Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc.

9150 North Meridian Street, Box 40650, Indianapolis, Indiana 46240–0650

Phone: 317–846–6601    Fax: 317–575–4244    Website: www.ihsaa.org

Blake Ress, Commissioner

_____________________________________________________________________________

MEDIA INFORMATION                                                                      June 14, 2006

Contact: Jason Wille, Sports Information Director                                                                    

E–Mail: jwille@ihsaa.org

 

 

ON TO VICTORY: BASEBALL STATE FINALS IN INDIANAPOLIS SATURDAY

Two defending state champions, four champions and one runner-up from previous years and one first-time participant make up the field of eight teams that will gather for the 40th Annual IHSAA Baseball State Finals at Victory Field in Indianapolis on Saturday.

 

Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian (Class A) and North Posey (Class 2A) have both made it back to defend their respective championships while Hammond Bishop Noll (2A), Jasper (3A), Norwell (3A) and Indianapolis Cathedral have all won the title in recent years. Shakamak finished as Class A state runner-up in 2004, while Fort Wayne Snider will play in the finals for the first time.

 

Meet the Teams includes rosters, statistics and season results for all eight teams.

 

The first game of the day in Class A pits Blackhawk against Shakamak at 10 am EDT. Blackhawk has advanced to the state championship game for the third time in five seasons and have won the small school title on both previous occasions in 2002 and 2005. The Braves, like North Posey in Class 2A, have the opportunity to become the first back-to-back champion in Class A. Blackhawk Christian also beat Snider, 6-1, back on May 18. Shakamak also advances to the finals for the third time in five years and edged last year’s state runner-up Hauser, 8-7, in Monday’s semi-state game at Avon to earn their spot. The Lakers had fallen to Hauser in last year’s semi-state by one run.

 

The Class 2A championship, scheduled for no earlier than 1 pm EDT, will be determined by the last two state champions in the class -- defending champ North Posey and 2004 winner Hammond Bishop Noll. North Posey, which won the school’s first state title in any sport last season, will look to become the first 2A repeat winner. The Vikings have had little trouble scoring runs of late winning four of six tournament games and seven of their last 11 overall via the 10-run rule. They’ve also shutout their other two tournament opponents. Noll will be making its fifth appearance in the baseball state finals having won it all in 1968 and the 2A title two years ago. The Warriors started the season sluggishly falling in four of their first five games but have finished strong winning seven of their last eight regular season games before reeling off five straight tournament wins to date.

 

Both teams know how to swing the bat, but the Class 3A game at 4 pm EDT between Jasper and Norwell might very well shape up to be a defensive battle. Jasper started the season 20-0, stumbled once in mid-May, and hasn’t lost since winning 13 in a row. The tradition-rich Wildcats, winners of four state titles, are making a record-tying 12th trip to the state finals and are 4-0 in championship games. This year’s team has only given up four runs in six tournament contests with two shutouts. Like Jasper, scoring runs on Norwell has proven difficult in the tournament. The Knights have only allowed three runs in their six games, including a 3-2 victory in the regional. The Knights have only fallen once this season, a loss to Fort Wayne Snider back in mid-April, but they’ve won 24 in a row since. In their last appearance at Victory Field in 2003, the Knights won the school’s only state championship in dramatic fashion on a walk-off two-run homer by Jason Schortgen in the bottom of the eighth inning.

 

The Class 4A state title game between Fort Wayne Snider and Indianapolis Cathedral will be broadcast live statewide on the Indiana Cable Network. Game time is 8:07 pm EDT. This game also promises to yield strong plays on both sides of the ball. Snider, making its first state finals appearance in baseball, has outscored five tournament opponents by an astounding 42-2 margin including a pair of shutouts in Monday’s semi-state at Lafayette. Just as astonishing is Cathedral’s margin of victory during its post-season run. The Irish, which have moved up a class since their 2001 3A championship, have defeated six opponents by a 63-6 spread. All three sectional games were also halted due to the 10-run rule.

 

This will be the ninth time in 10 years that Victory Field has hosted the state finals. The park is home to the Indianapolis Indians, the triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Due to an International League scheduling conflict in 2005, the state finals were played at Loeb Stadium in Lafayette. The event had been played at Victory Field in the eight previous years (1997-2004).

 

 

 

40th Annual IHSAA Baseball State Finals

Date: Saturday, June 17, 2006.

Site: Victory Field, 501 W. Maryland Street, Indianapolis.

Victory Field | Seating Chart | Driving Directions & Map | Parking | Indy Hotels & Dining

Admission: $9.00.

Home Team: The winner of the south semi-state game will be the designated home team.

Internet: All four games will be broadcast live by the IHSAA’s internet partner, www.hoosierauthority.com.

Television: The 4A state championship game will be broadcast live to 48 affiliates around the state on the Indiana Cable Network. Longtime broadcaster Jerry Baker will team with former major league pitcher Geoff Zahn to provide all the play-by-play and commentary. | Network affiliates

 

Class A

Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian (24-2) vs. Shakamak (24-7). 10 a.m. EDT / 9 a.m. CDT

Class 2A

Hammond Bishop Noll (22-11) vs. North Posey (25-8). 1 p.m. EDT / 12 p.m. CDT

Class 3A

Norwell (29-1) vs. Jasper (33-1). 4 p.m. EDT / 3 p.m. CDT

Class 4A

Fort Wayne Snider (25-6) vs. Indianapolis Cathedral (31-2). 8:07 p.m. EDT / 7:07 p.m. CDT

 

 

 

Media Information

 

Media Hosts – Sports Information Director Jason Wille, Communications Director Joe Gentry and other members of the IHSAA staff will be at the site to assist in your coverage.

 

Media Credentials: The 2005-06 IHSAA State Finals Media Credential (white laminated pass) will allow for admission to Victory Field. Those outlets needing credentials should immediately fax a request on company letterhead with names of the individuals to Sports Information Director Jason Wille at 317-575-4244.

 

Media Will-Call: Approved requests will be available for pickup at media will-call located inside the glass doors to the right of the ticket windows on the stadium’s third base side. Please have identification available to claim your credentials.

 

Media Parking: There is no designated parking for media but plenty of options are available within short walking distance of Victory Field. The State Garage, across the street from Victory Field on the northeast corner of Maryland and West streets as well as the Indiana State Museum, Eiteljorg Museum, White River State Park, and the Circle Centre Mall garages are available for a fee.

 

Services: Starting lineups and game programs will be circulated to members of the media in the press box. Computer-generated official box scores will be available following each of the four state championship games and also posted to the IHSAA website.

 

Photography: Photographers may take up positions in the outfield portion of each dugout for field level shots. At no time should photographers be shooting from the playing field itself.

 

Interviews: Interviews with coaches and players may be conducted on the field following the conclusion of the awards ceremonies. In order to allow the grounds crew to begin preparing the field for the next game, we ask your cooperation in conducting interviews outside the foul lines.

 

 

 

Probable Starters and Batting Order

 

Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian

 

No.

Name

Pos.

1

21

Brandon Young

CF

2

24

Brock Reilley

1B

3

10

Jon Ringenberg

P

4

20

Andrew Nelson

SS

5

37

David Ehmke

3B

6

27

Alex Johanningsmeier

RF

7

2

Stryker Salyer

C

8

8

Jordan Friesen

LF

9

11

Jordan Ash

2B

10

 

--

 

 

Shakamak

 

No.

Name

Pos.

1

4

Jared Rehmel

CF

2

14

Ben Grissom

RF

3

6

Ridge Inman

1B

4

21

Steven McNabb

C

5

19

Ryan Wilson

P

6

3

Derek Collins

LF

7

22

Tyler Utterback

SS

8

1

Josh Sweet

2B

9

23

Justin Cox

3B

10

 

--

 

 

Hammond Bishop Noll

 

No.

Name

Pos.

1

5

Chavo Bolanos

2B

2

10

Jim Bowers

RF

3

11

Jake Pelletier

3B

4

13

Dan Faulkner

P

5

14

Josh Pelletier

C

6

24

Nick Milosevjic

1B

7

8

Trevor Lee

LF

8

12

Pat Ramker

CF

9

1

Jon Cardenas

SS

10

 

--

 

 

North Posey

 

No.

Name

Pos.

1

3

Jake Voegel

CF

2

18

Adam Schroeder

3B

3

13

Jared Baehl

P

4

5

Robert Johnson

RF

5

20

Ryan Neumann

SS

6

12

Brock Wenderoth

LF

7

10

Justin Esche

DH

8

4

Adam Nix

C

9

6

Braxton Williams

2B

10

22

Ryan Kerney

1B

 

Norwell

 

No.

Name

Pos.

1

10

Scott Woodward

CF

2

3

Kreigh Williams

SS

3

7

Rhett Goodmiller

C

4

9

Jarrod Parker

P

5

12

Adam Rupright

3B

6

11

Andrew Gerz

LF

7

15

Ryne Otis

1B

8

22

Clay Dafforn

2B

9

4

James Lewis

RF

10

 

--

 

 

Jasper

 

No.

Name

Pos.

1

25

Derek Katter

CF

2

15

Adam Klatka

LF

3

13

Sam Linette

C

4

20

Broc Litherland

1B

5

10

Josh Sermersheim

RF

6

12

Bryan Schnaus

DH

7

4

Nick Seger

SS

8

16

Luke Mehringer

3B

9

3

Ian Boone

2B

10

6

J.T. Stenftenagel

P

 

Fort Wayne Snider

 

No.

Name

Pos.

1

3

Josh Parrent

CF

2

1

Kevin Cahill

3B

3

2

Tony Sedlmeyer

SS

4

10

Brett Dennon

C

5

24

Austin Grate

RF

6

18

Jeff Batesole

LF

7

12

Adam Painter

1B

8

4

Payton Bieker

2B

9

16

Josh Johnson

DH

10

20

Chris LaGrow

P

 

Indianapolis Cathedral

 

No.

Name

Pos.

1

2

Jim Roesinger

SS

2

4

Pat Coffey

CF

3

7

Brad Henke

2B

4

32

Scott O’Neil

C

5

10

T. J. Stark

RF

6

25

Steve Darragh

1B

7

33

Cy Fraker

P

8

5

Jim Dixon

3B

9

18

Jack Lupo

LF

10

 

--

 

 

 

 

INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS TAKEN IN MLB DRAFT

Several current and former Indiana high school baseball players were selected in the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft on June 6-7 including:

 

Name, School, Round, Team

Preston Mattingly Evansville Central 1st Dodgers

Jeff Samardzija* Valparaiso 5th Cubs

Nevin Ashley* North Knox 6th Devil Rays

David Arnold* Indianapolis Arlington 10th Rockies

Blake Holler* Terre Haute North 13th Angels

Jared Baehl North Posey 14th Mariners