Big time baseball tonight!! State Championship is on

It's Showtime!!!!

JCOnline:
Taylor Glaze gave his junior high baseball teammates little indication he would become Central Catholic's future ace.

Glaze spent the majority of his seventh and eighth grade seasons on the Central Catholic Squires' 'B' team. Yet since his sophomore season, Glaze has taken the mound for the Knights' biggest games.

The winning pitcher in last year's Class A state championship game will attempt to repeat the feat Friday night at Victory Field against Tecumseh.

"I never thought I'd be a No. 1," said Glaze, who is 25-5 in his CC career. "I always thought I'd be a 3 or 4. It just goes to show anything can happen if you work hard. You just have to put your mind to it and good things will happen for you."

Glaze, a left-hander, admits his low-80s fastball won't blow opponents away. So he sets it up with a big, breaking curve, mixes in a changeup and slider and supports it all with excellent command.

In over 200 varsity innings, Glaze has struck out almost a batter per inning while compiling a 1.35 ERA.

"In high school, when you're able to throw breaking pitches over for strikes, you've got a good chance, because most pitchers can't do that consistently," CC coach Tim Bordenet said. "Taylor has a knack for being able to do that. He has a lot of confidence in that pitch, and his slider, both. He's not afraid to throw it in any count."

With only 45 walks in 139 innings over the past two seasons, Glaze also hasn't hurt himself by giving away free baserunners.

"What I worked on from eighth grade year on is location," said Glaze, also a letterwinner on the Knights' soccer team. "That's what works for me: I hit my locations well, and I hardly miss my spots. Tell me to put it somewhere, and I'll put it there. If you throw low 80s, you've got to."

Glaze first stepped onto the big stage in 2008. Bordenet started his sophomore in the sectional championship against Frontier, when the Falcons were ranked No. 1 and CC No. 2.

Though the Falcons won 3-0 behind the two-hit shutout of another sophomore, Dylan Sterrett, Glaze's confidence continued to grow.

"Since then, we've kind of known that he was going to be special," said CC senior catcher Reed Drysdale. "He kind of came into his own late in his career, which is good for him and good for us too."

Glaze's career numbers rank with some of Central Catholic's all-time best pitchers. Yet the one-time wrestler reaches another level in the state tournament.

Over the past two postseasons, Glaze is 7-0 with 24 hits allowed, 11 walks, 53 strikeouts and an 0.85 ERA in 41 innings.

"I always say, as soon as we get that big lead, you're coming out and I'm closing it, and he always says, 'No, we're not doing that,' " said CC junior Brett Haan, who did relieve Glaze for the final two innings of last year's 14-1 state championship victory over Vincennes Rivet.

"Even in Kokomo (at semistate) when his perfect game got ruined I was telling coach, hey, it's time to put me in. I always want to go in, but I know he's a senior and he's doing a great job this year. I couldn't be happier for him."

Another factor has motivated Glaze during the postseason. He's still auditioning for college coaches in need a reliable left arm. He plans to visit Franklin, where teammate Scott Windler has already committed, on Saturday.

Tonight, he'll attempt to join Jasper's Heath Uppencamp (1997-98) and North Posey's Jared Baehl (2005-06) as the only pitchers to win consecutive state championship games.

"This is his game right here," CC senior shortstop Chas Bobillo said. "He's going to be ready for this."