MIKE CARMIN
Once the IHSAA baseball tournament starts, the bar is set high for Central Catholic’s program.
Although opening Class A, Sectional 54 play with a 7-1 victory over Tri-Central, the top-ranked Knights didn’t come close to matching their own expectations Thursday night.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think we were as focused as we should’ve been,” CC coach Tim Bordenet said. “We’ll be ready to go Monday. I guarantee we’ll be ready to go Monday.”
Monday is a semifinal matchup against Clinton Prairie. Rossville and No. 5 Frontier meet in the other semifinal with the winners playing Monday night in the title game.
“We just have to come out every night and give 110 percent,” said senior pitcher Austin Munn, who struck out 12 and allowed three hits in six innings. “One run could be the end of the season and with the legacy that we have here we don’t want it to end short.”
CC has a storied legacy, winning the last three state championships and five overall since 2004.
“It’s good to realize you never overlook any team,” said sophomore Evan Kennedy, who homered and scored three times. “Every team is good in the playoffs. The record doesn’t matter.”
Munn was in control throughout but did trail 1-0 after the Trojans (2-23) scored in the top of the third inning. The Knights (25-4) answered on Wiley Lodde’s RBI single and Andrew Hubertz scored after a bases loaded walk to take a 2-1 lead.
CC didn’t take full advantage of Kody Key’s inability to find the strike zone. Key issued eight walks, but only three of those Knights scored. It wasn’t until the sixth that Bordenet’s team found its offensive rhythm.
“We just had to stay with it,” Kennedy said. “We knew we could come back and hit him.”
No comments:
Post a Comment