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 13, 2007

Contact: Jason Wille, Sports Information Director

E-mail: jwille@ihsaa.org

 

 

THREE 2006 RUNNER-UP TEAMS LEAD CHARGE INTO 2007 BASEBALL FINALS

Three state runner-up teams from 2006, one of which includes a pitcher taken in the top nine of Major League Baseball’s Draft earlier this month, return to headline the field of eight teams in this weekend’s 41st Annual IHSAA Baseball State Finals.

 

The Class A state championship game is scheduled for Friday at 7:30 pm ET, while the 2A, 3A and 4A games will be contested at 1 pm ET, 4 pm ET and 8 pm ET, respectively, on Saturday. All four games will be played at Victory Field in Indianapolis.

 

The Class A game features last year’s runner-up Shakamak, ranked seventh in the final regular season poll from the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association, and No. 3 Lafayette Central Catholic.

 

Shakamak lost a heart-breaker a year ago to repeat winner Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian when the Lakers scored a run in its last at-bat to tie the game and force extra innings only to give up three runs in the next inning to fall, 7-4. The Lakers avenged a late-April loss by knocking off No. 4 Northeast Dubois, 7-3, in the semi-state championship game on Saturday night to advance to the state finals for the fourth time in the last six years. They settled for the runner-up trophy in both 2004 and 2006. Lafayette Central Catholic is also making its fourth trip to state in the last six seasons but the first time since its championship campaign in 2004. The Knights earned their way here by eliminating No. 2 Frontier in the sectional, No. 5 Tri-County on its home field in the regional and two-time defending champ Fort Wayne Blackhawk in the semi-state.

 

The Class 2A championship features a pair of unranked teams that have beaten the odds to make it to Indianapolis. This is the first South Spencer baseball team to advance to the state finals in more than a generation and the team is playing for the school’s first state championship in any sport. The 1969 Rebels fell in nine innings to eventual state champion Lafayette Jefferson during the state semifinal round. This year’s team has won 13 straight, including four shutouts in six tournament games, to advance to this point. They beat No. 9 North Putnam on Saturday night. Heritage, meanwhile, will make its first ever appearance in the state finals on Saturday and are coached by Dean Lehrman, now in his 30th year in charge of the program. The Patriots have eliminated three top 10 teams in their last three outings having won at No. 7 Northfield in the regional and then beating No. 2 Boone Grove and No. 1 Northwestern in Saturday’s semi-state.

 

The 3A matchup pits No. 1 and undefeated Norwell against unranked Evansville Mater Dei. Norwell, is expected to put senior right-hander Jarrod Parker on the mound for the game in which the Knights hope to win the school’s second state championship in five years. Norwell also lost a heart-breaker in last year’s final allowing three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and three more in the bottom of the seventh to fall to Jasper, 13-12. Parker was taken ninth overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks in Major League Baseball’s draft last Thursday (June 7). He is the second-highest Indiana high school standout ever selected in the draft. Kokomo pitcher Pat Underwood was drafted No. 2 overall by the Detroit Tigers in 1976 while Andy Benes (Evansville Central) (1988) and Bryan Bullington (Madison) (2002) were both taken No. 1 but were drafted out of college. Norwell has only allowed four runs in its six tournament games, including four shutouts. Mater Dei is back in the state finals for the first time since 2002, but for the first time as a 3A team. The Wildcats previously played in 2A and won it all in 1999 after finishing as the runner-up in 1998. Mater Dei boasts three victories over ranked opponents during its tournament run having beaten No. 8 Mount Vernon in the sectional, No. 2 Vincennes Lincoln in the regional and No. 9 Yorktown in the semi-state championship game.

 

Saturday night’s 4A game will be televised live to a state-wide audience on the Indiana Cable Network and features last year’s runner-up team and No. 5 Indianapolis Cathedral against No. 3 Kokomo. Cathedral, like Shakamak and Norwell, lost a tough one in last year’s big-school final. The Irish gave up two runs in the top of the eighth inning and lost to Fort Wayne Snider, 4-2, but have navigated their way back for their third appearance in the state finals. They won the 2001 championship as a Class 3A team. Cathedral won its own sectional without giving up a run and beat No. 6 Castle in the semi-state. Kokomo will play in the state finals for the third time and the first time since taking runner-up honors in 1988. The Wildkats won it all in 1985. Kokomo has won all five of its tournament games by one run, including a 4-3 victory over No. 9 Homestead last Saturday.

 

Rosters, statistics and season results for all eight teams can be found in the Meet the Teams feature from the IHSAA website.

 

This will be the 10th time in 11 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.

 

State Finals

Dates: Friday, June 15; Saturday, June 16.

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

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

Admission: $9.

Home Team: The winner of the north semi-state is the designated home team in each game.

Television: HomeTown Television in Noblesville will broadcast the Class A, 2A and 3A games to the Indianapolis area. The 4A game will be televised state-wide on the Indiana Cable Network. Jerry Baker and Rob Blackman will serve as announcers for the telecast.

 

Class A

Shakamak (21-9) vs. Lafayette Central Catholic (29-5). Friday, 7:30 pm ET

Class 2A

South Spencer (26-6) vs. Heritage (20-10). Saturday, 1 pm ET

Class 3A

Evansville Mater Dei (22-12) vs. Norwell (34-0). Saturday, 4 pm ET

Class 4A

Indianapolis Cathedral (28-4) vs. Kokomo (28-3). Saturday, 8 pm ET

 

Media Information

 

Media Hosts – Sports Information Director Jason Wille, Communications Director Chris Kaufman and assistants Mike Wilson and Don Kaczorowski will be on site to assist in your coverage.

 

Media Credentials: The 2006-07 IHSAA State Finals Media Credential 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 west 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. The Indianapolis Indians provide complimentary wireless internet access within the press box.

 

Photography: Photographers may take up positions in the outfield portion of each dugout for field level shots. At no time during the game 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 do its work, we ask your cooperation in conducting interviews outside the foul lines.

 

Probable Batting Order

 

Lafayette Central Catholic

 

No.

Name

Pos.

1.

12

Griffin Richeson

SS

2.

6

Reed Drysdale

3B

3.

3

Dru Anthrop

1B

4.

14

Jade Anthrop

2B

5.

24

Nicholas Schrader

CF

6.

8

Michael Schaeffer

RF

7.

22

32

Jake Witteveen

Tyler Child

DH

C

8.

20

Matthew Svenstrup

LF

9.

31

Samuel Walker

P

 

Shakamak

 

No.

Name

Pos.

1.

12

Timothy Betts

RF

2.

14

Ben Grissom

SS

3.

21

Steven McNabb

C

4.

15

Billy Newton

2B

5.

6

Ridge Inman

1B

6.

23

Justin Cox

3B

7.

22

Tyler Utterback

P

8.

18

Jaret May

LF

9.

24

John Irons

DH

10.

19

Drew Gambill

CF

 

Heritage

 

No.

Name

Pos.

1.

5

Grant Selking

CF

2.

11

Corey Snider

2B

3.

7

Gabe Spieth

RF

4.

25

Jason Morgan

DH

5.

15

Chris Knefelkamp

C

6.

4

Kyle Harris

LF

7.

18

Nick Rohlf

3B

8.

24

Zack Saalfrank

1B

9.

3

Derek Gilreath

SS

10.

17

Zach Schroeder

P

 

South Spencer

 

No.

Name

Pos.

1.

17

John Seiler

CF

2.

10

Keith Haaff

SS

3.

6

Todd Martin

3B

4.

13

Blake Monar

P

5.

7

Matt Boyd

1B

6.

18

Josh Davis

DH

7.

14

Joey Guinto

C

8.

15

Nathan James

RF

9.

12

Brad Herring

2B

10.

9

Eddie Naegele

LF

 

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

2B

7.

15

Ryne Otis

1B

8.

21

Brandon Huggins

DH

9.

17

Klay Fiechter

LF

10.

1

Bryce Murphy

RF

 

Evansville Mater Dei

 

No.

Name

Pos.

1.

8

Alex Weinzapfel

CF

2.

3

Jake Weinzapfel

2B

3.

32

Adam Schenk

SS

4.

33

Shad Macke

1B

5.

14

Ryan Gries

LF

6.

5

Hank LaRue

3B

7.

9

Ryan Wink

DH

8.

17

Joe Major

C

9.

19

Ben Fleming

RF

10.

22

Cody Brandenstein

P

 

Kokomo

 

No.

Name

Pos.

1.

2

Nick Sale

2B

2.

9

Ryan Herr

CF

3.

25

Andrew Quinnette

3B

4.

7

Corey Ringley

1B

5.

15

Bryce Robinson

P

6.

19

Tyler Imbierowicz

LF

7.

5

Evan Skiles

C

8.

13

Craig Dollens

RF

9.

14

T.J. Weir

SS

 

Indianapolis Cathedral

 

No.

Name

Pos.

1.

7

Jack Lupo

C

2.

28

Anthony Agnew

P

3.

10

TJ Stark

RF

4.

2

Justin Cureton

CF

5.

4