Jasper jumped to a 2-0 lead in the second inning and went on to post its fourth state title in five seasons with a 10-3 triumph over Plymouth to win the Class 3A state championship on Saturday at Victory Field in Indianapolis.

Jasper won the last two single-class state tournaments in 1996 and 1997, and added the first Class 3A state crown in 1998. The Wildcats were defeated in the 1999 semi-state by eventual Class 3A champion Madison. All of Jasper’s championship teams have been guided by coach Terry Gobert.

The Wildcats scored three runs each in the fourth and fifth innings and added two more in the seventh.

Plymouth broke up the shutout in the bottom of the sixth inning scoring three times to cut the lead to 8-3.

Mark Seger hurled a three-hitter for the Wildcats, striking out five Plymouth batters in five innings.

Plymouth, making its first appearance in the IHSAA Baseball State Finals and led by first-year coach Tony Plothow, finished 31-4.

Most Walks – 10 by Jasper.

Most Walks (Combined) – 13 by Jasper (10) and Plymouth (3).

Most Left on Base – 10 by Jasper.

Most Left on Base (Combined) -- 16 by Jasper (10) and Plymouth (6).

Most Hits (Combined) -- 17 by Plymouth (9) and Jasper (8).

Most Runs (Combined) – 13 by Jasper (10) and Plymouth (3).

Most Stolen Bases – 2 by Jasper.

Most Stolen Bases (Combined) – 2 by Jasper (2) and Plymouth (0).

Most Doubles – 1 each by Ben Slein, Plymouth; Mark Simanski, Plymouth.

Most Stolen Bases – 1 each by Chris Schmidt, Jasper; Matt Kiefer, Jasper.

John Pettibone, a senior at Plymouth High School, was chosen by the IHSAA Executive Committee as the 2000 recipient of the L.V. Phillips Mental Attitude Award in Class 3A baseball.

The pitcher and outfielder was a unanimous all-Northern Lakes Conference selection in 1999 and 2000 as a pitcher. He took a 10-1 record into the state finals, with 96 strikeouts in 81 innings.

Pettibone also played three seasons of varsity football for Plymouth and two seasons of varsity basketball.

Academically, he ranked in the top 15 percent of his senior class and is a member of the National Honor Society. He plans to attend Ball State University and major in chemistry.

E –Arvesen 2, Scott, Hansen. 2B – B. Slein, Simanski. SB – Kiefer, C. Schmidt. WP – B. Slein 2, Arvesen, Pettibone. HP – Kiefer (by Arvesen), Giesler (by Arvesen). DP – Jasper 2. LOB – Jasper 10, Plymouth 6. SAC – Wolf, Seger, Hayes, Schwenk. Umpires — James Dunlap (Home Plate), Terry Magnuson (First Base), Rod Moore (Second Base), Robert Gootee (Third Base). Time of Game — 2:05. Attendance -- 5,922 (four-game attendance).

Jasper scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to earn a 4-3 victory over West Vigo in the first semifinal game of the Class 3A State Finals on Friday in Noblesville.

With West Vigo leading 3-1 and two outs in the sixth, Jasper’s Phil Schwenk walked and went to third on a double by Ben Schmidt. Brandon Jahn then hit a line-drive double into right-center that traveled to the wall and scored Schwenk and Schmidt. A fielding error enabled Jahn to round the bases and score standing up to account for the final difference.

Jasper (29-6) will face Plymouth (30-3), a 6-1 victor over Peru, in the Class 3A title game on Saturday evening at Victory Field. The Wildcats will be going after their fourth state title in the last five years having won the championship in 1996, 1997 and the Class 3A crown in 1998. Plymouth will be making its first appearance in the title game.

Jasper led 1-0 through the first three innings before West Vigo scored two runs to assume the lead. Ryan Starbuck scored on a double by Rex Roach and later in the inning Dan Cuffle was brought home on a sacrifice fly by Teddy Leclercq.

West Vigo added a run in their half of the sixth when Seth Silcock scored on a two-out single by Kevin Kull. The Vikings had golden opportunities to add to their lead but stranded nine baserunners between the third and sixth innings.

West Vigo, making its first appearance in the state finals, closed out its year at 25-8.

In the second game, Zach Scott stroked two doubles that drove in two runs and also scored a run to lead Plymouth.

Plymouth scored all the runs it would need with a three-run third inning. Mike Scott’s one-out triple scored Charley Craig and Scott later scored on an RBI ground out by Matt Arvesen. Zach Scott’s two-out double scored Mark Simanski to make it 3-0 at the time.

In the fifth inning, Plymouth added two insurance runs on Zach Scott’s second double, which scored Arvesen. Zach Scott later scored on an RBI single from Dan Caban.

The Pilgrims’ John Pettibone, who ended the game by striking out the side, went the distance for his 11^th win in 12 decisions this season. He struck out nine batters in the game.

Peru, also making its first appearance in the state finals, finished out at 23-8.