1999 IHSAA BASEBALL STATE FINALS

June 26, 1999

Victory Field, Indianapolis

Class 4A

McCutcheon comes from behind

to win first IHSAA championship

McCutcheon won its first IHSAA title in any sport by coming from behind to outlast Lawrence North 7-6 to claim the 1999 Class 4A state championship.

Senior pitcher Pat Lowrey retired Derek Hays on a called third strike with the bases loaded to give the Mavericks (30-5) the title. Lowrey went the distance, yielding nine hits to go with five strikeouts. He finished the season 11-1.

Down 6-5 after five innings, McCutcheon took its only lead in the bottom of the sixth with two runs. After loading the bases with no outs, Lowrey lashed a looping drive to right centerfield that dropped for a double and brought home Matt Kennedy and David Gilbert.

Lawrence North (30-4) led 2-0, 6-2 and 6-5 before McCutcheon pulled its rallied. The Wildcats scored twice in the first inning as Tal Short opened the game with a double and scored on a fielder's choice RBI from Jared Lowe. After a walk, Lawrence North starter Kenny Hughes stroked a single to score Lowe.

McCutcheon tied the game with a run in the second inning and another in the third inning. In the second inning, the Mavericks filled the bases on singles by Lowrey, Brian Eaton and Aaron Lower. The Mavericks hit into a double play, but Lowrey scored to tie the game at 2-2.

In the third inning, Kennedy led off with a single, moved from first to third on a botched pickoff play, and scored on a passed ball.

Lawrence North moved to a 6-2 advantage in the fifth when Short led off with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice and eventually scored on a passed ball. With two outs, Aaron Gray knocked in Bryan McDowell from second with a single. A double down the leftfield line from Evan Hays scored Gray and Mike Manetta.

Amid a light drizzle, McCutcheon closed to 6-5 on three runs in the fifth inning. After Kennedy walked, Nick McIntyre's booming double rolled to the fence in deep centerfield. McIntyre scored on Paul Smith's drive off the scoreboard in leftfield. Following an infield out, Smith scored from third on an infield single from Brian Eaton.

 

Lawrence North's Tal Short named Mental Attitude Award Recipient

Tal Short, a senior at Lawrence North High School, was chosen by the IHSAA Executive Committee as the 1999 recipient of the L.V. Phillips Mental Attitude Award in Class 4A baseball.

A nine-letter winner during his athletic career at Lawrence North, Short was a three-sport performer, and served as the team captain in all three sports during his junior and senior years. He lettered twice in baseball, four times in tennis and three times in basketball. He came into the baseball state finals with a .438 season batting average.

Academically, he ranked in the top third of his graduating class of 442 students. He was named the athlete of the year for the school's 1999 senior class. His college choice is undecided, but he plans to major in business education and coaching.

Farm Bureau Insurance, corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000 check to Lawrence North High School in the name of Short.

 

IHSAA Class 4A Baseball State Championship Game

Lawrence North (6)

AB

R

H

RBI

Tal Short, 2b

4

2

2

0

Matt Crews, lf

3

0

2

0

Jared Lowe, ss

4

1

2

1

Brian McDowell, cf

2

1

0

0

Kenny Hughes, p/rf

3

0

1

1

Mike Manetta, pr

0

1

0

0

Aaron Gray, c

2

1

1

1

Tony Francis, pr

0

0

0

0

Evan Hays, 1b

3

0

1

2

Derek Hays, 3b

3

0

0

0

Greg Schnieders, rf

2

0

0

0

Scott McGrath, p

1

0

0

0

TOTALS

27

6

9

5

McCutcheon (7)

AB

R

H

RBI

Matt Kennedy, 2b

2

3

1

0

David Gilbert, cf

2

1

0

0

Nick McIntyre, c

4

1

2

1

Paul Smith, ss

4

1

2

1

Pat Lowrey, p

4

1

2

2

Morgan Asay, pr

0

0

0

0

Brian Eaton, 1b

3

0

3

1

Kyle Robertson, pr

0

0

0

0

Aaron Lower, lf

2

0

1

0

Jon Emerick, dh

2

0

0

1

Justin Jackson, ph

1

0

0

0

Marc Rowe, rf

2

0

0

0

Jarrad Wright, 3b

0

0

0

0

TOTALS

26

7

11

6

Lawrence North

2

0

0

0

4

0

0

--

6

9

4

McCutcheon

0

1

1

0

3

2

x

--

7

11

0

 

E — Lowe, Hughes, E. Hays, McGrath. 2B — Short, E. Hays, McIntyre, Smith, Lowrey. SB — Gilbert. WP — Lowrey 2. PB — Gray, McIntyre 2. BK — McGrath. HBP — Gray (by Lowrey. DP — Lawrence North 1, McCutcheon 1. LOB — Lawrence North 8, McCutcheon 9. SH — Crews, D. Hays, Kennedy, Gilbert, Lower. Umpires — Dave Switzer (Home Plate), Harry Northington (First Base), Bill Kachel (Second Base), Jeff Brooks (Third Base). Time of Game — 2:01. Attendance — 7,043 (four-game session).

Pitching Summary

IP

R

ER

H

BB

SO

Pat Lowrey (W, 11-1)

7.0

6

5

9

5

5

Scott McGrath (L, 8-1)

1.1

2

2

1

2

3

Kenny Hughes

4.2

5

4

10

3

3