LAFAYETTE — The smile of Central Catholic sophomore infielder LJ Whitford is seemingly rubbing off on his team in a short period of time.
“He just loves the game of baseball,” Central Catholic Tim Bordenet said.
Whitford transferred to Central Catholic from West Lafayette in December, and in just two games, has proved that he is right at home in the dark blue pinstripes.
The below 40-degree weather did little to hinder Whitford’s focus or confidence in the bottom of the seventh inning after two ties and one lead change heightened the pressure of an already chilly evening against Twin Lakes.
Whitford fought off an 0-2 baseball to bring home junior Koye Gick to win, 8-7. It was his first career walk-off base hit in just his second game for the Knights.
“All of my teammates trust me even though I’m the new guy,” Whitford said.
While Whitford is the new kid on the block, he’s a player who looked comfortable starting at second base after playing shortstop as a freshman at West Lafayette.
Whitford believed he needed a change and came to Central Catholic in December while utilizing the new transfer rules adopted by the IHSAA beginning this season.
Whitford has fit in for a Central Catholic (2-0) team that overcame a 3-run first inning deficit and led 6-3 before Twin Lakes rallied to tie the score at 7-7 after junior Cooper Dold walked, took three of his seven stolen bases or a run followed by an RBI double by senior Carson Wagner that scored Mason Brummett two batters later.
“It was a tough night to play and a tough night to play defense when it’s that cold,” Bordenet said. “I thought our guys did a really good job. Our guys gave them some extra bases with some mistakes. But we did enough tonight and thought we did a good job in the seventh inning.”
For Whitford, coming to Central Catholic has carried nothing but positives for a team that returned senior shortstop Mikey Stapleton, who finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a highlight reel diving stop to save a run with the bases loaded in the top fifth. They also returned Alex Schummer, who struck out Dold in the sixth inning and then had a bunt single to set up Whitford’s walk-off hit.
“It feels pretty great,” Whitford said. “It’s a great culture, great environment, great group of guys and coaching staff and a great school.”
Ethan Hanson is the sports reporter for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette. He can be reached at ehanson@jconline.com, on Twitter at EthanAHanson and Instagram at ethan_a_hanson.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: New Central Catholic baseball player provides heroics in second game
Reporting by Ethan Hanson, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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