June 17, 2016
Roncalli wins Extra-Inning Thriller for First Baseball Crown
A safe call at first base with bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning handed unranked Roncalli a 3-2 win over top-ranked Zionsville in the Class 4A state championship game at Victory Field in Indianapolis.
The Rebels' Will Harris sent a grounder to shortstop and beat out the throw to first base which allowed Mark Cobb to score. Cobb pinch-ran for Jake Franklin who had singled to lead off the inning.
It was the first baseball state championship for the Rebels (23-9) and second-year coach Aaron Kroll after three previous trips to the state championship game (1982, 2012).
Scoreless through three innings, Zionsville took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth when pitcher Nick Prather singled up the middle scoring Nolan Elsbury.
Roncalli answered in the bottom of the fifth inning tying the game 1-1 when Brian Keeney scored from third on a Prather wild pitch. Keeney had pinch run for Cody Smith who had singled to lead off the inning and advanced to third on Dylan Williams' double to the left field corner.
Zionsville regained the lead in the top of the sixth when Roncalli hurler Michael McAvene threw a wild pitch allowing Jacob Hurtubise to score from third. Hurtubise singled to lead off and advanced to third on a fielding error by the third baseman when Elsbury sent one in that direction.
Nick Schnell's two-out triple to the left center wall in the sixth inning scored Hayden Harper knotting the score again at 2-2. The go-ahead run was stranded as the the Eagles' James Meyer ended the threat with a strikeout.
Roncalli halted a golden opportunity for Zionsville to push across a run in the top of the eighth when the Eagles hit into a 6-2 force play at home followed by a fly out to right field with the bases loaded.
Zionsville (30-5-1) was making the school's first appearance in a baseball state championship game under third-year coach Jered Moore.
A crowd of 6,799 set a new state finals attendance record for the Friday night game.
Zionsville's Hurtubise named Mental Attitude recipient
Following the game, members of the IHSAA Executive Committee announced Jacob Hurtubise of Zionsville High School as the winner of this year’s L.V. Phillips Mental Attitude Award in Class 4A Baseball.
Jacob has excelled as an all-around student-athlete during his four years at Zionsville. On the field, Jacob has shined leading his team in Batting Average, Stolen Bases, Hits, and On Base Percentage on his way to becoming a 2016 All-State performer. In the classroom, Hurtubise’s 3.93 GPA ranked him 10th in his graduating class earlier this month and led him to a 2016 Academic All-State Nominee.
Jacob has been involved at Zionsville as a member of many clubs, notably a member of the National Honor Society, the Best Buddies Club, Fellowship of Christian Atheltes, and the Eagles Making Positive Choices Club. He also provides several volunteer services, working for Wheeler Mission and as a Special Needs volunteer at Traders Point Christian Church.
He is the son of Francois and Lisa Hurtubise of Zionsville and will attend the United States Military Academy at West Point where he'll study life sciences on his path to becoming a pediatrician.
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 IHSAA's corporate partner, presented a $1,000 scholarship to general scholarship fund at Zionsville High School in the name of Jacob Hurtubise.