With IHSAA sectional play starting Wednesday, we’re doing one last Fab 15 before postseason play begins.
1. Center Grove (22-1)
Previous: No. 1
Center Grove is the wire-to-wire top team in Central Indiana. The Trojans have won 19 games in a row, and their lone loss came in the second game of a doubleheader against Homestead. Center Grove won the first game 7-1. The Trojans have superstar talent in Gannon Grant and Drake McClurg. Players currently playing at elite levels in Hudson Stewart and Tristan Yerman. Dominant arms in Grant and Kellen Thomson and a rising star in Braylon Storey.
2. Guerin Catholic (21-3-1)
Previous: No. 2
A 1-0 win over reigning Class 4A runner-up Evansville North shows just how talented Guerin Catholic is. George Mason commit Ian Taylor has been one of the breakout stars of the season, and Ben Canada and Tate Troxell continue to be steady presences at second base and on the mound, respectively. Guerin is the heavy favorite to win the sectional championship and should make another run toward Victory Field after falling one game short of the state championship game last season.
3. Noblesville (19-9)
Previous: No. 4
Noblesville, winners of six in a row, is one of the hottest teams in the state. The Millers clinched the outright Hoosier Crossroads Conference title with an 8-4 win over last Thursday. The Millers have won the HCC three out of the last four seasons. Winning the toughest conference in the state instantly makes Noblesville a strong state title contender. The Millers have an ace in senior lefty Beckett Doane and play sound defense with IU commit Aiden Reynolds leading the way at shortstop.
4. Hamilton Southeastern (19-9)
Previous: No. 5
HSE is up one spot in our rankings after an up and down finish to the regular season. The Royals’ sweep of Noblesville points to the high-end talent on the team. HSE plays a daunting schedule still finished with a plus-57 run differential. Spencer Mohr and Dylan Cope give HSE a strong 1-2 punch, but the Royals’ offense has been the weak link in its losses. Jackson Bixler and Parker O’Steen need to produce on offense if HSE wants to make a deep tournament run.
5. Roncalli (18-5)
Previous: No. 3
Roncalli drops a few spots after finishing the season 5-3. Two of the losses were to quality opponents (Guerin Catholic, Park Tudor), the third loss game against a struggling Franklin Central squad in a game where Roncalli could muster just five hits and its pitchers issued eight walks. Joey Ortman impressed me with his stuff against Guerin Catholic. Sophomore Gavin McGee also has impressive stuff, but he must learn to command his pitches. McGee’s ability to harness his talent could be the x-factor in Roncalli’s postseason run.
6. Franklin (18-4)
Previous: No. 9
The Grizzly Cubs have put together a strong season with several quality wins and losses against tough competition. Franklin drew a first-round bye, but the Columbus North sectional is loaded with talented teams. Franklin awaits the winner of Columbus North vs. Whiteland. Columbus North is 16-11 with wins over Zionsville, Westfield, Decatur Central, East Central and Roncalli. Franklin has won two of three against Whiteland. On the other side of the bracket East Central is 20-6 and has won 10 out of its last 12 games. If Franklin advances out of this sectional, it will certainly be hard earned.
7. Mooresville (18-7-1)
Previous: No. 6
Mooresville has won four in a row heading into the sectional round. Senior Alabama commit Hudson DeVaughan has been every bit the ace he’s shown the ability to be throughout his career, but junior Kooper Schmitt has shown great improvement on the mound for the Pioneers. The Pioneers have an offense capable of scoring in bunches, will it be enough in a likely sectional semifinal matchup against Center Grove at Center Grove?
8. Plainfield (16-7)
Previous: No. 7
Plainfield is playing solid baseball heading into the sectional round winners of six out of its last seven. The Quakers have allowed one run or fewer in five of those six wins. Gavin Lykins pitched well during the win streak, getting three wins while throwing 14 scoreless innings with 25 strikeouts. Corran McGill and Greyson Hardin combined to allow one run against Perry Meridian. McGill and Ryan Garver combined to shutout Greenwood. Lykins has been an ace all season, having other arms to support the hard-throwing righty will help the Quakers advance.
9. Cathedral (17-8-1)
Previous: No. 8
Cathedral heads into the postseason winners of three in a row. Slow starts have plagued the Fighting Irish, but they built a 2-0 lead over Carmel and held on for a 4-2 win. The Irish jumped out to a 9-4 lead in their win over Franklin. Junior Connor Christiansen has ace upside, and he seems to be turning the corner after a rough start in a loss to University. After allowing 11 walks over 8⅓ innings against Columbus North and University, Christiansen has allowed just six walks over his last 11⅓ innings with 12 strikeouts and six earned runs (3.78 ERA).
10. Westfield (15-10-1)
Previous: No. 10
Westfield had won eight of nine before losing to state-title contender Crown Point 10-0. The Shamrocks managed just two hits, while four errors allowed the game to quickly get out of hand. Even during Westfield’s win streak errors have been a problem for the ‘Rocks. Wins over Cathedral and Fishers show what this team is capable of. Sophomore Andrew Noble is a dynamic table setter for the offense, but the ‘Rocks haven’t shown the ability to overcome self-inflicted mistakes.
11. Greenfield-Central (16-9)
Previous: No. 13
Ending the regular season with a win against Shelbyville and ace Aiden Smith shows that the Cougars can hang with most teams in the state. Shelbyville jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Smith struck out 14 over five innings, but Shelbyville forced Smith to throw a lot of pitches, and their patience led to four walks, the most Smith has surrendered in a start all season. Walker Miller drew two walks and scored a run. Freshman Jack Herrin and senior Carson Richardson each drove in runs. The Cougars showed they can come to the plate with a game plan and execute, a great skill to have during a single-elimination postseason.
12. Fishers (15-13)
Previous: Unranked
It’s been a steady climb into the Fab 15 for Fishers. The Tigers have won seven of their last eight games, winning four one-run games and two games by 10 or more runs during the streak. The Tigers finished third in HCC, tied with rival HSE and one game behind Westfield for second place. Central Michigan commit Carter Strole leads the offense. Evansville commit Owen Lukac is the team’s top pitcher, and he’s finding his groove after a slow start. The lefty allowed eight earned runs in an April 23 start against Westfield. Since then, Lukac has allowed just one earned run over 18 innings, striking out 23.
13. Shelbyville (16-4)
Previous: No. 14
After Shelbyville dropping an extra-innings game to Greenfield-Central, the Golden Bears enter the postseason winners of nine out of their last 11 games. Shelbyville can win offensive shootouts and use its defense and pitching to get games close. Aiden Smith leads the offense, and Brayden Smith has become another consistent offensive contributor with seven hits and six RBIs over his last six games.
14. Park Tudor (18-6)
Previous: Unranked
Park Tudor doesn’t have a lot of high-quality wins, but victories against Roncalli and University help the Panthers earn a spot in our final Fab 15. Park Tudor capitalized on three Roncalli errors to beat the Royals. Park Tudor drew 20 walks in its win over University. Walks and errors cost the Panthers in a regular season ending loss to Triton Central, highlighting how slim the margin of error is for the Panthers. Notre Dame signee Desmond Francis is the catalyst of the offense. In a do-or-die situation, I wouldn’t expect the speedy slugger to get much to hit. Francis must be willing to take a walk, and he’ll need his teammates to drive him in if the Panthers want to make a postseason run.
15. University (17-10)
Previous: No. 12
Since beating Cathedral for the first time ever, the Trailblazers finished the season 2-4. University dropped games to Park Tudor and Bloomington North, beat Eastern Hancock and Arsenal Tech, and ended the regular season with losses to Center Grove and Eastbrook. The Trailblazers’ last two opponents are a combined 44-4, so the losses are the highest quality of losses. On a team with state-title aspirations, you’d like to see a slightly stronger record against top competition.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Baseball Fab 15: Center Grove goes wire-to-wire as top team in rankings
Reporting by Akeem Glaspie, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
