An exciting but very nerve racking game!!!The last championship is definitely the sweetest.
Despite a strong challenge from Tecumseh and a rain delay of two-plus hours, Central Catholic repeated as Class A state champions with a 4-2 victory over the Braves at Victory Field.
“This is what every senior that plays sports lives for: winning the final game,” said CC pitcher Taylor Glaze, who improved to 10-2 with a complete-game victory. “We came out here and did it. We played a helluva game.”
The Knights (27-7) won their fourth baseball state championship and repeated as champion for the first time. It is the 11th state championship in school history and second this school year, following the football team’s Class A title in the fall.
Unlike CC’s last two state championships, won by a combined score of 26-2, Tecumseh made the Knights sweat on Friday.
“The intensity was higher, and the stakes seemed a lot higher,” said CC senior catcher Reed Drysdale, who started in a state championship game for the third time. “The close game, it’s almost what I wanted. I wanted to win big, but I wanted it to be intense.”
Glaze went the distance to improve to 8-0 over the past two state tournaments. He became just the third pitcher to earn the victory in consecutive state championship games.
The senior left-hander scattered six hits, walked three and struck out six, giving him 205 for his varsity career. He escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam following the rain delay by striking out Braves cleanup hitter Trevor Noffsinger and designated hitter Nick Williams.
“(Glaze) had a lot to prove,” CC coach Tim Bordenet said. “He was down, to be quite honest, there in the fifth inning. I think the rain came at a good time for us. He had a chance to refocus and re-energize. He came back after the rain delay, and I thought he had a lot more velocity and life on his fastball than he did before.”
Austin Munn’s two-out two-run single in the fourth inning gave Central Catholic a 4-1 lead. Yet that clutch hit couldn’t prevent the Knights from setting a state record for any class by stranding 14 runners on base, including eight in scoring position.
“Our pitchers got command of the curveball, and we got a lot of ground ball outs,” Tecumseh coach Dave Duncan said. “We just couldn’t put anything together when we got a guy on. We should have scored about eight runs off of (Glaze).”
Tecumseh (22-11) pulled within 4-2 in the bottom of the fifth. After Logan Greenwell’s sacrifice bunt moved runners to second and third with one out, a flash of lightning prompted umpires to send Central Catholic’s players to the dugout.
The Knights did not return to their positions for two hours and eight minutes while rains soaked downtown Indianapolis. In the interim, they discussed what strategy they should utilize when play resumed with Tecumseh No. 3 hitter Adam Westerman at the plate.
“Coach actually told me, hey, we’re going to pitch around this guy,” Glaze said. “If we walk him, fine. Let your defense make plays for you.”
Glaze walked Westerman on a 3-2 pitch, but struck out the next two hitters to end the inning and the rally.
Glaze singled home Cole Hruskovich in the top of the first, continuing Central Catholic’s streak of scoring in every first inning of the tournament. Chas Bobillo has hit by a Westerman pitch in the third, then scored on a wild pitch by reliever Alex Oliver to make it 2-0.
Glaze retired Tecumseh in order in the seventh, coaxing a pair of flyouts and getting Westerman to ground out to third baseman Billy Fusiek.
“It’s definitely better the second time,” said Munn, who is 5-for-8 with five RBIs in state championship games. “After that long rain delay and coming back and putting up runs and competing, it’s a great feeling to win again.”
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