By Mike McGraw
Executive Director
LAFAYETTE – For most of the June 4 Class 3A Regional 13 title game with seventh-ranked Brebeuf, No. 5 Crawfordsville had a tough time putting runners in scoring position in the game played at McCutcheon High School. Brebeuf, however,will take little solace in that fact.
That’s because when the Athenians did produce legitimate scoring chances, they were lethal in cashing in. The result was two very big innings: a five-run second and a four-run sixth. Those outbursts, along with a solid pitching performance from left-hander Cameron Hobson, were enough to generate a 9-3 victory and a regional championship.
The night certainly did not start off looking like the Athenians would be doing any celebrating.
Crawfordsville pitching had not allowed a run in sectional play, but a pair of two-out hits plated two runs for Brebeuf in the very first inning. The Braves’ Cody McFarland coasted through the bottom of the inning, allowing only one baserunner, and the score was 2-0 in favor of the visitors from Indianapolis after one frame.
Hobson settled down in the second inning and began mowing down Brebeuf hitters with regularity. In the bottom of the inning, meanwhile, the lower end of the Athenian lineup stirred up some trouble when Cody Dowell walked to lead off the inning and catcher Mitchell Ray singled.
That put runners on first and second and brought hard-hitting first baseman Andrew Swart to the plate. What followed may well have been the key play in the game.
Crawfordsville coach John Froedge instructed Swart to lay down a bunt to advance the runners. Swart bunted down the third base line just a little harder than intended. The ball was fielded by Brebeuf third baseman Mitch Overley, who thought he could beat Dowell to the bag at third but was wrong. Overley then whirled and fired across the diamond a fraction too late to get Swart at first.
(Hoosier Authority spoke with coach Froedge and several players after
the game. Click here to catch the video!)
Now, the bases were loaded with nobody out, and the flood gates soon opened.
Blake Harris followed with a walk to plate the first Athenian run. One out later, Hobson redeemed himself for the shaky first inning by crushing a two-run double. Brett McKinney capped off the inning with a single that scored two more runs. It would not be the last time McKinney would be heard from on this night.
The game settled down through the middle innings. Hobson was in complete control for the Athenians, while Brebeuf’s Charles Eberhardt held Crawfordsville in check with an outstanding relief job. Brebeuf did scratch across a run in the bottom of the fifth to make the score 5-3.
That produced the dramatic, and deciding, sixth inning. In the top half of the frame, Brebeuf pinch-hitter Tommy Green laced a hit to left and took advantage of a two-base error to stand on third with only one out. Hobson, however, mowed down the next two Brave hitters to quash the rally.
That is when outside forces came into play.
As it has all spring, weather played a role in the outcome of this game. As the bottom of the sixth began, lightning flashed over the centerfield wal. The game was put into a 35-minute delay in accordance with IHSAA safety rules. The discussion throughout the stadium during the stoppage in play was the effect it would have on the opposing pitchers, and it didn’t take long to find out.
When the teams returned to the field, Eberhardt simply didn’t have the same stuff. He struck out the leadoff hitter for the Athenians, but then Crawfordsville created a little lightning of its own.
Harris blasted a triple. Pinch-hitter J.D. Rice scored Harris with a ringing double. Brebeuf intentionally walked Hobson, but it didn’t slow the onslaught. Two batters later, McKinney struck again with a double, scoring two. Scott Hunt capped it off with an RBI single.
Suddenly, it was 9-3, and the suspense of how the delay would affect Hobson was a moot point. Froedge decided his hard-throwing senior had done enough, and Steven Rice came in and finished the job in the seventh, allowing only one runner.
The lightning delay was not the only way weather affected this contest. The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday and had to be postponed. It was then moved to McCutcheon on Wednesday because of field conditions at Crawfordsville.
As a result of the postponement, Crawfordsville will head to Jasper for the June 7 semistate with some mild pitching concerns. Swart, an 11-game winner, is completely fresh. Hobson, however, will contribute whatever innings he throws on just two days’ rest.
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