Phone:
317-846-6601 Fax: 317-575-4244 Website: www.ihsaa.org
Blake Ress,
Commissioner
____________________________________________________________________________________________
June
18, 2005
ANDREAN
ROLLS TO FIRST BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
After two
years of falling short, Andrean left no doubt in its third consecutive
appearance in the state finals as the 59ers rolled to a 10-1 victory over
Evansville Memorial in the 3A state championship game at Loeb Stadium in
Lafayette.
Coach Dave
Pishkur’s top-ranked team (33-2) won the last 15 games of its campaign after
finishing as the runner-up in 2004 and falling in the Friday semifinals in
2003.
Andrean
wasted no time getting on the board busting loose for a state championship game
record 10 runs in the first inning. Remarkably, all 10 were unearned and came
with two outs. Junior first baseman Joe Mack’s three-run double to right center
field made it 8-0 and senior shortstop Tommy Finn’s two-run homer to left
center made it a 10-run advantage. In addition to those plays, Andrean managed
two more doubles and three walks in the inning.
Memorial
(21-13), coached by Quentin Merkel, picked up its lone run of the game in the
top of the second inning. Junior shortstop Ben Griggs reached on a fielder’s
choice and picked up the RBI when Patrick Stone scored from third. Stone had
singled to left to lead off the inning, advanced to second on a fielding error
and then went to third on another fielder’s choice.
Andrean
senior pitcher Steve Augsburger, who collected the victory to finish 8-1 on the
mound, also led the team in hitting going 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run
scored. Finn also scored twice for his team’s cause and knocked in three runs.
Evansville
Memorial was playing in the state finals for the 11th time in school
history but came up short in its bid for its fourth state championship. Gibbs
and Stone both went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead the Tigers.
Andrean’s Finn Named
Winner of L.V. Phillips Mental Attitude Award
Finn is a
two-sport standout who helped Andrean to its first-ever state championships in
football and baseball in 2004-05. Finn
is an all-state performer in baseball, setting a school record for doubles with
28. Heading into Saturday’s championship
game, Finn was batting .495 with 53 hits, 43 runs, 31 RBI, and nine doubles.
In
football, Finn led the state with 3,380 yards passing in 2004, helping the
59ers knock off previously-unbeaten Heritage Hills in the championship game at
the RCA Dome. He played baseball,
football, and basketball all four years at Andrean.
Finn
graduated with an Honors Degree. He is a
National Honor Society student who served as a tutor, a retreat leader, and an
Andrean Ambassador.
“Tommy
excels through his efforts both on and off the athletic field,” says Andrean
principal Father Paul E. Quanz. “He
represents very well the values and goals of the IHSAA as an athlete and a
scholar.”
Finn will
attend
Indiana
Farm Bureau Insurance, the corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000
scholarship to