McCutcheon baseball shuts down Knights

Written by
NATHAN BAIRD
On paper, McCutcheon pitcher Jordan Young gets credit for the shutout in Friday's 7-0 victory over Class A No. 1 Central Catholic at Leming Field.

Yet the sophomore shared the execution of his five-hitter with his teammates, and was quick to share the credit as well.

"I wasn't trying to strike anybody out," said Young, who walked two (one intentionally) and struck out three. "All I was trying to do was get some ground balls for the infield and just keep everybody off base."

The Mavericks (13-3) won their seventh straight while snapping Central Catholic's seven-game winning streak.

Young (2-1) stranded seven Knights on the bases, including five in scoring position, and allowed only two runners beyond second base. When Central Catholic (12-2) did put runners on, Young relied on his defense, recording 13 outs via ground balls or pop flies on the infield.

Among the highlights were second baseman Kaleb Waller stopping Andrew Hubertz's hard shot in the second inning and shortstop Zach Tippy's diving stab of Jake Churchill's line drive in the fifth.

"He has a good two-seam fastball that kind of sinks in, so he gets a lot of ground balls," said McCutcheon catcher Cody Strong, who doubled twice and scored three runs. "He throws a lot of strikes, which helps out a lot. The defense is always in it."

McCutcheon led 1-0 in the third when Young encountered a two-on, two-out situation. After a wild pitch left first base open, the Mavericks chose to intentionally walk CC No. 3 hitter Austin Munn to pitch to sophomore cleanup hitter Evan Kennedy.

Kennedy lined out to left field to end the threat. In the top of the fourth, Strong's two-run double and a pair of CC errors keyed a three-run inning that gave the Mavericks some breathing room.

The Knights left two more runners on in the fourth and finished the game 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

"We've still got to be tough and keep working," said CC junior center fielder Cowan Olinger, who had two of the team's five hits. "We were hitting the ball well; we just didn't string enough hits together. Our approach wasn't bad tonight, but I think it could be a little better. They just made plays."

Justin Curry went 3-for-4 for the Mavericks, and Austin Kiracofe went 2-for-4 in his first game back from suspension. McCutcheon piled up 11 hits without usual No. 3 hitter Hank Gray, who broke a bone in his hand when hit by a pitch against Harrison on Thursday and could be out a month.

After losing to West Lafayette earlier this season, McCutcheon is now 5-1 against county rivals.

"I played with Austin and Dalton (Skees, CC's second baseman) for a lot of my life," Strong said. "It's big rivalry. It's good to get out here and get a win."