bloomington North, which beat THN and needing two wins on the final day means a premium on pitching depth. To start things off, the Terre Haute rivals will meet for a third time this year with THN taking the first two 7-3 and 10-0. The Patriots boast plenty of hitters and arms, led by Colten Moore .393, 5HR, 35 RBIs; 2-0, 2.00), IU recruit Briar Goda (.344, 5 HR, 27 RBIs); Jacob Norton (5-2, 2.50), Chase Millington (2-1, 2.95) and Nate Millington (.370; 0-1, 1.22). THS counters with Cam Hoke (.368, 3HR, 14 RBIs); Tyler Leek (.318, 3HR, 17 RBIs) and Gavin Freeman (3-2, 1.81). Tristan Deel and Sam Swaim combined for 65 strikeouts, but also have ERAs in the 6s. Winner gets Bloomington North, which has improved its offense this year and has plenty of pitching behind Luke Freel. It’s been a tough year for the Arties, who have surrendered double digits in runs 15 times. That doesn’t bode well when facing a South team hitting .333 with 95 stolen bases, 16 of them in the meeting against Martinsville, which walked eight and hit two batters. But Martinsville ace and Notre Dame recruit Rhys Wolf didn’t pitch that game. Xavier Hemingway and Connor Couch give the Panthers two DI bound pitchers as they hope IU signee Collin Marcum can make a late return to the mound.
REGIONAL — Winner plays the Columbus North Sectional champion.
Class 4A, Sectional 15 at Bedford North Lawrence
SCHEDULE — Wednesday, May 27: Floyd Central (17-7) vs. New Albany (14-11), 5:30 p.m.; Bedford North Lawrence (12-9) vs. Silver Creek (16-10), 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 30: Floyd Central/New Albany winner vs. BNL/Silver Creek winner, 1 p.m.; Jeffersonville (13-10) vs. Seymour (12-11), 3 p.m. Monday, June 1: Championship, 7 p.m.
OUTLOOK — Is there a favorite? New Albany (4-1) and Floyd Central (5-2) had the most success in HHC play, but BNL beat New Albany, Jennings County and Jeff to win the tourney title. So the Stars have a five-game win streak to start the week. BNL will be leaning on Boston College commit Cam Gates (.475 hitter; 4-3, 2.26, 34 IP, 47K) and Cutler Chastain (.316 3HR, 18 RBIs; 3-2, 2.12, 36IP, 67K) to carry them. They start against a non-league foe in Mid-Southern champ Silver Creek, which is coming off a 4-1 loss to No. 1 Center Grove. The Dragons lost to Seymour (7-6), Columbus East (8-7) and FC (5-4) and beat BNL 7-5 with the help of four errors by the Stars, who gave up just three earned runs. Silver Creek is led by Conner Burns (.400, 24 RBIs), Boston Roberts (.390, 22 RBIs, 15 SB; 4-0, 4.91) and Luke Ott (3-0, 3.76). FC will try to beat New Albany for a third time, taking the first two, 6-2 and 4-3. The Bulldogs have lost three of four, to BNL 7-1, Seymour 10-3 and FC before beating Brownstown Central.
REGIONAL — Winner plays the Evansville Reitz Sectional champion.
Class 3A, Sectional 27 at Northview
SCHEDULE — Wednesday, May 27: Cascade (13-8) vs. Edgewood (12-10), 5:30 p.m.; Northview (14-8) vs. Indianapolis Washington (0-6), 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 28: Cascade/Edgewood winner vs. Northview/GW winner, 5:30 p.m.; Owen Valley (5-10) vs. Speedway (7-16), 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 1: Championship, 6 p.m.
OUTLOOK — The draw didn’t do Edgewood any favors, unlike Northview, which received a virtual or an actual bye to the semifinals while paired up with Indianapolis Washington, a program that didn’t even show up for last year’s sectional. Meanwhile the Mustangs must open up against the defending sectional champs, who are less potent these days after their best pitcher left the team. It’s still a potent bunch, with five starters hitting over .400 led by seniors Braxton Lewis (.467, 12 doubles, 26 RBIs) and Toby Savini (.446) and sophomores TJ Turner (.412, 5 HR, 23 RBIs; 4-2, 3.56, 50K) and Brayden Cravens (3-0, 1.75). The Knights went 2-3 down the stretch, falling to WIC champ Sullivan 2-0, CI champ Terre Haute North (10-9 in 10 innings) and 4-0 to HHC Tournament champ BNL. The Continentals have been outscored 77-3. Owen Valley started 2-7 and thanks to rainouts, have played just twice since May 4, taking Edgewood to eight innings behind Grady Bough in a 2-1 loss and falling to Sullivan 10-0. Speedway started 3-12. Lucas Devault (.397, 15 RBIs) and Logan Moore (.364, 17 RBIs) lead the offense but the staff has walked 129 batters and the four main arms have ERA’s between 4.45 and 8.18.
REGIONAL — Winner plays the Crawfordsville Sectional champion.
Class 2A, Sectional 46 at Mitchell
SCHEDULE — Wednesday, May 27: Clarksville (7-14) vs. Salem (12-11), 5:30 p.m.; Crawford County (3-21) vs. Paoli (12-9), 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 30: Clarksville/Salem winner vs. Crawford Co/Paoli winner, 11 a.m.; Mitchell (9-11) vs. Eastern (Pekin) (9-11), 1 p.m. Monday, June 1: Championship, 6 p.m.
OUTLOOK — Mitchell stumbles in having dropped seven of its last eight after a fast 8-4 start, scoring just 19 runs in those losses. Bryson Zeeks (.300, 12 RBIs) lead a team hitting just .224. So a lot is resting on the arms of sophomore Parker Peeve (1.99, 46K) and Boston True (5.91, 33K) and Gavin Martin (5.49). The Musketeers have won three of their last four, led by freshmen Reas Sater (.391, 16 RBIs), Carter Smith (.317), Reese Lindley (2.97, 38K) and Alton Swartz (1.64, 34K). Paoli owns two wins over Crawford County, 9-2 and 10-0 (behind a Cooper Spires five-inning no-hitter).
REGIONAL — Winner plays the South Ripley Sectional champion.
Class 2A, Sectional 47 at Linton
SCHEDULE — Wednesday, May 27: South Knox (10-13) vs. Eastern Greene (10-13), 6 p.m. Thursday, May 28: North Knox (9-8) vs. Linton (6-9), 5:30 p.m.; Sullivan (18-3) vs. Barr-Reeve (22-4), 8 p.m. Monday, June 1: West Vigo (16-9) vs. South Knox/Eastern Greene winner, 10 a.m.; North Knox/Linton winner vs. Sullivan/Barr-Reeve winner, 1 p.m. Championship, 6 p.m.
OUTLOOK — It was a shootout last time Eastern Greene and South Knox met, with the Spartans winning 10-9 with a stunning five-run bottom of the seventh. Ace Chaz Perry (2-5, 2.36, 74K; .358, 11 RBIs) struck out 10 over 6⅓, giving up just three earned runs out of six before the wheels fell off. South Knox has lost three straight. Eastern has won six of its last eight as freshman Saxton Pennycuff (.474, 24 RBIs; 1-3, 3.28, 42K) continues to play well. The winner gets a West Vigo squad that got a bye to the semis and has been tested by Terre Haute North and South, Northview, Edgewood, Barr-Reeve and played Sullivan to a 3-2 loss. Sullivan is hitting .350 with three at .444 or better led by Jaden Norris (.525) and Hunter Mason (.478, 25 RBIs; 4-0, 3.04) while Zane Abbott has 21 of the Arrows’ 62 stolen bases. Senior Ty Hamilton (6-1, 0.80, 71K) is their ace. But they must get past last year’s 1A champ, Trevoe McConnell’s Barr-Reeve Vikings, whose losses are to Jasper, Edgewood, Heritage Hills and Forest Park.
REGIONAL — Winner plays the South Spencer Sectional champion.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: What to watch at Bloomington area IHSAA baseball sectionals
Reporting by Jim Gordillo, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
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