June 15, 2013
South Spencer Rebels Win Second State Title in Three Seasons
Unranked South Spencer scored one run in the second inning and two in the fifth to outscore top-ranked Northfield 3-2 for the IHSAA Class 2A Baseball State Championship at Victory Field.
It was the second state championship in three years and third 2A title overall for the Rockport, Ind. school coached by Brian Kuester.
South Spencer’s junior outfielder Malin Webb scored the first run of the game in the top of the second inning courtesy of senior Charleston Roberts' single.
Northfield’s Andy Roser (12) answered in the bottom half by leading off with a triple then scoring on a wild pitch to tie it 1-1. Roser finished 2-for-3 in the game.
The Rebels (23-8) scored two more runs in the fifth when Tyler Schneider and Taylor Market scored on a Ryan Duvall single to left field.
Northfield rallied with a run in the bottom of the seventh as Ryan Keaffaber scored from third on a Shane Vigar single to centerfield to cut the lead to 3-2. Keaffaber had led off the inning by reaching on a fielding error. He moved to third on a single from Roser. Two consecutive fly outs ended the Northfield threat.
South Spencer’s winning pitcher Brandon Lehr (10-4) went the distance only allowing four hits. Ryan Keaffaber, the state career wins leader with 48 finished 13-2 and 14 strikeouts.
Northfield’s head coach Tony Uggen and Norsemen ended 29-4.
Northfield's Ryan Keaffaber Named Mental Attitude Award Winner
Following the game, members of the IHSAA Executive Committee presented Ryan Keaffaber of Northfield High School as the winner of this year’s L.V. Phillips Mental Attitude Award in Class 2A Baseball.
Keaffaber finished seventh academically in his senior class of 98 students and graduated with an Academic Honors Diploma.
Besides four years of baseball, Keaffaber played four years of basketball for the Norsemen. The pitcher also finished as the state’s career leader in victories with a 48-4 mark.
He is the son of Ryan and Tammy Keaffaber of Wabash and will study Business while playing baseball at Indiana State University.
The award is annually presented to an outstanding senior participant in each state championship game who has best demonstrated excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability in baseball. The award is named in honor of the late L.V. Phillips, who served as the second commissioner of the IHSAA from 1945-62.
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, the proud corporate partner of all IHSAA tournaments, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Northfield High School in the name of Keaffaber.